KATHMANDU, Oct 30: Political parties represented in the government have concluded that the upcoming Maoist protest activities violate the spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) reached between the then seven political parties and the Maoists and have decided to adopt necessary measures to contain the protests if they get out of hand. [break]
A meeting of the 10 political parties in government held at the Prime Minister´s Office at Singha Durbar on Friday also urged the main opposition party to withdraw all its protest programs and resolve their demand through dialogue. The meeting asked the Maoists to immediately lift the House obstruction and allow passage of the budget.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had sought suggestions from participants in the meeting which dwelled on the issue of the prolonged House obstruction and the Maoist protests set to begin from Sunday.
According to a joint statement issued later, the meeting concluded that the decision of the Maoists to declare an "autonomous state" and impose a blockade on Kathmandu Valley as part of their second phase of protests not just breaches the jurisdiction of the Constituent Assembly but also violates the spirit of the CPA and democratic norms.
The meeting decided to call a meeting of all 22 political parties supporting the coalition government, possibly on Saturday, to take a collective decision.
Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic) Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Sadbhawana Party President Rajendra Mahato, CPN (United) President Chandra Dev Joshi, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Pashupati SJB Rana, Rastriya Janashakti Party President Surya Bahadur Thapa, Socialist Democratic People´s Party Chairman Prem Bahadur Singh, Mahendra Raya Yadav, Sarbendra Nath Shukla and Shree Krishna Yadav of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party and ministers were among those participating in the meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister Gachchhadar said the Maoists must come to negotiations if they are committed to the ongoing peace process and constitution drafting. “Their disdaining to come to agreement would mean trying to derail the peace process and obstruct the drafting of a new constitution,” he said.
Gachchhadar said there has been agreement among the ruling parties on resuming House business to pass the budget. “We will resume House business. They [Maoists] will obstruct proceedings by chanting slogans. We will chant back at them to resume House business,” he said.
Gachchhadar said the 10-party meeting decided to face the Maoists legally and politically if they fail to come to an agreement.
Emerging from the meeting, RJP Chairman Surya Bahadur Thapa said he suggested to the prime minister to keep the door open for dialogue for resolving the Maoist demands. “The government must not hesitate to contain the protest activities if they go beyond the limit,” he said.
Talking to media after the meeting, government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communication Shankar Pokharel said the meeting, among other things, directed the government to control ´unconstitutional´ and ´anarchic activities´ if necessary.
The Maoists have been demanding that the move of the President in reinstating the then army chief - the cause of their fall from government - be discussed in parliament and the present government step down. They have termed their demand the establishment of “civilian supremacy”.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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