Pokharel, a member of the special committee formed to oversee the tasks of integration and rehabilitation, said the prime minister has not so far floated any proposal at the Special Committee on settling the thorny issues of integration and rehabilitation so far.[break]
He said the prime minister´s allegation that opposition parties, including the UML, have been hindering the peace process is entirely wrong. “How can the prime minister label such allegations when he himself hasn´t come up with any proposal at the Special Committee with regard to advancing the peace process?” Pokharel questioned.
He said other parties would have responded by making their stances clear had the prime minister floated any proposal at the special committee. “The other parties would have decided whether or not to accept the prime minister´s proposal or demonstrate flexibility depending on the proposal,” he explained.
Pokharel argued the prime minister has no basis on which to accuse other parties as he has done nothing with regard to advancing the peace process for the last one month even as he promised to accomplish the tasks within 45 days.
Explaining why there has been no progress in the peace process, he claimed that it was the (UCPN) Maoist that was creating obstructions. He accused the Maoists of trying to create a “separate army” within the Nepal Army (NA). “What we (non-Maoists) want to do is to form a “special directorate” under the national army.”
“That means it will have special terms of reference (TOR) and jurisdiction, for instance it may be deployed for disaster management or for forest or industrial security,” he said. “But the Maoists plan to create a separate unit of the former combatants within the NA. It is where the problem lies.”
He said he has also smelt rat on the Maoist-proposed rehabilitation package.
According to him, while the real spirit of rehabilitation should be to ensure education, employment and skill-oriented programs, the Maoist leaders are for sending the former combatants back to their villages with a handsome amount of money. “Maoists have been insisting on sending them back to their villages with an amount of Rs 800,000 to Rs 100,000, which is against the spirit of the real idea of rehabilitation and that is not a solution.”
Pokharel argued that fixing the number of Maoist combatants to be integrated into the security forces would not a big deal once the Maoists come up with a good intention. “We can be flexible on the number.”
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