Saorsa
7th September 2010, 02:58
PM talks UNMIN mandate with army chief
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN
KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Despite strong opposition from the UCPN (Maoist), the government is all set to send a request to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to renew the term of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for four months with mandate that no longer allows the mission to monitor the Nepal Army.
According to a highly-placed source, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal reached a decision to this effect on Monday a few hours after the cabinet authorized him to decide on the future of UNMIN, the UN political mission that has been monitoring the peace process here since January 2007.
Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong told myrepublica.com that the government is likely to send the request to the UNSC on Tuesday when the UNSC is meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to discuss Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon´s report on progress in the peace process.
Analysts say if the government sends such a request, it will put the UNSC in a difficult position and may force it to even pass a special resolution. It has been learnt that foreign ministry officials and Nepali ambassador to the UN Gyan Chandra Acharya have already cautioned the government over this.
Before reaching his conclusion, Prime Minister Nepal had held a "final" meeting with Minister Chemjong, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, Defense Minister Bidhya Bhandari, Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Defense Secretary Nabin Ghimire and army chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung on Monday evening.
Earlier in the afternoon, the prime minister had called a meeting of the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants to learn the views of committee members on term renewal for the UN political mission.
http://myrepublica.com/news_images/5124.jpg
At the meeting, Maoist representatives Barshaman Pun and Janardan Sharma had told the prime minister that the current mandate of UNMIN should be extended for six more months with continuity for its current mandate.
"The Nepal Army should not be taken off monitoring by UNMIN, given the present transitional situation in the country," said Pun, emerging from the meeting at Singha Durbar. "We are ready to settle at a political level the problems that the army has faced due to monitoring by UNMIN."
Pun indicated that his party would be ready to allow the army to import arms and ammunition for training and peace-keeping purposes if the army felt handicapped due to UNMIN monitoring.
Pun also said his party would not accept any move to remove the army from UNMIN monitoring. "Such a step, if taken, will send a message to the people that the country is returning to conflict."
"UNMIN is here to monitor both the armies. If one is taken off monitoring, it means UNMIN will leave the country," he further said, indicating that his party would send a separate request to the UNSC if the government reduces the mandate of UNMIN.
At the meeting, all members except the Maoist ones had suggested to the prime minister, who is also head of the Special Committee, that UNMIN should no longer be allowed to monitor the army under any to-be-renewed term.
Nepali Congress representative on the committee Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, justifying the need to take the army off UNMIN monitoring, argued that there is no situation of conflict in the country and the concept of "two sides" ceased to exist when the Interim Legislature-Parliament was constituted in February 2007.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=23039
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN
KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Despite strong opposition from the UCPN (Maoist), the government is all set to send a request to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to renew the term of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for four months with mandate that no longer allows the mission to monitor the Nepal Army.
According to a highly-placed source, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal reached a decision to this effect on Monday a few hours after the cabinet authorized him to decide on the future of UNMIN, the UN political mission that has been monitoring the peace process here since January 2007.
Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong told myrepublica.com that the government is likely to send the request to the UNSC on Tuesday when the UNSC is meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to discuss Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon´s report on progress in the peace process.
Analysts say if the government sends such a request, it will put the UNSC in a difficult position and may force it to even pass a special resolution. It has been learnt that foreign ministry officials and Nepali ambassador to the UN Gyan Chandra Acharya have already cautioned the government over this.
Before reaching his conclusion, Prime Minister Nepal had held a "final" meeting with Minister Chemjong, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, Defense Minister Bidhya Bhandari, Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Defense Secretary Nabin Ghimire and army chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung on Monday evening.
Earlier in the afternoon, the prime minister had called a meeting of the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants to learn the views of committee members on term renewal for the UN political mission.
http://myrepublica.com/news_images/5124.jpg
At the meeting, Maoist representatives Barshaman Pun and Janardan Sharma had told the prime minister that the current mandate of UNMIN should be extended for six more months with continuity for its current mandate.
"The Nepal Army should not be taken off monitoring by UNMIN, given the present transitional situation in the country," said Pun, emerging from the meeting at Singha Durbar. "We are ready to settle at a political level the problems that the army has faced due to monitoring by UNMIN."
Pun indicated that his party would be ready to allow the army to import arms and ammunition for training and peace-keeping purposes if the army felt handicapped due to UNMIN monitoring.
Pun also said his party would not accept any move to remove the army from UNMIN monitoring. "Such a step, if taken, will send a message to the people that the country is returning to conflict."
"UNMIN is here to monitor both the armies. If one is taken off monitoring, it means UNMIN will leave the country," he further said, indicating that his party would send a separate request to the UNSC if the government reduces the mandate of UNMIN.
At the meeting, all members except the Maoist ones had suggested to the prime minister, who is also head of the Special Committee, that UNMIN should no longer be allowed to monitor the army under any to-be-renewed term.
Nepali Congress representative on the committee Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, justifying the need to take the army off UNMIN monitoring, argued that there is no situation of conflict in the country and the concept of "two sides" ceased to exist when the Interim Legislature-Parliament was constituted in February 2007.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=23039