Expedite negotiations

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has withdrawn its proposal in the special session of parliament to amend the regulations on the prime minister´s election. The withdrawal came after the two-point agreement among the three major parties -- UCPN(Maoist), NC and UML-- to end the special session and summon a regular one as soon as possible. The three parties have also agreed to take up the prime minister´s election with priority in the regular session. This agreement was a relatively easy one to work out but negotiating a common political course ahead will be extremely difficult. The parties should, however, keep on negotiating in earnest.



We have exactly five months to write the new constitution before the extended deadline of the Constituent Assembly (CA) expires on May 28. But an even more pressing deadline is January 15 -- the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have already reminded UCPN(Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal that UNMIN will exit the country after January 15 as per the terms of the last mandate from the Security Council. Though the UCPN(Maoist) has decided to push for extension of UNMIN´ term once more we wish to advise the party not to spend its energies on a futile attempt. Instead, the Maoists and other parties should start serious consultations on how Nepali actors can do the monitoring job that UNMIN is currently doing.



Nepal´s peace process has always been a homegrown process, and it has come this far not because of the UN or UNMIN but because of the enormous trust among the major political actors and the leadership displayed by them. UNMIN has been just a moral guarantor, which is a big thing of course, but it´s not everything. Agreed that trust among the parties has plummeted but it has not been completely exhausted, as demonstrated by the agreement among the three major parties to end the special session amicably. Nor is the trust deficit irreversible.



We urge the leaders to once again show leadership. If the parties reach an agreement to set up a mechanism to monitor the combatants and their arms in the cantonments after January 15, it will be a big step towards rebuilding trust. It will also send out a huge message to the public that the political leaders are committed to concluding the peace process and writing the constitution. And it might also uplift the spirit and confidence of the leaders themselves. At the end of the day, the political parties must work together as the existing balance of power is such that no one can undermine anyone else. It is, therefore, in the parties´ own best interest to expedite negotiations.

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