Integration deepened national unity: CoAS

Chief of Army Staff Gen Gaurav SJB Rana on Sunday said the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army (NA) has strengthened national unity and given momentum to the process of national development.
In a message to the rank and file on the occasion of Army Day, Gen Rana said the integration process has been completed in a manner that will not jeopardise the professionalism and apolitical character of the NA. He further said the process has eliminated the armed conflict and given the much-needed impetus to the country’s political process. The Army chief’s statement follows preparations to set up a General Directorate with a strength of 4,171 personnel to integrate over 1,400 former Maoist fighters into the Army. His positive observations on the integration process comes at a time when ranks to be offered to the ex-combatants in the NA have become a contentious issue in cross-party talks.
“The Nepal Army has played a responsible role in line with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in army integration, a challenging and complex task of the peace process,” the message said.
It said the formation of the General Directorate for National Development and Security would help restructure the Army organisation. The NA said it has started the process of deploying 65 percent of its human resource, apart from the ex-combatants required for the General Directorate.
The General Directorate will include three directorates, each of which will be responsible for infrastructure development, forest and environment security and disaster response.
In a cross-party deal signed in November 2011, major parties had also agreed to deploy the General Directorate for industrial security. In Sunday’s address, Gen Rana said that field ambulance, signal, combat and combat support units of the engineering and transport unit would be included in the new directorate.
The NA recruited 1,460 ex-combatants last year, bringing an end to the two army set-up in existence since the beginning of the peace process in 2006. The NA, under the leadership of Gen Rookmangud Katawal, had stood firmly against integration. However, in the three-year tenure of former CoAS Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung, which started from September 2009, it adopted a more flexible stance.
In his address, Gen Rana also announced the new policies and programmes that the NA plans to execute under him. He committed to work towards ensuring a definite percent of the annual budget for defence from the government, revising and formulating the defence doctrine, increasing participation and capacity in UN peacekeeping operations and adopting long-term restructuring policies with a 10-year vision plan.
The Army chief also lauded the newly introduced Army Service Regulation, saying that it encourages promotion on the basis of merit. Some officers have expressed reservations over the new regulation, arguing that it bypasses seniority and has opened up space for promotions based on favouritism and nepotism.
Gen Rana, however, said that the new rule has made the promotion system more competitive and ensures that only capable officers receive promotions to command positions. The Regulation also includes provisions to listen to the complaints of dissatisfied soldiers.
The Army chief also announced
some populist plans, including providing subsidised loans for the purchase of four wheelers, motorcycles and cycles for serving soldiers. He noted that a directive on women soldiers, which pledges to create female friendly infrastructure in the Army, has
been forwarded for approval to the Ministry of Defence.
Preparations are also underway to formulate criteria to make selections in UN peacekeeping, conferring awards and
various appointments to the Army more transparent, he said. Rana further pledged to revise the NA’s welfare schemes and increase elderly allowances for ex-servicemen above the age of 70 from the current Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 per month. He also outlined plans to set up an Ex-Servicemen Trust and a vocational training institute for pensioners and their families.