We urge the government, the Maoists and the concerned donor agencies involved in the discharge process to move sensibly and treat the disqualified combatants with all the respect they deserve and also provide possible help in their eventual rehabilitation in the society. The overwhelming majority of the disqualified combatants were minors when the UNMIN completed its verification process in December 2007. They have many years ahead in life, and to live it with dignity and respect, they need assistance. They will need educational support, skill-building trainings and some of them may even need strong psychological counseling. Once they are taken to the transit camps from the cantonments, each of them should be interviewed extensively to understand their need and preference and assisted accordingly. Sending them back to society without any support will only mean exposing them to humiliation, a sure recipe for social disharmony, even another round of conflict.
Once the discharge process is completed successfully, the parties and the government should focus on integration/rehabilitation of the qualified combatants, by far the greatest challenge of the peace process. Maoist insurgency had two parts – first was the political party and the second was its army. The first has long been integrated into the political process – there were Maoist lawmakers in the interim legislature; Maoists representatives joined the interim government; the Maoist party has the largest representation in the Constituent Assembly; and it even led the government until recently. But the armed wing of the Maoist insurgency still languishes in cantonments often feeling humiliated and depressed. And unless the issue of the PLA combatants is settled, neither the peace process will be completed nor will people have a sense of permanent peace. The parties should be prepared to resolve the issue with an open mind and with utmost urgency.
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