In an icebreaking meeting Sunday held after four months of political upheavals since the first summit talks on June 16, leaders of the ruling Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoist were close to cutting through the contentious issues facing the five-month old peace negotiations.
In the much-awaited summit talks held at the prime minister's official residence in Baluwatar, the leaders have set Tuesday as the next date for delving more into issues like arms management, finalizing the interim constitution, formation of interim parliament and interim government, and holding of constituent assembly elections, before officializing their consensus on them.
"We had good, interesting, open and cordial discussion," Minister Pradeep Gyawali, a member of the government negotiating team, told the Post. "The discussion moved forward in the direction of a consensus [on major issues] positively."
A source, who participated in the Sunday's summit talks, said the leaders were near unanimous on the issue of holding constituent assembly elections by April or May next year. The leaders are for a mixed election system - having the system of first-past-the-post along with proportional representation system to ensure reservation for certain minorities and marginalized groups.
The leaders are most likely to start making decisions on contentious issues at the summit talks - the next being held on Tuesday. They also formed an informal taskforce, comprising representatives from all negotiating parties, to create a common position on all major issues so as to be ready for Tuesday's meeting.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in his opening statement, said he wished the constituent assembly polls would be held within Baishak or Jestha (by mid-June 2007). "We should be able to give a message to the world by settling our problem through dialogue. We should work for our mission by making a fixed timetable," a source quoted Koirala.
Koirala also told the leaders not to indulge in several issues at once but to focus first on how to hold constituent assembly polls.
Likewise, Maoist leader Prachanda presented himself very positively, and said his party was ready to exercise maximum flexibility to resolve the present problem. The source quoted Prachanda as saying during the 9-hour meeting that his party came to the negotiating table "with sincerity" to resolve problems through dialogue.
"There were attempts initially to send us back to the jungle but we overcame the situation and arrived at the eight-point agreement on June 16," the source quoted Prachanda. "But there were hurdles in implementation of the agreements. Had the government started implementing the agreement, it would have been easier for us to reciprocate."
All the leaders stressed the need for sincerely implementing the past pacts.
During the meeting, both the talks teams handed over the draft interim constitution, prepared by the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee to SPA and Maoist leadersArms management
SPA and Maoist leaders have agreed in principle - as proposed by the Maoist leaders - on a tentative plan to confine Maoist combatants to seven cantonments. The SPA leaders are "positive" on the Maoist insistence that they be inducted in an interim government while the arms management process is underway simultaneously. However, the bone of contention on this is: the SPA wants separation of arms and the militia, while rebels want to canton their combatants with arms until the elections are held. "However, both the sides are flexible on this," said a source.
Wary of Maoists fulfilling their commitments, SPA leaders sought a guarantee from Maoists that "there will be no use of their arms" during the constituent assembly elections. According to sources, they also sought clear message and proof from the rebels that they have given up the "politics of arms". However, the leaders are yet to finalize modalities of the nitty-gritty of arms management.Interim legislature
The leaders reached near-consensus on setting up a unicameral legislature of around 300 members.
They were almost unanimous on who should represent thee legislature but they are yet to finalize the proportion of the representation of he parties. While the Maoists are still demanding an interim legislature comprising representatives of the SPA, Maoists and civil society to replace the existing House of Representatives (HoR), the ruling alliance however is sticking to its stance of forming such an interim legislature with members from HoR, National Assembly, Maoists, civil society and professional groups that were active during Jana-andolan-II.
Maoists have sought 45 percent seats in the interim legislature for the SPA, 35 for themselves and 20 for civil society. Fringe Left parties in the SPA, however, proposed 20 percent seats each to NC, NC (D), CPN-UML and Maoists and 20 for themselves.Monarchy
Both sides have almost agreed on the status of the king. They are unanimous on retaining the king as a powerless monarch during the transitional period (before the constituent assembly is in place). And, the first meeting of the constituent assembly will decide the fate of monarchy. However, the term to be used to address the king's position during the period is still under discussion.
In a major shift from UML's earlier stance of deciding monarchy's fate by referendum, party chief Madhav Kumar Nepal today told the meeting that the first meeting of the elected assembly should decide monarchy's future.
All the sides have agreed to nationalize King Birendra's property and mobilize it for national interest through a trust, as proposed by Maoists.
