PLA integration: Not against PLA integration: Army

• Says it will abide by any decision taken by parties

POST REPORT

KATHMANDU, JAN 28 -
The Nepal Army (NA) has said it is not against the integration of former Maoist fighters into the national army, adding that the Army has conveyed its willingness to abide by any decision taken by the parties for concluding the peace process.

The NA position, expressed during a press conference on Friday, comes at a time when the three major political parties are holding serious negotiations that will last some days on the integration and rehabilitation modality of over 19,000 PLA combatants. This is the first policy statement in regard to the integration made by NA after the departure of UNMIN on Jan. 15. 

During his meeting with UN Under-Secretary General of Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe last year, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung had said NA was ready to accept the integration of combatants so long as the entries were on an individual basis. Opposing bulk integration of combatants, Gen. Gurung had then stated that the time-honoured “honesty, impartiality and organisational integrity” of NA could be compromised by “politically motivated individuals.”

“We don’t have an independent position on the issue of integration. The Nepal Army, as common citizens, desires peace in the country. So, we will always stand for anything to resolve the issue,” said NA Spokesman Ramindra Chhetri at the press conference organised by the Army Headquarters. He said the handover of Maoist combatants to the prime minister-headed Special Committee was an important step in the integration process. 

When asked to offer NA’s position on the standards that should be considered while determining modality, Gen. Chhetri said the NA won’t take any stand that might evince that it is trying to influence the authorised institutions. He said the Army is committed to the provisions of the Interim Constitution, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Agreement on Management of the Arms and Armies (AMMAA) and other documents signed by the parties during the peace process.

“These legitimate documents themselves have defined the benchmark of the integration process,” he said. “We want to let the Special Committee and its secretariat to take a call on this issue.”  

Gen. Chhetri said the concept of bulk integration was beyond the scope of the Interim Constitution and the peace agreements.

He said a “consensus model” determined by the parties would be the basis to conclude the peace process.

Commenting on the democratisation of NA, as committed in the CPA and the Interim Constitution, Gen. Chhetri said it will support the Action Plan on Democratisation of Nepal Army proposed by the cabinet committee headed by Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari. The plan, now under discussion at the State Affairs Committee of the Parliament, proposes a three-year programme for the democratisation of the Army.

The plan covers eight areas including civilian supremacy, government control, organisational restructuring, enhancing civil military relationship, amendment in law, transparency and accountability, promotion of human rights, coordination between Ministry of Defence and the Army and inclusiveness. “The Nepal Army is one of the most inclusive institutions of the country,” he claimed, adding that the recruitment process is voluntary and recently 45 percent of the total vacancies were reserved for Madhesis, Dalits, women, Janajatis and other minority groups.  

Army officers in barracks, not jailed NA’s legal department Head Maj. Gen. B A Kumar Sharma said nine officers currently facing court martial for their alleged involvement in political lobbying are being held in the Army barracks and not jailed. He said they have been kept there for security reasons and are allowed to meet relatives.

A Summary Military Court has been formed to look into the charges against Brig. Gen. Kiran Barjracharya and eight other officers who allegedly lobbied against the term extension of Maj. Gen. Naresh Basnyat. Sharma said the punishment for the offence could vary from a warning to seven years imprisonment.

Posted on: 2011-01-29 08:17

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2011/01/28/top-story/pla-integration-not-against-pla-integration-army/217768.html

Debate on Nepali Army reform

  Experts against using term 'democratisation'

Added At:  2011-01-27 12:19 AM

   Last Updated At: 2011-01-27 12:19 AM

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Security experts have taken exception to the use of the term ‘democratisation of the Nepali Army’, which figures in the Interim Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Accord, among others, arguing that such term is not suitable for an apolitical organisation. They said such a term will hinder NA’s reforms.

The experts, commenting on the draft paper of the Comprehensive Work-plan on Nepali Army’s Democratisation, after its presentation at a seminar of Nepal Institute for Policy Studies here today, reasoned it will be better to use the term ‘modernisation or restructuring’.

