A major change in the Nepalese political landscape was announced in Kathmandu on Friday 16 June. Marking a potential end to the 10-year-old Maoist insurgency, which has left some 13,000 dead, an interim government is to be formed.
New Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, and Maoist leader, Prachanda, signed a joint statement allowing for the development of a government in which Maoist leaders will serve. It is hoped that the new government will be formed within a few weeks. While there was no formal timetable outlined for the new government, Prachanda was quoted as saying that he wants to ensure the formation of an interim government within a month.
Following many weeks of protest and the decision of the King to reduce his own power, this is the next step in trying to end the civil war in one of the world's poorest countries. If the agreement goes ahead, the Maoists, who control much of the countryside, will dissolve their own alternative government. Elections may be held in early 2007 if the agreement holds.
Graham Wood, Head of Policy at Ockenden International, described the situation as 'encouraging' in a recent discussion on the subject. Wood went on to say that "Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and the decade long civil war has continued to exacerbate poverty and result in increasing displacement. Any moves towards a reduced level of conflict are to be welcomed, although there is still some way to go yet".
Ockenden International has worked in Nepal since 2003 and focuses around programmes designed to improve the lives of refugees and the displaced. All international organisations have found it difficult to access many of the remotest areas where poverty and displacement is significant because of the ongoing civil war.
