February 5, 2012
Nepal’s Maoist ex-combatants began leaving the cantonments they had called home for five years on Friday after receiving government checks as part of a plan to integrate them into society.
7,365 former fighters were released.
Each Maoist was provided with a check ranging from $6,357 to as much as $10,235.
According to a New York Times report:
“It is an emotional moment,” said Ram Lal Roka, a vice commander at the Dahaban cantonment in the Rolpa district. “I am returning to my society, ending 16 years of service in the P.L.A.,” he said.
Mr. Roka expressed sadness, despite his release, that the ultimate goals of the Maoists to transform Nepal into a Communist state had not been achieved. He said he was returning to society “without achieving any of the ideal.”
He added: “I do not have an answer if I am asked why I joined the P.L.A. I’m confused what I should tell people when I return.”
Roughly 9,000 former Maoist fighters remain in the encampments, waiting to be integrated into Nepal’s army and other security forces, as part of the 2006 peace agreement. But blending them into the military — in some cases, joining with soldiers they once fought against — has proved a very difficult political step.
The current Maoist prime minister, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who came into office August 2011, has been given credit for helping to loosen the logjammed peace process. Re-integrating 7000 rebels is a long overdue step in the right direction. However, the peace process is far from realized. Dissention within the Maoist party ranks, confusion over what shape the new constitution will take, and reneging on the promise to return land seized during the 10-year-conflict are but some of the major sticking points that must be resolved before the country can claim any kind of sustainable stability.
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