Senior leaders of the two major parties of the ruling seven party alliance (SPA) and top leadership of the CPN (Maoist) as well as negotiators from both the sides are holding talks at a resort hotel at Godavari, Lalitpur since Friday morning.
According to reports, Vice President of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala, general secretary Ram Chandra Poudel, NC leader, Chakra Bastola, among others, are representing the NC while CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, and senior party leader J N Khanal and Bamdev Gautam are representing the UML. The Maoist team is led by chairman Prachanda and comprises Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Anant, among others.
It is believed that both the sides are discussing the hitches that have emerged in the process of implementing the eight-point agreement reached between them last month.
Reports say negotiators from both the sides are expected to hold meeting with the National Ceasefire Monitoring Committee later on the day at the Peace Secretariat in Singha Durbar to discuss about the implementation of the code of conduct.
The second rounds of talks between the govt. and the Maoists were held on June 15. A day later, the top leadership of the ruling Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and CPN (Maoist) held high-level talks in which an eight-point agreement was reached.
In the eight-point agreement, both sides agreed to invite the United Nations to help and monitor the management of arms and armed personnel of both the sides and invite international observers, if necessary, during the elections to the Constituent Assembly
Both sides also agreed to form an interim constitution drafting committee and to dissolve the parliament after adopting the interim constitution.
In the second round of talks, the government and the rebels agreed to form a 31-member ‘ceasefire code of conduct monitoring team’ and a five-member peace talks monitoring team.
Similarly, the two sides also agreed to urge the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)-Nepal to monitor the human rights situation in Nepal during the talks process.
The government and the Maoist talks teams agreed to a 25-point code of conduct to be observed by both the sides during the period of ceasefire during the first round of talks held on May 26 at the deluxe Le Meridian Hotel and Resort at Gokarna, to the east of capital, Kathmandu.