REGROUPING OF FORMER PLA FIGHTERS COMPLETE, FINAL RESULT

REGROUPING OF FORMER PLA FIGHTERS COMPLETE; DETAILS

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: Altogether 16.931 former PLA fighters—men and women, were regrouped Thursday among the 19,6o2 verified by UNMIN , Balananda Sharma, Coordinator of the Secretariat for integration, resettlement and coordination headed by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said.
Regrouping was completed in all seven cantonments, including the seventh in Kailali Thursday.
The process was delayed by four days; it should have been completed Monday.
Altogether 3,126 former guerrillas were verified Thursday in Kailali.
“Regrouping work has been completed. Printing of ID card now remains,” Sharma said.
Altogether 2,671 fighters verified by UNMIN have gone missing.
The wide difference has already raised doubts amid reliability of the UNMIN, a political agency of UN.
‘Let’s not take up that issue now. That will mar the atmosphere now being created for peace and constitution,” Prime Minister Bhattarai Thursday told a caller over the monthly ‘The Prime Minister Amongst The People” of state-owned Radio Nepal.
“Some fighters deserted. Action was taken against some didn’t present themselves for unspecified reasons,” he said.
Final data of regrouping will be available only after the groups return to the capital from cantonments for totaling.
There is room for error with double entries at some cantonments, admitted Dipak Prakash Bhatta of the secretariat.
An important phase of delayed integration was completed with the completion of the regrouping.
Fighters were asked for their preferences for integration, resettlement and voluntary retirement.
Sixty percent plus opted for integration followed by voluntary retirement.
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