By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Kathmandu
............................................................
A critical question confronting Nepal is how to combine the two armies whose continued parallel existence makes some people fear for the future.
Although the Maoist ex-guerrillas now lead the government, their 20,000-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) maintains an independent existence and has not disarmed, though its forces are lodged in camps and its weapons monitored by the United Nations.
Its former enemy, the Nepal Army (NA), with more than 100,000 fighters, is also billeted in barracks with the same number of weapons confined.
Tensions have been rising after the NA recruited new members which it said were merely to replace those who have left, prompting the PLA to say it, too, is now swelling its ranks by more than 50% to 31,000.
Upbeat
I visited the Hattikhor camp in Nawalparasi in south Nepal where the Maoists were completing days of festivities for the anniversary of the start of their war. The conflict, which ended two years ago, killed 13,000 people.
At this spot, where forested hills meet fertile plains, red hammer-and-sickle flags flutter all around.
Young male Maoists pore over a stall offering Nepali-language books featuring communist leaders on their covers, ranging from Nepal's own Prachanda to more controversial figures - Stalin and Mao as well as Lenin and Marx. I cannot help asking myself what they make of the writings.
The camp's population of 1,200, including 250 women, has swollen for the celebrations. The military displays and simulated bomb explosions are over; this evening there is frenzied excitement at a volleyball match for women former combatants.
Two years in camps have not left the PLA downcast. The mood here is upbeat. With a reasonable monthly living and food allowance, provided by the World Bank, these fighters enjoy a good standard of living for Nepal.
"In my village it always seemed women could not do anything. But the 'People's War' showed us that women can use guns and fight and be part of the war," said 26-year-old Comrade Kushal Rakshya.
Showing me round the camp, she told of how she came from an impoverished village in western Nepal and joined the PLA eight years ago. She took part in the Maoists' first assault on an army barracks which was, she says, "the wish of the people".
'Equality'
At a corner of the huge parade ground, men were touching up the paintwork on a big PLA logo of crossed guns.
What had Kushal fought for, I asked?
"The aim was to give liberty and justice to all the Nepalese people - and also to give them a people's army so they can feel they have their own army. We have heard that the armies will be integrated. We are waiting for that."
She said that once the militaries were combined, they could help with development work.
Although she believed not all the Maoist former fighters would be able to enter the army, three men I met streaming away from the match felt otherwise.
"All persons want it," Comrade Sijan said in English. "All want to be integrated. No-one wants to stay out."
Maoists had fought for equality, "so they need equality".
The Maoists' deputy military chief, Baldev, has the same view.
"We are against individual integration on an individual basis," he said. "The Nepal Army says that the PLA has to come into the army through physical fitness tests, having their chests measured, with the army's rules and regulations. But that's a ridiculous idea which we oppose."
'Standards'
But the army firmly disagrees.
Army Day in Kathmandu a few days later gave a glimpse of another world.
It is a bombastic display of armoured vehicles, weapons, helicopter fly-pasts, march-pasts, military bands and skydiving from the huge military force.
This institution, which was formerly loyal to the now abolished monarchy, wants to be highly selective in accepting Maoists. I was not able to visit a barracks or meet soldiers but met its spokesman, Brig Gen Ramindra Chhetri.
"The Maoist combatants verified by the UN may be eligible for possible integration into the security force provided they fulfil the standard norms," he said. "Basically, there are physical, mental and educational norms which need to be met before joining the army."
The army chief, Gen Rukmangad Katuwal, who was actually brought up inside the palace of the now deposed royals, has said he opposes the mass admission of what he calls "indoctrinated" Maoists.
He and the Maoist defence minister have been publicly sparring as Gen Katuwal pushes for a more prominent army role in state security bodies.
A multi-party committee has at last been set up to ponder the issue of the armies. One member, opposition politician Ram Sharan Mahat, says its meetings to date have been co-operative and that the members have agreed not to air their differences publicly.
Yet many here cannot see how the conflicting military visions can be reconciled. With the Maoist army still in camps, risks remain.
Fighting fit
Most observers believe the Maoists succeeded in swelling its numbers with new recruits when it moved into the camps two years ago. The delay has also made it better organised, believes Rhoderick Chalmers of the International Crisis Group.
"There are more uniforms, there are more drills, there's more standard formalised training," he says.
"A large number of its members really do believe they were fighting for a cause that's worth something. So this is an army that wants to fight. I think most of them would like to fight politically rather than go back into the fray militarily. But it's far from a spent force."
Although the Maoists lead the government, their leaders continually talk of a further "revolt", without making it clear what that means.
Their weapons are stored and monitored, but not decommissioned. The party also has a vast uncontained youth force, the Young Communist Democratic League, designed to be at the forefront of any future programme of street action that the party may dictate.
Ultimately its leaders and lower ranks say a return to violence is unlikely, but they will not completely rule it out.
Nepal has two armies. With their future not resolved, its peace process, nearly three years old, is not yet complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment