The opposition leaders reached the conclusion at two-party talks led by NC President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal at the UML parliamentary party office at Singha Durbar on Tuesday.[break]
NC leaders, during the talks, informed their UML counterparts that the Maoists were insisting on advancing the peace process by settling some of the integration issues if not all.
"But both our chairman (Khanal) and Sushilji, among other leaders from both sides, were one in their stance that the five major thorny issues should be settled in a package and no partial deals struck," UML leader Surendra Pandey, who was present at the talks, told Republica. "We finally decided to make it a common stance of both the parties."
NC leaders at the meeting had said that the Maoists were consistently insisting on first deciding the integration numbers, integration modality and the rehabilitation package and on starting with categorization of the Maoist combatants without delay.
But NC and the UML are for settling all five thorny integration issues -- integration numbers, norms, modality, rank determination and rehabilitation package -- all at once in a package not in separate deals. NC leaders talked with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and top Maoist leaders earlier on Monday.
According to the NC leaders, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had urged the NC to be ready to start categorization of the combatants after settling the three issues -- integration numbers, modality and rehabilitation package -- so that he would be able to resolve the feuding within his party.
"Saying that he was under immense pressure from the rival Baidya faction of his party, Dahal requested NC leaders to understand his situation and be ready to advance the peace process even without settling things in a package," a leader present during the talks said, preferring anonymity.
NC leaders clarified before the UML that reports stating the NC and Maoists were near consensus on resolving the integration issues were incorrect. Koirala and NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel said at the meeting that they had not reached any understanding with the Maoists and they would not do so ignoring the UML.
NC leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat added that there was no progress so far with regard to resolving the five thorny issues. "It can´t be done without the three major parties first sitting together and finding common ground," a leader quoted Mahat as saying at the meeting.
After that the leaders concluded the meeting with the understanding that they would stand firmly for a package deal on the peace process and present a common proposal of the two parties during the three-party talks to be held within a couple of days.
Though NC leader Krishna Sitaula argued at the meeting that the Maoists were becoming more flexible lately, other leaders from both the NC and UML were not convinced by his argument.
According to one leader, Sitaula said at the meeting that the Maoists, who had been arguing earlier that arms and armies were inseparable, have now become ready to hand over the arms once the other parties were ready to start categorization of the Maoist combatants.
"But when we asked repeatedly if the Maoists were ready to hand over the arms immediately after the commencement of the categorization process or only after completion of the categorization, he (Sitaula) was not clear," said the leader.
Sitaula told reporters that the NC was optimistic about concluding the peace process soon. "The environment is very positive now and for the first time we have become very optimistic," he said.
But UML´s Bhim Rawal did not agree with Situala there and then. "We can´t trust the Maoist leaders´ commitment because they have made similar promises many times in the past as well," he said.
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