Nepal in crisis

News in Brief

Alarm was raised about the state of the Nepali peace process on 20 November, the third anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which brought ten years of bitter civil war to an end. Karin Landgren, head of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, warned: “Day-to-day politics, including internal party politics, have consumed so much energy that it has left major issues on the back burner.”
13 Western governments (and the EU) signed a joint statement stating: “We are increasingly concerned that progress on implementing the agreement has stalled.” The constituent assembly has fallen behind schedule in drafting a new constitution.
The diplomats also pointed out: “The rehabilitation and integration of former Maoist combatants, and determining the structure of Nepal Army, as was agreed three years ago, is still not underway.” This issue is reaching boiling point, with fresh provocative remarks from defence secretary Bidya Devi Bhandari, who said on 21 November that the Nepali army would soon be recruiting 5,000 new soldiers.
She called the large-scale inclusion of Maoist guerrillas into the army, as required by the CPA, “an unlikely proposition”. Meanwhile, the Maoists continue are threatening an open-ended general strike from 20 December.

Topics: Nepal