It's getting late

It is strange that the political parties are not talking, or negotiating if you will, though UNMIN´s departure--on January 15-- is just five days away. When the big three parties met last week to discuss precisely this issue, they couldn´t agree on a mechanism to take up UNMIN´s monitoring role-- monitoring of management of arms and armies. Though the Maoist leaders initially tried to push for UNMIN´s term extension, by the end of the meeting they had become reconciled to the fact that UNMIN was indeed going. They even agreed to meet again and finalize the alternative mechanism for the monitoring. Since then no one seems to be taking initiative for the next meeting, as if there is nothing to be negotiated and agreed before UNMIN packs up and leaves.



We urge the parties to resume talks as soon as possible and take up the issue where they left off the last time. One of the sticking points then was this: Which body should assume UNMIN´s monitoring role? The NC and UML had proposed to hand over the role to the Special Committee, a body envisioned by the constitution to oversee the management, control and integration of Maoist combatants. The Maoists did not have a concrete proposal on the table, but they were flirting with the idea of a separate committee comprising leaders from the major parties.



We don´t think that´s a good idea, for at least for two reasons. First, such a committee will not be as powerful as the Special Committee, which has been formed as per the constitution, and as the Special Committee has representation of the major parties including Maoists, forming yet another committee will only be duplication. Secondly, the Special Committee has a Secretariat, which will soon have enough human and financial resources for the monitoring job as well, so replicating it (or creating a similar one) will only be a waste of resources.



It´s up to the parties to agree a workable mechanism but for that they need to first sit and negotiate. And the environment for negotiating such a mechanism has become all the more conducive. Not only do the Maoists seem resigned to the fact that UNMIN is finally going, but the vitriolic propaganda by some so-called civil society members and a section of the media that UNMIN´s exit will provoke war is also subsiding. If the parties wanted war, UNMIN´s meager presence would not have been able to stop them, nor will UNMIN´s absence automatically push the parties along a confrontational path. UNMIN´s exit, on the contrary, will make the parties feel more responsible and place the onus on them to complete the peace process successfully. Nepal´s peace process is a homegrown initiative and only the determination of Nepal´s political parties can bring it to a successful conclusion.

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