Kathmandu: There can be no positive movement on completing the constitution drafting unless the issue of integrating former Maoist rebels into the Army is settled, Nepal’s former prime minister and leader of the opposition CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal said on Monday.
Nepal said the constitution cannot be drafted “under the shadow” of weapons, and outrightly rejected the Maoists’ suggestion that the process of integration and constitution drafting be carried forward in a parallel manner.
“We cannot accomplish the task of drafting the new constitution within the stipulated time frame of May 27 unless the UCPN-Maoist completes the task of integrating their PLA personnel in the national army,” Nepal told reporters at an interaction here. He said once the task of integrating the Maoist combatants is accomplished, the key issues of which form of government to adopt and what form of federal structure to incorporate in the new constitution could be sorted out through negotiations.
“If the Maoists are sincere about implementing the past agreements relating to the peace process, there is no question why the constitution could not be drafted within the set time frame,” he said.
There has been little movement on Nepal’s peace process over the past few years as political parties remain divided over crucial questions.
The integration of the former Maoist rebels and the complete dismantling of the erstwhile Peoples Liberation Army is one of them.
“The Maoist soldiers should be integrated in the army on individual basis by following the norms and standard set by the Nepal Army,” he said. He also cautioned against politicising the national army and underlined the need to maintain the sanctity and professional nature of the Nepal Army while integrating the combatants.
Nepal said the government had lost its relevance as it has failed to deliver basic services to people but his party was not interested in toppling the government at the moment. Nepal said all 28 cantonments where the Maoist combatants are confined must be vacated before taking forward the task of drafting the constitution.
“It is not enough just to vacate 13 cantonments as promised by Maoist chief Prachanda and maintain 15 cantonments”. Nepal’s remarks came in the wake of Prachanda’s assurance to vacate half of the cantonments within a few weeks.
Nepal said for the peace process to succeed Maoists should be prepared to “dissociate” themselves from their weapons. He also stressed the need to follow the Seven-Point Agreement reached among the major political parties, while integrating the Maoist combatants in the Nepal Army.
Nepal also ruled out the possibility of reinstating the Constitution of 1990 that has a provision for constitutional monarchy. “We have moved very far from monarchy and we cannot go back in the political process,” he pointed out.
He also expressed hope that the constitution would be drafted by May 27 as the talks among the major political parties were positive. (PTI)