Nepal parties reach troop deal that could secure peace

GlobalPost

Nepal's main political parties inked a seven-point agreement Wednesday that should bring a successful end to five years of peace talks and lay the groundwork for the writing of a new constitution within as little time as a month, the Times of India reported.

Crucially, the agreement resolves the sticky issue of what to do with former Maoist combatants, who had surrendered their remaining weapons in September, but still needed employment or some kind of severance to ensure their successful integration into society.

Under the deal reached late Tuesday night, a maximum of 6,500 out of some 19,000 Maoist combatants will be integrated into the Nepal Army by creating a separate directorate, whose responsibility would be to carry out development activities, forest conservation, industrial security and crisis management, the Times of India cited Nepali Congress vice president Ramchandra Poudyal as saying.

The directorate will consist of 65% personnel from Nepal army and 35% from the Maoist combatants, the paper said.

The rest of the former combatants will receive a rehabilitation package with up to 900,000 rupees ($11,500) in startup cash to begin their new lives, the Associated Press reported.

Nepal's peace process has been underway since 2006, when the Maoists laid down their arms after a decade-long insurrection and joined mainstream politics. Since then, Nepal has had several weak coalition governments, in which the Maoists, the Nepali Congress, and various other parties have played a role.  Meanwhile, an interim constitution — which was supposed to expire in May 2010 — remains in place after several extensions.

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