The Maoist representatives in the committee -- Barshaman Pun and Janardan Sharma -- said that they did not have time to attend the meeting and had accordingly requested the head of the committee -- the prime minister -- to postpone it.
- Maoists say they requested the PM to put off the meet just because of their busy schedule
- PM´s press advisor links Maoist snub to their ongoing protests, Maoists deny the link
- PM´s political advisor Raghu Pant smells rat in Maoist intention
- Pant says maoists do not want early integration, rehabilitation of combatants
"We were busy and requested the prime minister for the postponement of the meeting," said Maoist leader Sharma, adding that the meeting was not "scheduled for Sunday as such."
This is the second time that the meeting has been postponed after the Maoist members in the committee expressed their unavailability to attend the meeting. The meeting last Sunday was put off after Pun and Sharma did not attend the meeting, saying that they had to attend different programs fixed beforehand.
Sources at the Special Committee told myrepublica.com on Sunday that the meeting was scheduled to be held at 8 am but had to be postponed following the Maoist request. They also linked the consecutive unavailability of the Maoist members for the scheduled meeting to the ongoing anti-government protests of the opposition UCPN-M.
"Perhaps, they did not attend the meeting because of their protests," said Bishnu Rijal, the prime minister´s press advisor.
But Sharma said, "There is no link between the meetings with the protests."
The rehabilitation and integration of these combatants is at the center of the ongoing peace process and thus has drawn the attention of international community as well.
The prime minister´s chief political advisor Raghu Pant told myrepublica.com that the government has started smelling rat in the Maoist intention behind the consecutive deferral of the meeting.
"They [the Maoists] do not want rehabilitation and integration of their combatants. The sooner the rehabilitation and integration of the combatants completes, the faster the constitution writing process moves ahead. They do not want to see early rehabilitation and integration," said Pant.
Pant alleged that the Maoists want to put the blame for the slow progress of the committee on the government by not attending the meeting. "The have snubbed repeated requests for meeting," he said.
The United Nations Mission in Nepal, which is monitoring and supporting the peace process in Nepal, has already expressed its concern over the slow progress of the committee´s work.
On October 23, UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren raised the issue during her meeting with Prime Minister Nepal. The prime minister had then told her that the meeting of the committee would be held once a week to expedite the rehabilitation and integration of 19,602 Maoist combatants living in the UNMIN-monitored cantonments.
Reconstituted on September 1 after the fall of the Maoist government in May, the committee has held only two meetings. Like last Sunday, the meeting this Sunday was also supposed to adopt a set of code conduct for the combatants besides bringing the Maoist combatants under a civilian command.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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