CPN (Maoist) forms dialogue committee Decides to stop targeting infrastructures, party workers

December 3, 2002
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Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 3:After a year of bloody violence in this Himalayan kingdom, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) today came up with a peace proposal by forming a high-level dialogue committee to hold peace talks with the government “with an aim of giving outlet to the present crisis plaguing the country”, the party said in a press statement issued here.

In the statement undersigned by Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Comrade Prachanda, chairman of the outlawed CPN (Maoist), the full meeting of the Party Politburo formed the high-level committee. “For a peaceful, positive and progressive political outlet, the meeting has formed a central level dialogue committee to hold talks with the old regime (the government), provided that a conducive environment is ensured,” the statement said.

However, Prachanda has not disclosed the names of the committee members. But it is believed that the committee is headed by Number 2 Maoist leader, Dr Baburam Bhattarai.

In a major development, the Maoists, who have been targeting physical infrastructures and political workers at large, also decided to stop all such activities, Prachanda said in the statement. However, according to the statement, the Maoists would give “strong warnings” to the political parties to order their cadres to stop spying against the Maoists.

“The meeting emphasised upon the need to stop all activities that would sabotage the physical infrastructures directly linked to the people’s welfare.”

The statement has also said the meeting has framed new political and military strategies. But the Maoists are adamant on the demands of a round-table conference, formation of an interim government and election to the constituent assembly. To put an end to the present crisis, the party has appealed to all political parties, organisations and the intellectuals to “unitedly lead a movement”, with peace talks on top of the agenda.

At the end of the statement, Prachanda has said the party has made important decisions vis-à-vis party organisation, international tasks and operational activities.

PM’s appeal…

Maoists’ sudden call comes in the wake of Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand’s appeal to the Maoists to come forward for dialogue. Earlier today, speaking at a programme organised to release a book, PM Chand had said, “The uncertainty in the country can be solved only through dialogue. So the government appeals to the Maoists to opt for peaceful resort by coming to the dialogue table.”

The present crisis cannot be solved alone, for that the Maoists have to come to the negotiating table, PM said, adding that all political parties should co-operate in the process. He, however, set no condition for dialogue. “We expect co-operation from all the political parties to resolve the current crisis”.

Chand spoke this after releasing a book published by Tanka Prasad Acharya Memorial Trust on the occasion of his Acharya’s 91st birth anniversary.

At the same function, Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of CPN-UML said the country at the moment is being ruled in an unconstitutional and undemocratic way. “If the Nepali Congress has committed mistakes, it should have been rectified democratically, but not in an authoritarian way, which the king has done,” said Nepal.