The work-plan, prepared by inter-minister committee under the Minister for Defence, is currently under consideration at the Cabinet’s State Affairs Committee for approval. “I had never heard or read words like ‘democratisation of army’ before. Army is itself a non-democratic institution, such a word may mislead the objective of Nepali Army’s reform,” said Dr Deepak Prakash Bhatta, who wrote his PhD dissertation on the NA, adding, “It would be more correct to use words like reform, modernisation, or restructuring of the Nepal Army in the draft.”

Senior Advocate Vishwo Kanta Mainali, advocates Kumar Regmi, Rudra Sharma, ex-army officials Kesher Bahadur Bhandari, Deepak Gurung, CA member Gopal Singh Bohara shared the same view.

By using the term democratisation in reference to army’s reform, there would be the danger of political leadership’s influence and interference within the army, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Balananda Sharma warned. “Professionalisation of Army would be a correct term,” suggested Sharma, coordinator at the Secretariat of Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of PLA Combatants.

However, Dr Paul Jackson, Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK, stated the term of ‘democratisation of army’ should be considered as legal control over its functioning, civilian oversight upon it and inclusiveness within every aspect of the army.

Defence Secretary Nabin Ghimire, who had presented the work-plan draft at the seminar, argued that the term democratisation was not put to mean political influence or to break army’s institutional discipline, but rather to make the organisation more efficient, transparent and responsible.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal expressed hope the suggestions made at the seminar will be helpful in making the work-plan more comprehensive.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Debate+on+Nepali+Army+reform&NewsID=274542

For more http://nipsnepal.org/

Monitoring mechanism gets full shape

Added At:  2011-01-25 12:07 AM  

Last Updated At: 2011-01-25 12:07 AM

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

LEKHANATH PANDEY

KATHMANDU: Two days after Maoist PLA fighters were officially handed over to the Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants), SC today gave final shape to its monitoring mechanism.

A meeting of SC today named members of the monitoring mechanism that comprises four representatives each from SC and its Secretariat and one from Maoist PLA combatants.

Barsha Man Pun of the UCPN-Maoist, Ram Sharan Mahat of Nepali Congress, Ishwor Pokharel of UML and Jitendra Dev of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic will represent SC in the nine-member monitoring mechanism. Balananda Sharma of NC, Chandra Prakash Khanal of UCPN-Maoist, Gopal Singh Bohara of UML and Mahesh B Karki of the Nepali Army will join the mechanism from the Secretariat. In addition, PLA commander Nanda Kishor Pun will represent the Maoist party.

A three-point deal reached between PM Nepal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 14 has it that ‘a six-member monitoring mechanism will be formed comprising three representatives each from SC and its Secretariat’. However, following Tarai-based parties’ demand to include their representative also, the mechanism has been expanded to a nine-member committee. Today’s inclusions were: UCPN-M’s Nanda Kishor Pun, MJF-D’s Dev and UML’s Bohara.

The first-ever SC meeting today since PLA fighters were handed over to SC also hailed the change of guard of former Maoist fighters.

“We reviewed PLA handover function. As it was an important day in the peace process, we approved a proposal to extend thanks to all those who largely contributed to make the function a success,” Maoist representative in SC Janardan Sharma told THT. “Our gratitude goes especially to the PM, Maoist chairman and PLA combatants.”

PM Nepal and Chairman Dahal had signed a PLA handover agreement and exchanged it on Saturday in Shaktikhor during an official handover ceremony.

Today’s meeting also directed the Secretariat to prepare a work plan for PLA integration and rehabilitation at the earliest

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Monitoring+mechanism+gets+full+shape&NewsID=274286

NA wants to break monitoring shell

Added At:  2011-01-19 12:09 AM  

Last Updated At: 2011-01-19 12:09 AM

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

LEKHANATH PANDEY

KATHMANDU: The Nepali Army today refused to remain under the umbrella of the Special Committee (for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist PLA combatants), which has taken up the job of monitoring role of the United Nations Mission in Nepal.

