Nepalese government to ask UN to extend its special mission

Sep 7, 2010, 8:11 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepal's government has decided to ask the United Nations Security Council to extend the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) mandate but exclude the Nepal army from monitoring due to allegations of bias, local media reported Tuesday.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal decided to write to the UN Security Council asking for the four-month expansion after the cabinet on Monday gave him the authority to make the decision, the Republica daily reported.

'Most of the ministers have advised the prime minister to remove the Nepal Army from the purview of UNMIN,' The Kathmandu Post quoted one of the ministers who attended the meeting. 'He will take a final call on term extension and send a letter Tuesday.'

Political parties have been at loggerheads over the extension of the mission which expires on September 15.

'The Nepal Army should not be taken off monitoring by UNMIN, given the present transitional situation in the country,' said Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun. 'We are ready to settle at political level, the problems that the army has faced due to monitoring by UNMIN.'

Other political parties have accused the mission of bias towards the Maoist army.

Last month, Chief of Nepal Army Chhatraman Singh Gurung advised the government that the mission should be asked to leave.

Tuesday's development came as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon prepared to present his report to the Security Council on the progress of the Nepalese peace process and the implementation of the UNMIN mandate.

UNMIN was formed by the UN Security Council in 2007 as a special political mission to support the peace process for a year. Its term has been extended several times at the request of Nepal's government, most recently for a sixth time in May 2010.

Over 19,000 former Maoist combatants live under UN supervision in seven cantonments across the country.