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Ian
Martin on the present situation
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Kathmandu
26 October 2007 (United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI)
Nepal's
Seven-Party Alliance should be safeguarded and the commitment by its parties
to holding elections for the Constituent Assembly reaffirmed, said Ian
Martin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Nepal, at a
press briefing this afternoon at United Nations Headquarters.
Such
a reaffirmation was necessary to reassure the people of Nepal, and the
international community that was supporting the peace process there, that
the process remained on track, he said. This would require not just setting
what would be a third date for the Constituent Assembly elections, but
the commitment to a realistic road map, including creating appropriate
public security conditions.
"I
think the people of Nepal are worried - dismayed - by the disagreements
they see at the moment among political parties," Mr. Martin said. "They
expect their leaders to deliver on their promise to hold Constituent Assembly
elections on the way to a newly inclusive Nepal and to durable peace."
The
Maoists had demanded the immediate declaration of a republic from the current
interim legislature rather than from a future elected Constituent Assembly,
and that the electoral system for the Constituent Assembly elections should
be fully proportional, rather than the mixed system to which they'd previously
agreed, he said. These two demands were currently before the interim legislature,
which was currently adjourned due to a national holiday and would reconvene
on 29 October.
Mr.
Martin said the current crisis was not limited to these two demands and
the inability to reach an agreement on them, however, but stemmed from
"growing mistrust" among the parties to the peace agreement. That mistrust
was related to failures on both sides to implement commitments and agreements
that had been made within the peace process. There had also been a failure
to implement agreements that the Government had reached with representatives
of marginalized communities in Nepal. These groups had increasingly pressed
their claims for inclusion in the Constituent Assembly process and State
structures, he added.
He
stressed that one failure of particular relevance to the United Nations
Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) related to the future of the Maoist combatants
who were confined to cantonment sites and whom UNMIN was mandated to monitor.
Although the cantonment of Maoist combatants and restriction of the Nepal
army to its barracks had been intended as temporary measures aimed at assisting
the creation of confidence for the election, they had continued for 11
months "with no end in sight".
Suggesting
this was unacceptable, he underlined the view expressed in the Secretary-General's
recent report on the request of Nepal for United Nations assistance in
support of its peace process (Publication S/2007/612) that a prolonged stay
in cantonments of thousands of mainly young people living under difficult
conditions and lacking clarity about their future was not a sustainable
situation. It also left UNMIN with no exit strategy in terms of its arms-monitoring
role.
He
noted that the special committee that had been intended under the peace
agreement to decide the future of these Maoist combatants, and that had
formed in May had held only a single meeting in July and could not proceed
now that the Maoists had now withdrawn from the interim Government. UNMIN
was not aware of any steps that had been taken towards the action plan
required under the peace agreement for the democratization of the Nepal
Army, determining its appropriate size and building its inclusive character.
Meanwhile,
intimidation, violence and extralegal activities of the young Communist
league had badly eroded public confidence that the Maoists were willing
to enter a genuinely democratic process, he said. The increasing tendency
of some within the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to regard street insurgency
as an option if their demands were not met was also deeply worrying.
In
light of all of this, and in addition to a reaffirmation to the holding
the Constituent Assembly elections, Mr. Martin said the parties needed
to take stock of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and its implementation,
with a view to strengthening it. He said he had been encouraged when, during
a meeting just before his departure from Kathmandu, Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala had said he intended to review the implementation of agreements.
The Prime Minister had also intended to consult other political parties
with a view to requesting an extension of UNMIN's mandate, which was scheduled
to expire on 22 February 2008. Security Council discussions yesterday suggested
such a request would be favourably received, he said.
Responding
to a question about the involvement of India and China in Nepal's peace
process, Mr. Martin said both countries were extremely supportive of the
peace process and had lent a great deal of support to the preparations
for the Constituent Assembly elections. He underlined that technical preparations
had been on track and were being managed by an election commission that
had been widely recognized for its competence and integrity. He said it
was a positive situation that no real tensions existed amongst neighbours
or Member States regarding the peace process and emphasized that the Security
Council was unanimously supportive of UNMIN.
To
a question about how the recent political developments affected plans for
the United Nations to put a regional centre for peace and disarmament in
Nepal, Mr. Martin said those plans were the result of a long-standing commitment
to move it from its temporary home in New York to Nepal. There was no relation
between that plan and Nepal's own peace process.
Notice:
For information media - not an official record
Source:
UNMIN 2007, United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI)
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