Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Nepal army has lost much of its spit and polish over the last year. The king was removed as its commander-in-chief, the royal prefix was dropped and they are now answerable to a civilian-elected government.
But that hasn't stopped the army from standing up for what it believes in.
A senior officer has warned that Maoist guerrillas would not be allowed to join the army. He said the guerrillas were politically motivated and indoctrinated and that these are traits unacceptable in a politically neutral army. He also said the guerrillas needed to be disarmed, de-mobilised, rehabilitated and reintegrated.
Army affairs analyst, Major General Ashok Mehta said, "The army is ideologically indoctrinated and no army can have an indoctrinated force."
However, last year's peace accord, which ended the Maoist insurrection, clearly said that the guerrillas could join the army — a point restated by Maoist supremo Prachanda.
"The merger process should be done after the CA elections. Both should be unified and the whole army should be democratised. This is the crux of the matter," he said.
On the face of it, Prachanda — given the mandate that he has — can insist that the army absorb his 23,000 fighters. But analysts warn that would not be politically prudent given that both were fighting each other until a few months ago.
Absorbing the guerrillas would also mean the army having to water down its physical and educational standards.
Major General Mehta says, "Maoist cadres could be absorbed into the Armed Police Force or regular police."
Former prime minister GP Koirala had also proposed that they be absorbed into a newly created force to guard industries, or government buildings, or be appointed park rangers. With a little give and take a solution could be found.
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