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Arms
registration and storage concluded in western Nepal - UN envoy
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New
York, 12 February 2007 (United Nations News Service)
Arms
registration and storage by United Nations monitors in the western part
of Nepal has now been concluded, the world body's senior envoy to the Himalayan
country confirmed today.
Ian
Martin, the Special Representative of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, made
the announcement following a visit Friday to cantonment sites of the Maoist
People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Kailali and Surkhet.
He
arrived at Kailali just as UN teams were registering and storing the arms
of a final group of about 100 of the combatants based at the PLA seventh
main cantonment site. He was joined on the ground by the senior UN arms
monitor, General Jan Erik Wilhelmsen.
Under
the procedures established by agreement between the Government and Communist
Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), the arms were catalogued and bar-coded by
registration teams before being stored on racks inside cargo containers.
The containers are locked and subject to round-the-clock UN monitoring.
Arms
storage at Surkhet, which Mr. Martin toured later in the day, had been
completed on Thursday.
The
envoy was received at Kailali by Commander Prajwal of the PLA and at Surkhet
by Commander Pratik. Both expressed complaints of inadequate living conditions
in the cantonments.
"With
only two sites to go in the East, arms registration and storage is now
approaching its conclusion, and that will be an important staging post
in the peace process. But the conditions in the cantonments are lagging
behind. I intend to raise these concerns with the Government," Mr. Martin
said.
He
was accompanied in his delegation by two UN experts in the disposal of
mines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordinance. He was joined
also by B.B. Gurung, Commander of the Interim Task Force.
Composed
of Nepali ex-servicemen from the Indian and British armies, the Interim
Task Force has played a critical role in supplementing the advance group
of UN arms monitors sent pending full deployment of the UN Mission in Nepal
(UNMIN).
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Location:
Chitwan, Nepal
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Source:
United Nations News Service 2007
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UN
envoy hails planned political talks, voices concern at reported attacks
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New
York, 12 February2007 (United Nations News Service)
The
United Nations envoy in Nepal today warmly welcomed planned talks between
the Government, the country's indigenous peoples and the southern Nepalese
who live in the dispute-wracked Terai region, but he also expressed deep
concern at reports of recent attacks against political parties in the west
of the country.
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, Ian Martin, who heads the UN Political
Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), also reiterated the importance of all Nepalese
society being involved in this year's planned elections, as the Himalayan
country seeks to build on last year's historic peace deal with the Maoists
aimed at ending 10 years of civil war.
"I
am pleased to begin today by welcoming the dialogue that is to take place
between the Government team and representatives not only of Madhesi organisations
but also of Janajatis," he said in a press statement, referring respectively
to the southern Nepalese or Madhesis and the country's indigenous people.
"The
United Nations has stressed the importance of all groups, including women
and Dalits (low-cast Hindus) as well as Madhesis and Janajatis, feeling
that they will be adequately represented in the historic decisions to be
made about the future of Nepal through the Constituent Assembly," he said,
calling on all concerned to promote these legitimate demands through peaceful
dialogue.
Mr.
Martin said that despite the recent disturbances in the Terai, UNMIN remained
focused on its core task of managing the arms belonging to the Communist
Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) and the Government, as stipulated in last
November's peace deal between the two sides. In particular, he said he
was satisfied with the monitoring of weapons at Kailali and Surkhet in
the west, although there was still work to do.
"During
this week we will test the installation of 24-hour closed-circuit television
surveillance," he noted. "An urgent issue is the safe disposal or storage
of improvised explosive devices - mostly socket bombs - as well as the
dismantling of Nepal Army minefields, and we now have two UN experts advising
us and beginning discussions with the parties about how to proceed."
Mr.
Martin said he expected the number of UN monitors to climb to 66 by the
end of this week from the current 48, adding that more equipment would
also be arriving soon. He stressed that the UN wanted to see a peaceful,
inclusive election, and expressed concern at reports of some voter rolls
being seized and of attacks on two political parties in western Nepal.
"The
United Nations can only regard an electoral process as credible if people
of all opinions are able to organize and campaign free of violence or intimidation,"
he said. "I am therefore extremely concerned at reports of attacks on two
political parties seeking to exercise their rights in Lamjung and Tanahun
Districts, respectively, on Saturday."
The
envoy said UNMIN and OHCHR (the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights) will be closely monitoring the extent to which all parties respect
the rights of others. At the same time, he called on them "to agree on
an effective independent national monitoring body with which we can work."
The
Security Council established UNMIN last month, giving it a 12-month mandate
that can be terminated or extended depending on a request from the Government.
So far the initial team of monitors have been registering and storing weapons
of the former combatants, and have been supported by an Interim Task Force
- composed of Nepali ex-servicemen from the Indian and British armies -
pending full deployment of the UN mission.
Source:
United Nations News Service 2007
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