Government and UN at loggerheads as peace process falls apart
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – The government of Nepal has decided not to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) when it ends this Friday. The decision was taken despite continuing instability and the possible danger of insurgency by former Maoist guerrillas. Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said that extending the mandate would be an obstacle to the country’s peace process.
According to Nepali media, the decision follows heavy criticism by UNMIN chief Karin Landgren against the government and the country’s political parties. In a recently released report, Landgren criticised the Nepali parliament, which has failed to name a prime minister in six months.
UNMIN chief also noted considerable confusion and disagreement on how, and by whom, monitoring would be conducted after UNMIN left. “It's not clear what will happen after UNMIN withdraws,” she said. In her view, political leaders have done nothing to integrate Maoist guerrillas in the armed forces and have failed to draft a new constitution.
For their part, Maoist guerrillas announced protests to demand an extension of the UN mission until May 2011. Janarjan Sharma, former Maoist minister for peace, told AsiaNews that UNMIN’s departure without any new mechanism to replace it would likely “derail the peace process and the path towards a democratic revolution”.
Peace accords signed in 2006 following the fall of the monarchy called for the integration of former Maoist rebels into the existing armed forces and the drafting of a new constitution.
However, divisions between Maoists, the military and parliament have led to the fall of two governments and brought the country to the brink of economic collapse.
Some 19,000 former Maoist guerrillas are still waiting to be reintegrated into society.
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