In their initial reaction to the Maoist proposal, Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, who is a member of the Special Committee, and CPN-UML leader Pradip Gyawali, who is involved in negotiations on the peace process, said the proposal included Maoist positions held previously and lacked any bold idea. [break]
"The proposal is retrogressive," said Mahat commenting on the proposal, "We were expecting action on the part of the Maoists. But the new proposal has failed on that front."
Both Mahat and Gyawali said the Maoists had earlier agreed on forming a National Security and Development Directorate under the Nepal Army for the integration of Maoist combatants. But they have backtracked from their position and proposed a directorate to work for "what the army does", the two said.
"If the directorate was to be given a general military mandate, there was no need to create a separate directorate for integration purposes," argued Gyawali.
They have also opposed the Maoist proposal to integrate ex-combatants on unit basis. "The Maoists were positive during informal talks on the entry of their combatants on individual basis. The proposal on unit-wise integration is not acceptable to us," Mahat said.
The parties have also objected to the Maoist proposal on handover of Maoist arms and arms containers to the Special Committee after forming a Maoist-led government. "They are not being honest in linking the arms handover to power sharing. They should be ready to hand over the arms to any democratically elected government," Mahat further said.
Gyawali said that the Maoists did not even show flexibility in proposing the number of combatants to be integrated. "We had expected a bold proposal from the Maoists but our expectation has been dashed," said Gyawali. He, however, welcomed the Maoist proposal to return their senior commanders to politics.
The Madhesi parties have expressed mixed views over the Maoist proposal on peace process, constitution writing and formation of the government.
Senior Vice-chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D) Rameshwor Raya Yadav said the Maoist proposal is not clear about the Madhes issues raised by the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), an alliance of five Madhes-based political parties.
“We cannot form any opinion based on the proposal as it is ambiguous,” Yadav told Republica.
Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Republican (MPRF-R) JP Gupta said the Maoist proposal is insufficient.
“We found that there is space for improvement but for this Maoist eagerness is required,” said Gupta, adding, “The number of combatants to be integrated, the structure of the directorate and their composition, handover of arms and rank harmonization are areas for reconsidering by the Maoist side.”
Hridayash Tripathi, vice-chairman of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), said the proposal is comparatively "positive". However, he stressed the need for clarifying some points.
Mahendra Yadav, chairman of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party-Nepal (TMDP-N), stated that there is slim chance of consensus with Maoists. “It does not seem that we can reach any agreement despite some positive points in the Maoist proposal,” Yadav added.
Related story
Mourinho backs Fellaini despite frosty reception from fans
