NEPAL: YCL DEMANDS ABROGATION OF 1950 TREATY

It appears that the Maoists and the Indian establishment are playing a “hide and seek game”.
Analysts admit and others too perhaps must admit that the Maoists became Maoists of what they are today thanks to the Himalayan contributions of the Indian establishment.
The Maoists though reluctantly admit that they have had tacit arrangements with the Indian establishment at time of the 12 point agreement signed on November 22, 2005 in Delhi which provided them not only “recognition” and a bit of “legitimacy” too which facilitated their “smooth” entrance into the mainstream politics to the extent that without having faced the elections the party of the ex-rebels could secure some eighty plus seats in the “King restored” parliament.

However, of late there has been a trend slowly creeping in the Maoists paraphernalia wherein the party “suspects” the very Indian designs and concludes that the Indians in one way or the other wish to corner the party of the ex-rebels in the country’s politics for reasons that yet remains to be substantiated by the party itself.
Nevertheless, the party of the ex-rebels do give the impression through their lectures and statements that India was a country that had no love for Nepal, neither for democracy nor for peace, instead all that India wanted from Nepal and its leaders is the preservation of its national interests and in the process been luring the leaders of all parties until its goals and objectives were served.
But then India will not have a free ride in Nepal’s politics, as much is visible from the fresh political overtures coming as it does from the party of the ex-rebels.
It appears that the Maoists too have come to their senses, thanks better late than never.

To begin with Prachanda,
The commander of the Maoists party more often than not is seen deriding at the Indian establishment.
Prachanda appears to have got the point as to why India primarily supported them while in the jungles or say in Delhi basically at time of theirs being underground.
Prachanda’s mentor, Mohan Vaidya alias KIRAN is blunt in saying that India is all pervasive in Nepal’s politics and has been imposing its dictates in the internal affairs of this country.
Dev Gurung, a Maoists leader and a Minister in Koirala cabinet the other day lambasted at the Indian establishment saying that the Indian maneuverings in bringing the MJF closer to the government was a foul act and that the “friendship” in between the two will not long last.
Remarkably, Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, the deputy in the Maoists party hierarchy chews his words and remains ever cautious as and when he has to speak against India. This is puzzling as to why Dr. Bhattarai appears reluctant in criticizing India when he has some valid points to lambaste at India?

The most vocal are the “naughty” but courageous “boys” of the Maoists-the Young Communist league cadres- in exposing India in the recent times thus provoking their own leadership and others as well to remain ever vigilant in safeguarding Nepal’s genuine national interests.
The otherwise brilliant Nepali media ignored this time a very unusual but very “nationalistic” issues that had been “pinching” the entire Nepali population since decades and decades.
Why the Indo-pendent intelligent media ignored is though a open “secret”, however, analysts here do not want to embarrass them. After all they are our “professional” colleagues.
The fact is that the “naughty” boys of the Maoists, the YCL this time collected the courage to handover a list of demands to the India elevated Koirala which are basically nationalist in nature but “anti-Indian” in the eyes of the Indian establishment.
Analysts say what the “illustrious” Nepal’s India backed and affiliated “Loktantric” leaders should have told has come from the some what “undisciplined boys” of the Maoists-the Young Communist league cadres very recently.

The boys are thus who speak in favor of preserving the national interests could in no way be called as bad boys. At least for us at this paper would rather encourage them if they did it so time and again to jolt their leaders first and then to the party that more often not takes pleasure, indeed a sadistic one, in twisting the arms of its smaller neighbors, for example, Nepal the prime victim of Independent India after the colonial Raj came to an end in 1947.
The Young Communist League Cadres- have lately voiced their real and serious concern over what constitutes the real Nepali concern. They have demanded, among others contained in the said list , “the abrogation of all "unequal" treaties with India, including the '1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty'.
The members of Youth Communist League, Maoists' Youth wing on 23rd August this month demanded abrogation of Sugauli treaty of 1816 signed between British India and Nepal Government and the 1950 Peace and Friendship treaty with India.
This is not all they even demanded the immediate removal of Indian armies from the Kalapani area, near India-Nepal-China border in far-west Nepal and thorough investigation of the alleged border encroachment by India in different places and demolition of dams in the border areas causing submersion of Nepalese territory during the recent flood.

