December 06, 2005

KATHMANDU:   Resident and humanitarian coordinator of the United Nations system in Nepal, Matthew Kahane, has said the United Nations can monitor, not supervise, the national army during the time of peace process.

Talking to reporters in Kathmandu on Monday after attending a function organised to hand over books to the Kathmandu Public Library on Monday, Kahane said in every process, eventually we don’t supervise, we monitor. The Royal Nepaelse Army, that is taking part in UN peacekeeping missions around the world, is well aware about it, he said.

Kahane said common practice is to monitor to ensure disengagement of the parties who fight so that there is no longer a fight there.

Kahane’s response came amid fresh debate among Kathmandu elite about the role of the RNA during the proposed peace process involving the Maoists. Article 3 of the 12-point understanding, the sever-party opposition alliance and the CPN (Maoist) said, “…There has been an understanding on keeping the Maoists’ armed forces and the Royal Nepali Army under the supervision of the United Nations during the elections of the constituent assembly, conduct elections in free and fair manner, and accept the results of the elections—all these after an end of the autocratic monarchy. We also expect the involvement of reliable international interlocutors in our dialogue process.”

The said provision has not only drawn sharp criticism from pro-government people, it has also been criticized by some leaders of the seven party alliance itself saying that “it could open way for foreign intervention.”