Kathmandu, Aug 05: Nepal's five main political parties today formally announced they would not join peace talks with Maoist rebels.
Their decision came at a four-hour meeting of party leaders in Kathmandu after Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa made a fresh appeal to them to join the peace process. "The upcoming talks with the Maoist rebels will essentially dwell on their political agenda," Thapa said in a speech broadcast on state television and radio late yesterday. "The next round of talks could pave way for progressive political reform... And successful peace talks demand cooperation from one and all specially from the political parties," he said.

Last week rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda (the fierce), said the parties should be included. But the parties are boycotting Thapa's government as they object to King Gyanendra's sacking of the elected Prime Minister in October, after which he appointed royalist Lokendra Bahadur Chand and postponed elections.

Chand resigned in may and the King replaced him with Thapa. The parties are demanding an all-party government or fresh elections.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist and Leninist (NCP-UML), said they welcomed the Maoist proposal, but they would not join the talks. "A meaningful dialogue will only be possible after the formation of an all-party government," he said.



"If we agreed to participate in the Maoist-government peace dialogues, it would mean extending recognition to the Thapa government," said Nepali Congress spokesman Arjun Narsingh.

Bureau Report