KATHMANDU, March 13 (Reuters) - A leading Nepali political party said on Thursday that a group of former Maoist rebels attacked its workers during an election campaign in east Nepal, injuring at least 10 people including a candidate. Elections are set for April 10 for an assembly meant to prepare a new constitution, a key demand of the Maoists who ended their decade-long civil war and joined the political mainstream under a 2006 peace deal. But the Communist UML party said the Maoists had prevented its workers on Wednesday from organising an election rally in the remote Priti village in Ramechhap district in east Nepal. "They first pelted our leaders with stones from a hillside and then beat them up with sticks injuring 10-12 people including a candidate," senior UML leader Amrit Kumar Bohara said in Kathmandu. "This is a serious incident ... the Maoists are continuing their violent activities and intimidating political workers." Intimidation by the former rebels is one of the main risks for the April election, according to diplomats and political analysts who say that any strong arm tactics could spark violence between parties and make the election results less credible. Dinanath Sharma, a senior Maoist leader, said he had no information about the incident, adding UML activists had picked up fights with the Maoists elsewhere in the past. The United Nations says unchecked violence during campaigning would hamper the polls and the freedom of voters. "It is essential therefore that acts of violence, intimidation and obstruction of the campaigns of others are tackled as early as possible," chief of the United Nations Mission in Nepal Ian Martin said, (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)
Ian Martin, chief of United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), addresses a news conference in Kathmandu March 12, 2008. Martin was explaining the U.N. Helicopter crash in which 10 people died ...
