Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 8

While a round-table conference is topping its list of priorities for discussion, some members of the the central working committee of the CPN-UML have argued that it should be ready to back the demand for a republican set- up and a constituent assembly.

'The party should head towards a republican set- up if the King does not listen to the parties,' a member said. The committee continued its meeting today with the hope that the body will endorse the three-point road map proposed by general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal. Party spokesperson Pradeep Nepal said a majority of those who spoke today were unanimous on 'refining' the issues of the proposed round-table conference. Referring to the last peace talks between the government and the Maoists on the issue of constituent assembly, Nepal said, 'Had the government dealt with the issue of round-table conference as the first point, the talks would have been a success.'

The party was supposed to endorse the proposed road map prepared by the party high command today. However, discussions will continue tomorrow because the central committee members have been arguing their respective cases.'Since the conflict is between the King and the Maoists on the issue of the constituent assembly, they should take the burden of resolving the crisis,' argued Nepal.