UN help requested in bolstering peace process

The government of Nepal has asked the UN for help with the ongoing peace process, in particular with reorganising the army and overseeing the ceasefire, the organisation said on Wednesday. “The United Nations has received an official request from the Nepalese government to offer support to the ongoing peace process,” said Junko Sazaki, acting UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. “We are looking forward to extending our support in response to emerging needs throughout the country,” said Sazaki, who received the request in the form of a letter from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. She added that the letter would immediately be forwarded to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been closely following developments in Nepal. According to senior officials from Nepal’s interim government, assistance is being sought from the UN to demobilise parts of the rebel People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and merge it with the national army. In addition, the government also wants the UN’s help to monitor the ongoing mutual ceasefire, officials said. The Maoists - who have been waging an armed rebellion against the Nepalese state for the last 10 years - halted their offensive following a ceasefire declared in April. They have since been talking to the interim government, which was formed in April by seven national parties following the end of direct rule by Nepalese monarch King Gyanendra. The seven parties have agreed to allow the rebels to join the interim government as well as to hold national elections to the Constituent Assembly. In a bid to show Maoist commitment to the peace process, rebel leader Prachanda called on Maoist cadres throughout the country to stop the practice of collecting “donations” and “taxes” by force from rural people. The Maoists have recently been criticised by the seven parties for continuing to run a parallel government by extorting money and goods from civilians and the business community while participating in the peace process. The seven parties are also pressing for the Maoists to disarm before joining the interim government and to ensure this happens well ahead of any elections. “We all want peaceful elections to the Constituent Assembly and only disarmament can make that possible,” said Madhav Nepal, leader of the Unified Marxist Leninists (UML), the country’s second largest party.