Special Committee Members meting of the today

KATHMANDU, OCT 09 - Members of the Special Committee on integration and rehabilitation on Saturday accused the Maoists of holding the Special Committee Secretariat (SCS) to “ransom” by their deliberate absence from the mechanism.

The Maoists are adamant that Nanda Kishore Pun, Chief of the People’s Liberation Army, be named coordinator of the 12-member body. The six-party Special Committee, responsible for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants, had expected SCS to become operational Sunday. Deepak Prasad Bhatta, SCS member of the CPN-UML, said, “Nothing has moved as the Maoists are yet to participate,” he added.

Maoist representative Chandra Prakash Khanal said the SCS was “defunct” as the Special Committee is yet to appoint a coordinator. The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are insisting retired Nepal Army General Balananda Sharma should head the mechanism. Khanal, however, said the issue was non-negotiable.

After the Special Committee decided to activate the SCS on Oct. 2, the SCS office was set up within the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction. Since then, Maoist members Khanal and Kul Prasad KC have visited only once. The absence of the Maoists has hit the recruitment of personnel to be deployed by the government in 28 Maoist cantonments and a 24-hour operation centre proposed to monitor the cantonments, said a non-Maoist member.