Maoist politburo member Kul Prasad KC alias Sonam forwarded his party´s demand for the cash incentive for the minors and the late recruits -- disqualified combatants -- during a meeting of the Committee on the Rehabilitation, Monitoring and Coordination of the Disqualified Combatants headed by Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong, sources told myrepublica.com.
But the Chief of the United Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), Karen Landgren and representatives from other UN agencies based in Kathmandu, who were present in the meeting, rejected the demand outright.
"No," the source said quoting Landgren to the Maoist demand in the meeting.
When representatives from the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Children´s Fund attending the meeting also supported Landgren, KC then pushed for another demand: gratuity to the disqualified combatants if one million rupees was not possible. But Landgren and other UN officials rejected the second demand as well.
Myrepublica.com´s repeated efforts to have comment from KC failed. UNMIN Spokesperson Kosmos Biswakarma said that he was not in a position to comment what Landgren said in the meeting held at the Peace Ministry Sunday afternoon.
The discharge and the rehabilitation of the disqualified combatants is one of major aspects of the peace process that began in November 2006.
The Peace Ministry and the UN agencies are currently working on rehabilitation package. But such a package will only have education and vocational schemes, not any cash incentive.
Sources said that the rejection of the demand has made the Maoist unhappy and is likely to affect the ongoing discharge and rehabilitation process that resumed on October 11 from Dudhauli cantonments in Sindhuli after it was stalled on July 17 following non-cooperation by the Maoists.
In the meantime, the second phase of the discharge and rehabilitation process at Dudhauli has not yet begun even as the first phase concluded on October 15. The second phase -- profiling of the disqualified -- was supposed to begin on October 20 as per the schedule of the process.
Sources said that the Maoists are not willing to begin the second phase in the cantonment, saying that the profiling of the combatants should be started once the first phase in remaining six cantonments is completed.
"The delay on part of the Maoist might be a strategy to bargain for cash incentive for the disqualified," a source involved in the process said.
Discharge beginning in six cantonments this week
In the meantime, the Chemjong-headed committee on Sunday decided to begin the discharge and rehabilitation process in remaining six cantonments later this week. The technical committee headed by Joint Secretary Bishnu Nepal will take a decision in this regard on Monday, according to Minister Chemjong.
"The committee has decided to complete the first phase within a week," Minister Chemjong told myrepublica.com.
Similarly, the meeting also decided to establish an office for the discharge and rehabilitation process very soon. Likewise, Chemjong held a meeting with government secretaries in a bid to identify possible training centers where the would-be-discharge combatants will be kept after they leave their respective cantonments.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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