This they demanded from none less than Prime Minister Koirala who is number one “friend” of the Indian establishment or else why should he have been elected/nominated the prime minister of the country? Certainly, he assumed this post under the “cover” for down sizing the King who is no where on the country’s political scene, thanks the EPA plus the South Block tacit arrangements.
The important news that went ignored does tell that the YCL courage would be a mere cry in the wilderness. But then yet, the YCL in doing so has at least proven that the League is aware of the Indian designs.
The million dollar question is thus whether the YCL did this under the instructions of their top-hats or they themselves raised this national issue?
If they were given instructions from their elders, then it does indicate that the Maoists-India relationship at its lowest ebb.
Some intelligent analysts also claim that the Maoists did it so to bag people’s sympathy at time of the CA polls as other left forces do it mostly at time of the elections.
Be that as it may, the event though remained ignored but does amply tell that the Maoists party too possesses a huge number of nationalists-yet another headache for India that it is by all accounts.

Source: Telegraph Nepal, September 6, 2007

Constituent Assembly Election and Madhesh Turmoil

The Madhesi movement has reminded us of the need to take a critical look at dealing with the problem of intolerance and ethnic prejudice that has for centuries plagued the nation.

Bindu Chaudhary

People of Nepal are, for the first time in history, going to draft a new constitution themselves through the Constitutional Assembly. This is certainly a landmark victory that has granted Nepalese their sovereign power to address the people’s aspirations and institutionalize the achievements of the popular movement.

It is a well known fact that even after the success of the 1990 people’s movement (Janandolan I), the political parties chose to ignore the rights of the oppressed nationalities including the Madheshis, reflected by the discriminatory provisions in the 1990 Constitution of Nepal. Again, the CPN-Maoists had promised federal state in MBindu Chaudharyadhesh, rights to self determination and many other assurances during their decade old revolution, and similar promises were made by the leaders of all other political parties following the 2006 April Revolution (Janandolan II). However, the interim constitution they promulgated reflected that their promises were merely to deceive Madheshis as it paid no attention to their representation in the decision-making body of the State - the ground that paved the way for the Madheshi movement (now called the Janandolan III).

Madheshis have been pressing for rights based constitution, which envisions constitution as a mechanism for entrenching and protecting individuals’ rights. As bona fide citizens of Nepal, Madheshis are the rights-bearers who are justified to claim their rights for constitutional participation on the basis of the right that they hold as individuals and on the basis of collective rights of an ethnic group. Getting a constitutional foothold and constitutional recognition will not only give Madheshis a sense of ‘inclusion’ and ‘self-esteem’, but constitutionalizing rights will also help the government comprehend that the Terai, which contains 49% of Nepal’s 26 million population, 23% land area and 20 of the 75 districts, belongs to Nepal as much as the Madheshis- it can’t be one and not the other.

The issue therefore relates to a movement against the state’s discriminatory politics, a fight for recognition of rights, and a struggle for equal representation and opportunity. The Madheshis are demanding nothing much but their rights of human worth and dignity, which they think can fairly be achieved by the right to self-determination; proportional representation in the constituent assembly; restructuring the constituencies based on population; federal system with regional autonomy; and elimination of all forms of discrimination practiced by the state mechanism.

Thanks to the unity expressed by Nepalese around the globe, and thanks to the international support, the movement has been successful in maintaining its momentum- sparking wide public attention and concerns about the lack of respect for equality of human beings and the violation of human rights through the plethora of racially discriminatory policies and practices.

The domestic front

• Madheshis could not pin their faith in the Prime Minister’s first address to the nation on January 31st which was an attempt to mislead Madheshis by promising that the Constitution Assembly elections would address the Madheshi demands. On Feb 7, the Prime Minister had to address the nation again, in which he announced federal system of governance, increase electoral constituencies based on population growth and increase the number of seats for election to be held on the basis of proportional representation.

