KATHMANDU, July 18: Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction is holding a meeting on Tuesday to thrash out strategy on how to move ahead with the process of discharging the disqualified Maoist combatants in the face of stiff resistance by them on the ground. [break]
The meeting will be participated by senior government officials, top PLA commanders, and experts.
"We might have to change our strategy on how to approach the disqualified combatants since they are naturally angry with the whole process," said a senior government official, adding, "If necessary we will add some experts who can counsel the combatants about the future options they have."
The official also informed that the government team will visit another cantonment only after working out a strategy.
A government team that had reached PLA´s Parivartan Smriti Brigade in Chitwan on Friday to begin the process could not formally start its work as the disqualified combatants resisted the move and and questioned the ground for their disqualification.
The government team had returned from the cantonments after listening to the views of the disqualified combatants on the government plan to rehabilitate them. The team even failed to explain the discharging process and to disseminate necessary information to the combatants.
The disqualified lot also expressed their anger against the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for disqualifying them, and told the team that they should be granted a status similar to that of PLA combatants. They argued that they had joined the Maoist Army for the cause of country and its people.
The government team, which was accompanied by UN officials, had offered them various alternatives including employment, skill training, agriculture and higher studies.
There are altogether 4,008 disqualified Maoist combatants sheltering at the UNMIN-monitored cantonments. Rehabilitation of the disqualified combatants is part of the peace process.
The Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel at the cantonment said they supported the rehabilitation of their fellow disqualified combatants, but argued that they should not be ejected from the cantonments without proper arrangement for their livelihood.
"We fully support the demand of the disqualified combatants for proper rehabilitation," said Tara Pun, secretary at the Fourth Division.
Meanwhile, the disqualified Maoist combatants at the fourth division cantonments have started discussions to forge a common opinion on the government plan. Maoist sources said they are trying to arrive at an agreement to reject the government plan and stay on at the cantonments. The disqualified combatants at the third division cantonments have also begun discussion on the government plan to rehabilitate them.
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