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India stands behind cornered Nepal Army chief
KATHMANDU: India remains unconvinced that there is good reason for Nepals Maoist government to sack the army chief just four months before he is due to retire and feels any move to tamper with the armys chain of command will send out a negative signal.This is the message that Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood Sunday conveyed to Nepals Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda after returning from New Delhi, where he had consultations with Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary Shivashankar Menon and senior security officials. However, the indications are that the Prachanda government is not ready to listen to the voice of caution. A section of Maoist lawmakers are threatening to pull out of the coalition if beleaguered Nepal Army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal is not dismissed and the prime minister Sunday also met the head of state and the army, President Ram Baran Yadav, to convey his partys decision. While Katawals term ends in August, the hurry to sack him apparently stems from the Maoist desire to appoint as his successor the second senior-most general, Lt-Gen Kul Bahadur Khadka. While Katawal staunchly opposed the Maoist bid to induct its over 19,000 Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) fighters into the Nepal Army (NA), saying they would have to meet international recruitment criteria, Khadka is whispered to be more flexible. However, Khadka himself has barely two months service left before he is due to retire and the government needs to remove Katawal to pave the way for their favourite before that. But a setback came from the Maoists ally in the coalition government, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). The Maoists need UML support to win their battle against the army chief. However, the UML, whose leaders have become sharply divided on the issue, Sunday decided to skirt a verdict and instead, asked for the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) party to be also consulted. With the NC opposing the Maoist move to fire Katawal and continuing to disrupt parliament since last week in protest, the sword will now continue to hang over the army and its chief and throw a pall of uncertainty on the fate of the peace process. Posted by: john frum 2009-04-26 |
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