Personal representative of the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in Nepal , Ian Martin, has said signing of the ceasefire agreement by the government and Maoist rebels in Nepal will help the country’s peace process.
Ian Martin, the personal representative of UN Secretary-General for monitoring in Nepal’s peace process, speaks to journalists during a press briefing at the UN House, Kathmandu, Monday. nepalnews.com/rh

Addressing a press briefing organised at the UN complex in Lalitpur on Monday, Martin said the code of conduct signed by the government of Nepal and Maoist rebels early this year did not say anything about issues such as movement of weapons, vehicles etc. There should be a mechanism for rapid communication between the two sides to avoid misunderstanding, he said.

Martin was referring to the recent incident in which Maoist rebels alleged that the government imported arms from India in ‘unspecified’ army trucks. The government later clarified that the trucks were carrying materials for Nepali soldiers who were heading to Lebanon to take part in the UN peacekeeping operations.

Mr. Martin—who earlier served as head of the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal—said his mandate was to support Nepal’s peace process. When asked what outcome would the UN want from the “summit meeting” said to be taking place soon among the senior leaders of the ruling Seven Party Alliance and CPN (Maoist), Mr. Martin said it was not the job of the UN to say what should be the outcome. “It is essentially a Nepali peace process and it is for the parties in Nepal to decide contentious issues.” He termed Sunday’s informal meeting Prime Minister G P Koirala and Maoist chairman Prachanda as positive.

“There was lack of trust and suspicion on both sides. Let’s hope, Sunday’s meeting has done something to get negotiations move forward,” he added.

In response to a query regarding the model of arms management in Nepal , martin said some of the basic questions have to be discussed between the two sides before technical issues are taken up. Parties have to look at the peace process as a whole, he added.

When asked about reports of incidences of extortion, abduction and intimidation by the Maoists in Kathmandu and elsewhere, Martin said UN’s position is that all parties should observe the commitments they had made. “The code of conduct should be fully respected (by both the sides),” he added.

Martin said a small advisory team to help in the country’s peace process was expected to arrive Nepal soon. He, however, did not provide any date.

The senior UN diplomat said he had recently met Maoist leader, Prachanda. “They have reiterated that they continue to envisage the UN role in Nepal’s peace process,” Martin said. He did not provide details.

UN Secretary General had appointed Martin as his personal envoy in response to separate letters (carrying same content) sent by the Nepal government and Maoist rebels to help in the country’s peace process.

The aim of the peace process is to create an environment whereby free and fair elections to the Constituent Assembly could take place, said Martin.