The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction had begun the process of releasing 4,008 disqualified combatants on July 17, with a plan to complete it by November 2. But the ministry was compelled to abort the process on its very first day as the combatants did not cooperate with the government teams in the field. The process met with deadlock as the government failed to secure genuine commitment from the Maoists. [break]
“We [government and Maoists] agreed to resume the process very soon, most likely after the Dashain festival, at a meeting held at the ministry today [Thursday],” Dilli Bahadur Mahat, State Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, told myrepublica.com on Thursday evening.
The meeting was called as part of the government’s persistent efforts to see the process resumed. Representatives from the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), the United Nations Development Fund, the donor community and the Norwegian ambassador were present at the meeting, according to Mahat.
Maoist politburo member Barsha Man Pun represented the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) while Peace and Reconstruction Minister Rakam Chemjong, State Minister Mahat and officials from the ministry represented the government.
Pun was not available for comment. But a senior Maoist leader said his party reiterated its commitment to the process during Wednesday’s meeting.
“We have asked the ministry for a revised timetable for the discharge process. The process will begin soon after we get the new timetable,” the Maoist leader said.
UNMIN disqualified 4,008 Maoist combatants, including 2,973 minors currently staying in UNMIN-monitored cantonments, following its verification of the Maoist army. Though the verification was completed in December 2007, discharge of the disqualified combatants could not take on momentum due to lack of consensus.
UNMIN, the political mission of the UN, disqualified the combatants as per terms mentioned in the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA), which was signed between the then seven-party alliance government and the Maoists on December 8, 2006.
AMMAA says that a combatant eligible to be in the cantonments must be born before 25 May, 1988 and must have joined the Maoist army before May 25, 2006. Thus the disqualified are either minors or late recruits.
Knowledgeable sources present at the meeting told myrepublica.com that the process may resume even before Dashain. “But Minister Chemjong is flying off to Ireland on Friday for a 10-day visit, which has increased the possibility of the process resuming only after Dashain,” the sources said on condition of anonymity.
The disqualified combatants will have to leave the cantonments and will not be considered for integration into the security agencies, according to AMMAA. Rehabilitation of these combatants is part of the ongoing peace process.
During the meeting held at the ministry, Pun had asked the government to come forward with cash relief for the combatants to be released. By cash relief package, Maoists mean opening cooperative shops or similar schemes to enable the disqualified combatants to earn a living. Sources quoted Pun as saying also that the discharge process will be completed within three months if cash relief is offered to the Maoist combatants.
The recently-held general staff meeting of the Maoist army had also concluded that the Maoist side would cooperate with the government if the latter offers cash relief to the disqualified combatants.
But the government side supported by UNMIN and the donor community held the view that such cash relief may spoil the combatants being released. The proposed rehabilitation package of the government includes only vocational training for the disqualified. It does not involve any cash relief.
Meanwhile, the ministry plans to conduct the discharge process in a phasewise manner.
In the first phase, the government will impart information to the disqualified combatants in their respective cantonments about why they were disqualified by UNMIN and on the agreements concerning their rehabilitation. The second phase will involve filling up questionnaires on what they want. The disqualified will then be separated from the qualified combatants and will be cantoned in “temporary transit centers.” Finally, the released combatants will be given vocational training to prepare them for their future life.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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