Archive ref no: NCA-18797
Communist of Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Central Committee
Press Statement
On the specific situation of power balance of civil war and having seriously and responsively thought on the people’s wishes of peaceful political outlet, it is crystal clear that our party involved into the process of peaceful negotiation with the old state along with the declaration of cease-fire. As seriously and enthusiastically had our party announced ceasefire to find forward going political solution through negotiation, naturally we had expected the same from the old state’s side. While from the very beginning as the people’s liberation army under our leadership had thoroughly complied the letter and spirit of the cease-fire and code of conduct, the Royal Army of the old state continued to violate it. Even after the declaration of the ceasefire, the Royal Army not only mounted unnecessary checks and arrests, but also continued the killing in cool blood of our cadres in Darchula, Makawanpur, Bhojpur, and in different parts of the country including besieging a contingent of People’s Liberation Army stationed peacefully in Kanchanpur and arresting them with arms. These kinds of activities of the Royal Army, seen in the initial stage of declaration of cease-fire had contributed in stumbling seriously on our whishes and enthusiasm as well as of the broad masses of people towards the hope of peaceful political outlet.
Despite that, with a sense of grave responsibility towards the country and the people, the party patiently continued its efforts not let the atmosphere for formal dialogue be muddled. Finally the first round negotiation commenced, and our party presented a minimum political draft at the first meeting. In order to continue the negotiation process strengthening the application aspect of the ceasefire and code of conduct, which was weakened due to undesirable activities of the Royal army, an agreement was reached to limit the Royal Army within perimeters of five Kilometres of its barrack. The Royal Army not only outright rejected this agreement reached in the second round of negotiation, objectively; the government was also changed on its pressure. The negotiation process itself became philistine through this activity and a serious crisis developed on the faith of the possibility of peaceful and forward going political outlet. After the series of communication through letters by the new negotiation team of the old state after a long gap, and in view of the release of our imprisoned Central Committee members and the agreement by the old state to theoretically discuss on the political issues including keeping the Royal Army disciplined, our party again with new hope guided its negotiation team to participate in third round of negotiation.
In the third round of negotiation, the concept paper that the old state presented had not only didn’t address the basic problems facing the country, but only proved their conspiracy of strengthening the feudal retrogression of 4 October with the reformist sugar coating. The "concept paper" failed to even address the demands for a constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy of the main parliamentarian parties, and objectively put an end to the relevance of dialogue, urging us to politically capitulate by handing over our weapons. Our negotiation team thoroughly and seriously rejected that demand and clearly stated that the fourth round of negotiation would be possible only if the old state comes up with new proposal to advance into constituent assembly, otherwise the relevance of the negotiation would be finished. At the very moment that debate was going on at the third stage negotiation table, at the very moment the Royal Army killed 17 unarmed cadres of our party involved in an area committee meeting and two ordinary people in cool blooded one by one after taking into custody, fwith their hands tied behind their back, at Doramba of Ramechhap district. Hence, objectively, both the "concept paper" of the old state presented at the third round of negotiation politically, and the massacres of the 19 people in Doramba by the Royal Army militarily, have declared the calling off of the negotiation process. Now shedding a crocodile’s tear through unclear harping of being committed to the peace negotiation is only a serious dishonesty and stupidity of the old state as an attempt to confuse the people and the country.
It is obvious to all that our Party is a revolutionary Party fighting for a people’s republic. In order to stop the raising danger against national sovereignty of Nepal by foreign activities and interventions mounted through old state, and to fulfil the wishes of peace of the masses of people, we, having suspended the People’s Republic as an immediate slogan from the table of dialogue, came to the universal method of solving problems through constituent assembly. The slogan of constituent assembly is not any communist revolutionary slogan. We do not see any reason, to be stumbled to go into the constituent assembly, for those whoever believe that the people are the sovereign power. The protest of constituent assembly and urge to put unchanging basis in the constitution simply prove the fact that the old state has no faith over people. The meaning of our stand on the constituent assembly is to establish the sovereign right of the people in selecting and handling political system and not to let it be belittled that in any condition. In the present situation while there is triangular power struggle going on, and because of that, as the danger over national independence is being mounted, no other means could be most in favour of the country and most scientific than to give the total right to the people to decide themselves. The paradox is, they would rather see the country ruined than make the people sovereign through election of the constituent assembly. The old state is ready to bow down to the foreign powers and ready to drench themselves in the people’s blood on their backing, but is not ready to accept the people as sovereign.
In this context, it becomes clear that there is no other alternative than for the Nepalese people to resist the country-selling, anti people and autocratic activities of the old state, and for struggle for national independence and their own sovereign right. Therefore, because the old state ended the possibility of forward going solution through the present cease fire and dialogue on the style of ‘giving lip-service for peace and backstabbing knife in practice’, our party, for immediate period wants to clarify that the relevance of ceasefire, code of conduct and negotiation process have become irrelevant and finished. Our party wants to thank and offer gratitude to all the mediators of the negotiation, many political parties of the country, human right organisations and institutions, intellectuals, and broad masses of people or many friends outside the country, who were striving to solve problems through peace process, and expresses its commitment to extend constant interactions and advance mutual relation. We will not close the door of negotiation from our side. On the condition to establish people’s sovereign right and basic interest, we will again sit in negotiation. Our party makes humble appeal to all pro people forces and communities within and outside of the country to help in creating such situation and atmosphere.
27 August 2003
S/d
Prachanda
Chairman
CPN (Maoist)
Central Committee