Kathmandu, Oct.17: Underground Maoists and Mashal, a small communist group, are discussing proposals to unite, an announcement said.

A four member committee has been formed to discuss unity; Badal and Anil from Mashal and Ashok and Tara from the Maoists are in the committee, an announcement said. Nepal’s communist movement is badly splintered.

The Maoists are fighting for a communist state and have waged a rebellion in which 1450 persons have been killed in nearly five years.

The Nepal Communist Party( Unified Marxist Leninist) is the main opposition in parliament and opposes the Maoists and urges change through constitutional means; the party once adopted revolutionary measures presently adopted by the Maoists.

The UML if the first and only communist party to be elected to power in Nepal. There are then nine other left parties that have united under a minimum common agenda but have discarded revolutionary methods for change. nepalnews.com br