Parties engage in hectic parleys to hold round-table conference

KATHMANDU, JUL 12 -
With a view to bringing the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist on board the election process, political parties are engaged in hectic back-channel negotiations for holding a round-table conference, while also making preparations to hold the Constituent Assembly election s as scheduled on November 19.

Second rung leaders of the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha are holding bilateral and multilateral talks to finalise the modality of such a conference, while leaders of the major parties are holding regular consultations with CPN-Maoist top guns, leaders said.

“Talks are under way among the parties for holding a round-table conference to address Baidyaji’s demands in a manner that does not hamper the scheduled polls. The focus is on taking the two (talks with Baidya and poll process) side by side,” UCPN (Maoist) Central Committee member Barsha Man Pun said. Pun is one of the key interlocutors in the parleys.

Leaders said they are willing to demonstrate maximum flexibility on technical issues and the modality of the conference to bring the CPN-Maoist on board.

They further said the talks are also centred on whether to include the contentious issues of constitution-making in the round-table conference.

“They (CPN-Maoist leaders) are positive and are willing to hold frank discussions on all the issues,” said Jitendra Narayan Dev, General Secretary of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik.

Leaders privy to the negotiations also maintain that CPN-Maoist leaders have urged them not to “make public any pre-conditions” floated by the party during the inter-party negotiations.

However, parties give differing interpretations of the round-table conference. “We have understood such a conference as a regular platform to hold talks among parties,” said NC leader Gagan Thapa. But leaders of the CPN-Maoist insist that the conference is a mechanism to resolve all the contentious issues. “The round-table conference should endorse a political document, based on which, the parties should move ahead,” said CPN-Maoist Secretary Dev Gurung.

The leaders had discussed the conference in a meeting at the Gokarna Forest Resort in the third week of June.

The meeting was also attended by American conflict expert Professor John Paul Lederach. Lederach, who has been following political negotiations in Nepal for the past five years, had met Baidya, among other leaders, during his recent trip to Kathmandu.

In the High-level Committee meeting on July 7, NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi and UCPN (Maoist) leader Pun had pitched for a round-table conference.

Top leaders had agreed, while the HLPC had said it was ready to hold such a meeting. After the HLPC’s nod to such a conference, the CPN-Maoist had formed a five-member talks team.

After the round-table conference talk started doing the rounds, observers have begun comparing the present idea with the one talked about by the then CPN-Maoist in 2001.

The party’s second national convention had then endorsed the line of around-table conference. The Maoist party had then pitched for such a conference to discuss with the then monarchy and parliamentary parties the prospects of ending the insurgency.

Observers say the difference between the two round-table proposals is that there are multiple stakeholders in national politics now as compared to the year 2001.

“While the idea of having a round-table conference earlier was to bring political forces to their side, this time around it is about giving national ownership

to their agenda. Also, it is about knowing their strength,” said columnist Bishnu Sapkota.

The observers, however, say that whatever the outcome of the conference, it has at least brought the CPN-Maoist to the talks table.

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