Maoist army has significant number of minors: Ian Martin
Head of the United Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), Ian Martin, has said that a significant number of Maoist combatants are minors.
''There are significant numbers (of Maoist soldiers) who were (found to be) below 18 on the qualifying date,'' Martin told NDTV.com in an exclusive interview. He said his analysis is based on UNMIN’s verification process completed in four of the seven cantonments of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
However, he refused to give any further details of the percentage of minors in the PLA, ''I am not going to give you numbers (percentage), because although we provided the numbers to the Government and to the Maoists, we have not made those public until the completion of the verification,'' Martin, who gave special briefing to the UN Security Council in New York on Friday, said.
The UNMIN chief also described the current situation in Nepal as ‘serious’ and emphasised that the parties reaffirm their commitment to holding constituent assembly polls.
''It is very important moment for parties not just to reaffirm their commitment to holding the Constituent Assembly election and do what is necessary to create the right climate for that, but also to look at why there has been growing mistrust between them and why quite a significant number of the commitments, agreements that have been reached within the peace process have not been implemented,'' NDTV.com quoted him as saying.
This applies not only to some of the regional peace process agreements but also to the agreements that the government negotiated with the Madeshi representatives, he observed.
Commenting on the Maoist demands for fully proportional election system and announcement of republic from the parliament, Martin said, ''Both of those are reversals of positions which the Maoists as well as the other parties agreed in the interim constitution where the final decision on Monarchy was to be taken by the Constituent Assembly and where a mixed system of election was agreed upon. One also then has to go on to ask what led the Maoist to put forward those demands.”
He added, ''Many analysts believe that it because that they felt themselves to be in a weak position to face an election, but also I think because there were significant pressure within the Maoist movement coming out of criticism how far the agreement reached did not meet the concerns of the Maoist.”
Asked about his observation of the role of India and China in Nepal, Martin said both the Nepal's neighbours are interested in having a stable, democratic Nepal.
''I do not think there is any conflict of interest between India and China on the issue of Nepal. The peace process is genuinely supported by China and India and the international community.'' nepalnews.com mk Oct 29 07
Related News
- UNSC urges Nepal to set early date for election
