CPN (Maoist) spokesperson and coordinator of the Maoist talks team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has denied that peace talks have not been speedy.
CPN (Maoist) spokesperson and coordinator of the Maoist talks team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara
CPN (Maoist) spokesperson and coordinator of the Maoist talks team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara (File Photo)
“It’s no use sitting for talks in a hurry and without proper homework. At the moment we are doing intensive homework to make the talks fruitful and conclusive. We are not in favour of talks for talks’ sake,” Mahra told Radio Sagarmatha, a private sector FM radio station, Sunday.
He said his team was in regular contact with the government talks team, the Maoist leadership, political parties and the civil society.
CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal on Saturday said the dialogue between the government and the Maoists was moving at a snail’s pace. He said talks could well be concluded within weeks. News reports also quoted various civil society leaders expressing dissatisfaction over the sluggish talks process between the government and the Maoists.
The Maoist spokesperson further said the recent India visit of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had not affected the negotiations. “We are not in a position to say that the visit has significantly affected the talks. We have taken it [visit] normally.”
First round of government-Maoist talks were held in Kathmandu on May 26, finalising a 25-point ceasefire code of conduct.
Both sides have publicly said the next round of talks would enter into such political agendas as the elections to constituent assembly and formation of an interim government.