Members of the special committee say the top leadership of the parties will have to take up these issues to reach a final agreement on integration and rehabilitation of 19,602 combatants verified by UNMIN (United Nations Mission in Nepal). [break]
There are three key issues that need to be settled for beginning the much-awaited process of integration and rehabilitation. These include: a) number of combatants to be integrated in the national security forces, b) standards required to be met by combatants aspiring to be integrated, and c) the ranks at which the combatants are to be absorbed in the security forces.
How quickly top leaders of the main political parties address these issues will determine whether the peace process is completed by May 15.
First, the policies on integration that the committee is supposed to finalize on Wednesday will not be in place for implementation until the number of to-be-integrated combatants is determined.
Though the High-Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) is supposed to determine the number of combatants to be absorbed in a particular national security agency, the mechanism is yet to take up the issue, according to minister and committee member Dr Minendra Rijal.
Sources said that the Maoists have been pressing the prime minister that the number of to-be-integrated combatants should be determined before starting the process of integration and rehabilitation. But the prime minister has maintained that the process should commence even if the number is not fixed before hand, given the limited time left for completing the peace process [by May 15].
"The number should be determined first," Barsha Man Pun, Maoist representative on the committee, told myrepublica.com.
If the Maoists continue to stick to this demand, the special committee will have to wait till the HLPM takes a decision on the number of combatants for integration to begin the integration process, even after finalizing the policies on integration.
Secondly, the Maoist party and non-Maoist parties are sharply divided over the issue of setting integration standards for the combatants.
The provision in the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) in regard to standard norms to be met by would-be-integrated combatants is subject to interpretation and both sides have tried to define it in their own respective favor.
Non-Maoist party representatives on the committee said that the standard norms mentioned in AMMAA refer to set criteria to be met to join a particular security agency.
"Those who want to be integrated in the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force should meet the standard norms of the respective security agency," said Rijal.
But Pun said that his party wants the issue of standard norms settled by the HLPM, something other members have rejected.
Lastly, there is also a difference in regard to the ranks at which the combatants are to be integrated. Sources said the Maoists have demanded that the ranks at which the combatants are to be integrated should be determined before starting the process of managing the ex-rebel army. The Maoists have argued at the meeting that the number of combatants to be integrated at a particular rank in a particular security agency should be determined before the process begins. They also want the HLPM, not the special committee, to take a decision in this regard.
But the non-Maoist members told myrepublica.com that the ranks should not be determined before the process begins. They fear that the combatants may not meet the criteria for integration in higher positions in the national security agencies and the Maoists may want to see their combatants integrated at the determined ranks even if they do not meet required standards.
"It is urgent that the political leaders reach a consensus on these issues as early as possible to see the peace process completed by May 15," said Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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