Kathmandu: Nepal on Sunday completed the
discharge of all minor combatants of the Maoist Army, with the
release of 268 ex-rebels, including child soldiers, from the
last UN-monitored cantonment.
The combatants released today included those recruited by
the Maoists during the decade-long civil war and the 'late
recruits' inducted after the signing of the peace accord in
2006.
Nearly 19,000 former members of the People's Liberation
Army are still stationed in UN monitored camps, but the
process of releasing child soldiers and late recruits was over
with today's release.
Altogether 2,973 disqualified individuals from the
Maoists' Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) were released since the
process began on January 7, 2010, a statement by the UN
Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) said.
The last round of the release was completed today when
the remaining 268 interns were discharged from the last
functioning camp in Rolpa district.
"The release of these young people today is not only
symbolic for the country but a milestone for these young men
and women who spent their formative years inside a military
structure losing out on critical skills vital for adulthood,"
said UNICEF Country Representative Gillian Mellsop.
Of the 4,008 disqualified individuals verified by the
UNMIN in seven cantonments, 40 per cent have voluntarily left
the cantonments.
The discharged individuals will be provided with
rehabilitation packages with the support of Nepal government
and the United Nations.
They have been offered formal schooling, vocational
training, training as health workers, and assistance to set up
small/micro-enterprises.
Each disqualified individual, received a purse of Rs
22,000 as financial support from the UN and the Maoist party
to start a new life after confinement in the cantonments for
three years since the peace accord was signed between the
government of Nepal and the Maoists.
Maoist chief Prachanda, Commander Nanda Kishore Pun and
Representative of the UN Secretary General Karren Landgren
were also present during the discharge function.
"You, who have left the cantonment, are not in the Maoist
army chain of command. You have a role in helping make Nepal a
country that is just, equitable, democratic and peaceful," she
said while bidding farewell to the disqualified combatants
from the cantonments.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 08, 2010, 19:32