• The interim constitution was amended twice within a few months of its promulgation, but failed to accommodate the demands raised by the Madheshis. In the same tune, the government made some headway by inviting Upendra Yadav led MJF for talks, but with the stipulated pre-conditions, the five rounds of talks remained inconclusive. Nevertheless, as it is said, “Rome was not built in a day”, thanks to the perseverance and firmness of the MJF, the sixth round of talk held with the government team led by Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel on August 30 marked jubilation amongst the Madheshis.

• The Government-MJF ultimately reached a 22-point agreement, which includes compensation to those killed during the Terai movement, guarantee of inclusion of Madheshis and other marginalized groups in the constituent assembly, autonomy to the states in the federal system to be designed by the constituent assembly, among others. The MJF similarly agreed to the constitutional provision of mixed electoral system for the upcoming constituent assembly election and announced withdrawal of all the agitation programs, stating that his party can now concentrate on its election campaign. The MJF has gained positive credibility in due course of the movement and has been elevated as a powerful political force in the country.

• On the other front, the CPN (Maoist) has raised serious objection to the 22-point agreement between the Government and the MJF, stating that the agreement is a conspiracy inspired by the ‘divide and rule’ theory of the Government, and that it only added fuel to the Madhesh fire. Further, they have also called for the postponement of CA polls, and have threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if their demands, including declaration of Nepal a republic and removal of Army from the royal palace, are not met before the CA polls.

• Security scenario is not that encouraging as more and more groups are emerging such as Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Goit), JTMM (Jwala Singh), JTMM (Bishfot Singh), Madheshi Mukti Morcha, Madheshi Tiger, Terai Cobra Group, Madhesh Mukti Force, Terai Tiger, Terai Army, AASK Group, Tharu Mukti Morcha, Chure Bhawar Pradesh Ekta Samaj, Janajati Mahasangh, TM Don Group, Young Communist League etc., and many of them with militant characteristics are doing their best to strengthen their positions as new armed groups in Terai. In addition, the independent media in Terai faces hurdles in reporting, publication and distribution of newspapers. The situation is bad and getting worse.

The International front

• Amid these, one thing that has remained most encouraging is the unity expressed by Madheshis around the globe. Following the movement, the media has been overwhelmed with news and views on Madheshi movement; there have been discussions and debates on the peaceful resolution of Madhesh issue; the Nepalese Diaspora have channelled possible resources, supports and encouragements to the victims and the survivors of the Janandolan III… in short, the number of Nepalese, including Madheshis and the concerned Pahadis who are working nationally and internationally, from micro to macro level, and through individual and organizational efforts trying to help Madheshis get their share of pie, is simply exemplary.

• There has been intense pressure from the UN Human Rights Organizations and other International bodies on the government to play an active role in combating prejudice against the Madheshis and to hand over their rights. They have been impartial and have voiced out against illegal detentions, police brutalities and against biased reports even at times when most of the civil societies and Nepali Human Rights organizations had acted indifferent.

• Nepal has already received support and words of assistance from India, United States, European Union, United Nations and other countries to conduct the election on time, in a free and fair manner and to get maximum, informed participation from the voters. They have emphasized that the legitimacy of the Nepal Government and the parties would be questioned if the election is deferred again.

• The United Nations Electoral Expert Monitoring Team (EEMT) has emphasized on the need to improve the security situation in the country and has stressed on the need for cooperation among political parties to create adequate election climate and to expect free and fair election.

What Next?

It’s no use crying over the spilt milk. The present priority should be the formation of an inclusive and representative assembly to draft a right-based constitution as per the mandate of the movement. The government should mobilize the support of national and international communities including the United Nations, to ensure a timely, peaceful, free and fair CA election, the only available non-violent approach to help achieve lasting peace and consolidation of democracy in the country.

The electoral seats for CA election are 497, of which 240 would be elected directly, 240 by proportional election, and 17 would be nominated. Presuming that the election is held fairly under the mixed system, 164 Madheshi people would be represented including 38 women. For Madheshis, this could be an opportunity to collectively voice their opinions and democratically convince other CA members to address the issue of inclusion. Whereas, for the major political parties such as NC, UML, CPN-Maoists and NC (D), it might mean having to lose many seats in the CA election which they have been enjoying in the restored parliament.

