Kathmandu, December 3:

Maoist chairman Prachanda said today that the peace process and constituent assembly election are inseparable and that the CA election cannot materialise without fully complying with the agreements reached in the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA).

He also accused the ruling parliamentary parties of “forgetting” the spirit of the 12-point understanding, which, according to him, expresses commitment to move the peace process and political process simultaneously.

“When we signed the CPA on November 21 last year, I had said we have entered a new mainstream politics. But PM GP Koirala said he brought the terrorists into a mainstream politics. His statement was the starting point of political deadlock that is yet to be resolved,” Prachanda said.

He said this while addressing a programme organised by a Joint Struggle Coordination Committee of 25 organisations for democratic federal republic and full proportional system of election.

He said that the peace process would not move ahead without ‘adjustment’ of the People’s Liberation Army into the national force and democratisation of the Nepali Army. He said CPA has stated about those issues.

Prachanda also made it clear that they raised the issues of declaring the country a republic and full proportional system of election after the CA polls scheduled for June was deferred.

He accused the NC leadership of being status quoist even though it expressed commitment to a republican order.

Addressing the function, NC vice president and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chanda Poudel said that his party was in favour of a republic but wanted to institutionalise it through a verdict of the sovereign people.

On full proportional system of election, Poudel said that the ethnic communities had different understanding on PR system than that of the understanding of the UML and the Maoists.

CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal hoped that they would be able

to reach an understanding on the issue of republic and the election system soon. He asked the NC leadership to take seriously the parliamentary directive on republic and election system.

Amik Serchan, president of the Janamorcha Nepal, and Narayan Prasad Acharya of the United Left Front said that MMPR (Mixed-Member Proportional Representation) was the meeting point between the stances of the NC and the Maoists. Sitaram Tamang of the CPN (Unified), however, stressed the need to go for all out republic and full PR system for CA polls.

First things first

• CPA had agreed to deal with the peace process and political process together

• Adjustment of Peoples’ Liberation Army into the national force and democratisation of Nepal Army must for CA polls

• Issue of declaration of republic and fully proportionate representation in CA raised after deferral of polls scheduled for mid-june