Archive: January, 2010

From the field A Ray of Hope for writing a new Constitution

The United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) called off the 5th phase of their agitation program following a request by the High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) on 22 January 2010. The UCPN-M announced that it had called off the entire protest program, including the indefinite general strike set to begin on 24 January 2010. The UCPN-M has been organizing protests against the President’s move to reinstate the Army Chief who resigned from the government in May 2009. Read more >>>

Liberia section added

We’ve today added Liberia to the regions covered on Insight on Conflict. Liberia is still recovering from a brutal Civil War that lasted over a decade, ending in 2003, and over the coming months we will be adding information on the many active peacebuilding organisations there. Read more >>>

From the field The Hidden Story of the Disqualified Maoist Combatants

Reintegration of Maoist combatants is a key part of the Nepal Peace Process. A verification process undertaken by The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) in December 2007 concluded that there were over 20,000 Maoists staying in seven main cantonments (barracks) and the 21 sub-cantonments. Read more >>>

From the field Sport, Propaganda and the Burundi General Elections

As the general elections in Burundi approach, tension is rising amongst young people, and in particular those who are members of different political parties. The elections are due to take place between May and June 2010. Read more >>>

From the field High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) Formed in Nepal

A ‘High Level Political Mechanism’ (HLPM) has been formed in Nepal, tasked with moving the country forward from the political impasse in the peace process and the writing of a new constitution. The HLPM is under the co-ordination of the President of the Nepali Congress, Girija Prasad Koirala, and the other two members are Prachad, the President of the United Communist Party of Nepal – UCPN (Maoist), and Jhalanath Khanal, the president of Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is the invitee member in the mechanism. The first meeting of the HLPM held on January 19 which constituted a six-member taskforce to prepare its Terms of Reference (TOR) and working procedure within three days. Read more >>>

From the field Academic Discussion on the Deep South Conflict

The conflict in Thailand’s Deep South has now lasted over 5 years, and continues to see daily, worsening violence. The question many people are asking is has government policy so far been correct – particularly in sending the army to deal with the problem? Read more >>>

From the field Life in a border village

In October 2009, Ashima Kaul, Local Correspondent for Kashmir and a peacebuilder with the Athwaas organisation, visited Jammu and Kashmir, accompanied by Tom Gillhespy of Peace Direct. On her trip she made a visit to a school, where she was able to get the views of the children and staff on the conflict in Kashmir. The visit is recorded in the below video. Many thanks to Renu Nanda for her assistance on the trip. Read more >>>

Commentary New operation to replace Kimia II in DR Congo

The army of the DR Congo, the FARDC, has commenced a new military operation, Amani Leo, to replace Kimia II, their operation in the eastern parts of DR Congo that received damaging criticisms over alleged human rights violations. The new mission will again be targetting the FRLR and other militia groups, with protecting civilians as a principal objective. Read more >>>

Commentary LRA in DR Congo

ReliefWeb have added a report, from the Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA), on the presence of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the Orientale Province. These Uganda rebels are arguably the most notorious of all the fighters currently active in the region; their presence will certainly on heighten the dangers to the local population. Read more >>>

From the field Reflections on a visit to Lahan

On visits to my parents’ home, I had many times passed the town of Lahan, but never had the opportunity to visit properly. I was very excited therefore to get the opportunity to go, as a part of a training on ‘Peace, Non-Violence and Reconciliation’, run by the National Peace Campaign in partnership with the Creative International Forum (CIF). The training was for young people from different political parties and civil society organisations in 6 districts of eastern and central Lahan – Siraha, Saptari, Udaypur, Dhanusha, Mahottari and Sarlahi. The aim of the training was to help the young leaders develop non-violent mechanisms for addressing conflicts and bringing communities together. Lahan is part of the Tarai region, was chosen as it was where the Madhesi movement began. Unfortunately, due to strikes I was able to visit further in the Tarai due to strikes. Read more >>>