Cautious Approach Needed For Arms Management
Yuba Nath Lamsal
NEPAL has entered a new era?an era of peace and cooperation. The Maoists, who waged a violent armed insurgency for the last one-decade that killed over 14,000 people and displaced tens of thousands, have finally agreed to give peace a chance. The peace accord between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists has dispelled a deep sense of fear and insecurity that had mentally traumatized the entire Nepali populace in the past. People now are feeling more secure and safe as the Maoists have publicly expressed their resolve to give up violent politics and armed insurgency.Thorny IssueThe fear among the people is definitely down but not completely out. The fear and sense of insecurity would continue to remain until the Maoists completely lay their arms down and the weapons of the Maoists are managed in a proper way.The arms management has been a thorny and tricky issue in the post conflict period in all counties. The job of arms management needs a lot of homework, patience, time, energy and caution.The first step towards arms management is the confidence building measures between the two sides for which they have already done some groundwork. But crisis of confidence still exists. There are reports of Maoists' recruitment drive in their 'People's Liberation Army', which has made all including the international community suspicious about Maoist commitment to peace. Since the peace process has already started and the Maoists have expressed commitment to join peaceful politics, the massive recruitment in the PLA was absolutely unnecessary and unjustified. It only creates misunderstanding and suspicion. The Maoists, thus, must immediately cease such recruitment drive and other offensive activities that are against the earlier agreements and ceasefire code of conduct.Secondly, the government and the Maoists have to sign a comprehensive peace accord which would include all issues including the modalities and framework for the arms management. It is expected that the signing of the agreement would be held soon.The second important job is the repatriation agreement between the government, the Maoists and the United Nations. The government and the Maoists have already written to the United Nations to monitor the peace process and help in arms management. The United Nations has also sent a team to work for that. However, its full-fledged work would begin only after a tripartite agreement was signed. The tripartite agreement would clearly state the role, responsibility, functions and jurisdiction of the United Nation. It would also be binding for the government and the Maoists to fully cooperate with the United Nations team in arms management.It has been agreed that the Maoists guerrillas would be kept in seven cantonments, the areas of which are yet to be decided. The arms of the guerrillas would also be stored in the cantonment premises under the single lock system, the key of which would be in the control of the cantonment commander although double-lock system would have been better?one by the United Nation and the other by the Maoists. If all goes in accordance with the agreement, the guerrillas would not come out of the cantonments and would not exercise arms. In principle, the Maoists would be separated from the weapons. But, in practice, weapons would be with them as the arms are to be under their control.The United Nations team would monitor the rebels' movement as well as the arms during the entire peace process. It has been said that the United Nations would fix some sensor devices that would immediately alert the UN team if anyone attempts to tamper with the stored arms. However, it is still not clear whether the United Nations will be physically present in the cantonments. The physical presence of the UN team would be better to ensure that everything has gone in accordance with the agreement. A small contingent of the UN in all seven cantonments should be deployed to allay the fear of the people on arms control.The establishment of the cantonments, monitoring and supervising by the United Nations is a praiseworthy initiative towards the management of arms and restoration sustainable peace in the country. In addition to that, there are other difficult jobs that the United Nations needs to do. It is still not known how many and what types of weapons are in the Maoists' possession. Firstly, the United Nations has to get the Maoists issue a white paper on the number and of the types of arms and ammunitions they have. The Maoists have to explain how and from which source they got the weapons. Secondly, the Nepal Army also may have its own assessment on the strength and weapons of the guerrillas, which would also make the job of the United Nations easier in assessing the arms of the Maoists. Also the security and military experts may also have their own assessment of the Maoist strength. Based on these estimates and assumptions, the UN team will have its own assessment. If there is discrepancy, the Maoists will have to convince the UN where the rest of the weapons have gone. Some weapons might have been stolen from the Maoist sides also during the decade-long civil war, which is understandable. But these arms should also be collected so that the fatal weapons would not get into the hands of criminals. And the onus lies on the Maoists also to collect the arms stolen from their control.New MechanismSince the issue of arms management is a delicate one, the government and the Maoists must maintain strong caution. Slightest provocation can jeopardize the entire process. During this period, the purchase, mobilization, transpiration of arms and armies should be strictly restricted. The United Nations ought to devise a strong mechanism and network for effective monitoring. It would do well if the UN creates a nationwide network of civil society to facilitate its work and ensure nationwide presence during the constituent assembly elections. Furthermore, it has to be agreed upon in advance, what should be done with the rebel army after the constituent assembly elections. The Maoists are demanding the merger of their guerrillas with the Nepal Army. This is an issue that needs a lot f debate and homework. Nepal Army is an institution of professional soldiers created after years of fierce training and education. What is the mechanism to judge the professional capability of each individual Maoist guerrilla? Though complicated, all these issues must be settled for sustainable peace in the country. If these issues remain unsettled, the desire for peace would remain a mirage.
