PLA calls for fresh intake
Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, March 3 - The People's Liberation of Army (PLA) of Unified CPN (Maoist) on Monday announced fresh intake of PLA combatants.
PLA Chief Nanda Kishore Pun said the meeting of the “so-called” five-party mechanism on Saturday backed Nepal Army’s recruitment, though it was against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. “We have taken the decision because PLA’s strengthhad been lowered during the first phase registration by UNMIN,” he said. “The PLA intends to raise the number to 31,315,” the PLA commander said.

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PLA also starts recruitment

Even as the row between the government and Nepal Army (NA) over the issue of recruitment has not settled, the Maoists affiliated People's Liberation Army (PLA) have started recruitments.

The PLA is recruiting personnel to fill up the position of some 12,000 army disqualified by the verification team of United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).

Issuing a press release on Monday, Nanda Kishor Pun 'Pasang', the chief of PLA has called healthy and energetic Nepali youths over 18 years of age to join the PLA.

UNMIN has disqualified many of our personnel under various pretexts, so we
are filling up those vacancies, Pasang has stated in the release. This is the decision of the army, it will be discussed with the party later, he said.

The 31,000 men-strong army was reduced to less than 20,000 after UNMIN disqualified 12,000 personnel mostly because the personnel were under aged.

The remaining 19,000 PLA are staying in 7 major and 21 small cantonments across the country.

Senior leader of the party and finance minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai said, principally the same rules apply to both the NA and the PLA, according to the Peace Accord. Since NA conducted its recruitment process, the PLA should also be allowed to do so, however I am not aware of the PLA recruitments, Kantipur daily quoted Bhattarai as saying.

The main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) and the second largest coalition partner CPN (UML) have condemned the recruitment process as a serious threat to the peace process.

Pradip Gyawali of UML said such decision of the Maoists will invite serious accident to the peace process.

Arjun Narsingh KC, spokesperson of NC, said the recruitment is a challenge
to the peace process.

The announcement of PLA recruitment comes at a time when the dispute over NA recruitment has reached the Supreme Court (SC). The hearing on a case filed by International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED) is on going at the SC. Government attorneys are pleading on behalf of both the government and the NA.

NA has consulted with some private lawyers including Sher Bahadur KC on the case. NA said it was ready hire private lawyers, if necessary. However, the Office of the Attorney General said hiring private lawyers was not necessary as government attorneys would plead on behalf of NA.

INHURED had filed a case seeking SC’s intervention in NA recruitment claiming that the recruitment was against the Peace Accord.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the five-ruling parties has decided not to stop the NA recruitment in view of the future of the recruits at a time when the training had already begun. nepalnews.com Mar 03 09