Though the parties had discussed various alternatives for the Maoists’ arms handover by Saturday the Maoist leaders surprised the NC and UML leaders today, arguing that they would not accept any proposal for arms handover and that peace process and constitution writing should move ahead together.[break]
Interestingly, at Friday’s meeting Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal asked Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, the hardline leader within the Maoist party, to put forward the party’s position on arms handover.
Baidya then asked NC and UML leaders which agreement says that the Maoists should hand over their weapons before completion of the peace process and constitution writing.
“Show us in which accord we have committed ourselves to hand over arms prior to writing the new constitution?” the leader quoted Maoist leaders as asking other party leaders during the talks.
Baidya’s assertion created tension at the meeting as the NC leaders immediately shot back at the Maoists.
Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula then pointed to an accord signed between the seven parties on June 25, 2008. Article 2.1 of the agreement says, “Integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants and management of the arms will be completed within six months.”
“What do you think this agreement means? Don’t you know that your own leader signed the agreement?” a visibly enraged Sitaula asked, according to a leader present at the meeting.
This particular agreement signed by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on behaf of the Maoist party paved the way for Dahal’s election as prime minister
After Sitaula’s furious outburst, Maoist Chairman Dahal tried to calm the situation, admitting that the agreement was indeed signed. “ But I could not complete the peace process despite my sincere efforts as I faced many obstacles along the way and I had to leave Baluwatar a few months later,” one leader quoted Dahal as saying.
Dahal then put forward the idea of extending the CA term for at least six months. “In the next six months we will be able to resolve ‘fundamental’ issues related to the peace process,” Dahal said. No sooner had Dahal floated the idea than UML leader KP Sharma Oli objected to it. “This makes your intentions clear. Now you are saying that within six months you will address just the ‘fundamental’ issues related to the peace process, which means you don’t want to surrender the weapons,” a leader quoted Oli as saying.
Other UML leaders including former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Ishwar Pokharel and Bhim Rawal were quick to second Oli’s stance and they rejected Dahal’s proposal outright. “All the UML leaders, except the prime minister, said that the Maoists were backtracking on the stance they took on Thursday,” a leader present at the meeting said.
But Maoist Chairman Dahal said that Oli misinterpreted his position. He argued that he just wanted to say the peace process may take some more time than the leaders think.
At one point during the talks, Maoist Chairman Dahal said categorization and segregation of the combatants and handover of weapons would take at least one month. After that NC President Koirala said if that was the case the NC was ready to extend the CA for a month. “Once the peace process in completed in the next one month we can again extend the CA to write the constitution,” a leader present at the meeting said.
But then Dahal rejected Koirala’s posposal and said the peace process and constitution writing should move ahead hand in hand.
Now it was Koirala’s turn for an outbrust. “ I don’t see any point talking to the Maoists and I don’t want to come to the meeting tomorrow. It’s clear now that you never want to disassociate yourself from your weapons and that is not acceptable to us,” a leader quoted Koirala as saying.
At the end Maoist Chairman Dahal said he would consult in his party and come up with a new proposal tomorrow.
The seemingly exasperated NC leaders, according to an UML leader present at the meeting, told Dahal that they would like to hear his proposal informally first and then only would they come to the meeting if they thought the proposal made any sense.
Deuba’s assurance to Maoists
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has told his party leaders that Nepali Congress (NC) Senior Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has assured him of NC’s support for the extension of the term of Constituent Assembly (CA) if Maoists made an agreement in writing on coming up with calendar of events for concluding peace process.
Maoist sources said Chairman Dahal told party leadership Friday evening to be ready to prepare a calendar events to conclude the ongoing peace process, including the management of their arms and army maximum, within next two months. Dahal also assured the party leaders that CA would not be dissolved and that Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal need not tender his resignation.
Deuba, according to Maoist sources, has assured Dahal that he would try to convince NC to vote for the extension of the CA term if the Maoists came up with the calendar of events to conclude the peace process.
Asked if Deuba made such a proposal to the Maoists, NC CWC member Gopal Man Shrestha, who is close to Deuba, said the option was given to the Maoists as they have been saying that handing over their arms to the government immediately would tantamount to ‘surrendering’.
Shrestha said they have proposed to the Maoists to first conclude peace process within two months at the most and then agree to form government under Maoists and NC on rotational basis.
“Our proposal is that new government should be formed once the peace process concludes to fully concentrate on constitution drafting process. If Maoist chooses to head government first, NC would head the government before general election,” he said.
In view of Supreme Court’s verdict that CA term cannot be extended for more than six months, Shrestha said, “Personally, I am in favor of extending CA’s term based on the calendar events prepared by the Maoist and then extending the term again depending on the time required for promulgating the new constitution.”
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