The former rebels expressed such a view during a meeting of top leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML and the main opposition UCPN (Maoist) on Tuesday. [break]
During the five-hour meeting at Godavari Village Resort, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal also denied that he had verbally agreed to integration of 3,000 combatants into the Nepal Army (NA).
“They said five to 10 thousand combatants should be integrated into the NA and others into other security forces, including the Nepal police,” NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat quoted Dahal as saying.
The Maoists also explicitly said that they are against integrating and rehabilitating the combatants until the constitution drafting is guaranteed and sought a package deal to complete the constitution drafting and the peace process.
The parties were likewise at loggerheads over the agenda for state restructuring. While the Maoists were for ethnicity-based federal provinces, the ruling parties, especially the NC, were vehemently against. The parties will hold further talks on the formation of a state restructuring commission at the next meeting.
As per the decision of the high level political mechanism, the meeting focused on six agenda items: review of all the peace agreements including the 12-point pact and their current status, removing mutual inter-party mistrust, ending the current political deadlock, agreement on integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants, constitution drafting and power-sharing.
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and NC parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Paudel had briefed the meeting about their parties´ respective stances.
The ruling parties had “tentatively” held a similar stance and did not see eye to eye with the Maoists on the power sharing agenda.
The ruling parties stated that the Maoists should first agree on the five main agendas for peace and constitution drafting, and only then would they be open for a national government. “But the Maoists wanted to strike a deal in a package,” said UML leader Ghanashyam Bhusal, who also attended the meeting.
Another point of difference was the political system in the new constitution. The Maoists said they would not accept the Westminster model at any cost and proposed their own system.
In the Constituent Assembly (CA), the ruling parties have floated a parliamentary system while the Maoists are for a presidential system with some unique features.
After the meeting, the leaders, however, argued that they put their views openly, assessed the past peace agreements, tried to understand each other and find out what went amiss during the peace process.
“This has laid a foundation for consensus,” said Maoist Vice-Chairman Narayankaji Shrestha, adding the parties have come closer than ever to striking a deal on a package. But he declined to divulge the details.
He said the leaders talked on the agenda items in general and will deal with them separately in the next round of meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 a.m. at Hotel Yak and Yeti.
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