Another milestone as ex-combatants turn the page

BHAKTAPUR, AUG 27 -
Another page was added to the country’s history on Monday when 70 former Maoist combatants formally entered the Nepal Army (NA) as officers. Former PLA combatants’ integration into the national army, a key component of the peace process, came to an end as government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi and Chief of Army Staff Gaurav SJB Rana handed the insignia to the new Army officers, including four women, amid a special ceremony at the Nepali Military Academy in Kharipati, Bhaktapur.

A total of 1,352 of the 1,462 former PLA combatants selected for integration into the national army had already entered service in junior ranks in July. While 71 former combatants had been selected for the officer ranks earlier, one opted for voluntary retirement as they underwent a nine-month training.

The Cabinet, on the recommendation of the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Combatants, had decided to induct the 1,462 former Maoist combatants into the Army.

Regmi was the chief guest in Monday’s programme attended by former prime ministers, ministers, heads of constitutional bodies, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, party leader Baburam Bhattarai and leaders from the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist.  According to the NA, the new entrants will be given various positions after a three-month ‘departmental bridging course.’ As per the decision of the Special Committee, former division commander of the PLA Yam Bahadur Adhikari will be given the rank of a colonel, while Padam Lama and Bashudev Ghimire will be given the post of lieutenant colonels. While 13 will be made majors, 30 will become captains and 24 lieutenants.

Addressing the function, Regmi said the integration of the combatants into the national army is a ‘great achievement of the peace process.’ “The successful integration has opened a way for drafting a new constitution through a new Constituent Assembly,” he said.

While Dahal refused to comment on the integration process, UCPN (Maoist) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara said the successful integration has ‘laid a foundation for drafting a new constitution.’

The new entrants, on the other hand, said they were proud to become part of the national army in serving the nation. “I am very happy. I don’t want to comment on the past,” said Sashi Kala Bhattarai, 33, who had joined the Maoist army when she was 17.

Though the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) had envisaged completing the integration and rehabilitation process within six months, the same could not make headway until 2011. The process gained momentum after major political parties on November 1, 2011 made an understanding to integrate into the NA a maximum of 6,500 of the 19,000 combatants verified by the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).

However, only 1,462 former PLA fighters applied for integration and the rest opted for the voluntary retirement scheme the government had prepared.

“Among the many facets of the peace process, the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants has successfully been completed,” said Bala Nanda Sharma, a top former NA officer who headed the secretariat formed under the Special Committee.

“The task of preparing the integration modality began during my tenure and the process has been completed as per the norms and values of the Nepal Army ,” said former Army chief Rookmangud Katawal.

UN lauds development

KATHMANDU: The United Nations in Nepal commended the completion of the integration process and congratulated the Nepali people and the political parties.

“It marks a milestone in the Nepali peace process that began with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the presence of the UN in November 2006,” UN Resident Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said in a statement.

However, other prominent aspects of the peace process such as formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Disappearance Commission and drafting of a new constitution remain incomplete, the statement said. (PR)

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