Nepal - Articles

After the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the Maoists in Nepal, 11 years of political chaos and security instability appear to have come to an end. Unlike attempts at peace in the past decade, the ongoing peace settlement process has reached the implementation stage. Following the comprehensive Peace and Arms Management Accord in November 2006, the interim constitution has been promulgated on 15 January 2007 and the 330-member strong interim parliament including representatives of the Maoists has replaced the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the 35-member UN experts' team for arms management assisted by the Gurkha Interim Task Force (ITF) has already started the registration and storage of Maoist arms at two cantonment sites, in Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts. However, the arms and armies management process require a more cautious approach because of its sensitivity and the possibility of triggering more problems in the future.

UN involvement has brought about a significant impact on the peace process. Although the Maoists were the first to propose UN assistance, the international body's support to the peace-building process helped both the conflicting parties to diffuse their mistrust and has paved the way for a reliable and trusted method of managing arms. There have been allegations that the Maoists were collecting old and useless arms from various sources and submitting them to the UN monitors while hiding caches of their sophisticated weapons. But one has to remember that the Maoists are no longer absolute dependant on weapons to achieve their objectives. They already won their political battle when their agenda of election to the Constituent Assembly also became the national agenda. Now it is the time for them to capitalize on their 'sacrifice' of their arms for more political gains and to compete with the mainstream political parties. Nevertheless, it is important for the rebels to disclose the official record of the arms in their possession to sustain the peace process and to provide evidence to gain credibility and international recognition.

Regarding the management of armies, the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has categorically rejected registration of cadres below 18 years. While appreciating the UN's commitment, it is essential to remember that neither the state nor any other party have effective mechanisms to rehabilitate the child and women soldiers in Nepal. In recent months, the Maoists have been reportedly recruiting commoners under the lure of higher salaries and government jobs in order to keep the real combatants out of the cantonments. This could seriously jeopardize the peace process. As the Maoists have claimed they wish to make a new Nepal through the reconciliation process and want to compete with the other democratic political forces in a healthy manner, they should renounce such tactics and show their sincerity to the peace process. They should also stop the kind of violent activities that they have engaged in during the insurgency such as extortion, abduction and the seizure of properties and adhere to the provisions of the agreements between the government and themselves. The Maoists must allow access to the UN mission to observe their activities, verify and register their soldiers.

So far, there has been no agreement reached between the government and the Maoists on the crucial aspect of the rebels' proposal of downsizing the Nepali Army and incorporation of their cadres into the national security structure. It is imperative to realize that there will be no justification for keeping two militaries after the Maoists joining interim government. While political power sharing has been settled amicably by the parties, reorganization of the military is also expected to be settled with a responsible approach. Although, the UN has played a major role from the beginning of the peace process, the UNMIN has been present here to monitor the arms and armies management and not to facilitate the peace process. So, it is the responsibility of the stakeholders in Nepal to devise their programme to manage arms, reintegrate fighters and reduce the army size. The arms storage and two-phase systematic rebel combatants' verification process has already been in progress and over 2,000 have been registered in two days.

There needs to be a cautious approach particularly when the country is in a transition period. Prevalence of small arms, growing unrest among marginalized groups and recent disturbances in Terai region by the Maoist splinter group Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) are potential threats to sustaining the peace process. It is essential to bear in mind that in this volatile situation chances are high that conflict can recur. Already India and the United States have pressurized the seven-party alliance to include the Maoists in the interim government after they have given up their weapons. On the other hand, China has suggested that the duration of the proposed UNMIN should be of six months, as opposed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's proposal of 12-month duration. Considering the fragile situation in the transition period, external forces should not coerce the parties and allow them to resolve it on their own.