On 20 December I visited the Maoist cantonment site in Nawalparasi to get a first hand idea of the atmosphere in the PLA (People’s Liberation Army). The site came in the news before when some sources claimed that many PLA soldiers had fled the site due to the bad living conditions. Below are the transcripts of my conversation with Commander Pratiksha, head of the 4th cantonment site.
Nick: "What kind of adjustment or merger of the two armies do you see? Can you imagine a future in which the PLA and NA (Nepal Army) are in the same barracks, eat in the same kitchen?”
Pratiksha: "Of course, we are not against the NA, we are against the king. We are ready to eat, play and sleep with them, as long as they obey to the political leaders and not to the king."
Nick: “Should the decision on the future of the armies be taken by the current political leaders, by the people elected through the Constitutional Assembly elections or by the military leaders?”
Pratiksha: “All decisions should be taken by the SPA (Seven Party Alliance) as per the peace agreement. We are ready to adjust according to their orders.”
Nick: "Last week 12 Nepali Congress members openly declared that without a ceremonial king the country is in great danger. If the SPA decides to keep some sort of ceremonial king, what will he PLA do?
Pratiksha: (firmly) “Not possible, the situation is out of question. We are sure our political leaders will never come to such a compromise."
Nick: "Some time ago Prachanda came to Chitwan, 3th cantonment site, and told the PLA to be ready for another 10 to 40 years of fighting. Are you ready to fight again?"
Pratiksha: "Of course we are ready, but at the moment we are in the peace process and we want to fight on the political side. We believe in the peace and election process."
Nick: "What if the elections do not take place? They have been postponed two times. What kind of political scenario do you see if by the end of April the elections still could not take place?"
Pratiksha: "We are very sure that elections will take place, so this is a hypothetical question."
Nick: "Yesterday the government has asked UNMIN (United Nations Mission to Nepal) to stay another 6 months. Will the government be able to take good care of the PLA once they are gone?"
Pratiksha: "The government is not taking good care of us right now. In the 12-point agreement they say that both armies will be treated equally, but why does a NA soldier get 100Rs a day for food and a PLA soldier only 60Rs? Why do they get 4400Rs salary and we 3000Rs? Even this salary they don't pay regularly. Only 4 months have been paid.
Nick: "When was this?"
Pratiksha: "Just before Dashain, almost three months ago. At the same time, the NA has increased its force by 20 000 since the agreement was signed. Nobody writes about this. The UNMIN should speak more on these two issues."
Nick: "As a result of this lack of funds, how is the situation in this site?"
Pratiksha: "You can see that some of us still sleep in tents. We don't have the logistics and facilities we need."
Nick: "But I can see a lot of construction is going on. Will this site become a permanent base?"
Pratiksha: "That will depend on the peace process. If the peace process goes well it will become permanent yes, but if it does not go well…(smiling)"
Nick: “Thank you for making time for us”
Afterwards I inspected the camp to find out that most of the places where the soldiers sleep are still very primitive. However, wooden barracks, a small first aid post, some training facilities and an entry gate were in construction. It seemed as if in practice the temporary camp was slowly turning into a permanent military base, although still without large constructions. None of the commanders present at the interview was wearing a military uniform. The atmosphere was rather informal. The attitude was clearly political instead of military.
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