Nepal: The End of the War - But What Next?
On Tuesday 21 November 2006, at 8.30 pm, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist chairman Prachanda signed a Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) bringing an official end to the decade-long "People's War" launched by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) in February 1996.
The CPA declares the current ceasefire permanent, thereby ending the Maoists' armed insurgency. From now on the use of guns, explosives and other military material, as well as abductions, attacks on persons or places by ground or air, raids or ambushes are declared illegal. There is also a commitment that within 30 days both parties to the conflict (the Maoist PLA and the government forces - the Nepal Army) will share information regarding the placement of mines and that within 60 days they will all be disabled.
