Nepal, Maoists keep UN ‘concerned’

UN says it is “deeply concerned” at plans by Nepal’s national army and its Maoist counterpart to recruit new...

The United Nations says it is “deeply concerned” at plans by Nepal’s national army and its Maoist counterpart to recruit new soldiers, four years after the end of a bloody civil war.

Both armies have begun moves to expand their forces in recent weeks, sparking fears of a possible slide back to conflict in the troubled Himalayan nation, which has been without a government for more than a month.

The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) said recruitment by either army would breach the 2006 peace agreement that ended the war between the Maoist guerrillas and the state.

“UNMIN is deeply concerned at reports that the Nepal army and the Maoist army plan to undertake fresh recruitment,” said a statement issued late on Tuesday.

“UNMIN has written to the government and the UCPN-M (Maoist party) advising them to respect past agreements and to act in this matter with good faith towards the United Nations.”

UNMIN was set up in 2007 with a mandate to oversee the peace process, which has faltered in recent years as mistrust between the Maoist party and their political rivals has grown.

Thousands of former Maoist fighters confined to camps around the country after the war are still waiting for an agreement between the parties on integrating them with the national army.

Negotiations on their future have stalled completely since the government collapsed in June under intense pressure from the Maoists, the largest party in parliament.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2010.