Peace process deadlock in Nepal undermining development
KATHMANDU, 4 December 2009 (IRIN): A deadlock in Nepals peace process is threatening development and stability in the country, say aid workers and analysts.
– The peace process is deadlocked and dangerously stagnant, Rhoderick Chalmers, senior analyst and South Asia deputy project director at the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank, told IRIN.
The ICG urged major political parties to work together to avoid a possible return to conflict in the Himalayan country (der er program-samarbejdsland for Danida, red.).
– What needs to be done is obvious, which is a resumption of the peace process. How you get there is the trickiest part of the question. But I do not see that happening in the near future. And that is why we should be concerned, noted Chalmers
A decade-long armed conflict between the Maoists and the state ended in 2006 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to start a peace process. However, the process has ground to a halt amid political wrangling between the Maoists and the 22-party ruling coalition government.
The process focuses on crucial issues such as the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants, and the writing of a new constitution by the Constituent Assembly, the parliament, by May 2010.
Other critical issues include the return of land seized during the conflict and the integration of Nepal’s two standing armies, the National Army and the Maoist People’s Liberation Army.
– It is a worrying situation because the fundamentals that need to be addressed are not actually being discussed in a substantial fashion at all at the moment, said Chalmers.
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