Kathmandu , July 20: The Maoists today ruled out any surrender of arms before the Koirala government settles “core political issues”.

Taking part in a programme organised by the United Democratic Front here, the rebel spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara criticised the government for seeking UN help in “decommissioning Maoist arms”. He said the government had jumped the gun by writing to the UN before settling pending issues.

“We strongly oppose any such move. We will not decommission our weapons unless core political issues are settled”, he said. He said the letter sought “decommissioning” of Maoist weapons before any political settlement. “This is unacceptable to us. We came to know about the content of the letter to the UN only through the media yesterday”, he said.

Mahara said the Seven- Party Alliance should clearly state its stand on the monarchy and restructuring of the Nepal Army. he said the Nepal Army continued to be controlled by the Shahs, Ranas, Thapas and Chhetris. “We are ready to give up our arms if the SPA agrees to restructure the Nepal Army to ensure proper representation of the Nepali people,” he said.