Over 3 thousand former Maoist guerrillas join Nepalese Army
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - 3,128 former Maoist guerrillas are now part of the
regular army as Nepalese soldiers and officers. In
recent days the military has officially taken possession of the 15 training
camps still in the hands of the rebels scattered throughout the country. The
Maoist Prime Minister Bhattarai said that this event marks the end "of the
two armies for one state" and gives hope for a general reconciliation
after 10 years of civil war between Maoists and supporters of the Hindu
monarchy.
In the
coming months 3500 other fighters will be integrated. The
number respects the agreements between the UN, the Nepalese government and
Maoist leaders. For
the remaining 13 thousand a program of integration into the world of work and a
subsidy of up to 50 thousand dollars for high-ranking leaders has been proposed.
However,
part of the former Nepal People's Liberation Army (Npla) considers the delivery
of weapons and abandonment of the struggle an affront to the ideals of the 11-year
Maoist war against state powers represented by the conservative parties still
close to the monarchy.
Experts
point out that such a division could stop the program of reintegration of
militias into the army and society. According
to military sources there are at least 3 thousand guerrillas who are pushing to
get into battalions of the Nepal Army (NA), rejecting the option of civilian resettlement.
Thousands
more have opted instead for voluntary withdrawal, but without surrendering
their weapons. In
recent days, the Nepalese army has denounced the disappearance of several
weapons and ammunition from old camps. The
weapons were taken by men close to Mohan Baidhya, a former Maoist, contrary to
the disarmament of rebel troops.
Last
week, the leader has attacked some camps with his men and wounded four Maoists officers,
forcing the former guerrillas to seek the protection of the army.
Interviewed
by AsiaNews, Bidhya, defines the
plane of reinstatement "an insult to the People's Liberation Army and the
war that allowed the liberation of Nepal. He points out that the Maoists "can
not surrender to the elite who for years have oppressed minorities and the
weakest". "The leaders announced a general strike in view of the delivery
of the new constitution, whose term expires May 27.
The
11 year civil war in Nepal pitted the army and the Maoist guerrillas, who
fought with the aim to overthrow the kingdom and establish the People's
Republic of Nepal. The
conflict ended with the fall of the absolute Hindu monarchy which was followed
by a comprehensive peace agreement between the army and Maoists signed November
21, 2006 in front of UN and international community. The
war has claimed more than 12,800 lives and created about 100 thousand refugees.
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