(Courtesy: el Zorro)
Nepal has remained in an environment of heightened political crisis since long before peace process started. So UNMIN's exasperation at the Maoists' departure from the interim government is completely uncalled for. Through its unwillingness to communicate the result of fact finding missions, its non-transparent procedures in dealing with Maoist combatants, and it's openly partial preference towards the Maoists, UNMIN has been a key catalyst of successive political crises since the initiation of Nepal's peace process.
Aside from OHCHR reports, press releases and a nifty map that records Maoist violations of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, UNMIN has absolutely nothing to show for itself. UN Officials fly in and out of Kathmandu and lay praise on the achievements of the Nepali people, the preparations for CA elections, etc. Meanwhile, ordinary Nepalis are busy digging themselves out of the radical rhetoric that brought them to this juncture. They are left wondering whether the sole mandate of the interim government (holding CA elections), will ever be fulfilled? This is just one example of the glaring mismatch between UNMIN's Nepal and the Nepal that is.
As another example of hypocrisy, UMIN personnel take every opportunity to heap layers of praise on politicians, technocrats, on broken processes and violated principles. They do this because they know who to thank for their jobs. UNMIN also knows that painting a picture of progress and success is essential to their longevity and so despite a reality that is increasingly out of hand, UNMIN clings to its practice of grossly skewing reality.
However, reality can only be escaped for so long and UNMIN's day of reckoning is fast approaching. When that day arrives, the whole world will realize what a scam of an arms monitoring process UNMIN ran (is running) in Nepal. Maoist weapons have been documented but details are not available to the public. Very black and white, combatant qualification criteria have been systematically violated and UNMIN's reaction has been to accept verification on the Maoists' terms.
On the human rights front, OHCHR published a lengthy report outlining violations of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement by the Young Communists League (YCL). They handed a copy of this report to the Maoist leadership whose response was that a biased focus on a "few" misdeeds of the YCL is unfair. The pages of the report could just as well have been used as toilet paper by the Maoists' because right after the OHCHR report was released, the YCL went on a rampage, denying other political parties their right to campaign and in several instances, physically assaulting District Administration Officers.
On the cantonment monitoring front, UNMIN is responsible for ensuring that Maoist combatants remain within their designated cantonments. Instead, one finds clear articulation of the fact that Maoist combatants frequently rotate in and out of cantonment sites (to serve as part of the YCL), within reports that UNMIN itself has authored. The duplicitous nature of UNMIN's activities are for lack of a better term, appalling.
So what exactly motivates young, blue-eyed, idealists to serve within the hypocrisy that UNMIN has become? Well, for one, UNMIN is synonymous with employment for many educated Nepalis and offers secondary benefits to the Civil Society jokers in Nepal.
But more to the point, UNMIN pays well. Exceptionally well. Nowhere in the private or public sectors (anywhere in the world) can a candidate, fresh out of graduate school, expect a whopping salary of $350 a day. This translates to about $10,000 dollars a month and for those familiar with the concept of taxation, UNMIN's salaries are often tax exempt. For a 26 year old graduate in "conflict resolution," life couldn't get any better. This is when idealism goes out the door, morals become temporarily irrelevant and ethics turn into an annoying class, taken while in school.
It is assuring to hear UNMIN voicing its concerns at the Maoists' departure from government. But the question is, what has UNMIN done all along to moderate the Maoists' radical line, to ensure that they abide by their commitments to the Nepali people? Nothing. Not a damn thing. To the contrary, what UNMIN has done is provide the Maoists international legitimacy and additional fuel to set the expectations of Maoists cadres far beyond the achievable.
Mandate is one thing but moral, ethical responsibility is another. UNMIN's sole reliance on the former comes at the negligence of the latter. This has been a consistent theme not only with UNMIN but with UN peace keeping (peace making) missions all over the world. What is being witnessed in Nepal is another UN fiasco in the making.
The Maoists' have continually violated the Comprehensive Peace Agreement without repercussion. They have used Ian Martin and his lackeys to forward their international agenda while continuing with business as usual on the domestic front. With CA elections in plain sight and the prospect of an embarrassing defeat at the polls evident, the Maoists have demanded 35 seats in the constituent assembly. This is what all the present posturing is about.
But the grounds upon which the Maoists' should even contemplate such a large number of seats is baffling. Their claim to ethnic representation has been shattered. Their presence in government has been extremely disruptive for the media, for development projects and for the donor assisted programs in general. Yet, with the assistance of organizations like UNMIN, the Maoists do not even get a slap on the wrist for their continued political manipulation.
It is a fact that Ian Martin is dead scared of Baburam Bhattarai's threat to send UNMIN packing. For better or for worse, the Maoists' are the only ones in Nepal who seem to understand how the UN works and having issued two utterances in the media (clarification for Ian Martin that UNMIN is in Nepal at the Maoists' behest), Ian and his cohorts have been completely incapacitated.
The solution however, is not to force UNMIN to pull out of Nepal. It is to force UNMIN to recognize that it has a firm commitment to the Nepali people and that it is a huge stake holder in Nepal's peace process. Ian Martin and his crew need to man up, stop making excuses on behalf of the Maoists, and they need to spell out clearly that the Maoists' are in complete violation of the CPA and the Arms and Arms Monitoring treaty. They need to do this to galvanize international support to force the Maoists to participate in CA elections.
The excuse of UNMIN inculcating Maoist moderates is growing old. They have been doing this all along and look where it has gotten Nepal? Back to no where. Ian Martin had best stop appeasing the Maoists and focus on carrying out his organization's mandate, strictly, and without exception. Otherwise, UNMIN is doomed to become another notch on the UN's belt of failure and the Nepali people doomed to suffer the consequences of having relied so heavily on the UN.
