The silence is broken by a barked “Attention!” and the thunder of jackboots hitting the ground. It is 7am and 4,600 soldiers of the Third Division of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of Nepal stand rigid in the freezing fog. A proven fighting force, still classified as a terrorist organisation by the United States, they bear model wooden Kalashnikovs.
The same, slightly bizarre, routine has been repeated daily since December 2006, when these guerrillas defeated the Royal Army of Nepal’s now-ousted monarchy, ending a ten-year civil war that claimed 13,000 lives.
As part of the peace deal, 19,000 Maoist troops agreed to be confined to 28 UN-monitored cantonments, their weapons locked away. The measure was supposed to be temporary, but the 95,000-strong Royal Army, renamed the Nepalese Army after the country became a republic, has refused to accept even one “indoctrinated Maoist” into its ranks.
Nearly three years on, despite seeing their political wing emerge as the largest party in general elections last year, the Maoist cadres find themselves in limbo, an extra army whose existence is regarded as a threat to Nepal’s political stability. The sense of frustration in Jutpani, about 90 miles southeast of Kathmandu, where the Third Division is confined, is palpable.
“We are not a toy army that you can treat any way you like,” says Jigmi, 24, who joined the Maoists at 18. “We entered the peace process voluntarily. We allowed the UN to supervise our weapons, and we have participated and won general elections, yet we still aren’t trusted.”
He switches on the music player on his comrade’s mobile phone. The handset blares: “Snoop Dogg would like to say/That I’m a crazy motherf*****r when I’m playing with my AK.”
If the soldiers of the Third Division were to choose a soundtrack for themselves, it would probably be American gangsta rap. Most of the troops are young and excitable. Snoop Dog, the American hip-hop artist with a penchant for guns, drugs and women, is an idol. Recently, their comrades in other parts of the country have shown signs that their patience is wearing thin. Two weeks ago 19 Maoist soldiers drove from their camp with weapons in the Kapilvastu district, breaking the terms of the peace deal and provoking a warning from the UN.
They said they planned to escort their political leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, formerly known as Prachanda. Until May he was Nepal’s Prime Minister but resigned after failing in his attempt to fire the head of the Army for not recruiting Maoist fighters.
In the Third Division camp, a commander suggested his forces could easily take matters into their own hands. “It is a lie that we handed over our weapons,” he said, referring to the cache of arms kept in containers at the barracks’ perimeter. “The UN has no key; the Royal Army has no key; I have the key.”
International monitors say that the PLA must be dealt with if Nepal — a desperately poor country that has had 18 governments since 1990 — is not to lurch into another crisis.
Karin Landgren, head of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, said: “There is broad recognition that the continued presence in the country of two armies is one of the most significant outstanding issues of the peace process.”
Dear editor,
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that the Maoists follow the parliamentary Democracy.The main causes of the Nepalese crisis are the notorious & undemocratic activities of the Congress,UML, Maoist leaders and UNMIN. Nepalese democratic exercise faced the black period in between 2005-2009. During the period, Nepalese people tolerated the worst political practice made by corrupt leaders. The nation achieved the climaxed height of the lawlessness, theft, robbery, ransom and murders. The corruption is out of control. Nobody is responsible to control the corruption. A corrupt tendency has been institutionalizing as a system. Several constitutional authorities including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and the administrative mechanism have been paralyzed. The security forces themselves remain demoralized. Nobody can trust on these culprit leaders. Though freedom of speech is one of the basic pillars of democracy, no one is free to speak and write critically in true sense. Experiences are the proofs to reveal that all the political leaders invested their time and energy just for power and to accumulate big chunk of money, land, home and expensive vehicles. Their amassed properties in the name of democracy are hidden in different banks, lands, big houses and business. They are beyond the reality that the people might be fooled for a moment with the political dishonesty, but not for ever. Democracy has been abused as a ladder for power by the anti-nationalist political leaders.Nepalese people had expected that the UN's role would be impartial. But the UN could not remain neutral. The UNMIN listens only to the Maoist rebels and the corrupt leaders of the so-called big party totally disregarded the aspiration of majority of the Nepalese people. By hatching such conspiracy of the UNMIN teams are working to push Nepal into a bloodier civil war and conflict. From the very beginning, UNMIN has been demoralizing Nepal Army and supporting Maoist and its rebel by allowing them to keep the weapons with them in the cantonment and let them start the youth force (YCL), who can be the law and order itself as they used to do during their revolution. Nowhere in the world, would a country be able to protect its sovereignty by making the national army weak and powerless? We can't expect the peacefull settlement in Nepal.So, we hate such notorious activities of UNMIN.If we expect peacefull establishment in Nepal including India,there should be reinstated the monarchy and Hindu Kingdom.
Thank you.
All the best
Dirgha Raj Prasai
Former Member of Parliament, Nepal
Political & Cultural Analyst.