One such area is integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist ex-combatants and the other is the one related to successful discharge of disqualified fighters. However, the Maoists have been skipping the scheduled meeting of the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Combatants which, as agreed, needs to be held every Sunday. They did it last week citing “previously” scheduled programs. They repeated the act this week. The reason this time is the “ongoing second phase of protest programs”. This is ludicrous. The postponement of the meeting has delayed finalization of the code of conduct prepared by the Technical Committee of the Special Committee for cantoned Maoist combatants thereby delaying the process of integration, rehabilitation and the management of 19,000-plus Maoist combatants.
The fate of the more than 19,000 UN-verified combatants thus continues to be in a limbo. It has been more than three years since these ex-combatants (in addition to 4,000-plus disqualified individuals) have been living in 28 cantonments. Even the progress on those deemed disqualified by a verification process undertaken by UNMIN has been stalled with new demands placed by Maoist army commanders. These demands, ranging from one million rupees and gratuity payment for each discharged fighter, only points at the fact that the 4,008 disqualified combatants will still be living in cantonments even after the Nov 19 deadline. The unexpected hurdle vis-à-vis the discharge process has raised eyebrows. Their dilly-dallying act will only lend credence to the charge that the party is using these combatants to extract political mileage.
Successful integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants (both qualified and otherwise) is an important component of the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006 and the Interim Constitution. However, for reasons best known to themselves, the Maoist leaders have been coy about moving ahead seriously and speedily on this front. Although, on paper, the Maoist army is under the command of the Special Committee, in reality it is the Maoist party in general and its chairman in particular who call the shots. That some of the Maoist leaders, including very top ones, keep threatening other political parties of using their army does not help matters at all.
We urge the Maoists and the government as well as other political parties to give utmost priority to integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist fighters. This is not only essential for the fighters but also for the overall peace process.
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