The date for the CA election, which has already been postponed twice, is now fixed for 22 November. Nonetheless, owing to (i) the fear and insecurity of the political parties; (ii) the Maoists’ insistence of taking part in the election only if they are guaranteed with some safe seats, or manoeuvring to put off the November elections for CA till mid-April next year, or owing to (iii) the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, particularly the Terai region, there are doubts in the minds of many that if at all it would be possible to hold the election at the stipulated time and secondly, if the election could be held in a free and fair manner.

The ambiguity amongst people is legitimate in the absence of a favourable election climate when the election date is just a few weeks away. If the government is determined about the election date, which seems to be true until now, the ruling political parties need to issue a joint public statement expressing their unified commitment for conducting a timely election. They also have an important task of concentrating on issues like security, management of cantonments and spreading themselves out to the villages and towns to interact with people about the CA polls, encourage them to participate in the historic exercise and discuss with them about their election manifestos so that people have a perception of the state of things and are able to make informed decisions.

Furthermore, since CA election is going to be held for the first time in the history of Nepal, and the fact that there is very low level of understanding among the people about the mixed electoral system, the Election Commission, as part of its preparation for the CA polls, should also focus equally on making people aware and sensitized about the concept, process, and modalities of the electoral system and the technicality involved in the voting process.

One of the important requisites for holding a free, fair, peaceful and impartial election is a reliable, conducive and credible security arrangement. However, the irony is that the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL), which is widely involved in terrorizing people, is likely to provide security for the CA election owing to tremendous pressure from Maoists. Besides the YCL, the government aims to recruit 80,000 temporary security personnel to create a secured environment for the election, while neglecting about the same number of well trained, equipped, experienced and readily available national army. The security arrangement seems to be in need of reassessment to ensure maximum voter participation who will feel free, secured and fearless to go to polling booths to cast their votes.

Last but not the least, the importance of peace journalism in the contemporary world, in particular at the time of internal conflict in Nepal need not be over-exaggerated. The Nepali media has been biased in tone, depiction and revelation while highlighting the unfolding events of the movement, many at times disregarding the Code of Conduct for Journalists. The reporters should understand that the decisions journalists make and the way conflicts are covered, or how they juxtapose and contextualize the conflict or what they choose to report or omit tends inescapably to contribute either towards the momentum of war or towards the momentum of peace. At this crucial juncture where Nepal is trying to get a face-lift, the media, being an important pillar of democracy, should play a crucial role in creating conducive atmosphere for polls by promoting favourable people’s opinion and enabling them to participate in the CA process in an informed and active way by communicating clear, comprehensive and accurate information to people in all parts of the country, including Himal, Pahad, and the Terai.

The Madhesi movement has reminded us of the need to take a critical look at dealing with the problem of intolerance and ethnic prejudice that has for centuries plagued the nation. The structural discrimination can have solution only through systemic reform guided by the principalities of equality, integration, representation and redistribution. Madheshis should find a meaningful participation in the Constituent Assembly and in all other aspects of peace-building and democratic transition. The ‘hegemonic control’ of the age-old ideology of domination of one caste, one language, one culture, one colour, one region, one religion… can and has to change to include and promote multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi socio-cultural Nepal.

Source: Nepali Times, September 1-3, 2007

Blasts In Capital : Crime Against Humanity

Yuba Nath Lamsal

The series of bomb blasts targeting public places in Kathmandu on Sunday was nothing but a barbarous act and a crime against humanity. The terrorist acts that killed two innocent civilians, including a schoolgirl, and injured over two dozen people must be condemned by all.Terrorism is the modus operandi of criminals. It can never be a means of achieving a political goal. Nowhere in the world has terrorism succeeded in achieving the political goals. World history has shown that those who resorted to terrorism and violence finally denounced such activities and joined peaceful political methods to achieve their political objectives. Those who failed to do so have been eliminated. Under no circumstance can terrorist acts be accepted as a political activity. This crime against humanity, thus, must be dealt with severely in accordance with the law of the land.

Terror

In terms of security, it is an act of terrorising the people, destabilising the nation and threatening national integrity. Politically, it is a ploy to disrupt and sabotage the ongoing peace and political process. Although the force behind this heinous crime would be disclosed in due course after a thorough investigation, one can easily point a finger at those elements that are against the political process in the country.

