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U.S. Helps Peace Talks End Conflict
FrontLines - February 2010
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A woman of Nepal’s Tamang
ethnic group is walking on a
trail near Langtang mountain
and wearing jewelry typical of
Tibetan culture.
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Nepal seems peaceful today,
but only a few years ago it was
hard to travel outside the main
cities without experiencing the
effects of the 10-year guerrilla
war that left 15,000 people dead
and tore apart the government—
leading to the ouster of the monarchy
in 2008.
In one village in the Terai—
the plains near the Indian frontier—
an aid worker on a USAIDfunded
project said “Maoists
stopped USAID workers four
years ago and asked us, ‘What
money goes to your salary?’ I
told them 12 percent. Some 88
percent went to the project—65
percent to farmers and 25 percent
for input supplies such as seeds,
fertilizer, pesticide, and
insecticide.”
The unarmed Maoists detained
him for two hours, interrogated
him, and read through his project’s
computer printouts to assure
they agreed with his assertions.
They also checked the facts with
the local farmers. Once satisfied,
he released the aid workers with
a warning “not to wear flashy
clothes.”
During the conflict, the Nepal
government also failed to provide
adequate services to the
population and questioned aid
workers trying to access areas of
the country where government
forces were fighting insurgents.
The Maoists eventually
joined the political process, participated
in elections, and
became the largest party in the
Constituent Assembly. Afterwards,
the Maoist leader Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda,
became prime minister.
But in May 2008 he abruptly
resigned when the country’s
president blocked his decision to
remove the army chief from his
post. In protest to the president’s
controversial move, the Maoists
blocked parliamentary sessions,
including passage of the annual
budget, but continued to participate
in the drafting of the country’s
new constitution.
Up to 19,600 Maoist guerrilla
fighters remain in camps under
U.N. supervision, hoping to
either join the Nepali army or be
trained for new jobs. The Maoists
have threatened to continue
their protests unless the parliament
discusses the override of
the prime minister’s removal of
the army chief.
Throughout this tumult,
USAID, which has funded Nepal
peace projects since 2003, has
been supporting informal, political
talks between the three main
parliamentary parties: the Maoists,
the Nepali Congress, and the
United Marxist-Leninist Party.
“We created in 2003 a space
for informal dialogue between
second and third level party people—
even the Maoists participated,”
said a USAID Nepali
staff member. “Now we are trying
to help the parties clear the
[parliamentary] deadlock.”
U.S. help has proved critical
in ending the conflict and moving
toward reconciliation according
to the Nepali government Chief
Secretary Madhav Ghimire.
“USAID and the U.S. government
helped us create a conducive
environment to resolve
armed conflict in the country,”
said Ghimire in an interview.
|
At the Monkey Temple outside Kathmandu, a
monkey eats offerings left to a carved stone
image of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god.
|
“The government was not in a
position to deal with the Maoists.
The USAID initiative created
space for both players—the government
and
the Maoists—
to share their
expectations
and for
government
feedback.”
Leaders of
seven political
parties were
involved and
used the process
“to share
how the conflict
could be
resolved.”
USAID
funded meetings
between
the Maoists,
other political parties, the Nepali
government, and two facilitators
to help the different sides work
together to resolve conflicts.
“This sort of help was really
instrumental for the peace process,”
said Ghimire.
The peace process helped by
sharing the experience of other
countries and giving the Nepalis
access to literature and knowledge
of peace building, he said.
The U.S. aid team is currently
helping Nepal create a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission to
promote reconciliation between
the civilians who suffered or had
loved ones die during the conflict
and the combatants on both
sides. USAID is also helping the
Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction
strengthen local peace
committees to move the peace
process out of the center into
local levels.
But despite progress, there is
rising tension and turmoil outside
the capital. In the countryside,
ethnic groups are demanding
their rights under a new
constitution, political party
youth groups compete for support—
sometimes violently—
from a disenchanted population,
and criminal groups are taking
advantage of the inadequate or
non-existent police presence.
The May 28 deadline for the
Constituent Assembly to promulgate
a new constitution
looms large as the parties continue
to negotiate elements of
the new statute while attempting
to carry out the peace agreement
signed in 2006.
Nepalese anxiously await the
outcome, remaining hopeful the
parties can consolidate the country’s
gains toward a peaceful and
prosperous democracy.
★
FrontLines Editorial Director Ben Barber wrote this series of articles following a trip to Nepal in October. All photos by Ben Barber unless otherwise noted.
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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