Kathmandu, Aug 04: Former Nepalese Prime Minister and leader of Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala has turned down the Maoist offer for talks and said the involvement of the political parties in the peace process was possible only if Parliament was reinstated. Stating that the fresh proposal for talks was aimed at derailing the political parties effort, he said, "We are not going to fall into the trap."
He said parties could get involved in the peace process only if Parliament was reinstated.
"The involvement of the political parties in the peace process as demanded by the Maoists is only possible through the reinstatement of Parliament. "Instead of seeking participation of the individual parties in the talks why not to reinstate the Parliament, which will automatically put the king and the parliamentary forces together to negotiate with the rebels," he told reporters at the central party office at Teku this morning.
The revival of Parliament is also essential to endorse the future agreement with the Maoists as well as to legalize the Maoist organization, he said.
He hinted that the outcome of the talks would be acceptable to the parties only if their 18-point agenda became the baseline for talks. "The talks require a baseline to start with, where the 18-point progressive agenda will play a crucial role to put the talks on the right track," he added. Bureau Report