The parties reached the agreement in a meeting held at the Prime Minister´s official residence at Baluwatar on Monday. The small parties in the ruling coalition suggested some criteria to the major parties -- Nepali Congress and CPN-UML -- for forging consensus with the Maoists.[break]
"Consensus can be reached if the Maoists are ready to come up with a specific timeline and plan of action on ending the peace process, and the number and plan on integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants," Chandra Dev Joshi of CPN (Samyukta) said.
Likewise, the parties also demanded a convincing proposal from the Maoists on narrowing down differences among the political parties on the contents of new constitution. Other conditions are disbanding the paramilitary structure of YCL and renouncing violence.
"If the Maoists come up with a convincing proposal on ending the peace process and writing the new constitution, the 10 parties aren´t rigid on their stance" Joshi said.
The 10-party meeting also endorsed a four-point proposal to maintain peace and security in the country during the general strike called by the Maoists starting May 2.
"Our suggestion to the government is to avoid confrontation at any cost. The government should resort to preventive measures but the state organs must ensure security to the people," he said.
The proposal reads that the Maoists´ recent military training in various parts of the country have violated the Comprehensive Peace Accord and past agreements.
The meeting requested the main opposition party to transform the party into a ´civilian party´.
The 10 parties concluded that the recent activities of the Maoists have pushed the country to conflict. They requested the Maoists to end all illegal activities and roll back its decision to launch protests.
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