UML leaders positive about Maoist proposal

KATHMANDU, Nov 11: CPN-UML leaders at the party´s Standing Committee (SC) meeting on Thursday hailed the Maoist proposal on concluding the ongoing peace process.



Briefing UML leaders at the SC meeting on the top leaders´ talks on ending the current political deadlock, UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel said the Maoists are presenting themselves in a much more flexible and pragmatic way.[break]



"The Maoists have floated quite a practical proposal on resolving the issue of their People´s Liberation Army (PLA) and they have also kept the options open over the leadership of the new government," UML Secretary Yuvraj Gyawali quoted Khanal as saying. "Now this is the right time to strike a deal on a package." The leaders said they are working on finalizing the deal in a package once they reach an agreement on power-sharing as well.



At the meeting, Khanal had emphasized the need of persuading Nepali Congress (NC) leaders to become flexible on reaching an agreement. "We now need to press the NC leaders as they are sticking to finding a solution only in accordance with the present constitution," one leader quoted UML leaders as saying at the meeting. As per constitutional provisions, parliament can elect the only prime ministerial candidate, Ram Chandra Paudel of NC, to the post once he secures a majority in the House.



At the three-party talks, the Maoists have floated a proposal with a month-long timeline to accomplish specific tasks, including bringing the Maoist combatants under the government-formed Special Committee, regrouping the combatants, disbanding the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League and resolving the row over property seized by the Maoists.



After the SC meeting Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal described the proposal floated by the Maoists as a positive development. He, however, said it is yet to be seen whether the Maoists will be sincere in implementing it in practice.



"We have been inching ahead toward an agreement. We can come up with a solution at the meeting scheduled for November 15 if the Maoists become genuinely ready to implement their ideas in practice," the prime minister said.

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