Top brass meeting soon on army integration disputes

Kathmandu, Dec 26, A meeting of the three major parties Monday decided that it needed additional discussions on army integration. After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and government spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha told the reporters that a meeting of the top leaders would be held soon to sort out differences. "The meeting agreed to hold a meeting of the high level leaders for intensive discussion on army integration," Shrestha told the reporters. He said that even after the completion of the regrouping of the Maoist combatants, army integration process was not moving as desired and the high level meeting was expected to resolve some misunderstanding on integration. According to DPM Shrestha, the meeting also agreed to sit again to discuss the bill on truth and reconciliation commission. A bill to form the commission has already been tabled in the parliament. An informal committee of three parties formed to study the bill has also prepared its report. Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narasingh KC said that the meeting also evaluated the six and 7-point agreements which were not implemented. KC, who was present in the meeting, said that his party clearly put its view about its suspicion whether the peace process would be obstructed as the two deadlines fixed to conclude the peace processes elapsed without doing any expected homework. He also said that the meeting agreed to hold a meeting of the top leaders of the three parties to discuss about the bill tabled in the parliament for the formation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission. According to KC, NC leaders asked the Maoists how they were using the unregistered vehicles. "Past agreements have only been piling up without implementation, the Maoist leaders look positive in words but not in deeds," he said. UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda left the meeting hall after an hour. Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, NC president Sushil Koirala, UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal, NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Dr. Minendra Rijal, Bhim Rawal and others were present in the meeting.