ARMY CHIEF GURUNG’S PARTING SHOT AT GOVT BLAMED FOR NON-COOPERATION Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: Outgoing Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung on Wednesday said his efforts to initiate reforms in the Nepal Army could not materialise due to non-cooperation from the government, Phanndra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post. In a farewell speech at the Army Headquarters, Gurung said the organisational restructuring plan and ‘general principles’ regarding appointment and promotion proposed by the Army was ‘unnecessarily’ blocked by the government. He criticised the political leadership and defence bureaucrats and said they “negatively publicised and politicised a purely military issue.” “I had promised to initiate the organisational reforms the very first day I assumed office. I was able to fulfill all my commitments apart from the Army’s internal restructuring and career plan of officers because the Army HQ itself does not have the power to endorse and implement the plans,” the outgoing General, who retires on Sunday, said. Gen Gurung had proposed a major reshuffle at the Army Headquarters, its field-level formations and specialised troops to replace the 46-year-old structure of the Army. He suggested creating four departments of the Deputy Chief of Army Staff and recommended an additional six major generals, 10 brigadier generals, 14 colonels and 50 lieutenant colonels. The plan had been forwarded to the Ministry of Defence five times since July 2010, but had failed to get a green signal. Sections of the Army and the political parties opposed the plan, claiming that it was a design to promote Gen Gurung’s brother-in-law, Maj Gen Daman Ghale, who retired in May this year. Last May, the State Affairs Committee of the Legislature Parliament directed the government not to implement the restructuring plan without first putting a new national security policy in place. In his last speech as Army chief, Gen Gurung also accused the Defence Ministry of holding back the proposal on career growth of officers proposed by the Army last January. He said the ministry did not respond to the proposal prepared after the consent of the Public Service Commission. The Army says these reforms are necessary because its experienced officers are retiring at the lower ranks due to limitations of top positions. In his 15-minute speech, Gen Gurung also expressed confidence that his successor Gen Gaurav SJB Rana would uphold the traditions and norms of the 93,000-strong Army “I expect that the new Army chief will make a greater contribution to upholding the traditional norms and values of the institution,” he said. In his address, Gen Rana said Gen Gurung was an exemplary military leader and committed that he would give continuity to the ‘good initiatives’ taken by his predecessor. Rana said the Gen Gurung contributed to enriching professionalism, internal reforms and concluding the peace process. In his address, Gen Gurung also expressed satisfaction over his tenure as the Army chief. Progress in the peace process, expansion of training programmes, construction of new infrastructure for soldiers and their families and growth in the Army’s welfare fund were his major achievements. Gen Gurung said he assumed office in September 2009 when the country was in the grip of a difficult political transition, hurdles created by various peace agreements and a deteriorating law and order situation. He expressed satisfaction that he was able to keep the unity of the national army intact and uphold its apolitical nature among these challenges. Gen Gurung noted progress on the integration of former Maoist combatants, claiming that progress in the peace process was possible only after the political leadership endorsed a proposal suggested by the Army. The decision to form a General Directorate for National Development and Security does not harm the professionalism and career prospects of the NA rank and file, he said. The Army took control of the combatants, cantonments and weapon storage containers on April 10, while the selection of the former PLA fighters for integration starts on Thursday. Gen Gurung said the parties themselves were responsible for the delay in the commencement of the integration process. Nnnn ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SEEKS DETAILS OF PM, IRAN PRESIDENT MEET AT NAM SUMMIT Kathmandu, 6 Sept. Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Hanan Goder-Goldberger on Wednesday enquired about the content of talks between Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the 16th Non-Alinged Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran last week, The Kathmandu Post writes. .Goldberger called on Secretary Jaya Mukunda Khanal, who had accompanied the PM to the NAM summit, at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and asked about Bhattarai’s meeting with the Iranian president. Such an inquiry, which has hardly been practiced by any foreign diplomat in recent history, has puzzled officials at the PMO and the foreign ministry. “We call it a debriefing,” said officials. Khanal told the diplomat that serious issues were not raised. “Both leaders discussed the history of NAM, its evolution and shared ideas on how the movement could be turned into an effective international platform,” said an official privy to the meeting. Before leaving for Tehran, the Israeli ambassador, along with a section of the diplomatic community, had asked government officials to press Iran to shun its nuclear programme. However, the Nepali side did not make any statement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions in particular, but asked all nations across the world to stop any kind of nuclear rivalry. In the meeting with Ahmadinejad, Bhattarai discussed possibilities of Nepal importing petroleum products directly from Iran. When Goldberger was convinced that “serious issues” did not figure in the talks between Bhattarai and Ahmadinejad, the visiting diplomat assured Israel was ready to extend any help to Nepal, officials said. Before the NAM summit, Goldberger had also held a meeting with Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Narayan Dev Panta, and had advised the PM not to attend the NAM summit. Tensions between Iran and Israel over Iran’s nuclear programme and other regional issues have escalated of late. nnnn