No arms management before political solution: Maoists

September 2, 2006
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The CPN (Maoist) has said that there no will be no settlement of its army and the arms before political issues get resolved.

Disclosing the decisions of the recently-concluded central committee meeting held in Kamidanda of Kavre district, Maoist leaders at a press conference in Kathmandu on Saturday said the SPA government had been breaching the 12-point and eight-point agreements and was trying to sideline the Maoists.

“Disarming the People’s Liberation Army before reaching a political solution is impossible,” Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who heads the Maoist peace talks team, said and warned that his party would reconsider the idea of joining an interim government if the SPA government “continues to violate the agreements”.

A press statement issued by the party said the central committee meeting, which passed chairman Prachanda’s political report ‘Historic Possibilities and Historic Challenges” with amendment, has worked out the policies and plans for a ‘people’s movement’ in two phases if the SPA fails to move towards unconditional elections to constituent assembly and democratic republican system.

The Maoist meeting also pointed out that the SPA government was leaning towards the palace and was trying to isolate the key partner of the people’s movement, the Maoists.

Claiming that isolated cases of violence and abductions were being exaggerated, the meeting decided to take strict measures to stop extortion and abductions at the lower level and make donations to the party completely voluntary.

The meeting formed a 10-member committee chaired by Prachanda to pressure the government to organise a ‘summit meeting’ at the earliest to find solution to political problems. The committee comprises of senior leaders Dr Baburam Bhattrai, Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, Krishna Bahdur Mahara, Dev Gurung, Pampha Bhusal, Dina Nath Sharma, Matrika Yadav, Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Pasang’ and Khadga Bahadur BK.

According to the press statement, offices would be set up in district headquarters to facilitate the return of properties seized by the Maoists and help the displaced people return to the villages.

The meeting also pointed towards the reports of a consignment of lethal arms en route to Nepal said to have been stuck in India and asked the government to bring out the details, the statement said.