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Ban, Prachanda discuss peace process

KATHMANDU: United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit. He later met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) at the latter’s office.

The Prime Minister’s advisor for foreign affairs, Hira Bahadur Thapa, said Mr. Ban and Mr. Prachanda discussed Nepal’s peace process and Army integration. Mr. Ban also evinced interest in Nepal sending its soldiers on peace-keeping operations in Somalia and Chad.

Mr. Ban’s visit assumes significance as it is the first major visit of an international figure since the Maoists took over the government’s reins in August. In a statement issued upon arrival, Mr. Ban said: “I have watched with great interest the peace process that began to unfold in 2005 and its achievements. And since taking office, I have given my full personal support to the work of the U.N. in support of the peace process.”

In a recently-published report, Mr. Ban urged Nepal’s political parties to arrive at a consensus on the issue of Army integration. According to the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed between the Seven-Party Alliance and CPN (Maoist), the 19,600-odd Maoist combatants, monitored by the U.N. Mission in Nepal, would be integrated and rehabilitated based on international standards. The main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, and an ally of the ruling party, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, have opposed this move.

Mr. Ban will address the Constituent Assembly on Saturday and will later visit Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha. He is also scheduled to take an aerial view of Mount Everest.

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