Nepal is now in the process of holding the constituent assembly election that will write a new constitution. It is an exercise through which the people would be involved in the constitution making process as their elected representatives would write the country's fundamental law. This is the process that Nepal is experiencing for the first time in its history. There had been demands in the past as well for an election to a Constituent Assembly to write the country's constitution. But these efforts were aborted time and again, and the Nepalese people were deprived of their right to make their own constitution. Instead, the king or people in power imposed the constitutions in the past, which was neither democratic nor in the interest of the people.As the new and democratic process of writing the constitution through the people's elected representatives has already started, some elements that would lose their privileges are active in sabotaging this process. Thus, the recent bomb blasts in the capital and some criminal activities in the name of political slogans must be viewed and analysed from that perspective. Against this background, the recent remarks of Maoist chairman Prachanda need to be analysed more seriously. According to Prachanda, elections to the Constituent Assembly cannot be held under the existing situation. He, however, came under heavy criticism from various quarters for his remarks. His main concern was about the present security situation. Moreover, there are elements that do not want the Constituent Assembly election. These elements want to thrive on chaos and anarchy. If the Constituent Assembly election is to held and the present political process to complete its course, they are sure to lose their privileges. These elements need to be watched so that such sinister activities do not repeat.

The fundamental duty of the government is to maintain law and order and protect the lives and property of the people. However, the law and order situation in the country is not satisfactory. This is because of the political transition. The situation always remains unstable and uncertain during the political transition. But terrorism is an act that cannot be totally eliminated through the efforts of the government alone. Terrorism is the enemy of civilisation and civic culture. Thus, there must be collective and united efforts from all sectors, including the political parties, civil society and the general people, to counter and combat terrorism in a more effective way. The election to the Constituent Assembly is a must to create a new Nepal in which all people have equal share and opportunity in all sectors. Once the political process completes its course through the Constituent Assembly election and writing a new constitution, most of the pending problems including ethnic, religious, political, linguistic issues and matters pertaining to governance would be resolved. It would also solve the issue relating the state structure as all the political forces have already agreed to go for a federal structure. It has also been agreed that the first meeting of the constituent assembly would decide the issue of monarchy. Given the present scenario prevailing in the country, it is certain that the monarchy would go and Nepal would be a republic.But some political forces and individuals, including the Maoist leaders, have been demanding for the immediate abolition of monarchy and declaration of a republic. Their logic is that the monarchy and the Constituent Assembly cannot go together, and one must be compromised for the sake of the other. According to them, the Constituent Assembly would definitely abolish the monarchy, and it would be natural for the monarchist forces to do their best to stall the process of the Constituent Assembly election.

From this perspective, Maoist Chairman Prachanda has demanded the immediate declaration of Nepal as a republic as the Constituent Assembly election cannot be held under the monarchy. There is a strong rationale in the logic. However, they must have thought about it when the 12-point agreement was reached between the seven-party government and the Maoists on the fate of the monarchy. Meanwhile, the investigation process must be intensified, and the culprit of the blasts must be disclosed as soon as possible. The individuals found responsible behind this crime must be punished severely. Some have pointed a finger at the Palace for this incident. Without concrete evidence, none should be blamed. If investigations find the monarchy's hands behind these incidents, it should be immediately abolished as there is a provision in the interim constitution that the monarchy can be scrapped by a two-third majority of parliamentarians.

Twin responsibilities

It is a national crisis. In such a time of national crisis, the political forces and all citizens must demonstrate a strong sense of unity and patriotism. Both internal reactionaries and external fundamentalists are out to destabilise and push the nation backward. Now we are at a crucial juncture in history. We have now twin responsibilities. One is to keep the nation intact by safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and the other successfully completing the ongoing political process through the Constituent Assembly election.

