NEPAL: MAOISTS START DISCHARGING MINORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000016 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOISTS START DISCHARGING MINORS REF: KATHMANDU 01147 Classified By: Charge d' Affaires, a.i., John Ordway. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) . ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a positive step in Nepal's long-stalled peace process, the Maoist party officially discharged 209 "disqualified" combatants from one of the seven main Maoist cantonment sites. Following their discharge by the People's Liberation Army Deputy Commander, UNDP and UNICEF teams documented and processed their departure from the cantonment site. The UN took discharged combatants from the cantonment to nearby cities, where they received money to travel back to their home villages. There are six more cantonments to process and continued progress is far from guaranteed. End summary. ABOUT 40 PERCENT ALREADY LEFT CANTONMENT -------------- ¶2. (C) UNICEF and UNDP officials arrived at the Maoist Cantonment Site 2 (MCS2) in Sindhuli several days ago, and re-verified the identities of the disqualified combatants, according to Peace and Reconstruction Ministry Joint Secretary Sadhuram Sapkota. (Note: The majority of the 4,008 disqualified combatants were disqualified because they were minors. Roughly 500 are still minors, and 20 are still under the age of 16. End note.) In a meeting with EmbOff January 5, Sapkota said only 209 of the 371 previously identified disqualified combatants in MCS2 were still present. After verification, UN officials issued new photo identification cards, which the discharged combatants can use to apply for training programs once they leave the camps. Sapkota said the 40 percent desertion rate would likely be the same in the other cantonments. (Note: There are seven main cantonment sites and 21 satellite sites. Disqualified combatants in the satellite camps are being brought to the main cantonment sites to participate in the discharge processing.) DISCHARGE GOES SMOOTHLY -------------- ¶3. (C) UNICEF, UNDP, UNMIN, and the Maoist military leadership coordinated the January 7 ceremony. UNMIN Political Officer Anuraj Jha reported the ceremony itself went smoothly, and "much better than expected." The Secretary from the Peace and Reconstruction Ministry and other officials from the ministry attended the ceremony as witnesses, but did not play a role in the discharge process. Maoist People's Liberation Army Commander Nanda Kishor Pun "Pasang" officiated the discharge ceremony of the combatants. UNDP head Robert Piper attended, as did UNICEF Country Representative Gillian Mellsop, and several officials from UNMIN. After a short military discharge ceremony, the discharged combatants were given a travel stipend, roughly USD 200, and were loaded onto buses. The UN is transferring them to several nearby cities where they will be dropped off at the bus stations to travel back to their home villages. ¶4. (C) Peace Ministry's Sapkota predicted that many of the disqualified would not return to their home villages. He was optimistic, however, that civil society and NGO groups were in place and would effectively monitor the combatants' whereabouts and activities. Per an action plan with the UN and the Peace Ministry, the Maoist party pledged to refrain from re-recruiting disqualified combatants (reftel.) TRAINING PROGRAMS WILL NOT BE UTILIZED -------------- ¶5. (C) After returning to their home villages, the combatants will have 12 months to enroll in various training programs, including education, health training, business activities, and vocational training. UNICEF estimates that roughly 50 percent of the combatants would likely take advantage of training, however Peace Ministry's Sapkota said he suspected very few combatants would utilize training programs. According to Sapkota, the Maoist leadership were not informing the combatants about the programs and some were actively discouraging such training. KATHMANDU 00000016 002 OF 002 MOVING ON TO THE NEXT CANTONMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) All parties have agreed to refrain from holding discharge ceremonies in other cantonments for one week while they review the procedures from MCS2. UNMIN Political Officer Yohn Medina told Charge on January 6 that beginning January 11 the Maoists would discharge two cantonment sites per week, finishing around January 30. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) The official discharge and departure of several hundred Maoists is a positive step in the peace process and removes what had become a roadblock in the larger integration and rehabilitation negotiations. Movement on discharge had been painfully slow, with two years of false promises by the Maoists. Some observers still believe the Maoists will stall the discharge of the next cantonment sites, and only agreed to release MCS2's combatants as a bit of political theater leading up to the UNSC's debate of UNMIN's extension on January 15. Peace Ministry officials and the UN believe, however, that the forward momentum and pressure on the Maoists should keep the process moving. Most importantly, the lessons learned during the discharge of the disqualified combatants will hopefully apply to the larger integration and rehabilitation negotiations. ORDWAY