Sharp disagreements have surfaced among political forces regarding the extension of United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), whose mandate ends on September 15.
Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong told reporters on Saturday, “There are serious questions about UNMIN's neutrality and role. It has been in controversies repeatedly. There is a need for political consensus to think of alternatives to UNMIN.”
The U.N. political mission has been in Nepal since January 2007, monitoring arms and personnel of the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) spread across seven cantonments and 21 satellite camps. UNMIN also monitors a limited number of arms and personnel of the Nepal Army in a barrack in Kathmandu. On the basis of requests by the Nepal government, the Security Council has extended UNMIN's tenure six times beyond its mandate of a year. On Friday, Chief of the Nepal Army (NA), General Chhatra Man Singh Gurung had met Mr. Chemjong and urged him that the government should not seek another extension.
Two sides
General Gurung is reported to have told the Minister that since there are no longer ‘two sides' to the peace process, UNMIN is not needed. Instead, he suggested, that the all party Special Committee for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of former combatants should take over UNMIN responsibilities.
The NA and UNMIN have had a tense relationship, with NA repeatedly saying it should not be under U.N. monitoring. In recent weeks, UNMIN opposed fresh recruitment by the Nepal Army, and subsequently the Maoist Army, as a violation of the peace agreements. The NA also refused to discuss the issue in the U.N.-chaired Joint Monitoring Co-ordination Committee (JMCC), which the Supreme Court had said would be the appropriate forum to discuss disputes related to the peace process.
The Maoists have said that the decision on UNMIN has to be taken by political parties, and the army has no right in the matter. “UNMIN must stay on till the peace process is completed,” said Maoist leader and former deputy commander of PLA, Janardhan Sharma ‘Prabhakar'.
UNMIN sources say they have been putting up alternative proposals for monitoring since March, but the parties have conveyed to them this is not the time to discuss the mission's exit. UNMIN head Karin Landgren told The Hindu , “There has been no progress in the peace process. The Secretary-General looks forward to a timely indication of whether the government and Maoists will request another extension of the mission.”
