We want to go home early, say combatants
With each twist and turn in the national politics pointlessly deferring their much-awaited homeward journey, the Maoist combatants, who have opted for voluntary retirement, are growing impatient.
Many of the combatants have urged the Maoist leadership not to use them as a bargaining chip in the political negotiations that do not benefit them.
“There is no reason for delaying the process of bidding us farewell. We are fed up with the wrangling within the party,” a combatant from the Third Division of the Maoist army located in Shaktikhor told the Post over phone. “I was elated by the news that we were finally returning home with some money this week. But I am very disheartened by the postponement of the programme,” said the combatant, requesting anonymity.
The Special Committee last week had decided to start the farewell programme from this week but the schedule has been put off following differences between the Maoists and the Nepali Congress on intricate issues like rank determination and forms of governance. The postponement of the programme is yet to be officially announced. It has become uncertain after the Maoist representatives in the Special Committee Secretariat demanded an agreement on ranks, bridging course and appreciation letters to be provided to the combatants choosing voluntary retirement.
Special Committee Secretariat Coordinator Balananda Sharma said he receives calls from several combatants every day requesting for early solution to the issues.
“Most of them complain that they feel inferior to their friends who criticise them for not choosing integration. The combatants say they do not want to stay at the cantonments any longer,” Sharma told the Post, adding that he had conveyed the concerns to the Special Committee and Maoist representatives in the Secretariat. “I try to assure them (combatants) that the process will move forward. That might take time but there is no alternative to it,” added Sharma.
The combatants have been contacting the Secretariat members individually and pressing them for early solution to the issues since completion of the regrouping process last month. They insist confidentiality of the telephone numbers fearing disciplinary action.
PLA Spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal could not be contacted for comments despite several attempts by the Post on Saturday evening. It has been learnt that Khanal and other Maoist leaders have said they are raising issues as per the party’s policy. “The combatants have individual views but that matters less than the official position of the PLA,” a source
quoted a Maoist Secretariat member as saying.
Posted on: 2012-01-08 09:08
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