Kathmandu, October 13

Maoist chairman Prachanda and his deputy Dr Baburam Bhattarai met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today.

Prachanda and Bhattarai also briefed the Maoist talks team on the progress made in the SPA-Maoist talks that began on October 8.

A Maoist source said the meeting had taken place in a place in Kathmandu where most of the central committee members available in the capital were present.

During the meeting with Prachanda, Koirala is learnt to have conveyed that he is still in favour of giving the monarchy a ceremonial role. But the PM is claimed to have been positive about holding a constituent assembly election on proportional representational basis.

Confirming the meeting, Maoist talks team member Dev Gurung said that they had proposed to the PM that the alliance should be ready to suspend the monarchy till an election to a constituent assembly; the king should be deprived of all powers; the alliance should be ready to announce a democratic republic through a constituent assembly election and the king’s property should be nationalised.

Everything to be sorted out on Sunday: Gyawali

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and member of the government talks team, Pradip Gyawali, today said Sunday’s talks between the seven-party alliance (SPA) and the CPN-Maoist would finalise the draft of the interim constitution and the two sides would sign accords on ceasefire, peace and human rights and come up with a plan for arms management.

Gyawali said an interim legislature and interim government would be formed with the Maoists and the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army would be sent to cantonments by the second week of November if everything goes as planned.

“The talks are moving ahead in a positive direction as the parties in the conflict have shown flexibility in their earlier stances,” Gyawali said at the Reporters’ Club.

On the status of the monarchy, Gyawali said the institution would remain as a powerless entity until its fate is decided by a referendum along with elections to a constituent assembly in June.

PM Girija Prasad Koirala on October 10 told the SPA and Maoist leaders that finding a solution to the conflict would be his “last mission in life” and as such wants it settled during his lifetime, Gyawali said.

“I may be gone, but I do not want to betray anybody,” Gyawali quoted Koirala as telling the leaders.

He said the Maoists were worried about whether the fate of monarchy would be finalised or not after the constituent assembly elections.