Three party talks resume: Top leaders vow to end blame game
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Top leaders of three major parties on Sunday committed to end the “blame game” against each other and work towards harmonising their “strained relationship” since the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (CA) in May.
Leaders of the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML made this commitment after resuming high-level talks in a bid to end the current political impasse. Leaders also committed to “avoid political polarisation” that could lead to confrontation between the major parties.
The three-party meeting took place just a day after NC and UML leaders decried the formation of the Federal Democratic Republican Alliance (FDRA), arguing that the move was intended to sideline them by portraying the two parties as “non-federal forces.” During the two-hour discussions, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the alliance was not formed to promote confrontation but was created to politically defend the government.
“We have agreed to control trading charges with one another and decided to resume high level discussions to forge political consensus,” said Maoist Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Shrestha said that top leaders would start point-wise discussions on disputed issues of the constitution, and clear the way for the promulgation of a new constitution and the formation of a national unity government.
NC leader Minendra Rijal said all party leaders have realised that polarisation will not help end the current stalemate. “The relationship between parties has soured in recent days. We have agreed to resume serious talks from tomorrow [Monday] to provide a way out of the current deadlock,” said Rijal.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had called the three-party meet to end the stalemate over the integration of former Maoist combatants. Top leaders discussed all current political issues in general and agreed to come up with a solution to the integration impasse through the PM-led Special Committee.
The cross-party Special Committee, responsible for the fate of the former combatants, is scheduled to meet on Monday morning after a gap of four months.
Leaders have agreed that issues that cannot be agreed upon in the committee will be dealt with at the political level by top leaders. UML leader Bhim Rawal said leaders grilled the PM over his failure to call a meeting of the committee for long and the delay in the handover of weapons belonging to the ex-rebels to the government. Rawal said that weapons stored in containers at the cantonment sites should now be handed over to the government.
Spl panel to talk 11-pt roadmap The Special Committee will discuss on Monday morning an 11-point roadmap, suggested by its secretariat, to end the integration impasse.
The proposal, distributed to major party leaders, urges maintaining the privacy of individual combatants to ensure a “dignified integration process.” It suggests that both integration and the voluntary retirement process should start at the cantonments side-by-side. The proposal also suggests that parties uphold the dates of birth enumerated in the citizenship certificates and not the ones recorded by UNMIN during the verification process in 2007. In case of combatants recruited by the PLA when they were minors, the secretariat has suggested counting their period of service after they turned 18 as the entry date for those aspiring for integration in to the Nepal Army. The secretariat’s proposal suggests that the parties agree on a clear direction and deliver that to the Army to resume the integration process. With the number of combatants aspiring for integration reduced to around 3,000, parties should revise their decisions to form a general directorate for fighters, adds the proposal.
The expert panel has stressed that there should be no legal hassles in forming a new mechanism to integrate the fighters. It has suggested that combatants selected for integration be sent on vacation until the government and the Army complete all preparations. However, the secretariat has concluded that they cannot offer concessions on educational qualifications. It also suggested that ex-fighters opting for retirement be given both installments of their voluntary retirement package at one go.
Secretariat coordinator Balananda Sharma said that the proposal was aimed at addressing problems on the ground that are obstructing the integration process.
‘Forge consensus’
President Ram Baran Yadav on Sunday evening urged Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to expedite efforts for forging consensus on a new political roadmap. In a meeting held at Shital Niwas, the President said the government should help forge consensus among the parties on a political roadmap. Bhattarai briefed Yadav on the outcome of the meeting among top leaders of three major parties held earlier in the day and about the government’s decision to attend the 16th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Iran. The PM is leaving for Teheran on Wednesday evening.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