NEPAL has entered a new era?an era of peace and cooperation. The Maoists, who waged a violent armed insurgency for the last one-decade that killed over 14,000 people and displaced tens of thousands, have finally agreed to give peace a chance. The peace accord between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists has dispelled a deep sense of fear and insecurity that had mentally traumatized the entire Nepali populace in the past. People now are feeling more secure and safe as the Maoists have publicly expressed their resolve to give up violent politics and armed insurgency.Thorny IssueThe fear among the people is definitely down but not completely out. The fear and sense of insecurity would continue to remain until the Maoists completely lay their arms down and the weapons of the Maoists are managed in a proper way.The arms management has been a thorny and tricky issue in the post conflict period in all counties. The job of arms management needs a lot of homework, patience, time, energy and caution.The first step towards arms management is the confidence building measures between the two sides for which they have already done some groundwork. But crisis of confidence still exists. There are reports of Maoists' recruitment drive in their 'People's Liberation Army', which has made all including the international community suspicious about Maoist commitment to peace. Since the peace process has already started and the Maoists have expressed commitment to join peaceful politics, the massive recruitment in the PLA was absolutely unnecessary and unjustified. It only creates misunderstanding and suspicion. The Maoists, thus, must immediately cease such recruitment drive and other offensive activities that are against the earlier agreements and ceasefire code of conduct.Secondly, the government and the Maoists have to sign a comprehensive peace accord which would include all issues including the modalities and framework for the arms management. It is expected that the signing of the agreement would be held soon.The second important job is the repatriation agreement between the government, the Maoists and the United Nations. The government and the Maoists have already written to the United Nations to monitor the peace process and help in arms management. The United Nations has also sent a team to work for that. However, its full-fledged work would begin only after a tripartite agreement was signed. The tripartite agreement would clearly state the role, responsibility, functions and jurisdiction of the United Nation. It would also be binding for the government and the Maoists to fully cooperate with the United Nations team in arms management.It has been agreed that the Maoists guerrillas would be kept in seven cantonments, the areas of which are yet to be decided. The arms of the guerrillas would also be stored in the cantonment premises under the single lock system, the key of which would be in the control of the cantonment commander although double-lock system would have been better?one by the United Nation and the other by the Maoists. If all goes in accordance with the agreement, the guerrillas would not come out of the cantonments and would not exercise arms. In principle, the Maoists would be separated from the weapons. But, in practice, weapons would be with them as the arms are to be under their control.The United Nations team would monitor the rebels' movement as well as the arms during the entire peace process. It has been said that the United Nations would fix some sensor devices that would immediately alert the UN team if anyone attempts to tamper with the stored arms. However, it is still not clear whether the United Nations will be physically present in the cantonments. The physical presence of the UN team would be better to ensure that everything has gone in accordance with the agreement. A small contingent of the UN in all seven cantonments should be deployed to allay the fear of the people on arms control.The establishment of the cantonments, monitoring and supervising by the United Nations is a praiseworthy initiative towards the management of arms and restoration sustainable peace in the country. In addition to that, there are other difficult jobs that the United Nations needs to do. It is still not known how many and what types of weapons are in the Maoists' possession. Firstly, the United Nations has to get the Maoists issue a white paper on the number and of the types of arms and ammunitions they have. The Maoists have to explain how and from which source they got the weapons. Secondly, the Nepal Army also may have its own assessment on the strength and weapons of the guerrillas, which would also make the job of the United Nations easier in assessing the arms of the Maoists. Also the security and military experts may also have their own assessment of the Maoist strength. Based on these estimates and assumptions, the UN team will have its own assessment. If there is discrepancy, the Maoists will have to convince the UN where the rest of the weapons have gone. Some weapons might have been stolen from the Maoist sides also during the decade-long civil war, which is understandable. But these arms should also be collected so that the fatal weapons would not get into the hands of criminals. And the onus lies on the Maoists also to collect the arms stolen from their control.New MechanismSince the issue of arms management is a delicate one, the government and the Maoists must maintain strong caution. Slightest provocation can jeopardize the entire process. During this period, the purchase, mobilization, transpiration of arms and armies should be strictly restricted. The United Nations ought to devise a strong mechanism and network for effective monitoring. It would do well if the UN creates a nationwide network of civil society to facilitate its work and ensure nationwide presence during the constituent assembly elections. Furthermore, it has to be agreed upon in advance, what should be done with the rebel army after the constituent assembly elections. The Maoists are demanding the merger of their guerrillas with the Nepal Army. This is an issue that needs a lot f debate and homework. Nepal Army is an institution of professional soldiers created after years of fierce training and education. What is the mechanism to judge the professional capability of each individual Maoist guerrilla? Though complicated, all these issues must be settled for sustainable peace in the country. If these issues remain unsettled, the desire for peace would remain a mirage.
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