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Indian Army chiefs ‘comments’ ruffles Maoists in Nepal
Maoists in Nepal have taken umbrage at Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor’s comments on integration of the former rebels with the Nepal Army.
Maoists in Nepal have taken umbrage at Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor’s comments on integration of the former rebels with the Nepal Army.
Speaking to a private FM station, Deputy Chief of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Baburam Bhattarai accused the Indian Army of meddling in the Himalayan nation’s internal affairs with his comments.
The senior Maoist leader’s statement follows a report in the Kathmandu Post, which stated that General Kapoor was opposed to mass integration of the former rebels of Peoples’ Liberation Army into the Nepal Army.
Nepal’s new army chief General Chattraman Singh Gurung had returned to Kathmandu on Saturday after a weeklong visit to India. The report stated that General Kapoor had made the remarks at a dinner hosted by General Gurung during the visit.
The report quoted Kapoor as saying that the Maoists wanted to politicize Nepal’s impartial army by mass integration of its cadres. He was also quoted as saying that if the former rebels wanted to join the army they should follow laid down rules.
“What do you want to do by integrating the rebel forces collectively into the national army? Why do they want to join the Army but no other security forces?” Kapoor is quoted in the report.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006 after the end of the 10-year-long civil war, nearly 19000 former Maoist guerrillas at staying in UN-monitored barracks.
As per provisions of CPA, they are to be gradually integrated into the Nepal Army. But the process has not yet started. In May, the UCPN (M)-led government stepped down from power after the President overruled its decision to remove the army chief for his alleged lack of interest in starting the integration process.
