KATHMANDU, April 8: Though teams from the Special Committee secretariat have reached the seven cantonment sites to begin a second round of surveys to ascertain how many of the remaining PLA combatants want to opt for voluntary retirement, the surveys are unlikely to begin at least for the next couple of days due to lack of a clear message to the PLA commanders from the Maoist party leadership.
“We cannot begin the task without clear directives from the party leadership on the contentious issues,” said Yam Bahadur Adhikari, chief of the PLA First Division in Ilam.[break]
Adhikari also informed that the party leadership has called a meeting of the PLA General Staff for Monday and said that things will move after the meeting gives clear-cut directives to the PLA commanders.
Suk Bahadur Roka Magar, chief of the PLA Second Division, also told Republica that they cannot begin the surveys without a clear message from the party leadership.
“They [Special Committee secretariat officials] are here and say they will wrap up the task in four days. But we are yet to receive directives from above,” he said.
He said that he doesn’t know how many personnel are to join particular ranks in the Nepal Army and how many should be sent for integration. There are over 9,700 combatants who opted for integration during the first round of the categorization process. As per the seven-point agreement, a maximum of 6,500 combatants can join the NA.
Asked whether the survey process will go smoothly from Sunday since the officials from the Special Committee have already reached the seven cantonment sites, Balananda Sharma, coordinator of the Special Committee secretariat, said, “We will open shop from tomorrow. If there are buyers we will make sells.”
Sharma was just being diplomatic as the commanders have already told him clearly that the process cannot begin Sunday.
According to sources at the Shaktikhor cantonment, Sharma held a meeting with the commanders Saturday afternoon and they told him they can take the process forward only after the meeting of the PLA General Staff.
The PLA General Staff meeting will follow a Special Committee meeting called by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai for Sunday to sort out the differences.
Differences persist between the Maoists and the NC and UML over some issues including ranks in the hierarchy of the NA directorate and levels of education. The Maoists have demanded that the level of education the combatants currently have should be taken into account while integrating them into the NA.
The political parties plan to discuss the outstanding constitutional issues after the combatants are brought under the NA.
The PLA General Staff meeting is expected to issue final directives to PLA commanders as per the decisions reached at the Special Committee meeting. The leaders have already said that Sunday’s meeting of the Special Committee will be decisive and is likely to be a final one.