Kathmandu: Nepal's new government freed dozens of jailed Maoist rebels on Tuesday, keeping a pledge made to the guerrillas ahead of last month's resumption of peace talks that aim to end a revolt that has killed thousands of people.
At least 60 rebels were freed from a jail on the outskirts of the capital, Kathmandu, a day after officials dropped terrorism charges against them.
The Maoists left the high-security prison in a line to be greeted by hundreds of friends and relatives waiting in scorching heat and carrying garlands.
"Down with monarchy. Long live the republic", "Long live CPN(M)," they shouted, referring to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the official name of the Maoists, as they raised their fists in a Maoist salute.
Nepal's multi-party government, which took control in April after King Gyanendra gave in to pro-democracy protests supported by the Maoists and handed power to political parties, held preliminary talks with rebels in May, the first such meeting since 2003.
Some of those released on Tuesday are from Maoist-affiliated student and labour groups.
All were charged under a controversial anti-terrorism act that allowed security forces to detain suspects for up to one year without trial.
Prisoner releases were a Maoist precondition for joining the talks and in the run up to the first meeting the government freed more than 700 rebels.
Officials said on Tuesday that release orders had been issued for about another 290 Maoists, who would be freed after completing the necessary legal formalities.
Fresh talks were expected to begin soon, officials said, to tackle differences over holding elections to a special assembly that would draft a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy, a key rebel demand.
More than 13,000 people have died since Maoists began fighting the monarchy in 1996 with the aim of setting up a communist republic.
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