Nearly there - Nepali Times

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Nearly there
Nepal is taking money away from public welfare to rehabilitate and compensate Maoist warriors. But it may be the price we have to pay for peace.

FROM ISSUE #579 (18 NOV 2011 - 24 NOV 2011) | TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BIKRAM RAI

Nepal's leaders spent the five years since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) on 22 November 2006 arguing over semantics. But it was an excuse to buy time for power struggle between and within the parties.

Now there is a concrete plan and a multi-partisan commitment to see the process through. "The major challenge now lies with implementing the agreement," writes Kul Chandra Gautam in an analysis on p12-13, "this is no time to be nit-picking and second guessing."

Many of the provisions in the 1 November agreement (return of seized property, disbanding the YCL, decommissioning the Maoists) are not really new. But the parties now have to do in weeks what they couldn't do in five years and try to maximize the 'peace dividend' from the compensation cash.

If the political leaders give clear guidance, the Special Committee can work it all out. The challenge is for the Maoist-led Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction to work on the rehabilitation package without bungling it.

Read our CPA 5 Special

The way ahead, KUL CHANDRA GAUTAM
War during peace, DHANA LAXMI HAMAL
A war of words, RUBEENA MAHATO
The five-year ceasefire , EDITORIAL
No war, no peace , RUBEENA MAHATO

1. Shree Shrestha
There is always the possibilities that more than half the money given to the PLA may end up in the Maoist's Party coffer. Best way to avoid this is give the money in the installment basis.

Posted on: 18 NOV 2011 | 2:33 AM NST

2. Saujanya
Warriors!! What warriors ??

Posted on: 19 NOV 2011 | 3:09 PM NST

3. K. K. Sharma
Maoists are getting richer, at tax payer's expense, for holding peace for ransom. Other insurgent groups may also learn from the success of the Maoists. Especially when the Western countries and Nepali intellectuals have exonerated such crimes.

Posted on: 19 NOV 2011 | 9:37 PM NST

4. Gole
Maoists are the richest party in this continent. They have ammased a huge fortune through levyon the PLA and extortions. They own 17 landmark structures from NMaitighar to the Tia as the local paper reported through photos recently ,just to give an example.
Sabai jogi aye pani kanai kateka. We worship power and this drags us by pulling us through our nose.
Democracy may not be the best system but there is no better system than this one;my dear ones.

Posted on: 22 NOV 2011 | 5:30 AM NST

5. DG
No worry mates. You have wicked uncles to foot the bills!
Long live our wicked uncles. ;WCs.
NB: Wc is not water closet!,in this context.

Posted on: 23 NOV 2011 | 7:34 PM NST

6. sano bhai

I have a few questions for the maoist party , the Nepali intellectual community and the Nepali People as a whole.

Considering that the Maoist revolution sprang up as a revolt against the corrupt system in place in our institutions, considering that they have fought ardently for years the very system that they are integrating, at the heavy cost of lives, Why is it that no one has criticized or talked about the credibility of the maoist compensations?

It is for the betterment of nepali society and the Nepali people that the maoist fought the Monarchy so long. For Social reforms, for Education, equal rights and the list goes on. How is it , now that they have integrated civil society, they ask for monetary compensation when the back-bone of their revolution was this very necessity to come out of the corrupt system of our country?

Yes we need to normalize the People's Armys' "regulars" and yes we need to reconcile warring factions so that true peace may be finally put in place.

But how so much more would be achieved if the Maoist party worked in the true progress needed, which is social and economical. If these two were strengthened, wouldn't the combattants, in seeing that work await them rush, like all do, to participate in the swarming activity of society?

It is time that the walls of hypocrisy fall along with the false facades that we have built. Do you really think that development will start growing once the combattants are payed off? We need to focus on those aspects of society which we should have worked upon the day the king was deposed, then only will we see true progress.

Posted on: 26 NOV 2011 | 1:55 PM NST