Says he has never met PM on extending UNMIN term

Kathmandu, December 13:

UNMIN chief Ian Martin today said the UN mission would be happy to see the political crisis in Nepal resolved soon and the mission completed in time.

“I and the UNMIN would like to make it clear that we have no intention to stay longer here in Nepal or exceed our mandate. All we want is to see peace restored and the political situation returned to normalcy,” he said while addressing a talk programme on the role of the UN mission in Nepal’s peace process.

He also said that he had not met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on extending UNMIN’s term. “What you hear about my meeting with the prime minister is nonsense. There has not been any such meeting,” he said, adding that UNMIN also does not have any intention to bring peace troops in Nepal.

At the same time, he further said that UNMIN’s wish to play a role in resolving the problem in the Tarai has not crossed the mandate of the mission. “Of course, we showed concern about the situation. As everybody sees, we see that the problem in the Tarai is a major problem and we want the government and other parties concerned solved it in peaceful and democratic way,” he said.

He also pointed out that Nepal lacks an independent body at the national level to monitor the ceasefire and other situation. “We have information on and experience in working in peace processes. And we want to share them with Nepali citizens. I feel we lack such a mechanism for it,” he said.

He also highlighted the activities and the role of UNMIN in monitoring the election preparations and addressing the post-conflict situation in Nepal.

Bishnu Raj Upreti, regional coordinator for South Asian Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, said that UNMIN needs to review its one year of engagement in Nepal, along with its achievements, lessons and weaknesses.

“UNMIN, being a part of the peace process, is also responsible for success or failure of Nepal’s peace process,” he said.