Discharge process to end on Nov 19

KATHMANDU, Oct 5: The government and the Maoists on Sunday agreed in presence of UN officials to form a high-level committee to coordinate, monitor and oversee the discharge of disqualified Maoist combatants. [break]

They also agreed to complete the discharge process, which resumes on October 11, by November 19. The disqualified combatants will start to leave their respective cantonments on November 5. They will then be kept in transit centers, as per the agreement.

“We have agreed to form a high-level committee and a technical committee to oversee the discharge of the disqualified combatants,” Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong told myrepublica.com.

DATES

Oct 11: Discharge process resumes

Oct 11: First phase begins

Oct 20: Second phase begins

Nov 5: Third phase begins

Nov 5: Combatants start leaving cantonments

Nov 19: All the disqualified will have left

There are altogether 4,008 disqualified Maoist combatants in seven cantonments monitored by the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). The combatants were disqualified by UNMIN during its verification in 2007 as they were either minors or late recruits. They will not be considered eligible for integration into any security forces. Their discharge is a part of the ongoing peace process.

The committee to be headed by Chemjong will take up problems and other issues that may crop up during the discharge process, said Minister Chemjong. The understanding on forming the committee was reached during a meeting of government representatives, Maoists and representatives from UNMIN and UN agencies in Nepal.

Minister Chemjong and high-ranking government officials at the Ministry attended the meeting while Barsha Man Pun represented the Maoist side. UNMIN Chief Karen Landgren, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Robert Piper and representatives from other UN agencies were also attended the meeting.

According to Joint Secretary Bishnu Nepal, who also attended the meeting, the Chemjong-led committee will come into existence following a cabinet approval. It will have two Maoist representatives and three representatives each from UNMIN, UNDP and UNICEF. Peace Secretary Punya Prasad Neupane has been designated as the member secretary of the committee.

Similarly, the meeting also decided to form a technical committee headed by Joint Secretary Nepal. This committee will fix dates for sending teams to the various cantonments to give orientation to disqualified combatants besides overseeing overall discharge process. It will have two members from the Maoist side and four representatives from the UN agencies. The government has planned to complete the discharge process in several phases.

In the first phase, the government will clarify to the disqualified combatants about why they were disqualified by UNMIN and the agreements concerning their rehabilitation. The second phase will involve filling questionnaires on what they want. The disqualified combatants will then be separated from the other combatants and will be cantoned in temporary transit centers. Finally, the released combatants will be given vocational training to prepare them for their future.

The government had initially begun the discharge process in July 17 and had announced to complete it by November 2. But the process was stalled after the Maoists did not cooperate.