Though top leaders of three major political parties on Friday started a “decisive dialogue” in a bid to forge consensus on constitution drafting, the peace process and power sharing, they could not reach a conclusion. The high-level meeting at a hillside resort southwest of Kathmandu will continue on Saturday.Five senior leaders each from the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML are attending the “secret meeting” that began at the Hattiban Resort on Friday morning. The discussions that are expected to last till Saturday evening are coordinated by the Home Ministry. Chiefs of the three main parties—Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala and CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal—and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal are attending the talks that aim to end the current political stalemate. Maoist leaders Mohan Baidya, Baburam Bhattari, Ram Bahadur Thapa and Dev Gurung, NC leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Poudel, Krishna Sitaula and Ram Sharan Mahat and UML leaders K.P. Oli, Ishwor Pokharel and Bharat Mohan Adhikari are also attending the meeting.“Today, the leaders of the three parties presented their views on ending the impasse, but we have not reached any conclusion,” Mahat said in the evening. “We will try to find consensus by tomorrow.” In Friday’s meeting, NC leaders stressed the need of an agreement on the modality of integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants and their number to be integrated into security forces. The Maoists, on the other hand, reiterated their commitment to scrap the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League and resolve the “remaining problems” related to the land and property seized during the decade-long conflict. “We want the number of combatants to be decided only after providing options to individual combatants,” a Maoist leader said. Earlier, the leaders gathered at the Home Ministry on Friday before leaving. The Maoist leaders agreed to attend the discussions without their personal security guards after Home Minister Bhim Rawal assured them that the government would take care of their security. An employee at the resort said the leaders have booked rooms till Sunday morning. An aide of an NC leader attending the meeting said all the leaders have carried their belongings for the stay. “Intra-party and inter-party discussions are underway in different rooms of the resort,” the employee added. Media persons were not allowed to enter the resort.The farce of the Big 3KATHMANDU: It was disaster and chaos from the word ‘go’. The three parties had planned to hold “a serious dialogue in a peaceful place” to end the current political deadlock by the end of Tihar and Chhat. Nothing of the sort happened. Things went from bad to worse instead.They bickered over the venue and the size of the teams to accompany them. UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal insisted his son Prakash Dahal and the chief of his security team accompany him. So did the other parties’ leaders, with each naming their own favourites, ballooning the size of the teams. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal added fuel to the fire by demanding everyone pack enough clothes to last them for four days. On Wednesday, the parties had planned to meet up at Lukla. Five members from each of the three parties — UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML — were supposed to go. When the team sizes grew unwieldy, the original plan fell through and the leaders decided to converge at a resort in Pharping.That day’s three-party meeting had entrusted Home Minister Bhim Rawal to arrange a peaceful place with strong security measures. Rawal consulted the chiefs of security agencies and chose Lukla. All the leaders were asked to turn up at the Home Ministry at 6:30 Friday morning. Two Nepal Army (NA) helicopters were also booked. They gathered at the Home Ministry at the appointed time but true to character, started disputing over little nothings. A Ministry source said the parties cancelled the trip for Lukla as the teams got so big it was impossible to accommodate them in the helicopters. Finally, the leaders drove to Pharping's Hattiban Resort, 15-km southwest of Kathmandu.
No comments:
Post a Comment