UNMIN submits details to govt

TKP By Phanindra Dahal

KATHMANDU, OCT 08 - The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has started the process of submitting to the government the detailed information of all verified Maoist combatants.

On Wednesday, the UN political mission handed over the compact discs containing the names, addresses and age of all 19,602 combatants verified by UNMIN in December 2007 to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR). The information was shared in response to a letter sent by the MoPR to UNMIN early this week.

Earlier, UNMIN had turned down the Madhav Kumar Nepal led government’s unilateral request demanding the information on the Maoist combatants. The fresh move comes following the Oct. 2 agreement between the UCPN (Maoist) and the government in the Special Committee to acquire details of combatants living at the UN monitored cantonments.

“We have started the process of sharing information on the Maoist army personnel as per the request made by the Ministry of peace and Reconstruction,” said UNMIN Spokesperson Kosmos Biswokarma. “Sharing of all the details on individual combatants will be complete by next week.”

Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Peace Bishnu Prasad Nepal confirmed that the government has received basic information about all the combatants. “In response to our demand for the names, addresses, age and photographs of all the combatants, UNMIN has sent us a reply with basic information of all 19,602 combatants,” he said. “It has informed us that it will provide detailed information with photographs within the next three or four days,” added Nepal.

The UNMIN has informed the government that it has prepared a single page form with basic information and photographs of each of the combatants who passed its verification process conducted in all 28 Maoist cantonments.

The mission, in its reply sent to the Peace and Reconstruction Ministry has said that the delay in handing over the information at once was due to technical reasons in compiling all the 19,602 pages.

Earlier, office of the Prime Minister had written a letter asking the Ministry for Peace and Reconstruction to demand information on the combatants from UNMIN.

Official at the UNMIN maintain that the mission was not able to submit all the information at once as many officials were engaged in the the UN Under Secretary General B Lynn Pascoe’s visit that ended on Thursday.

The six-party Special Committee overseeing the Maoist combatants has agreed to maintain a fresh update on the number of Maoist combatants living in cantonments for the last four years.

In her briefing to the UN Security Council on Sept. 7, UNMIN chief Karin Landgren had said there was an agreement with the UCPN (Maoist) that UNMIN’s arms monitors will conduct a fresh headcount in the cantonments in the near future.