| Promises of Peace
The government and the Maoists prepare to sign a comprehensive peace accord declaring officially the cessation of decade-long internal conflict
By A CORRESPONDENT
Moving in line with the time scheduled fixed by the November 8 agreement between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) government and the Maoists, the Peace Committee has submitted a draft of comprehensive national peace accord to the government on Sunday.
Although Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has criticized the government for making the draft public without consulting with them, he has assured that the Maoists and the government would sign it by November 16.
Coordinator of the Committee Ram Chandra Poudel, who is also a general secretary of Nepali Congress (NC), submitted the draft to Home Minister and coordinator of government talks team Krishna Sitaula.
Sitaula later informed that the government itself will submit a copy of the draft to the Maoist leadership. As per the November 8 agreement, the government and the Maoists have to sign the comprehensive peace accord by November 16.
The draft of the peace accord includes provision about formally declaring the end of armed conflict in the country. The draft covers all aspects of ceasefire, human rights and peace.
Likewise, other provisions of the draft include the ones that propose to ban all kinds of activities such as extortion, abduction and movement of Maoist cadres in combat dress and public display of their arms. It also proposes to return properties and lands seized during the conflict and create environment to ease the return of displaced persons, among others. The draft also has provision as per which anyone found violating it would have to face punishment as per the state law.
The Peace Committee, which is headed by general secretary of the Nepali Congress (NC) Ram Chandra Poudel, includes representatives from seven parties as well as other parties represented in the House of Representatives such as Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP), and other faction of People’s Front Nepal (PFN).
If it is signed, the draft peace accord will formally bring to end the hostilities that existed in the country for the past one decade. This will be an eagerly awaited accord for the millions of Nepalis who have been yearning for the quick end to the bloody conflict that had cost not only the lives of 13,000 people but also destroyed precious infrastructures worth billions of rupees.
The Peace Committee is said to have prepared a ten-point draft of the accord, which have been widely discussed by various political parties.
Civil society, human rights organizations and international community have been calling for such a peace accord along with human rights agreement. According to Minister of State Ramesh Lekhak, who is also a member of government talks team, the peace accord will have provisions about protecting human rights. “It is quite a comprehensive document,” said Poudel.
Following the November 8 agreement, there have been rapid developments in the political situation. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala briefed the parliament abou the agreement. He stated that the agreement was aimed at restoring peace and consolidating democracy. “This provides opportunity to the Maoists to become a part of nation-building process,” he said. Koirala claimed that the international community was also surprised with the agreement.
Addressing the parliament, UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal stood by his party’s decision to write note of dissent. “The May 18 declaration of the parliament proves that our note of dissent against the Constitution of 1990 was correct,” he claimed.
The cabinet meeting has already adopted the November 8 agreement between the SPA government and the Maoists. The cabinet also instructed the government talks team to carry forward works related with its implementation. The talks team will have to coordinate with the Maoist talks team to implement the agreement.
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