By Pratibha Tuladhar, dpa =
Kathmandu (dpa) - Nepal began integrating former rebels into the national army Saturday, five years after the Maoist insurgency ended with a peace agreement.
The integration is aimed at bolstering a precarious peace process after a decade-long war that killed 16,000 people.
Following the peace deal, 19,000 rebels were confined to seven camps across the country, waiting for a decision on their destiny.
The government is now offers former combatants the choice of joining the army or reintegrating into civil society.
The Army Integration Special Committee is scheduled to complete the verification process by November 28.
“All the preparations are complete and we are set to begin regrouping on Saturday morning,” coordinator Balananda Sharma said before leading a team to the Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan, the biggest of the seven camps which shelters 3,950 combatants.
One-third of the former insurgent forces will be allowed to join the army in non-combat roles. The rest will be offered compensation of 500,000 to 900,000 rupees (6,666 to 12,000 dollars), depending on their rank as combatants.
The peace process has been stalled for years due to differences between the political parties. The Maoists initially wanted their entire force to be integrated into the national army, but political opponents refused.
On November 1, the parties reached a deal to allow 6,500 of the 19,000 would be integrated in the army. The agreement assigns them to military units responsible for development, forest security, industry and disaster management.
“We are fully extending our support to the surveying team,” the Kathmandu Post quoted a Maoist commander named Suk Bahadur Roka as saying. “We will do all we can to take this process to completion.”
The former rebels were supervised by the United Nations until January 2011, after which they were brought under the supervision of the government.
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