Nepal's peace process and security sector reforms
Yuba Nath Lamsal
Security is fundamental to development and people's livelihood. In the absence of security, people cannot freely and openly participate in the political and development process of any country. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the state to guarantee security to its citizens so that there would be spontaneous participation of the people in political and developmental processes.Security has two aspects. One is freedom from fear and the other is freedom from want. The first is called hard security and the other one is soft security or human security. By security, most people generally tend to mean hard security or the security of the state. The hard security relates to the mechanism and tools to ensure security of the state and defense of country's border. There are also two components in hard security-security from external threat and internal security. The external security or security from the external threat is often called defense strategy of the state, which is mainly achieved through military power. The police and paramilitary forces are used to ensure internal security.The apparatus for hard security includes army, paramilitary force, police and intelligence in the case of Nepal whereas the soft security or human security is ensured by meeting people's basic needs including food, housing, clothes, which are related to the right to life.The issue being discussed here is related to hard security and reforms of the agencies that are responsible for guaranteeing security of the state. The traditional agencies involved in hard security in Nepal are mainly the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force (paramilitary force) and the National Investigation Department (national intelligence agency). Apart from these four traditional security organs, one equally important force is the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA is the army created by the Maoist party to fight against the feudal state in the past which succeeded in establishing a republican set up in Nepal. The PLA members are currently in seven different cantonments and their arms locked in containers ever since the peace process began five years ago.Currently Nepal is in the process of political transformation from the state of conflict to peaceful stability. The peace process is now in dilemma for several reasons, of which security sector reform is a crucial one. This is mainly because different stakeholders of the peace process have divided opinions and approaches on security sector reform.The Comprehensive Peace Treaty (CPA), which is the basis of the ongoing peace process, has clearly mentioned the provision of integration of the PLA. Its inherent spirit is the security sector reform which includes reforms and restructuring of all security organs of the government and also the PLA. The security sector reform (SSR) is, thus, a part of the peace process. But some hiccups have surfaced concerning the modality of the management of the PLA because of the different interpretations of different parties on this issue in the absence of clarity in understanding the spirit of the CPA.There are clearly two sets of ideas and thoughts on the modality of the management of the PLA. One school of thought is that the PLA members should be managed on the model of Disarmament, Dissolution and Rehabilitation (DDR). The Nepali Congress and some other parties have insisted on the DDR model. Under DDR modality, the PLA members are to be disarmed and rehabilitated into society. The Maoists have opposed this model and their claim is that the DDR concept is not compatible with the spirit of the CPA. The CPA has clearly mentioned the terminology 'integration' which suggests the necessity of security sector reforms under which the PLA should be managed either by integrating them into other security organs or creating new security body to accommodate the PLA members. The opinion of some parties that have pushed for the DDR model is based on experiences of some countries in managing the insurgent armies in the post-conflict situation. However, DDR is not the only model adopted in the world to manage the conflict. Different models have been adopted in different countries depending on the nature of conflict.Nepal's case is unique and it is different from other countries. Nepal's PLA, which initially constituted over 32, 000 and its size was later reduced to over 19,000, is, perhaps, the largest insurgent army in the modern world. Moreover, the Maoist combatants are the part of the entire democratic process that not toppled the feudal monarchy but also heralded a new era of inclusive democracy in Nepal. Nepal's PLA should not be compared with insurgent armies in other countries. Thus, the management of the PLA should be done accordingly. The Maoists' proposal for the management of the PLA is the SSR model. According to them, the security sector reforms should be conducted prior to taking any kind of decision about the PLA. The integration of armies means the merger of the two armies but not the model Nepali Congress and other parties are proposing.We must understand the fact that Nepal's fate now clearly hinges on the success of peace process. The peace process is directly linked with the management of 19000-plus Maoist combatants who are living in seven different camps. The bargaining and obstruction on this issue is tantamount to delay and obstruct the peace process. Thus, the justifiable approach to manage the Maoist combatants would be SSR model.Under the SSR model, the assessment of the security needs of Nepal has to be determined in the first place. On the basis of the need assessment the number in the entire security organs has to be determined. If Nepal needs more security personnel for its internal security as well as external security, the Maoist PLA can be incorporated either into the present security organs or a separate security agency can be created. If the number of security personnel is already adequate, then trimming has to be done in all security organs to create space for the entry of the PLA members.Given Nepal's geo-strategic position and Nepal's economic and other strength, the small Himalayan republic cannot afford military solution to ensure its security from external threats, if there is any. Nepal is surrounded by world's two military giants-China and India. Nepal's approach in dealing with these two great powers and also other countries should, thus, be based on effective and efficient diplomacy. The Nepal Army, whose strength is just over 97,000, cannot fight with any of our two immediate neighbours, which have huge military powers equipped with modern and sophisticated arms. In this sense, Nepal's army is a mere showcase just for a national prestige but not for fighting against the external threat. Some people have raised the issue of efficiency, professionalism and neutrality of the Nepal Army. there is no shade of doubt that the professionalism and competence of the Nepal Army needs to be enhanced. So far as the efficiency of Nepal Army is concerned, it has not been tested in the modern history of Nepal. The last war the Nepal Army fought was during the Nepal-Tibet war. Since then, Nepal Army has not fought any war and unless it is tested in war its efficiency cannot be ascertained. The other issue is the professionalism. The Nepal Army has been participating in the United Nations Peace-Keeping operation in different parts of the world but its performance has not been highly rated. In the past especially during the Panchayat regime and later, too, the Nepal Army offered allegiance to monarchy and it was misused for the interest of the monarchy and the feudal system. The way the army was misused in the past, it gave a feeling to the people that the Nepal Army belonged to the monarchy but not to the people. This is the general sentiment about the Nepal Army, which needs to be dispelled from the mind of the people. This is one of the reasons why reforms and restructuring in the Nepal Army and other security organs are a must.Currently, there are 97,000 in the Nepal Army. A debate must be conducted on the right size of the Nepal Army. Is the 97,000 is adequate or is it more or less? We need to arrive at a conclusion what should be the exact size of the Nepal Army. If the present size if big, it should be trimmed down to the right size. If it is less, the size needs to be enlarged either by recruiting more people or integrating the PLA members. Similarly, the size and efficiency of the Police, para-military force and intelligence agency should also be properly brought to the c correct size. For this purpose, all aspects of these security organs need to be restructured and reformed. Similar should be the case with the PLA members. The PLA is already in the process of reforms and restructuring. The size has already been reduced from earlier 33,000 to the 19,000. The real number to be integrated into the security forces may be further less. Also there is a discussion on scattering the PLA members to different security organs and the possibility of creating a separate force with different responsibilities like border security, forest and wildlife conservation, construction and development works and industrial security.Now time is running short and an early decision has to be taken on security sector reforms and management of the PLA. If the peace process is to be concluded at the earliest, the issue concerning the management of the PLA must be settled as soon as possible. For this, the security sector reform is the right option which would be acceptable to all sides.
