Maoist Chairman Dahal's decisions in coming days to shape course of future events

TIKA R PRADHAN

KATHMANDU: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal today urged Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal to make better moves to conclude the peace process.

“The prime minister and Dahal mainly focused their talks on why the peace and constitution-drafting processes have failed to gain momentum even after one month since the five-point deal was signed,” said PM Khanal’s press adviser Surya Thapa. “Dahal, however, assured the prime minister that the ongoing discussions within his party would not halt the peace process and he would intensify dialogue within his party and with other parties.”

The duo also discussed combatant management, peace process calendar, besides Cabinet expansion and budget.

Maoist Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha claimed that army integration has been stalled because Nepali Congress objected to the Nepali Army’s proposal. NC had demanded a package deal, said Shrestha.

With serious objection from Janardan Sharma, a Maoist member of Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants), its meeting has been stalled and therefore the parties have formed a taskforce including Vice-chairman Shrestha in the place of Sharma.

Dahal’s decisions in the coming days will shape the course of the country’s future events related to peace process and the constitution. But that will be a fine kettle of fish — Dahal will either have to influence the party’s Central Committee to revise its policy decisions or bulldoze his own decisions regarding the integration of Maoist combatants.

During the brief CC meeting on Friday last week, Dahal had listed a range of issues to be discussed and asked for a few more days for the standing committee to sort them out. “Our worry is that the standing committee has not been discussing these issues,” said Dev Gurung.

The April 28 CC meeting of the party had taken policy decisions to either go for a mixed model of integration or the creation of a separate force after formulating a national defence policy.

Dahal, however, was able to get the modality — offered by the Nepali Army — endorsed by the standing committee meeting on May 19 meeting.

Dahal’s proposal, however, did not figure in the five-point deal on the night of May 28, and it has allowed dissenting voices within the UCPN-M to hark back to the CC meeting’s decision.

“Both the idea of disarming of combatants and individual entry based on existing standards are unthinkable,” Gurung told The Himalayan Times. “We want to follow the spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Accord and the Interim Constitution.”

Gurung predicted that due to extreme pressure from the party, including his own supporters, Chairman Dahal could also opt to retreat from his decision. However, Vice-chairman Shrestha claimed the party would further consolidate party’s latest decision on army integration but added that the party would never accept integration on individual basis. The idea of national sovereignty continues to play an influential role in the ongoing debates within the Maoist party but almost all leaders understand gravity of the situation and agree that outstanding issues related to both peace and constitution-drafting processes should be resolved in the next two months.

Meanwhile the five-point pact monitoring committee is holding a meeting at 2 pm tomorrow.

(Published in The Himalayan Times on June 29, 2011. www.thehimalayantimes.com)