Source: The Rising Nepal, September 6, 2007

Resolve Differences

MINISTER of Local Development Dev Gurung has pointed out that an all-party mechanism proposed by him at the local level could not be formed or materialise due to intense opposition from the CPN (UML). Despite the fact that the major political parties, including the Nepali Congress, had acceded to the proposal, the obstacles created by the UML, as referred to by Minister Gurung, came on the way of building an all-party consensus mechanism at the local level. As even the Interim Constitution provides a separate chapter for a local body mechanism and mentions about building all-party structures for the districts, municipalities and villages, the dilly dallying on the part of political parties on it is inappropriate. The interim statute puts obligations on the government to grant greater autonomy to the local bodies and make sure that they perform their roles and functions more effectively to meet the political, development and social aspirations of the people.

However, the political parties do not seem to be coming close to resolving their differences and sustaining cohesion with a view to building a representative local mechanism so that the intent of the interim statute with regard to creating competent local bodies is realised. Needless to say, the UML had maintained its dominant position at the local bodies during the previous elections held nearly a decade ago. The party contends that it should be given a larger share of seats and positions in the local bodies on the basis of its previous hold and support base at the local level.The argument advanced by the UML holds some logic, but when it comes to negotiation and settlement some give and take is expected on the part of the political party so that a solution for mutual satisfaction could be arrived at in the new context. The local bodies are being run by the bureaucracy that cannot be held politically accountable to the people, as a result development and governance activities at the local level have suffered. The agitation launched by the VDC secretaries recently has already exposed the problems facing the local bodies. Moreover, the government had gives commitments to form an all-party mechanism to run the local bodies to respond to the demands raised by the VDC officials. The political parties are, thus, obliged to ensure that the interim local bodies are constituted and services relating to governance and development are delivered to the citizens.

Source: The Rising Nepal, September 6, 2007

NEPAL: ARMY SEES MAOISTS HAND IN EXPLOSIONS, REPORT

The Nepal Army submitting an investigative report before the prime minister has concluded that the Maoists were involved in the Sunday’s Series of Explosions that rocked the capital city, Kathmandu. In the midst of the Maoists conducting activities to foil the November Polls, the Rajdhani Daily reports, citing a high placed Nepal Army Source, that there is no way any other group except the Maoists were involved in the explosion. The NA investigative team has also alleged the Maoists for disrupting polls by forwarding various demands such as declaring republic, complete proportional system and the amalgamation of the Militias into the National Army. The NA report also indicates the recent Maoists activities of attacking the leaders of the political parties aimed at disrupting their election campaign.

All the Maoists activities in the past have remained unsuccessful that were aimed at disrupting the CA elections thus this explosion has been strategically committed by the Maoists to foil the CA elections”, the report submitted by the NA to the PM after three days of the explosion emphasizes.
The Maoists, by first forwarding 22 point demands in what they call to create poll atmosphere and later allege the Nepal Army and the Royal Palace instantly for their involvement in such heinous acts is highly deplorable, says the report further, writes the Rajdhani weekly. The Maoists claims are thus self contradictory, adds the NA report.
The report also takes into account a statement made by the Maoists’ valley in charge Chandra Bahadur Thapa (Sagar) that “dynamite will explode frequently in the country now on words instead of petrol bombs if their 22 points demands were not met with”.

The report says, the explosions in Kathmandu took place only after the valley in charge made such remarks. The NA thus forwards “circumstantial” evidence.
After the explosions, the Maoists tilted media houses in Nepal thus carried the news as if the Nepal Army and the Royal Palace were behind the explosion, the report further adds.
The highly inflammable ingredients and the time-device used to manufacture the bombs hint that it has been assembled by expert hands, says the report further.
To explode such bombs, experts are required that the Maoists and the Terai outfits possess in abundance, the report adds.
Unless concrete evidence suggesting involvements of other groups are found, the Maoists always remain as a prime suspect, the report concludes.

Source: Telegraph Nepal, September 6, 2007

Nepal Army : Contributions To UN Peacekeeping

Hira Bahadur Thapa

UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs) date back to the 1950s. It is an innovation of the United Nations to secure peace in conflict-ridden parts of the world. In the beginning, such PKOs were established with limited mandates. The peacekeepers then were asked to help keep peace agreements intact by preventing the parties to the conflict from violating them. Therefore, blue helmeted soldiers then were deployed to achieve the sole objective of securing peace agreements, and in that sense, their participation in the PKOs was not that vulnerable.

