Kathmandu: The US has underlined the need
for the political parties in Nepal to expedite the stalled
peace process, amid deep deadlock among the 22-party ruling
coalition and the main opposition Maoists.
Patrick Moon, the visiting US Deputy Assistant
Secretary for South and Central Asia, asked Nepal`s political
leaders to move forward the reconciliation process in a bid to
meet the crucial deadline for drafting a new constitution by
May end.
The top US official met top leaders, including Prime
Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepali Congress president G P
Koirala and Maoist supremo Prachanda and underlined the need
for government and the opposition parties to expedite the
peace process and step up efforts to frame the constitution by
May 28, a key issue of the November 2006 Comprehensive peace
accord.
The political parties are deadlocked over the Maoists`
demand to rectify the decision of President Ram Baran Yadav,
who reinstated General Rukmangad Katawal, the then Army Chief
dismissed by Maoists Prime Minister Prachanda in May last
year.
Moon pressed the political parties to show flexibility
in a bid end the deadlock in the country as the former rebels
prepared to intensify their anti-government agitation and
enforce a indefinite nationwide shutdown from January 24.
The US official also asked the government and
opposition parties to investigate human rights violations
during the decade-long civil war in the country.
Underlining that human rights remained on top of the
US policy agenda in Nepal, Moon pointed out that the proposed
`Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Disappearance
Commission` should be constituted to address the violations of
human rights.
The US senior official has maintained that human
rights remain the top agenda of the US policy in Nepal.
At least 15,000 people were killed and thousands
displaced during the insurgency led by the Maoists.
The Maoists ended their insurgency and joined
mainstream politics after a 2006 peace deal with the
interim government led by Koirala.
Political tensions have been high in Nepal since a
government led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
resigned last year amid a dispute with the president over the
army chief`s refusal to incorporate former Maoist rebels
fighters into the military.
The Maoists, who have around 40 percent of the seats
in parliament, argue that the president`s move was
unconstitutional and has compromised "civilian supremacy" over
the military.
Prachanda had blamed Gen Katawal for trying to resist
the integration of former rebels into the military as
stipulated under the peace agreement.
PTI