Chief of the Army Staff Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung today conveyed the national army’s stand to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who also heads SC, during his meeting with the prime minister. “The national army won’t be able to act under the monitoring committee, as we had already been contemplating relieving NA from the ambit of UNMIN monitoring,” a highly placed source quoted Gurung as telling Prime Minister Nepal. Gen Gurung also dismissed the possibility of monitoring of the NA’s arms containers in its Chhauni barracks by SC. The three-point agreement, signed by PM Nepal and Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal on Friday, clearly mentions that SC would monitor the arms container of NA.

The agreement, however, falls short of clarifying whether the national army as a whole will fall under SC’s monitoring ambit.

Political parties too are divided whether NA should be under SC. Nepali Congress representative in SC Ram Sharan Mahat stated that NA escapes the monitoring purview of SC following the three-point agreement. CPN-UML leader KP Sharma Oli also has aired views in the similar vein.

Maoist Chairman Dahal, however, took strong exception to Mahat’s claim. “NA would continue to remain under SC according to the agreement,” said Dahal.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=NA+wants+to+break+monitoring+shell&NewsID=273509

Nepal at crossroads as UN ends peace mission

By Claire Cozens (AFP) – 10 hours ago

KATHMANDU — A UN mission set up four years ago to oversee Nepal's post-war transition has closed down, removing a crucial buffer between two armed factions in the troubled nation.

The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) was established in 2007 with a one-year mandate to supervise the peace process that followed a decade-long conflict between Maoist insurgents and the state in which at least 16,000 people died.

Delays in implementing key elements of a 2006 peace agreement, including the integration of 19,000 former Maoist soldiers into the state security forces, meant its mandate had to be repeatedly extended.

Last September, the UN Security Council voted to close UNMIN after a final four-month extension, citing a lack of progress and saying the mission had been unfairly drawn into political battles between the parties.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Nepal's peace process was "at a crossroads" but that it made little sense to keep UNMIN open "without any meaningful progress by the parties on political issues".

At a ceremony to mark the mission's closure, Ban's representative in Nepal said many challenges remained.

"We have been reminded every day of how much this country has achieved in a few short years, and also of the challenge that lies ahead," said UNMIN chief Karin Landgren.

"The mission?s contribution to the peace process has been a job well done. But the peace process itself is unfinished."

The United Nations has promised to remain involved in Nepal's peace process even after UNMIN's departure, but it leaves the country in a state of flux, with no government in place and growing divisions between the parties.

Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament have failed to produce a new leader since prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stood down last June, and the lack of leadership is hampering development in one of the world's poorest countries.

The process of drafting a new national constitution aimed at ending the historic social inequalities that were a major cause of the war -- another key tenet of the peace deal -- has stalled.

Sarah Levit-Shore, head of the Nepal office of the US-based Carter Center, which deploys monitors across the country, said citizens were frustrated and concerned.

"I think this is a fragile time for Nepal," she said. "It is critical for Nepal's political leaders to come together, refresh existing agreements and make new and very important agreements in advance of what is a very short constitutional deadline."

Analysts say the continued existence of the Maoist People's Liberation Army, whose soldiers were confined to camps around the country after the war, has added to a growing sense of public unease in the country.

The arrangement was intended as a temporary solution pending a merger of the PLA and the national army, but has dragged on because the Maoists and their political rivals have been unable to reach agreement on the issue.

UN arms monitors who conduct round-the-clock supervision of the PLA camps, where the Maoists' weapons are stored in sealed containers, and of a Nepal Army barracks near Kathmandu, will leave at midnight (1815 GMT) Saturday.

The caretaker government and the Maoists, now the main opposition party, agreed late Friday that a new team of monitors comprising members of the state security forces and the PLA would replace them.

Nepalese political commentator Prashant Jha said UNMIN had acted as a symbolic deterrent against the resumption of violence, and predicted the impact of its departure would go well beyond the technical aspects of its work.

