Forgot your password?
Turning Over Maoist Combatants And Weapons To Nepal Army
By KTM Metro Reporter
April 11, 2012: A meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) held in the presence of the top leaders of three major political parties decided to entrust the Nepal Army (NA) with the responsibility for providing all 18 cantonments including seven main ones and their satellite camps with security, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of today writes.
After the meeting of the AISC, Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal told reporters that the NA would take responsibility for providing the combatants with security, and looking after weapons, containers and other physical properties of all cantonments and camps from today.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai called Chief of the Army Staff General Chhatraman Singh Gurung and instructed him to take responsibility for managing the security of the cantonments and combatants.
The three parties agreed on turning over the security of the cantonments to the NA immediately after clashes erupted among the combatants in the sixth division of Surkhet and the first division of Ilam and the combatants of the third division Chitwan misbehaved with the AISC team.
AISC member Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that the Maoists agreed to bring their cantonments under the NA after the commanders felt unsafe there at the time of regrouping of the combatants for allowing them to choose voluntary retirement and rehabilitation options and for joining the NA.
Similarly, the AISC had given the security responsibility of Rolpa, Chitwan and Ilam cantonments to the Armed Police Force and of the remaining 15 cantonments to the NA.
The meeting of the AISC also decided to assign AISC secretariat coordinator Balananda Sharma to develop the code of conduct for the combatants. Coordinator Sharma would prepare the code of conduct by Wednesday after returning from Chitwan. Of the 9,700 combatants opting for integration into the NA, only 6,500 would be integrated following the seven-point agreement, and the rest would be given the choice of other available options.
"The decision has opened the gateway to peace process and, now, the constitution drafting process will pick momentum," Chairman of CPN-UML Khanal said. Similarly, UCPN-Maoist leader Barshaman Pun said that it had opened the doors for completing the peace process and the constitution writing. "With the decision, the peace process has entered an important stage," NC leader Mahat said, "We assume that the selection process will begin from the day after the combatants come fully under the NA command," ‘The Rising Nepal’ writes
Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the Government of Nepal and the then-CPN-Maoist in 2006, the army integration process was supposed to complete within six months of the signing of the agreement. Earlier, the peace process got stalled as the parties failed to agree on structure of the NA directorate for the combatants, formation of the selection committee, rank determination and training period, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of today writes.
The peace process did not make any progress during the governments led by Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda, CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal altogether for 35 months.
Prime Minster Dr. Baburam Bhattarai made a breakthrough in the peace process completing the regrouping and rehabilitation of the combatants, and ultimately leading to the current stage of the peace process, ‘The Rising Nepal’ writes
Speaking at an event held by the medical professionals in Kathmandu on April 10, 2012, Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda has said that his party’s decision on turning over the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cantonments to the NA put to an end to all kinds of conspiracies against the peace process and constitution writing; the decision is a risky one but his party has taken the risk for the cause of peace, nepalnews.com reports. “Our decision has put aside all the plots to disrupt the peace process and constitution writing,” he said, "A party rarely gets the kind of opportunity and the challenges our party has got at present," “however, the peace process could not be completely completed even by May 27 as a number of tasks such as Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the commission on disappearances are yet to be formed following the comprehensive peace agreement.”
On April 11, 2012, AISC has formed a four-member taskforce comprising AISC members such as Barshaman Pun of UCPN-Maoist, Minendra Rijal of NC, Bhim Rawal of CPN-UML and Jitendra Dev of Madhesi People’s Forum-Republican to settle the technical issues of the army integration, nepalnews.com reports. Even after turning over the PLA cantonments to the NA, the political parties have to agree on the ranks for the combatants joining the NA, standards of integration, training period, formation of the selection committee and the composition of the general directorate to be formed under the NA.
On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, the Mohan Vaidya faction of the UCPN-Maoist has dubbed the decision of the AISC on turning over the PLA combatants to the NA as 'surrender' and has said that it would protest against it. "This is an unfortunate moment in history. This is not integration...this is a surrender," Secretary General of UCPN-Maoist C.P Gajurel said, "What is being done is disarmament of the PLA. We don't see any integration happening. This is merely a regular recruitment in the army," "The signing of the seven-point agreement had come as a signal that our party's leadership is going to surrender," nepalnews.com writes.
In a joint press statement of the hardliner leaders of the UCPN-Maoist at their Kupondole office on April 10, 2012, General Secretary of UCPN-Maoist C P Gajurel has said that they condemn the decision of the AISC on turning over the PLA cantonments and their camps to the NA; “We appeal to all including patriotic, republican and those looking for change to raise their voice against the decision,” he said ‘The Himalayan Times’ reports.
Cadres of the hardliner Vice-chairman of UCPN-Maoist Mohan Vaidya have marched with torches in Kathmandu on April 11, 2012 night protesting against the NA taking over the security of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cantonments; the protesters have chanted slogans against the UCPN-Maoist establishment and demanded the pullout of the NA from the PLA camps; the protesters also have burnt down Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda and Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai in their effigies according to the news on the nepalnews.com.