Transformation

The premier UN Peacekeeping Mission is the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) based in the Middle East. This mission was set up to secure peace in the Middle East following the Arab-Israeli war. Three Nepal Army personnel are serving with the UNTSO. This is also the mission in which Nepal Army observers had, at the UN's request, provided their services for the first time in its history of UN peacekeeping. Given the growing complexity in international affairs and changing scenario in various troubled regions of the globe, the UN's deployment of peacekeepers had to undergo a major transformation. This change has occurred both in the diversity of nationalities to which the UN peacekeepers belong and the responsibilities they are asked to shoulder. Today's peacekeepers are not confined to keep peace by helping to maintain the Peace Agreements. Additionally, they are now deployed to undertake a number of other activities like organising and observing elections, training the security forces on human rights and even taking charge of an interim administration. The UN makes every effort to ensure that its peacekeepers do not infringe upon the human rights of the people they are supposed to protect. The UN is currently involved in monitoring the ongoing peace process and observing the Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal. Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), a UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has been deployed. Its fundamental role here is to monitor the armies of both the Government and the Maoists along with their arms. There are cantonments in various parts of Nepal where members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the CPN-M are kept with their arms.

As Nepal is heading towards restructuring the country through the Constituent Assembly elections, the role of UNMIN is crucial in making the current peace process a success. It is interesting to note that Nepal has been hosting UNMIN as per the requirements of the country although it is now the fourth largest troop and police contributor in the world to the UNPKOs. At present, Nepal has sent 3,670 personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force to various UNPKOs. They are now serving with various missions like United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), UN Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) I & II, among others. Of these, the largest contingent from the Nepal Army is deployed with UNIFIL where 859 personnel serve with that mission alone. This is the mission where Nepal has sent its peacekeepers since it started in 1978. With a very short interruption in the 1980s, Nepal has been providing its Army personnel to Lebanon on a continuous basis. This proves that Nepal's participation in UNIFIL is highly acclaimed.Continued participation of Nepal in UN Peacekeeping notwithstanding, the Nepal Army is facing tough competition mostly from its South Asian counterparts. The largest army and police contributors to the UNPKOs are from our region. Moreover, Nepal has its own painful history of an armed insurgency that has sometimes dragged our professional army into controversy as a few human rights organisations have been found criticising it. At some juncture when the country was in the midst of the internal conflict, a few human rights activists even lobbied against Nepal's participation in the UNPKOs. Due to persevering efforts of the government to counter the logic of the activists, the embarrassing situation of non-deployment of Nepali security personnel in the UN Peacekeeping Operations has not occurred as yet.

We need to be very alert in ensuring that such campaigning against Nepal's interests does not gain momentum. For this, the Nepal Army has to be cautious as well as responsive to accusations relating to its human rights records. Interestingly, people from Amnesty International were capitalising on the opportunity when our Chief of the Army Staff was having an interaction in London recently at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. They had questioned him about the progress made in the investigations concerning the death of Maina Sunuwar and the Doramba incident in which 18 unarmed Maoists were killed. There is no doubt that Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, had raised these issues very seriously during her last visit to Nepal. The Nepal Army has a crucial role to play in reassuring the international community about its current efforts to bring about convincing results of the said investigations, which have attracted significant attention internationally.The Nepal Army has pledged time and again that it will abide by the instructions of the civilian government. It has also given assurances that it will be very sensitive to upholding the human rights commitments made by the Nepal Government. It might be worth mentioning the remarks made by the prime minister, who also is the defense minister, in a message to the participants of the Nepal Army Officers' Cadet Training held at Kharipati a few days earlier. In his message, he emphasised that the Nepal Army should uphold democratic norms and values while accommodating the popular opinion of the Nepali people in the changed context.

Gender

Against the background of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which envisages the integration of the PLA of the Maoists with the Nepal Army, the country has to be seriously involved in the preparations for achieving this goal. Once the democratic transition in Nepal comes to its logical end, with the completion of Security Sector Reform, there is no reason why Nepal cannot one day send even a female battalion at the call of the UN, especially now that it has been putting emphasis on gender equality in its peacekeeping operations for long.