UNMIN term extension? Ridiculous

We find it ridiculous that the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has demanded that the term of UNMIN should be extended after it expires on January 15. This demand is yet another example of how the Maoists continue to dishonor past agreements. On September 13, 2010, the government and the Maoists had reached a written agreement to extend UNMIN´s term, but for the last time, and they also agreed to conclude the peace process before UNMIN is gone.



Based on the agreement, the government wrote a letter to the UN Security Council on September 15, 2010, to extend UNMIN´s term, for a last time, by four months. Though a letter sent separately by the UCPN(M) did not say that it was seeking UNMIN´s extension for the last time, the UN Security Council overlooked the ´deliberate omission´ and extended UNMIN´s term just one more time as requested by the government.



More than three months have elapsed since that agreement was reached but the peace process hasn´t moved ahead much, thanks to Maoist hesitation in disassociating the PLA combatants from the party. Despite widespread criticism, including from UNMIN, more than 1,000 PLA combatants attended the party´s plenum held in Palungtar, Gorkha. Thought the Maoist leaders had said publicly that the PLA was, at least theoretically, already under the command and control of the Special Committee, the PLA´s participation in the party plenum proved that they take orders from no one but the Maoist leadership.



Maoist leaders are now arguing that the PLA will not come under the Special Committee unless there is a national consensus government. The Maoists´ intention is clear: They want to use the PLA to blackmail other parties and the country, something the PLA combatants had feared and cautioned the party leadership against during the Palungtar plenum.



But enough is enough. The Maoist party must stop taking the other parties and the country for granted and immediately stop their blackmail. There is no point extending UNMIN´s term. UNMIN´s deadline is expiring with little to show for it not because the parties did not have enough time to complete the peace process but because they didn´t negotiate in earnest and are unlikely to do so even if UNMIN´s term is extended yet again. If they are sincere about completing the peace process and have trust in each other, they can find a workable alternative to UNMIN´s monitoring of the management of arms and armies. No peace process has succeeded without the political will of the internal stakeholders, nor can outsiders enforce such will.



Let´s not make a laughing stock of ourselves by sending yet another request to the Security Council to extend UNMIN. The international community already takes us too lightly.

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