PLA and NA Question Of Integration

Shyam Bhandari

Addressing the seventh anniversary of the armed wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the People's Liberation Army (PLA), in Chitwan recently, Maoist Chairman Prachanda is reported to have ruled out any possibility of the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections unless the peace process moved ahead properly. Nothing new! The Maoists have made the CA polls a bargaining chip before, and it seems they will go on making it just until their hidden agenda is met.

For now, the Maoists do not seem to be quite keen to set a new deadline for the CA polls in a hurry. Their insistence on the government first agreeing to adopt the proportional representation system of election and abolition of monarchy outright have come in the way of the elections being scheduled the last time around. Going by Prachanda's declaration in Chitwan, it's anyone's guess that new thorns are sprouting even if the existing ones get cleared somehow.

New thorns

There is every indication that the Maoists will come up with a new set of demands if the present ones are met. Needless to say, their oft-repeated allusion to the integration of the PLA with the Nepal Army (NA) is the new thorn that is emerging in the paths of the ever-elusive CA polls. As far as the Maoists are concerned, it is commendable that a force that was married to bloodshed has come as far as it has in its new role as a peaceful, though not overtly genuine, participant of a political process. However, neither the Government of Nepal nor the Maoists have been fully implementing the commitments they inked in the Comprehensive Peace Accord of last year.

In fact, they have turned each other's shortcomings in fulfilling the commitments into a post-conflict conflict. While the government harbours an overabundance of tacit bitterness against the Maoists for not reining in its various organs, including the YCL (Young Communist League), that are involved in making the law and order situation go haywire, the Maoists have been more vocal in their accusations. They have been availing of every possible opportunity to point accusing fingers at the government for ignoring the promises made to them. Prominent among the accusations is that of the government's apathy towards its fighters enclosed in the cantonments under the watchful eye of UNMIN. The Maoists want their fighters to be integrated into the NA with the greatest urgency. Time and again, Prachanda has 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. He has been insisting on settling the PLA issue before continuing on the journey towards the CA polls.

Why is Prachanda so keen on doing this? Is this more important than the mammoth task of writing a new constitution, more important than rewriting the very politico socio-economic foundation of a New Nepal? From the Maoist perspectives, yes! Prachanda has every reason to be wary of the PLA fallout in the event of his party not meeting what they were promised during the hard days of the 'war' or during 'recruitment' - whichever may be applicable. It is an open truth that his party recruited every possible Tom, Dick and Harry with inflated promises both during the years of active conflict and post-CPA. The result - 33,000 armed and trained indoctrinates who are constantly itching for action - is certain to weigh down on his back. It is becoming more and more evident that the real issue behind the Maoists' refusal to wake and shake themselves up for the remaining leg of the journey in the peace process is the reintegration of their fighters more than the issue of Monarchy or the representation system. That the Maoist chairman is hell bent on fulfilling the promises he made to his cadres is evident from his stance. What about the promises he and the other signatories and participants of the CPA, and later the government, made to the remaining people? These self-proclaimed people's leaders seem to have their own definition of 'people'.

Just as his party cadres are the only people in the eyes of the Maoist supremo, so it is for Girijababu, MaKuNe (Madahv Kumar Nepal) and others. What happens to the large chunk of the population that is sidelined when each of the leaders works to milk the most out of the public coffers for the benefit of a chosen few? When will these narrow-minded leaders learn to work for the benefit of the people and the nation as a whole?

Question of integration

As far as Prachanda's proclivity for the integration of his army with the NA goes, it doesn't look viable both from the military as well as the general perspective. You can't expect two forces that faced each other in the killing fields not long ago to share the same bed and breakfast, especially with both armed to the teeth. Moreover, the Maoists were themselves trumpeting, and correctly so, until a year ago saying that Nepal doesn't need an army as large as it presently maintains. How come they suddenly seem comfortable with adding another 30,000 to that already oversized lot? But then there is still the question of how we can demobilise and reintegrate the ex-combatants from the Maoist camp. There is a middle path that can both reintegrate the Maoist PLA while downsizing the NA.

What we can do is create an unarmed reconstruction and development force by incorporating the Maoists and a sizeable chunk of the NA into a Public Works Department (PWD). The work this department can do will include building roads and bridges, schools, community hospitals and other projects. It could also be mobilised for relief work during emergencies and natural disasters. The government can pay them at par with the NA soldiers, while saving a huge sum on arms and ammunition that it would need to buy for them otherwise. This would also serve as a purgatory for the Maoists that so unfeelingly destroyed the infrastructure of this country during their people's war. It would be a win-win for Prachanda for he could tell his fighters that he kept his word, while the rest of us could do with a long speech on how he trimmed the NA for the benefit of a New Nepal.

Source: The Rising Nepal, December 13, 2007