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UNSC will give a rollover: Envoys
KATHMANDU, SEP 09 -
Ambassadors representing the three permanent member countries of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have told the government and the Maoists that the UNSC would give a technical rollover to the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) if no political agreement is had before Sept. 15, the day UNMIN’s current term expires.
US Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi, British Ambassador John Anthony Tucknott and acting ambassador of the French Embassy Jean Romicianu conveyed a “common concern” during separate meetings with caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday, a source said.
The diplomatic parleys follow two separate letters dispatched by the government and the Maoists on UNMIN. “If there is no consensus among the two sides, the Security Council will give a month’s rollover of UNMIN’s current mandate with no changes to allow discussions to take place between parties to resolve this row,” a source told the Post, quoting the ambassadors.
The source said the envoys said that the international community does not want to take “any abrupt decision” on UNMIN’s termination.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s Foreign Relations Advisor Rajan Bhattarai said the UNSC cannot take a decision on the technical rollover of UNMIN’s mandate without the consent of the government.
“The envoys said it would be difficult for the Security Council to take a decision on two different requests forwarded from Nepal,” Bhattarai said. The envoys are said to have told the prime minister that the Security Council could write a letter to the government asking it to “further clarify” its request for mandate renewal.
The letter sent by the government on Tuesday says the government would like to see UNMIN focus on the monitoring of Maoist combatants and their weapons. The Maoists have “objected” to the request saying that it remained silent on UNMIN’s monitoring of Nepal Army. After the meeting with Dahal, DeLisi told reporters that the international community is now concentrating on providing better assistance to the peace process.
Posted on: 2010-09-10 08:13
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