Ex-foreign ministers KP Sharma Oli, Chakra Prasad Bastola, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat and Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani have also officially filed an objection through the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, asking Ban to either retract or rectify the report in question. [break]
“As strong supporters of the United Nations, we would like to register our objection to the tone and content of the report (in particular, paragraphs 30, 31, 32, 34) which go against the letter and spirit of Nepal´s Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and related agreements,” reads the objection letter undersigned by the ex-ministers.
Ban has encouraged political parties to form a consensus government in paragraph 30. The ex-ministers said such a mention is against the constitution as the constitution itself envisions formation of a majority government.
In paragraph 31, Ban has treated Nepal Army on par with the Maoist combatants while saying that “the future of two armies was not addressed promptly”.
Likewise, in paragraph 32, Ban has expressed his anger for making the United Nations Mission in Nepal “a scapegoat in matters which lie beyond the mission´s mandate. Ban, in the 34th paragraph, has termed the criticism against UNMIN as unfounded.
“Neither do we agree with the report´s treatment of Nepal´s national army on par with the former rebel force, whose members are in temporary cantonments awaiting integration and rehabilitation. We also cannot concur with the report´s insistence on treating the government of Nepal on par with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist),” the ex-ministers have said.
The erstwhile ministers have also accused Ban of questioning the legitimacy of the present caretaker government stating that he recommended that the current mandate of the UNMIN be rolled over by the Security Council in order to permit necessary discussions to take place with a “duly formed government”.
“It is quite normal in any country for there to be a period of transition in between outgoing and incoming governments and the United Nations does not question the legitimacy of outgoing government that are legally constituted,” they have said.
This is not the first time the UN Secretary-General´s report has been dragged into controversy. Even previous reports have been questioned by the government and political parties on grounds of neutrality and for not reflecting ground reality.
“We are hopeful the Secretary-General will take our objection seriously and address our concerns in the report,” said Mahat.
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