The Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) has come under the control of the statutory Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of former combatants in Nepal. The handover of the PLA from the Maoist party to the Special Committee took place at a formal ceremony at the PLA third division cantonment in Chitwan district on Saturday.
Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” signed a declaration marking the handover. The national flag was hoisted at the cantonment, replacing the party flag.
Addressing the former combatants, Mr. Nepal said, “The government has now taken over your responsibilities. You are free to choose to be in politics, but if you chose to be integrated into the security forces, you will have to think above the party for the nation. We now have to work together to bring the peace process to a logical conclusion.” Mr. Prachanda told the PLA, “You have played a laudable role in the revolutionary war and the four years of the peace process. We are in the final stage of the painful transition of the nation.”
While he was the Prime Minister, Mr. Prachanda had told the former combatants in February 2009 that they would henceforth be under the Special Committee. But with the political impasse deepening, the decision was not operationalised. On January 14 this year, a day before the exit of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), the government and the Maoists agreed to implement the decision. The nine-member committee is headed by Mr. Nepal, and includes representatives from all major political parties.
