Inseconline.org reports that normal life
was affected in Ilam, Dhankuta, Panchthar,
Sunsari, Nawalparasi, Arghakhanchi, Kanchanpur,
Dang, Pyuthan, Banke, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Dailekh
and Bardiya Districts due to the Nepal bandh
(general shutdown) called by Rastriya Janamukti
Party (RJP) and various ethnic fronts on April
15. The bandh was called by the RJP
demanding state restructuring on the basis
of ethnic identity and timely constitution.
However, the bandh was called off in
the afternoon after the Peace and Reconstruction
Ministry agreed to urge the concerned body
to implement the demand of RJP.
Further, the ongoing second phase of voluntary
retirement process of the combatants
belonging to the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) so far suggests the number of
combatants choosing integration is going to
be far less than 6,500—the combatants’ intake
number in the Nepal Army (NA) set by the seven-point
agreement signed on November 1, reports Kantipuronline.
Of the 9,705 combatants who opted for integration
during regrouping in November 2011, 4,052
combatants from all the seven PLA division
camps chose voluntary retirement as of April
15. The major factor prompting combatants
to choose voluntary retirement is academic
qualification that could be crucial in determining
their rank in the NA.
Moreover, the Army Integration Special Committee
(AISC) has enforced a 12-point code of conduct
for former PLA combatants, barring them from
engaging in any political activity inside
cantonments. The code came into effect in
all the 15 cantonment sites on April 13. |
