The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction sent the fourth letter in connection with the monitoring related UN equipment and logistics on Tuesday, after it found that the third letter, sent on the basis of a December 19 consensus decision of the Special Committee, was silent about the user of the equipment requested by the government from UNMIN. [break]
The government plans to use the UN equipment, currently being used by UNMIN for monitoring of the Nepal Army and the Maoist combatants, on loan.
The government wrote one after another letter because they did not answer UNMIN´s conditions for transfer of its monitoring assets. UNMIN has maintained that the request for monitoring equipment should be agreed between the government and the UCPN (Maoist) besides specifying the user of such equipments after transfer.
But a source at the office of the Special Secretariat told Republica that the government had identified the Special Committee as the user of such equipments as per its terms and conditions that was unanimously agreed when Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was the head of the committee in 2009.
“The terms and conditions of the Special Committee say that the Special Committee will monitor the arms and armies,” said a knowledgeable source.
The letters have left UNMIN in confusion. According to a source at UNMIN, UNMIN top officials discussed the letters on Wednesday. The political mission is likely to reply stating that it needs consensus letters from the government and the Maoists for the transfer of monitoring equipments.
Taskforce meets
The first meeting of the six-member taskforce formed to offer suggestions to the political parties on peace process issues after UNMIN´s departure could not make any headway after the UCPN (Maoist) proposed to extend the term of UNMIN and sought to keep the Nepal Army under the monitoring of an agreed mechanism.
“The UCPN (Maoist) representatives in the taskforce continued to stick to their stance that the term of the UNMIN be extended and the national army also be monitored,” said a member of the taskforce.
A meeting of the Special Committee called prior to the taskforce meeting was put off in expectation that the informal mechanism would come up with some suggestions.
The taskforce and the Special Committee are expected to meet on Thursday.
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