The study committee has warned that if a policy is introduced to provide any such government facility to deserters, it will have a negative impact on the dignity of those organizations. [break]
“It will not be appropriate to opt for any policy on providing government facilities to deserter officials that will have a negative impact on the dignity of the organizations in the near future,” reads the report of the five-member committee headed by Joint-secretary at the Ministry of Peace and Re-construction (MoPR), Sadhu Ram Sapkota.
Echoing the conclusion of the report, an official at MoPR said the government must not reinstate deserters at any cost as they gave up their jobs in an adverse situation and wish to have their posts back when the situation is favorable again. “On what moral grounds will incumbent officials work together with deserters who walked out when the situation needed them?” argued the official on condition of anonymity.
According to the report, 19,484 army personnel, 11,280 Nepal Police and 8,543 personnel from the Armed Police Force (APF) deserted during the insurgency.
Similarly, 242 personnel from the intelligence service and 7,227 other civil servants had given up their posts during the insurgency.
The committee maintains that it could not find any particulars regarding all those who deserted solely because of the armed conflict. “It is necessary to collect particulars of each and every individual case so as to confirm the number of government officials who quit their posts solely because of the conflict,” says the report.
Assistant spokesperson Prem Sanjel expressed concern over a call from an organization of deserter army and police personnel to submit their particulars in order to claim reinstatement.
“We are fed up with phone calls from people regarding the issue at a time when the study committee has already made it clear that their reinstatement is impossible under the existing laws,” Sanjel told Republica.
The study committee had submitted its report to MoPR on February 28, about four months after its formation by the ministry. A joint secretary each from the Home, Defense and Public Administration Ministries were members of the committee and an under-secretary from MoPR was member-secretary.
The study committee was entrusted with establishing the numbers of government officials who quit their jobs during the insurgency and the reasons for quitting, and making recommendations on ways to address the demands of the deserters.
Deserter army and police personnel have been demanding that they should be reinstated in their respective posts, stating that they were compelled to quit due to threats issued by the then Maoist rebels.
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