HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Govt abided by code of conduct: Pun
Mahara emphasises early talks for peace

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KATHMANDU, Mar. l7: Minister for Physical Planning and Works Narayan Singh Pun, who is convenor of the government side for the Government-Maoists talks, has said that His Majesty's Government is determined to fully observe the ceasefire code of conduct and hold the peace talks.
Speaking on the Dishanirdesh programme of Nepal Television today, Pun said positive thinking about the success of the talks is needed on all sides.

In answer to a question, he said since the actual talks and what will be raised during the talks are more important than the size of the talks team, the number of people on that team is not of such importance.

He said that since the Maoist have emerged as a powerful group or party, their demands cannot be neglected.

He expressed confidence that the future of the country will be bright if all sides including the political parties advance, learning from the failings of the past l2 years.

In answer to another question, he said it appears the political parties are in confusion, but there is no need for them to panic. It is the responsibility of the political parties also to tackle the problems of the country. They are equally responsible for resolving such problems.

Stating that there was thinking about forming follow-up teams for the code of conduct at the district and even lower levels, he said once the talks process gets under way the follow-up teams will be formed in accordance with the outline agreed by the two sides.

Meanwhile, member of the CPN-Maoists team for peace talks Krishna Bahadur Mahara has said that his party is prepared for talks and will get started on the talks as soon as it receives the talks proposal from the ruling side.

In an interview on the Dishanirdesh programme of Nepal Television today, he said that both the sides are serious over the peace talks.

He said that the reasons for the failure of the peace talks the last time were that the ruling dispensation then did not provide any political agenda and was not sincere and the Royal Nepal Army intervened in Maoist activities.

As the CPN-Maoists had been for a peaceful resolution from that time onwards and the present government had fulfilled the former's demands, there was no reason for any suspicion about the ceasefire having come all of a sudden, he added.

"We were stating that we were not opposed to talks and the ceasefire is the result of a long process of the last one to two years," he said.

Stating that his party had been willing for talks on the condition that the red corner notice, the terrorist tag and the price on the heads of Maoist leaders were withdrawn, Mahara said that as the present government had fulfilled these demands, the ceasefire had come into effect.

Asked if the war was now over, he said both the armies had agreed to a ceasefire for the time being for the sake of reaching a political understanding, and the talks will resolve the issue; the definition of 'gun' will be worked out at the talks table and the war will end with the achievement of the people's rights. All this remains to be seen.

Conceding that international forces were not in favour of the Maoists' movement, he said his party was searching for favourable conditions within the present unfavourable environment.

He pointed out that the political parties that were not serious last year were now more sensitive and the ruling dispensation had also not shown any tendency of indifference and neglect and therefore the environment for talks this time was completely different from last year.

The feeling that the problem would not be solved through guns and that both sides should come for talks also played a role in creating a conducive atmosphere for talks, he added.

Responding to another query, he said that talks will be held as soon as the implementation of the code of conduct starts yielding a positive result.

Stating that both the sides had reached understanding on the code of conduct to guarantee the ceasefire, he expressed commitment that the Maoists would fully abide by the code and keep its cadres under control.

In the context of the Maoist cadres moving ahead with the aim of giving the people and the country their rights, the next political steps will not create any division among them, he claimed.

Pointing out that the political parties have also become positive and concerned about the country and people compared to the past, he said some party leaders should fulfil their role in a spirit of service to the people instead of just being concerned about their own shape.

Of the three forces, the traditional force, the parliamentary force and the Maoist force, which have now appeared in the country, none will be able to advance by excluding any one force or by one ruling out another, he said.

Reiterating the CPN-Maoist that stance that a way out will not be possible without a round table conference, a Constituent Assembly and an interim government, he said a way out requires the equal presence of the King, the political parties, the Maoists and civil society.

The main thing is the Constituent Assembly and for managing this a multi-sided, interim kind of government is needed, he said and reiterated the need for a new constitution and a new perspective that ensures full rights to the people.

All matters including Constitutional Monarchy, multi-party democracy and the question of a republic will be placed on the table and what is needed decided on the basis of discussions, he said.

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