The news or article item below is part of my Nepal Revolution Reports, to be a series of postings from Kathamandu to my external blog Stefandav – Revolution of the Mind (this link will take you to the entries tagged Nepal + Maoism).
Nepal Maoists ‘recruit thousands’
March 4 – The Maoist former rebel group in Nepal, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), says it has begun recruiting thousands of young people. The announcement comes just days after the army said it had filled 3,000 vacancies, a move that has been condemned by the former rebels. They said it was a violation of the peace deal that ended their insurgency. The Maoists came to power last year after a landslide poll win but the role of the army is an unresolved issue. The BBC’s Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says this game of tit-for-tat on recruitment has raised tensions but that most observers do not believe the Maoists seriously intend to go back to war. Rising tensions The head of the PLA, Nanda Kishore Pun, told the BBC that his organisation would take on more than 11,000 fighters, bringing the size of his army up to more than 31,000. He said that the recruitment process would continue unless the Maoist-led government intervened. It has yet to comment. … go to complete original article
The Recruitment that Threatens to Derail the Peace Process
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