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Jan 7, 2010
Nepalese child soldiers freed
our NS men are obese
DUDHAULI (Nepal) - HUNDREDS of former child soldiers who once fought for Nepal's Maoist rebels will finally be released from the UN-monitored detention camps they have called home for the past three years to begin new lives as civilians. Rather than joy at escaping the watch of the armed guards who monitor the barbed wire-lined fences of the camps, many of the young fighters were upset on Wednesday at the thought of having to turn in their green camouflage uniforms and leave their comrades behind. 'They are all very emotional at having to leave the camps, but they all realize it is something that is necessary to keep the peace process alive,' said Gopal Pandey, the deputy commander of a camp in Dudhauli, about 200km south-west of Katmandu.
Nearly 20,000 former rebel fighters - formally known as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - have lived in seven main camps since 2006, when they gave up their 10-year armed rebellion to join a peace process and enter mainstream politics. UN monitors found that 2,975 of the fighters were under 18. As part of the peace process, the rebels were supposed to be integrated into Nepal's military. But the army chief's refusal to do so has led to a political scandal in which the Maoists - who won the most seats in elections last year - resigned from the government. The process of releasing the child soldiers - who were never going to be enrolled in the national army - is going forward, however, starting with 371 of the former fighters at the Dudhauli camp who were being released on Thursday. The young former rebels have been issued special identification cards that will allow them to go to school or college, take up vocational training or start businesses with the help of government and UN agencies. -- AP
Home > Breaking News > Asia > Story
Jan 7, 2010
Nepalese child soldiers freed
our NS men are obese
DUDHAULI (Nepal) - HUNDREDS of former child soldiers who once fought for Nepal's Maoist rebels will finally be released from the UN-monitored detention camps they have called home for the past three years to begin new lives as civilians. Rather than joy at escaping the watch of the armed guards who monitor the barbed wire-lined fences of the camps, many of the young fighters were upset on Wednesday at the thought of having to turn in their green camouflage uniforms and leave their comrades behind. 'They are all very emotional at having to leave the camps, but they all realize it is something that is necessary to keep the peace process alive,' said Gopal Pandey, the deputy commander of a camp in Dudhauli, about 200km south-west of Katmandu.
Nearly 20,000 former rebel fighters - formally known as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - have lived in seven main camps since 2006, when they gave up their 10-year armed rebellion to join a peace process and enter mainstream politics. UN monitors found that 2,975 of the fighters were under 18. As part of the peace process, the rebels were supposed to be integrated into Nepal's military. But the army chief's refusal to do so has led to a political scandal in which the Maoists - who won the most seats in elections last year - resigned from the government. The process of releasing the child soldiers - who were never going to be enrolled in the national army - is going forward, however, starting with 371 of the former fighters at the Dudhauli camp who were being released on Thursday. The young former rebels have been issued special identification cards that will allow them to go to school or college, take up vocational training or start businesses with the help of government and UN agencies. -- AP
