First Stage Completed
The preliminary stage of the arms and armies management in all the seven cantonment sites have been completed
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
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Un Officials registering combatants : First phase completed |
A day after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala told a visiting delegation of German MPs that the Maoists will be inducted in the interim government only after the United Nations informs him about the completion of arms management, the UNMIN chief Ian Martin reported to the representatives of talks teams of the government as well as the Maoists, on Monday (Feb 19), informing them about the completion of weapons registration and first stage of combatants’ registration at all the seven cantonment sites.
Martin submitted his report at the tripartite meeting held at the Peace Secretariat. The report was handed over to member of government talks team Minister Pradip Gyawali and coordinator of Maoist talks team Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
With the completion of the first stage of the arms management, all eyes are now upon the Prime Minister on when he will actually invite the Maoist representatives to join the interim government.
Maoist chairman Prachanda has already publicly said that if his party is not inducted in the interim government within a week, it will be impossible to hold the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections on time. And holding of the CA on time (by mid-June) appears mighty important to the Maoist leadership, which has made repeated threats that they would unleash urban revolt in case there is any delay in the CA polls.
However, the government is still uncomfortable about the huge number of weapons of the Maoists that have remained outside the storage containers ostensibly to provide security to the central leaders of the Maoists.
Just last week, the policemen posted at Singhdurbar gate discovered guards of Maoist MPs carrying weapons into the central secretariat.
It is now time for PM Koirala to take a careful look at the UN report along with discussing about the ways to manage the weapons held back by the Maoists if he wants to ensure credible management of arms.
In their earlier statements, the envoys of India and the United States have clearly stated that they would want to see credible arms management before the Maoists are taken into the interim government.
The US ambassador James Moriarty has gone on to accuse that the Maoists were actually buying crummy guns from India to store them in the weapons while keeping more sophisticated arms with themselves. The American envoy has been saying that he stands by his remarks despite sharp rebuttal by the Maoists.
All the while the Maoist leadership is getting anxious to join the interim government. As per the November
According to the November 8 agreement between the seven parties and the Maoists, interim cabinet should have been formed by December 1. However, the delay in the start of the process of arms management pushed back a number of time lines. The interim constitution, which should have been promulgated by November 26 could be adopted only on January 15.
Apart from the Prime Minister and seven parties, the formation of the interim government is going to prove a crucial test for the Maoist leadership also. The Maoists continue to face accusations of intimidations, threats, physical actions and abductions even after it has joined the mainstream parliament, there are ample reasons. How they will conduct once they become a part of the government remains to be seen.
But as the Lahan incident exposed – where the firing by a Maoist cadre led to the death of a Madhesi agitator igniting widespread unrest – even a single incident could become so sensitive and dangerous. Any incomplete arms management is likely to spell trouble not only for the people but the Maoist themselves, who will then have to answer to the international community even.