Related Posts:
UNMIN's "Consulting" Mentality Not Conducive to Nepal's "Stakeholder" Needs
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmins-consulting-mentality-not.html
UNMIN's July 16 Press Release and Subsequent Q&A Disaster
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmins-july-16-press-release-and.html
The UN's (UNMIN) Involvement in Nepal's Peace Process: A turning point or another fiasco in the making?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/uns-unmin-involvement-in-nepals-peace.html
UNMIN's Arms Verification Process in Nepal - More Timely Information and Transparency Needed
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmin-in-over-its-head-in-nepal-arms.html
UNMIN Clarifies its Role but Just in Time to be Humiliated by the Maoists
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/unmin-clarifies-its-role-but-just-in.html
UN Fast Losing Credibility in Nepal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/03/un-fast-losing-credibility-in-nepal.html
The UN and Maoist Arms Controversy: Overkill or Negligence?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/un-and-maoist-arms-controversy-overkill.html
Discrepancies in Maoist Weapons Inventoried by UNMIN – Do the Math
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/discrepancies-in-maoist-weapons.html
Summary of Declared (by State) vs. Inventoried (by UNMIN), Weapon Counts
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/symmary-of-declared-by-state-vs.html
11 comments:
The UNMIN works will be continued for another 20 years in Nepal. Because after settling the maoist problem, they have to settle madhesi problems and their arms groups. Then after Limbuwan and Khumbuwan...then after Tamangselu...this will carry on until they settle for 22 and 24 previously divided nation of Nepal.
when will we ever hear about the results of the arms verificaiton or the combatant verification process? Must we wait till the day before elections to realize that the UNMIN has counted 30,000 combatants and that the Nepali tax payers will have to pay their salaries retroactively?
The writer gets it. We have seen no results from UNMIN at all. Their word carries no weight with the Maoists who are always happy to use and abuse the UN just like they use and abuse every situation they are in.
Spot on.
Does anyone look at the way Mao came to power? Intimidation through terror on the broken backs of the poor. That is the example the Nepal Maoists have studied. What can be expected of them?
350 dollars per DAY? WHATTT??
That could pay the salary of almost 8 Moaist combatants per MONTH!!!
Why doesn't UNMIN just pay the Maoist combatants so the nepali goernment can do development work with tax money?
If this is true, this is simply OUTRAGEOUS!
The UNMIN has accomplished 30,000 maoist combatant.If they had verified well it could be only 3500 i.e. one gun one army.
There is a good reason why there is so much fuel shortage in Nepal. God damn UNMIN has a fleet of gass guzzling jeeps and four wheel drive vehicles that Nepal has never seen before.
Anyone gone by the Birendra convention center lately to see this display?
Now different ethnic groups of Nepal should join together to stop the civil war which is recently turning into dangerous homicide. The present madhesi andolan against pahadia and Kapilvastu incidents are the examples. The UNMIN should not totally trust these Eight Parties Alliance at this moment. The Eight parties are trying to filter out all the bad incidents by influencing press, international communities and NGOs. In madhesi andolan, the SPA (seven party alliance) even used maoist militia as surrogate to suppress them. The suppression and destruction in Nepalganj and the killing in Lahan were the examples of it. But civil society, human right organizations and international communities like UNMIN just stayed quite in those matters. So, there is a need of organization which can really point out the misrules of these syndicate Eight parties. For this, the regional parties those who believes in democracy and peace can play a greater role. They just need to raise the voices toward the international communities. They should come in front to marginalised the syndicate and misrule For this, they should demand their own civil society and human right organization which are far from the influence of these syndicate Eight parties. Otherwise this country will turn into killing field.
The UNMIN's strategy needs to be reviewed. They should widen their goal. They should give more attention toward future worst situation instead of concerntrating only toward maoist problem. They should not only listen to Eight parties which are now being considered as failure. Otherwise, the whole goal of the UNMIN in Nepal may turn into useless.
Anon 5:24 pm:
I disagree strongly with you and this writer on the point that UNMIN should expand its mandate.
UNMIN has been completely ineffective in Nepal. They should pack up their bags and go home. Half the staff can't even speak english. The other half is busy at the bars in Kathmandu. What the hell are they providing to Nepal but funding for themselves and jobs for the already qualified and educated?
You want to make a problem even bigger by encouraging an already ineffective mission from getting larger?
Are you stupid?
Lahure,
One thing you should understand that they are being useless because they are following the advices of Eight Parties alliance, so-called civil society (formed by limited circle and totally influenced by failure EPA), human right organization (influenced by EPA and controlled by certain caste).
Should I care WHY UNMIN is useless or should I care more why UNMIN pretends to be effective?
You can point the finger in 20 directions but the matter is simple. UNMIN is useless because they have negotiated themselves a useless mandate.
They are in Nepal to make money and that's it. Bastards should be kicked out with their tails inbetween their legs.
The author is are quite right. It's already too late for Ian Martin and his team to pull up their sleeves and get on to the job seriously. CA Polls elections must go on in time and they have the responsibility to exert pressure on the CPN Maoists to respect the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. UNMIN can not turn a bling eye to the acts of the CPN Maoists. It is said that the Maoists are reviving the Jana Sarkars in couple of districts, which is a blatant violation of what they had committed in teh CPA. How can UNMIN remain silent?
Regarding the remunerations, how else can the huge budget be spent? A friend of mine said, in Dhangadhi, by the time it's six six-thirty in the evening, couple of the UNMIN black UN logo vehicles could be found parked outside the restaurants and can be overheard sometimes talking interesting things about their time in Nepal.
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