With the issue of army integration becoming all the more trickier, a senior Maoist leader has said referendum could be held to resolve the issue if the parties fail to reach consensus.

Calling it an entirely “personal view”, Maoist leader Dina Nath Sharma, who is also the party’s chief whip in the Constituent Assembly, said while speaking at an interaction held at Reporter’s Club in the capital Sunday that they will move ahead with this [referendum proposal] even if Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party in the CA, opts to stay away from the special committee on army integration.

Sharma further said that if NC is indeed accountable to the people then it should participate in the special committee. If not, it would be viewed as “NC trying to complicate the peace process and government will opt for the alternative which is referendum”, he added.

He also said the army integration process would be carried out as per the peace pact signed between then Koirala-led government and the Maoists two years ago.

Speaking at the same programme, NC leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said that his party would only be a part of the special committee when the parties participating in it reach an agreement on the rights of the special committee and the number of representation from each party.

Mahat, a former finance minister, also criticised the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for its ‘failure’ to effectively monitor the Maoist arms and army and its youth wing the Young Communist League, claiming that army integration is not a major issue in the peace process as it is made out to be.

Speaking at the same programme, CPN (UML) leader Bhim Rawal claimed that there had been verbal understanding for equal representation among the political parties in the special committee in the past. nepalnews.com ag Nov 02 08