Arms accord a strong start for Nepal's peace process

NEPAL: Nepal's "new era" of peace is off to a strong start with the central government and Maoists signing an additional accord mandating UN monitoring of the rebel army, officials and analysts said Wednesday.

The issue of "arms management" was one of the toughest in the peace process, which crossed a landmark last week with the two sides signing a deal designed to bring the rebels out of the hills and jungles and into the mainstream.

On Tuesday they signed another pact calling on the United Nations to monitor a rebel pledge to confine their fighters to camps in seven areas of the country and lock up their weapons - albeit whilst retaining the keys.

"It sends a very positive signal about the momentum of the peace process in Nepal," said Ian Martin, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal representative to Nepal's peace process.

Local analysts agreed the signs were that the Maoists, whose decade-old "people's war" has led to at least 12,500 deaths in the impoverished Himalayan nation, were serious about peace.

"The Maoists' promise to lock up weapons under UN monitoring will be a relief for thousands of Nepalis who have been living under a constant fear of guns and violence," Indrajit Rai, a conflict expert who teaches military science at Nepal's army college, told AFP.

"The deal is another significant step in ending the armed conflict. Now there is a strong indication that the former rebels will not use weapons again for political purposes," Rai said.

A government negotiator echoed that view, saying the Maoists were firmly on track for a place in a new interim government and seats in parliament.

"By agreeing on the monitoring of arms and armies, we (the government and the Maoists) have moved a step forward in making the ongoing peace process successful," Minister for Culture and Tourism Pradeep Gyawali told AFP.

"Now a door has been opened for the Maoists to join the interim government."

So far, so good - although observers still caution there are plenty of hurdles ahead.

"It's crucial in that technically you had to have this (arms) accord to make the peace deal work, but it does not address certain political questions," said Rhoderick Chalmers, deputy South Asia project director with the International Crisis Group.

KATHMANDU, Friday, AFP