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Arms Of Discord Will the nudging by the UN help to settle the thorny issue of arms management soon?
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
After holding the first round of meetings with the representatives of the government, the political parties and the Maoists, the visiting team of the United Nations urged all sides to come up with a common position regarding how the world body can help in the management of arms before the team leaves for New York on Thursday.
As the UN makes the first tentative steps towards involving in the peace process in Nepal , it seems to have encountered the lack of uniform voice about its perceived role among different players here.
As the issue of arms management has become the single most sticking point in taking the peace process forward, the nudging by the UN could compel the political actors to bury their differences.
The fundamental difference on the issue of arms management seems to be the way the armies of the state and the Maoists are perceived by different actors. While the government, political parties and the international community have said that Nepalese Army (NA) should not be treated on a par with Maoist Army, the Maoist leaders think otherwise. As such the latter are miffed at the growing demands of segregating their army and the weapons before they are inducted in the interim administration.
Talking with the UN team leader Staffan de Mistura early this week, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala reiterated that the Maoists could join the interim government only after decommissioning their weapons. He said the Nepali Army could be confined in barracks and Maoists militia separated from their weapons.
This is where the Maoists vehemently differ. Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said that his party’s army cannot be separated from their weapons until the elections to Constituent Assembly are held. Talking to Kantipur Television recently, he said that his party would abide by the eight-points agreement, which calls for UN monitoring of both the armies in a similar method.
Given such a situation, it is hard to comprehend how the two sides would be able to bury their differences before Mistura leaves for New York , where he is expected to submit his assessment report to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Mistura has already said that ‘an opportunity would be missed’ if such a common position is not reached by the stipulated time.
“Hopefully, we will get from all sides an understanding on a minimum common denominator, which will help us to present to the UN Secretary General the position of Nepal regarding the arms management issue,” he said after meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Subas Nemwang.
The UN team is also reported to have put forth their formula of arms management during their meeting with the Peace Committee. According to Ram Chandra Poudel, who heads the committee, the team forwarded a proposal whereupon Nepalese the Army would be confined to the barracks, weapons would be taken away from the Maoist militants and kept in a armory. Such an armory would be locked and the keys would be in two or three hands even as the Maoist army would be confined in their camps.
In the backdrop of UN team’s timetable – they refused to term it as ultimatum - the government’s and the Maoists’ have started homework to present a common position on arms management. “We will try to give our viewpoint till the time of the UN team’s departure,” said Pradeep Gyawali, a member of the government talks team. Likewise, Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said that they were trying to forge a package understanding on all political issues including the arms management.
The UN team, in an effort to “talk and listen,” met with broad spectrum of political actors. They also met with Maoist chairman Prachanda and his deputy Dr. Baburam Bhattarai last week. During the meeting, Maoist leaders put forth their position regarding issues such as arms management and peace process. “The meeting was positive. We will be seeking UN assistance in technical matters (of peace process) wherever required,” Prachanda said after the meeting.
“We asked many questions, because from our point of view, the important side of the mission is to learn and acquire as much information as possible about the points of view of everyone, also of their concerns,” Mistura said after meeting the Maoist leadership.
It was during the time of UN team’s stay in Kathmandu that the Maoists extended their ceasefire by three more months. Though things are moving rapidly, it is still not clear how the issue of arms management and that of the overall peace process move forward in the days to come.
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