NA democratization difficult task: Sharma

KATHMANDU, Jan 26: Balananda Sharma, a retired lieutenant general of Nepal Army, on Wednesday said democratization of the national army may be a difficult task at a time when the National Security Policy is in the making.



Speaking at a program organized in the capital by Nepal Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS), Sharma said the proposed action plan on democratization of NA sounded ambitious and that the given timeframe of three years on democratization might pose challenges in light of the fact that the country is experiencing a transitional phase.[break]



“However, the action plan is theoretically appropriate,” said Sharma, who is also the convener of the secretariat under the Special Committee for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants.



Sharma pointed out that the plan has not incorporated issues of combatants´ integration and said it would have been fruitful if the plan was prepared taking into consideration the post-integration scenario.



“The democratization plan should have been prepared keeping in view that after integration there would be no erosion in the professional capacity of NA personnel,” Sharma said.



Ahead of Sharma, Defense Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire had presented the detailed action plan and shed light on its eight major components.



Likewise, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said the peace process has moved forward following the handover of Maoist combatants to the special committee and the development has boosted the morale of all concerned.



“Now, we have to expedite the work of managing the combatants in separate camps for integration and rehabilitation, integrating them on the basis of their interests, capacities, qualifications or mutual understanding and rehabilitating those who wish to do so by bringing forth a suitable package,” the prime minister said.

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