Sever ties with army, arms: NC tells Maoists

KATHMANDU, July 5: With just two days left for the deadline to form a national consensus government to expire, Nepali Congress has told the UCPN (Maoist) that such a government is possible only if the latter detached itself from its combatants and arms.



NC leaders Krishna Sitaula, Dr Shekhar Koirala and Amresh Kumar Singh met Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday to reiterate the party´s bottom line for a national consensus government. [break]



"Until the issue of combatants and arms is settled, there will be no consensus government," Sitaula said about the NC bottom line to the Maoists for a consensus government.



The NC, CPN-UML and other non-Maoist parties have been demanding Maoist commitment with credible strategy to address the overdue management of over 19,000 combatants and 3,000 arms before forming a consensus government comprising the UCPN (Maoist). The issue is also at the heart of the three-year old peace process.



The non-Maoist parties have been seeking Maoist commitment as they feel that sharing power with the Maoists without settling the thorny issue is likely to lead the stagnant peace process to nowhere.



In response to the NC´s bottom line, Dahal said his party is ready for the management of the combatants but asked the NC leaders not to attach the issue with the formation of the government.



"We are ready to address the issue of integration and rehabilitation but it should be done only through a scientific way," said Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.



By scientific way he meant that the combatants living in the UN-monitored cantonments should be first asked about their wish prior to fixing the number of ex-Maoist soldiers for integration.



"But they are not ready for it," Shrestha said.



In the meantime, Maoist leaders held a separate meeting with leaders of the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) on government formation.



TMDP Chairman Mahantha Thakur told journalists that his party was ready to accept a Maoist-led government if the UCPN (Maoist) is ready to implement past agreements on peace process.



Similarly, CPN-UML also held a meeting with the leaders of the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) on forming a new government.



"We suggested the UML leadership to take initiatives to form a consensus government, instead of majority government," said JP Gupta, MPRF co-chairman.

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