The Maoists also announced a fresh round of protests for what they said was to realize the dream and aspirations of the people and of the martyrs for peace, constitution and change in the country. [break]
Issuing a press statement after the party´s standing committee meeting Thursday afternoon, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the ruling NC and UML had ´misinterpreted´ the three-point deal reached minutes before extension of the Constituent Assembly term Friday midnight and engaged in ´grave betrayal´ of the spirit and expectations of that deal.
Dahal alleged in the statement that the ruling parties had again demonstrated ´blatant political treachery´ and ´immorality´ by not sticking to the agreement reached to secure resignation of the prime minister within five days.
The five-day deadline for the prime minister to resign as per the ´gentleman´s agreement´ expired on Wednesday.
The Maoist decision comes after the ruling NC and UML showed no sign, during the three-party meeting held at the call of Prime Minister Nepal Wednesday, of budging from their stance that the prime minister would step down only after the Maoists came up with a concrete plan and timeframe for implementing issues related to the peace process.
The Maoists decided not to cooperate with the incumbent government, arguing that the attempt of the ruling parties to alienate the largest party in the Constituent Assembly was in itself a conspiracy against peace, constitution and change in the country.
“We hereby want to make it clear that it will be an integral part of our responsibility to the people to protest and deny cooperation to the current government that stands for regression and status quo and against consensus and change,” Dahal said in the statement.
Dahal also urged all parties concerned to extend support for their fresh protests to ensure a national consensus government for peace, constitution and change.
The three-party meeting scheduled for Thursday could not take place following the Maoist conclusion that the ruling NC and UML had betrayed the Maoists in not abiding by the ´gentleman´s understanding´ to make the prime minister step down.
The Maoists during the three-party meeting on Wednesday had proposed to the ruling parties to first make the prime minister tender his resignation and then discuss in detail the implementation of issues related to the peace process -- something the ruling parties rejected outright.
The Maoist standing committee meeting on Thursday came hours after a meeting of top leaders of the NC and UML held at the prime minister´s official residence at Baluwatar concluded that the prime minister will tender his resignation only after there is an agreement on a timeline for the peace process, particularly on issues related to integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants and constitution-writing.
Maoist decision shows they´re not committed to peace: NC, UML
NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula said the decision of the Maoists to launch fresh protests gives an impression that the Maoists are digressing from taking the peace process to a logical end. “The Maoists must be able to prove their credibility by honestly implementing all the agreements pertaining to the peace process reached in the past,” he said.
He said that it is difficult to forge a national consensus as long as the Maoists do not present themselves positively on issues related to integration and management of Maoist combatants, return of seized properties and disbanding of the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League.
“The Maoists must present themselves with due honesty and positively on these issues to pave the way for national consensus,” he added.
UML leader Pradip Gyawali said the latest move of the Maoists was both ´unpredictable´ and ´untrustworthy´ as they frequently keep changing their words. “This is an inappropriate tendency on the part of the Maoists,” he said, adding: “We are sad at this.”
Gyawali said the Maoists will not achieve their goal through this type of flip-flop over their decisions. “This could be an attempt to derail the entire political process by forcefully linking their internal party feuds to national politics,” he added.
He added that there is no alternative to holding dialogue among parties even for staking their claim to the leadership of the proposed national consensus government.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
Related story
Women's grave dug out for gold
_20191222200001.jpg)
