SHAKTIKHOR, Chitwan, Jan 22: The UCPN (Maoist) handed over its arms and army to the Special Committee on Saturday, four years and two months after it abandoned war, marking a historic day in the country’s home-grown peace process.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal publicly signed a joint statement announcing that the Maoist combatants have officially come under the command and control of the Special Committee, amidst an elaborate function organized at the 3rd Division of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Shaktikhor, Chitwan.
“The PLA has formally come under the Special Committee from January 22,” the prime minister and the Maoist chairman said in the joint statement.
The development marks an important step toward the Maoist party’s transformation into a civilian party, as it has now officially dissociated itself from its combatants.
“You were cadres of the UCPN (Maoist) till a while ago. But you have now come under the Special Committee and your role has naturally changed from now onward,” the prime minister said while addressing the gala event attended by top political leaders, senior government officials, diplomats, senior UN officials, civil society members, security chiefs and PLA members.
The prime minister hoisted the national flag at the cantonment to symbolically mark the coming of the PLA under the command and control of the Special Committee, which is headed by himself. Nepal and Dahal also jointly released red balloons to mark the occasion.
“In reality, we have a situation of one state and two armies until the integration and rehabilitation [of Maoist combatants] under the peace accord and the Interim Constitution is completed. We want to form a strong national security [force] by completing the integration and rehabilitation,” said Dahal, reading from his written speech.
Coming under the command and control of the Special Committee also means the combatants will have to follow a special code of conduct that, among other things, prohibits them from becoming engaged in any political activity. In addition, the code requires that all printed material and writing that links them to the UCPN(M), including signboards, insignia and charts suggestive of politics be removed from all seven main cantonments and 21 satellite cantonments housing the combatants.
“A decision to this effect [by the Special Committee] is necessary,” Balananda Sharma, convener of the secretariat under the Special Committee that oversees adherence to the code of conduct, told Republica.
Though the combatants have come under the Special Committee, parties are yet to agree on a modality for management of the combatants who have been living in the cantonments for the last four years.
“We now want to see parties agreeing on the modality soon so that the uncertainty over our future ends at the earliest,” Maoist combatant Chandra Nepali ‘Depen’, 30, told Republica after the handover function, adding that their patience over a decision on their future has run thin.
There was a sense of apprehension among PLA members this scribe talked to about whether they would get a fair deal. This sentiment was also echoed by their chief commander, Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Pasang’, in his “commitment speech” at the function.
“We hope there will be no bitterness and prejudice from the past. We hope we will be treated equally,” Pun said, adding, “This historic development will be a milestone toward completing the peace process and writing the constitution."
Prime Minister Nepal tried his best to dispel the combatants´ apprehensions. “Now the management of the combatants is not only the responsibility of a political party or one side; it´s the collective responsibility of all parties and the state. I assure you that the management process will move forward on the basis of personal interest, qualification, skill and mutual understanding.”
PLA units put on a parade and presented a guard of honor to the prime minister, who was chief guest and is chairman of the Special Committee, and to Maoist Chairman Dahal, at the outset of the function. The PLA did a march-past and a martial arts and cultural display to mark the historic occasion.
* Myrepublica.com ran a live blog covering the ceremony. Here is the archive of the blog.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=27462
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