Kathmandu, August 10, 2006

Political parties’ leaders are going ga-ga over the govt, Maoists missives to the United Nations.

Addressing a talk programme in the capital today, political party leaders hailed yesterday’s five point agreement between the government and the Maoists, which sought the United Nations’ assistance for the peace process and election to a constituent assembly.

Nepali Congress general secretary Ramchandra Poudel termed “positive” the separate missives, with the same content, sent to the UN by the government and the Maoists and asked them to take more confidence-building measures.

He asked the Maoists to withdraw their charges against people who oppose their ideology and to announce a general amnesty to them as per the understanding between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists during a meeting at Godawori.

Poudel, the coordinator of the Peace Committee facilitating the government talks team, asked both talks teams to reach an agreement on ceasefire, peace and human rights accords so that the UN team could also monitor the agreements until a constituent assembly poll is held.

Dev Gurung, a Maoist negotiator, said yesterday’s agreement to call the UN for management of arms and the peace process was “free of external influence”.

He also proposed reaching consensus on political issues, including the dissolution of HoR, sans external interference.

He proposed replacing Parliament with a legislature comprising representatives of forces fighting for democracy.

‘Calls for UN help heartening’

The UN mission led by Staffan de Mistura submitted its report on Nepal’s peace process to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday, said officials at the United Nations Information Centre in Kathmandu.

Earlier, Mistura said he was “strongly encouraged” by the government and Maoists requesting the UN’s assistance by writing to it two “identical letters” separately.

“We got two letters…both have agreed on a five-point platform requesting the UN to get involved in the electoral process, in arms management — which means cantonment of both the combatants and the army, in the process of monitoring of the ceasefire and human rights situation,” he told reporters in New York, according to the UN’s official website.

“The good news is everybody wants the UN involved, everybody wants the UN assisting in the peace process which is potentially fragile and which should not be allowed to remain fragile,” he said, adding that it would be up to the Secretary General to decide the course of action.

De Mistura highlighted the Maoists had agreed to extend their ceasefire and said he was “strongly encouraged” by their requests, most particularly the fact that both sides had asked the UN about how best to proceed on — arms management.