| |
WELT 05.05.2009
Army chief's sacking could threaten stability Nepal’s ruling Maoists fired the army chief on Sunday, accusing him of disobeying instructions not to hire new recruits, a move that could destabilise the coalition government and jeopardise a peace deal that ended a civil war. "The cabinet has relieved General Rookmangud KatawNepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal fired army chief Katawal Sunday, May 3, 2009, accusing him of defying government orders, officials said. al of his position," a government minister told reporters. Katawal had refused to accept his dismissal and was meeting other generals in his office, local television stations reported. Nepal does not have a history of military coups, but the move could wreck a 2006 peace pact that ended a decade-long civil war that pitted the army against the Maoists. The peace agreement ushered the Maoists into the political mainstream. In sacking the army chief, the Maoists ignored objections from opposition parties and some allies in the ruling coalition. Analysts said the Communist UML party, a key ally, was unhappy at the decision and could even quit the government. UML members and some other small allies stormed out of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, government officials said. "This has completely destabilised the coalition because the UML and the Maoists have painted themselves into a corner,“ said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly. "They have no face-saving way out.“ The former rebels emerged as the single largest party in a constituent assembly election last year that is tasked with running Nepal until a new constitution is written by May 2010. Abolition of Nepal’s 239-year-old monarchy and a new constitution were the key demands in the Maoists’ peace negotiations. "At this rate it is unlikely that the new constitution will be written on time,“ Dixit said. Ties between the Maoists and the army have been fraught since the former rebels came to power. Katawal was due to retire in four months. The Maoists accuse him of hiring 2,800 new recruits and reinstating eight generals without consulting the government. Mahara said Katawal was sacked because the "explanations submitted by him were not satisfactory“. The Maoists and the army have also faced off on the question of absorbing more than 19,000 former rebel fighters into the armed forces. Katawal had resisted, saying the army could not take in "indoctrinated“ cadres. The rehabilitation of the former fighters is seen as key to lasting peace in the country.Mahara said the cabinet had appointed General Kul Bahadur Khadka, next in line after Katawal, as acting chief of the 93,000-strong army. The main opposition Nepali Congress party, which earlier threatened to launch street protests if the general was sacked, urged the Maoists to reconsider. "This is a very serious subject and a highly objectionable decision,“ senior Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat said. "The government has taken a totalitarian decision and it must withdraw it.“
|
|