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WASHINGTON, May 6 (OneWorld.net) - UN representatives are warning that a political row in South Asia's newest democracy threatens to destroy the achievements made since Nepal's 2006 peace agreements.

• A view on Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, from above. © Jeff Bauche._.·´¯) (flickr)After Nepal's Maoist prime minister resigned this week over a military dispute with the president, UN representatives have been stressing the "significant" progress made toward peace and democracy in recent years and the urgent need to rebuild trust among the country's leaders. The United Nations' top official in Nepal focused attention on three significant steps forward since the 2006 agreements ended a decade of civil war: "the successful conduct of elections, the ongoing work of the Constituent Assembly, and the declaration of a republic, which brought a peaceful end to the monarchy." But Karin Landgren also expressed concern about the "already limited attention" being paid to unfulfilled commitments of the peace agreements. Her major concerns include the slow progress toward drafting a new constitution and the integration or rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel. (See the full statement below.)

• The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Campaign (AHRC) was less positive about the country's multi-party coalition government, charging that the promise of change that swept the Maoists to power in 2008 elections has largely gone unfulfilled. AHRC lamented the buildup of the armed wing of the Maoist Party (the People's Liberation Army), which is a violation of the peace agreement, the "political short-sightedness of the ruling elite," and the corruption and lack of government authority that still hinders progress in much of Nepal. "The current crisis is the result of the lack of belief by the government in due process, human rights, and the rule of law," AHRC said in a statement.

• Nepal's political disputes came to a head this weekend, when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist prime minister who led the 10-year Maoist rebellion under the nom-de-guerre "Prachanda," resigned after the army chief he had fired was reinstated by the country's president. Dahal had removed the military leader for allegedly failing to accept former Maoist fighters into the national army, as called for by the peace agreement. The army chief, however, claimed he was working under the guidelines of the interim constitution by refusing to recruit "indoctrinated" former Maoist rebels, and the president agreed, according to a BBC analysis highlighted on the OneWorld South Asia Web site.

• After Dahal's resignation, thousands of Maoist sympathizers took to the streets of the capital Kathmandu, reports Radio Netherlands, but independent dispatches from the region suggest that the demonstrations have seen only minimal violence thus far. The president has set a Saturday deadline for the country's 20 political parties to form a new government, but Dahal has said that, while his party will not withdraw from the peace agreement, it also will not participate in any government until the army chief is removed. Many in the country believe that it would be difficult for any new coalition to govern -- and nearly impossible to write a new constitution -- without support from the Maoists, who hold nearly 40 percent of the seats in parliament and retain considerable popular support, reports Reuters India.

• In the mid-1990s, Nepal's regional inequalities gave rise to the Maoist party, which then cajoled marginalized groups into joining their militia. The subsequent decade of violent conflict left nearly 15,000 dead and forced up to 200,000 innocent civilians to flee their homes. Torture and atrocities were committed by both insurgent and government forces during the period of unrest, which ended in 2006 with the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement and the Maoists' subsequent commitment to abandon arms and participate in a democratic process. Just last week, Amnesty International launched a year-long national campaign for justice, truth, and reparations in Nepal, noting that the victims and families of those tortured, disappeared, or killed during the conflict continue to wait for justice and redress, several years after the signing of a peace agreement. For more background on conflict, politics, and human rights in Nepal, see OneWorld.net's Nepal country guide.

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Climate of mistrust threatening Nepal’s peace process, says top UN envoy

From: UN News Centre

In 2006, the Maoist rebels and Nepalese government signed an historic peace agreement

5 May 2009 – All parties in Nepal must work urgently to rebuild trust and achieve consensus, the top United Nations official in the country said today, warning that the crisis sparked by the Prime Minister’s resignation threatens the gains made so far in the peace process.

“This is a volatile moment in Nepal’s peace process,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Representative Karin Landgren told a meeting of the Security Council, adding that the current political crisis reflects a “serious deficit of trust among the principal political actors.”

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (“Prachanda”), who leads the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-M), tendered his resignation yesterday after the Chief of Army Staff – who the Prime Minister fired on Sunday – was reinstated.

Ms. Landgren recalled the “significant” progress made in Nepal, including the successful conduct of elections, the ongoing work of the Constituent Assembly, and the declaration of a republic which brought a peaceful end to the monarchy.

At the same time, she expressed concern that the latest developments will “divert already limited attention” being paid to unfulfilled commitments of the peace agreements that ended the country’s decade-long armed conflict in 2006. Chief among these is the drafting of a constitution and the integration or rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel.

“Unfulfilled commitments are the Achilles’ heel of the peace process, and threaten the peace dividend that the people of Nepal expect and so richly deserve,” she said.

The Representative noted that recent developments have “serious implications for the functioning of government and for the nature of the State to be shaped by Nepal’s next constitution.

“In the short term, there is a risk of paralysis with possibly protracted negotiations on forming a new government, and a stalling of preparations for the discharge of the disqualified and integration and rehabilitation of verified Maoist army personnel,” she said.

The Maoists hold 40 per cent of the seats in the Constituent Assembly, more than twice the number of any other party, and the constitution cannot be completed without their support, she noted.

“The peace process which Nepal has driven forward since 2005 has been remarkable, and the events of 2008 of historic magnitude,” she said. “The parties should urgently take steps to rebuild trust and work together in the spirit of compromise and consensus needed to protect the achievements and ensure further progress in the coming weeks and months.

“The next key steps – addressing the future of the Maoist army personnel, and drafting the new constitution - will be extremely difficult to achieve without a greater degree of political cooperation, and a common vision,” she added.

The Security Council today voiced its concern about the current political crisis. In a statement read out by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the 15-member body’s presidency for May, the Council underscored “the urgent need for the Government of Nepal and all political parties to continue to work together in the spirit of compromise.”

Also today, Mr. Ban reiterated his serious concern about the political situation in the country during his monthly news conference in New York. “I call for dialogue and consensus to preserve and enhance the gains made from the peace process,” he told reporters.

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