Nepal Army not hindering PLA integration

KATHMANDU, Nov 25 - Maoist Chairman Prachanda has said that the cadres of the party’s controversial youth front, the Young Communist League (YCL), are going to transform into “sages” in the days to come. He said that as he had personally attended the central meetings of the YCL and directed that anarchic incidents of the past would not recur from now onwards.
Any YCL cadres defying the directive would be punished, Prachanda added.

He was replying to concerns and queries raised by the intellectuals at an interaction at Bharatpur in Chitwan district. The Maoist Chairman added that he has already directed the YCL not to collect donations or to take the law into their own hands. “Now the YCL men would become sages,” he said. “The reform was needed as the foreigners were plotting (against the party) on the basis of the YCL activities.” He also admitted that he was shocked by the YCL’s latest move to torture a medical team, including doctors from Morang district.

“The plot was carrying out by blackmailing the people I had invited to Kathmandu to sort out a row,” he added. “They were stealthily abducted from the airport and beaten up. I was shocked as soon as we heard about the incident.” Prachanda further said that he has advised the YCL men to do those things that were in the interest of the people. He also revealed that the YCL would issue a public notice within the next few days urging the people “not to give donations” to them. However, the Maoist leader vented his anger against the ‘big media houses’. “Some big media houses have sold themselves to the American and Indian capitalists,” he said. He added that the Nepali press was pretending as free press.

Nepal Army not hindering PLA integration’

Earlier today, taking to reporters in Chitwan Prachanda said that the Nepal Army was not a hindrance to the integration of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into the national army. He said that a high level commission should be set up regarding the integration of the two armies. He also revealed that two high level meetings between the Nepal Army and the Maoists were held regarding the matter. Prachanda underlined that the integration process was delayed due to the government’s indifference and the lack of interest over the issue among the concerned parties.

Prachanda, who was in Chitwan to address the seventh anniversary function of the PLA yesterday, informed that after various rounds of talks held between the two armies, he found that the Nepal Army was positive during discussions. Prachanda also informed that he had proposed the Nepal Army to train the PLA men separately for few years after integrating them in two levels of brigade and company. Stating that the Nepal Army personnel could become democratic and the PLA personnel could become professionals after the separate trainings for a few years, Prachanda said that the actual integration process could begin after that. However, the Maoist Chairman ruled out any possibility of Constituent Assembly (CA) elections unless the peace process moves ahead properly.

Likewise, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary, the PLA is organising a-week-long sports and cultural events in Chitwan. This is the first time the PLA men from the seven different cantonment converged at the Shaktikhor camp of Chitwan district to organise a sports event amidst general public.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, November 25, 2007