"UNMIN leaves at a time when the most complex task of this process -- integration and rehabilitation of the former combatants -- has not even started," he wrote in the Indian newspaper The Hindu.

"Peace has held in Nepal because Nepali actors, including the Nepal Army and the Maoists, have behaved with restraint and responsibility, but UNMIN's exit will make this task more difficult."

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcx6gCdhbr0VllM1DpSppaS9opFA?docId=CNG.8178ab0795262e58b0e2f027a051b2ff.1a1

Human rights training for PLA

  

Added At:  2011-01-10 11:41 PM

   Last Updated At: 2011-01-10 11:41 PM

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

SINDHULIMADI: A two-day human rights training for PLA combatants concluded today. Altogether 60 PLA commanders and vice commanders from the Dudhauli cantonment’s second division took part in the training at the Bishal Kumar Memorial Brigade in Belsot of Udayapur district.

PLA commanders and vice commander from all four satellite camps of the second division participated in the Human Right Social Transformation Nepal-organised programme.

Chairman of the organisation, Bishupukar Shrestha, informed that the training was conducted to impart human rights knowledge to PLA commanders.

On the occasion, Prabesh, a PLA vice commander and a participant, said PLA will not come out of the cantonment until the completion of the peace process. He expressed commitment to human rights.

Another Vice Commander Urmila Phuyal stated her party had always respected human rights as her party was working for the rights of the people. The programme was fruitful, she said and pledged to share the knowledge she gained from the programme with fellow PLA fighters.

She opined one should not accuse the UCPN-M of violating human rights during the insurgency as that was the time of civil war.

http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Human+rights+training+for+PLA+&NewsID=272575

Secretariat submits action plan

Added At:  2010-12-19 11:46 PM

   Last Updated At: 2010-12-20 11:46 PM

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

TIKA R PRADHAN

KATHMANDU: The Secretariat under the Special Committee for the Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants today submitted a month-long action plan to the Special Committee though the Maoist representatives had expressed reservations over it.

The top leaders of the three major parties are scheduled to hold talks on contentious issues, including the peace process on Monday afternoon.

However, PLA commander Barshaman Pun said his party would move remaining tasks of the peace process unilaterally if the three leaders failed to agree on peace process course.

Pun said the standing committee meeting of the party to be held on Monday would also discuss the issue of army integration. He said the Secretariat today distributed the copy of the month-long action plan to the members of the Special Committee on what the Secretariat could do before UNMIN’s exit. “We will explore the action plan only if the parties forged an agreement on the peace process,” he added.

Unified CPN-Maoist representatives had submitted their reservation against the action plan to the Special Committee. They have been demanding a political decision on Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of the Arms and the Armies and legal status of the Special Committee, besides simultaneous package deal on the modalities of integration before taking a final decision. They stated that unless the parties agreed to address the two concerns no agreement would be made even if the Maoist representatives in the Secretariat attended the meetings.

The Secretariat has devised five-phase integration and rehabilitation plan that includes formation of supervision mechanism comprising either ex-security personnel or serving security personnel, along with PLA members, before January 15, when UNMIN’s extended tenure expires.

In the second phase, a survey will be conducted to determine the number of combatants willing to be integrated in the security forces and show willingness to rehabilitation package and return to the society. They will be issued separate identity cards and regrouped.

In the next phase, they will be relocated. Those willing to integrate with security forces will be kept together in a camp of any of the security forces.

After completion of all these tasks the secretariat would continue monitoring the combatants until they are integrated with the security forces.

Maoist concerns

• Political decision must be taken regarding the AMMAA and legal status of the Special Committee

• Both the modalities of integration and rehabilitation should be dealt in a package simultaneously before taking final decision

• Unless the parties agree on the above-mentioned two points no agreement would be made even if the Maoist representatives in the secretariat attend the meetings

http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullTodays.php?headline=Secretariat+submits+action+plan+&NewsID=270092

A survivor’s account

PRAGATI SHAHI

•     
•     
•     
•     

DEC 18 - The world of ‘massage parlours’ is one shrouded in suspicion. These dark and dank spaces smell of sin. One anticipates stories of suffering, already exposed by the media, but seldom does one encounter a brave survivor. People here are masked in their roles as servers. Behind this guise lies a history of suffering barely within our power to conceive.

