Kathmandu (dpa)- Hardliners in Nepal's Maoist party said Wednesday that a deal to integrate former rebel combatants into the military did not give the fighters the respect they deserved.
The agreement, signed between the country's main parties on Tuesday, assigns the former Maoist rebels to military units responsible for development, forest security, industry and disaster management.
The general secretary of the Maoist party, Ram Bahadur Thapa, said at a press conference that such tasks were "humilitating" for the former rebel troops.
The reintegration deal was inked Tuesday by party chairman Pshpa Kamal Dahal, who heads the establishment movement within the Maoists, together with the leaders of the other parties.
It provides for 6,500 of the 19,000 former Maoist rebels to be moved into their new roles under a newly-formed directorate.
Mohan Vaidhya, one of the three vice chairmen of the Maoists, also objected to the move. “The People Liberation Army [Maoist troops] had an important role in establishing democracy,” he said, and should be integrated en masse into the existing military establishment.
The other political parties have repeatedly said it was not safe to incorporate a politically indoctrinated army into the normal army ranks.
The hardline Maoists have also called for all former rebel fighters to keep their previous rank in the army.
The Maoists joined mainstream politics after their decade-long insurgency ended with the signing of a peace deal in 2006.
Their fighters have been held in detention camps around the country ever since.
The Maoist hardliners on Wednesday warned of another "revolution" if their demands were not heeded. The party was to organize torch rallies across the country late Wednesday to demonstrate against the deal.
dpa pt cds
No comments:
Post a Comment