US envoy urges progress in Nepal peace process

Kathmandu, 13 June

The new US assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs called here Saturday for concrete progress in Nepal's peace process and the speedy formation of a new government.

Robert Blake warned that the international community did not have "unlimited patience" as he urged rival parties to work together to achieve peace in Nepal, where Maoist rebels fought a decade-long civil war with the army.

"It is very important for there not to just be rhetorical support for the peace process, but for everybody to act together to complete this process," Blake told journalists here after meeting the president and prime minister on Friday.

The Maoists took power in Nepal last year after winning a general election, but their government fell in May following a failed attempt to sack the head of the army, plunging the country into fresh political chaos.

More than a month later, the new ruling coalition has still not agreed on the distribution of ministerial portfolios, further delaying the fragile peace process launched when the civil war ended in 2006.

This requires the integration of Maoist former fighters with the army -- a controversial process that has yet to begin.

Blake said he had urged the new ruling coalition to "proceed as quickly as possible to name all new ministers and their portfolios" to allow the peace process to move forward.

"Nepal should not think there will be unlimited patience on the part of the international community," he said, responding to a question on the future of the United Nations mission set up to support the peace process.

The current mandate of the UN mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is due to expire on July 23, but the mission's chief has said it is unlikely the process will be completed by then.
(AFP)

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