Eighteen-year-old Nima (name changed) has battled this world, and survived it. She is hesitant to give details, but recalls the day when she came to the Capital from her home in Sindhupalchok. A woman she used to call her aunt brought her here, selling typical dreams of making a better living. Nima’s aunt fed her, bought her fancy city clothes and helped her adjust to her new surroundings. She obviously loved it in the beginning.

Most stories of exploitation have a deeper history of suffering, and Nima’s is a chest full: at the tender age of eight, Nima was recruited as a guerrilla in the People’s Liberation Army. Her strong desire to avenge the deaths of her father and brother—both of whom were recruited by force and killed as pawns by the Nepal Army—won her over.

By the time she was 10, her small hands were given a gun. She wandered through the jungles with Maoist combatants searching for something unknown, but with a vision of revenge. But it slowly dawned upon her that her efforts were going nowhere. The insurgency ended in 2006 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and Nima returned home.

Back home, she found her mother absconded, and her younger sisters abandoned. “I was ready to die as I had nothing to live for. But, then I thought of my two younger sisters and wanted to live for them,” says Nima, who swung from being a guerrilla to a mother in such a short time. She then came to the Capital in search of work to sustain her sisters and herself.

“After staying for some days at Aunty’s home, she suggested that I work in the massage parlour, where I could earn by performing some chores.”

And like all deceptive beginnings, her initial days at the parlour started with kind treatment.  “The owner of the parlour only made me clean the floor and was so nice to me, but my fellow workers kept warning about dangerous consequences. I thought they were jealous of the owner’s favouritism towards me, and so I ignored their words.”

One day, her owner gave her a packet and asked her to massage a guy in the room.

“I had no choice but to obey. I thought the packet contained body oil for the massage, but when the client locked the room, I discovered it was a condom.” 

Nima was raped by the client. She stayed in the room for an hour in a bleeding state, wondering how she could face her aunt. She howled out loud with pain, but the place was silent. Later, she mustered what courage she could and went home to her aunt. The aunt showed no surprise and told Nima matter-of-factly that she had to work at the parlour to make her living.

“My mind was completely numb—I couldn’t think of any alternatives, and so I went back to the parlour and became a sex worker.”

At the parlour, she was forced to work at odd hours and even when she was unwell.

“I was not permitted to go for a health check-up; also, I was underpaid and forced to do some tasks despite my will. I would drink, smoke and inhale narcotics to forget and suppress my pain.”

In October 2009, Nima came in contact with a field worker from Rakshya Nepal (RN)—an NGO for social networking, care and support for female sex workers and their children.

“It was difficult for Nima to overcome the trauma,” says Menuka Thapa, chairperson of RN. “But after regular counselling from the organisation, she slowly recovered her confidence.”  

Nima is now studying in grade seven in her village. She also runs a tailor shop supported by RN at her house, and is successfully taking care of her younger sisters—her youngest sister has been provided with schooling facilities as well.

“The suffering I have faced in my life was all due to ignorance. In the future, I want to be a teacher and educate the girls of my village so they will not be exploited as I have been,” says Nima.

Like Nima, there are a total of 70,000 internally displaced people from the decade-long armed conflict. Fifty percent are reported to be women and girls who come to the Capital in search of better lives.

Nima’s tumultuous life has found some peace. One wonders what wounds remain unhealed, but hopes for the best. Like Nima, there are 115 other girls who have been rehabilitated by Rakshya Nepal since its inception in 2004. But thousands remain unheard and unknown, possibly, inside the dimly-lit rooms of the brothels that pose as massage parlours.

Posted on: 2010-12-18 09:46

http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/12/18/features/a-survivors-account/326676/