GOVT. CONSIDERING FUTURE OF FIVE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS

GOVT. CONSDERING WHETHER TO CONTINUE WITH REGIONAL
CHIEFS OR NOT

Kathmandu, 22 Dec.: Government Wednesday formed a three-member taskforce to suggest whether or not to continue with five regional administrators posted at five regional headquarter.
The regional chiefs are senior government officials overseeing districts under them.
CDOs are district chiefs.
A political committee headed by the prime minister took the decision
Wednesday.
The body has secretaries of the general administration ministry, home ministry and the PMO as members
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NO HEADWAY IN REGROUPING, REHABILITATION OF FORMER
MAOIST PLA FIGHTERS
Kathmandu, 22 Dec.: Though the regrouping of Maoist PLA fighters was completed three weeks ago, there has not been much headway in integration and rehabilitation of the combatants, thanks to Unified CPN-Maoist’s fresh demands, Lekhnath Pandey writes in
The Himalayan Times..

Political parties themselves are not sure as to when the process of vacating the cantonments will begin. The Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants) have sat thrice since December 1 — the day regrouping process was completed — but has invariably failed to hammer out a way in the wake of opposing views from the Maoist party and others.

The UCPN-M has been demanding that both the integration and retirement processes be carried out simultaneously, whereas others, including the Nepali Congress, are of the opinion that those who have chosen voluntary retirement scheme should be immediately relieved of their duties.

Interlocutors in the Special Committee and its Secretariat, however, attribute the current standstill to internal rift in the Maoist party, especially between political and military leadership, regarding rank determination of the fighters to be integrated into the Nepali Army. Sources said top PLA commanders, including Chandra Prakash Khanal and Nanda Kishor Pun, have been pressing their political leadership to convince other parties for giving top ranks to PLA fighters in the to-be-constituted directorate under the national army. During a Special Committee meeting on December 12, the Maoists even put forth a new demand that there should be two brigadiers from PLA, saying the possible strength of the new division will be 6,500. Other parties, however, have flatly rejected the idea, saying the demand contradicts the seven-point agreement, which calls for determining the ranks ‘in such a way that it does not make negative impact in career development of existing officers and other ranks’.

Jitendra Dev, a Special Committee member from Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic, confirmed that the Maoists had made such a demand of brigadier-level position in the national army. “The Maoists themselves are discussing the issue. This is under discussion among other parties as well,” he said. NC’s Ram Sharan Mahat and CPN-UML’s Bhim Rawal, however, had rejected the idea then and there at the Special Committee meeting. “The seven-point deal clearly suggests that the rank determination will be limited to recruits and second-lieutenant levels. Those integrated into the army at second-lieutenant level could be elevated up to the rank of a major if they complete the bridging courses,” said Mahat. Rawal strongly said ‘neither a comma nor a but’ could be added in the seven-point agreement.

With new developments, the Special Committee has failed to convene a meeting. PM Baburam Bhattarai, who heads the Special Committee, has called put off the meetings of the peace mechanism twice since Friday.
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DISQUALIFIED FORMER PLA COMBATANTS LAUNCH AGITATON
Kathmandu, 22 Dec.:: Disqualified PLA combatants today [Wednesday] announced their agitation saying the government had failed to do anything for them at a press conference in Dhangadhi, where they informed about their demonstration in Dhangadhi on December 23 and a Far-west bandh on December 29, The Himalayan Times reports from Dhangadi .

Speaking at a press conference, Bharat Rokaya, central secretary of Disqualified People’s Liberation Army said, “The party used us for ten years to fight in the people’s war and now it has left us in the lurch.”

“Even our own party is oblivious to our condition,” lamented another former combatant Prem BK, urging the party and government to take initiatives for their honourable rehabilitation or face more intense agitation.

The disqualified combatants, who are now staying at Lamki of Kailali with injured and handicapped combatants, have demanded implementation of the agreement reached with the then Jhala Nath Khanal-led government.

“Though we have submitted many memoranda to the government, nothing has come of them so far,” lamented the former fighters, who have put forward a number of demands including their long-term management.

From Kailali-based PLA Seventh Division alone, 372 combatants were disqualified during the UNMIN verification. From all the seven divisions, about 4,800 combatants were disqualified.
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