NEPAL: Political impasse delays humanitarian assistance – Many flood victims may not get the assistance they need due to governmental uncertainty
KATHMANDU, 15 May 2009 (IRIN): The ongoing political impasse in Nepal has affected the flow of humanitarian assistance and development work, local and international aid workers say.
Nepal has been left without a government since Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal, also chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPNM), quit his office on 4 May.
CPNM is the political body of the former Maoist rebels who ended a decade-long armed conflict following a 2006 peace agreement.
The Maoists make up the majority of the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA) and head the coalition government comprising five national political parties.
“The withdrawal of the Maoists from the government is a serious sign of a severe political crisis in the near future and risks the country going back to war,” said independent political analyst Krishna Adhikari.
Dahal quit over the decision by President Ram Baran Yadav to reinstate the Chief of Army Staff, General Rookmangud Katawal, despite his dismissal by the cabinet for defying government orders by recruiting more solders.
The general was accused by the Maoists of recruiting 3,010 soldiers to the Nepal Army (NA) and reinstating eight senior NA brigadier-generals without coordinating with the Defence Ministry.
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