Maoists push new demand Seek land for apple farming or cows for disqualified combatants
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN
KATHMANDU, Nov 16: The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which is hell bent on ensuring cash incentives to their disqualified combatants, has demanded the government and the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) to provide either land for apple farming or 4,000 cows to the combatants as a rehabilitation offer.
Senior Maoist leaders Barshaman Pun, Janardan Sharma and Chandra Prakash Khanal pushed the demand during a meeting with Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong, UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nepal Robert Piper on Friday. But Landgren and Piper said no to the new demand, sources who participated in the meeting said.
“We demanded the government and the UN representatives to give land on lease for apple farming or 4,000 cows to the disqualified combatants as rehabilitation package,” Maoist politburo member and former peace minister Janardan Sharma told myrepublica.com about the meeting.
He said the government should provide land in Karnali on lease for the proposed apple farming, besides providing saplings and fertilizers.
According to sources, the Maoists demanded that each combatants be given 100 apple saplings. For cow farming, the government should provide land, Sharma said.
"But both of our demands were rejected," Sharma said, adding, "We want these schemes for development of the country."
Earlier, the Maoists had demanded that each combatant be given Rs 1 million as rehabilitation package. But the government and the UNMIN vehemently rejected the demand, saying that there won´t be any cash incentives to 4,008 disqualified combatants -- minors and late recruits. The government and UNMIN have planned to provide only vocational training. They will prepare such a package only on the basis of the information that they will collect in the second phase that ultimately leads the discharge of the combatants from the cantonments.
The Maoists pushed for the new demands after having learnt that the government and UNMIN will not agree on cash incentives to the disqualified under any circumstances.
The discharge and rehabilitation of these combatants disqualified by the UNMIN is a part of the ongoing peace process. The process of discharge and rehabilitation began on October 17. But the future of the process is in limbo due to Maoist demand for cash incentives. Even the meeting on Friday could not break the deadlock over the questionnaires that are necessary to begin the crucial second phase of the process.
The second phase, supposed to have begun on November 22, is in limbo after Maoist denial to agree on the questionnaires that do not allow the disqualified combatants to ask for any cash incentives. Instead, the meeting decided to hold a meeting of Karin and Piper with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal by Monday.
In the meantime, the first phase of the process is going to be finished by Thursday, according to sources. As of Sunday, the first phase of orientation and information dissemination has been completed in five cantonments in Chitwan, Sindhuli, Nawalparasi, Illam and Kailali. Four teams have been deployed to complete the process in Surkhet and Rolpa by Thursday.
Landgren talks to Dahal
In the meantime, UNMIN Chief Landgren raised the controversy over the questionnaire with Maoist Chairman Dahal during a meeting on Sunday.
Sources said Landgren expressed concern with Dahal over cash incentives demanded by combatants in the cantonments during the first phase of the discharge process.
According to knowledgeable sources, Landgren asked Dahal to agree on the questionnaires so that the second phase of the discharge could begin as scheduled. The source further said that Dahal assured Landgren of his party´s commitment to the process. Besides, Dahal also asked Landgren to “ignore the cash demands from the combatants”.
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Maoists Push New Demand Seek Land For Apple Farming Or Cows For Disqualified Combatants
unemployed people need help. European countries used to have a minimal support wage which was misunderstood by immigrants it is really not a wage to live on but emergency created in times of crisis in the beginning of the century to help very poor families surive when the father could not generate income and provide for his children and wife. In Nepal the situatin is nationwide, but the behaviour is not good there is no attitude of wanting to work. Instead of demanding so much there should be a
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Rehabilitation offer should be provided by the Government for Qualified Combatants who want to live normal life, and this should start immiadiately.
But not to disqualified Combatants, Maoist Party should provide them what ever they need and Leaders of their Party should be punished for using Under age Children in War, humanitarian law should punish all these leaders. And then only Government of Nepal will look after these disqualified Combatants who were unlawfully us
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