Security is fundamental to development and people's livelihood. In the absence of security, people cannot freely and openly participate in the political and development process of any country. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the state to guarantee security to its citizens so that there would be spontaneous participation of the people in political and developmental processes.Security has two aspects. One is freedom from fear and the other is freedom from want. The first is called hard security and the other one is soft security or human security. By security, most people generally tend to mean hard security or the security of the state. The hard security relates to the mechanism and tools to ensure security of the state and defense of country's border. There are also two components in hard security-security from external threat and internal security. The external security or security from the external threat is often called defense strategy of the state, which is mainly achieved through military power. The police and paramilitary forces are used to ensure internal security.The apparatus for hard security includes army, paramilitary force, police and intelligence in the case of Nepal whereas the soft security or human security is ensured by meeting people's basic needs including food, housing, clothes, which are related to the right to life.The issue being discussed here is related to hard security and reforms of the agencies that are responsible for guaranteeing security of the state. The traditional agencies involved in hard security in Nepal are mainly the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force (paramilitary force) and the National Investigation Department (national intelligence agency). Apart from these four traditional security organs, one equally important force is the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA is the army created by the Maoist party to fight against the feudal state in the past which succeeded in establishing a republican set up in Nepal. The PLA members are currently in seven different cantonments and their arms locked in containers ever since the peace process began five years ago.Currently Nepal is in the process of political transformation from the state of conflict to peaceful stability. The peace process is now in dilemma for several reasons, of which security sector reform is a crucial one. This is mainly because different stakeholders of the peace process have divided opinions and approaches on security sector reform.The Comprehensive Peace Treaty (CPA), which is the basis of the ongoing peace process, has clearly mentioned the provision of integration of the PLA. Its inherent spirit is the security sector reform which includes reforms and restructuring of all security organs of the government and also the PLA. The security sector reform (SSR) is, thus, a part of the peace process. But some hiccups have surfaced concerning the modality of the management of the PLA because of the different interpretations of different parties on this issue in the absence of clarity in understanding the spirit of the CPA.There are clearly two sets of ideas and thoughts on the modality of the management of the PLA. One school of thought is that the PLA members should be managed on the model of Disarmament, Dissolution and Rehabilitation (DDR). The Nepali Congress and some other parties have insisted on the DDR model. Under DDR modality, the PLA members are to be disarmed and rehabilitated into society. The Maoists have opposed this model and their claim is that the DDR concept is not compatible with the spirit of the CPA. The CPA has clearly mentioned the terminology 'integration' which suggests the necessity of security sector reforms under which the PLA should be managed either by integrating them into other security organs or creating new security body to accommodate the PLA members. The opinion of some parties that have pushed for the DDR model is based on experiences of some countries in managing the insurgent armies in the post-conflict situation. However, DDR is not the only model adopted in the world to manage the conflict. Different models have been adopted in different countries depending on the nature of conflict.Nepal's case is unique and it is different from other countries. Nepal's PLA, which initially constituted over 32, 000 and its size was later reduced to over 19,000, is, perhaps, the largest insurgent army in the modern world. Moreover, the Maoist combatants are the part of the entire democratic process that not toppled the feudal monarchy but also heralded a new era of inclusive democracy in Nepal. Nepal's PLA should not be compared with insurgent armies in other countries. Thus, the management of the PLA should be done accordingly. The Maoists' proposal for the management of the PLA is the SSR model. According to them, the security sector reforms should be conducted prior to taking any kind of decision about the PLA. The integration of armies means the merger of the two armies but not the model Nepali Congress and other parties are proposing.We must understand the fact that Nepal's fate now clearly hinges on the success of peace process. The peace process is directly linked with the management of 19000-plus Maoist combatants who are living in seven different camps. The bargaining and obstruction on this issue is tantamount to delay and obstruct the peace process. Thus, the justifiable approach to manage the Maoist combatants would be SSR model.Under the SSR model, the assessment of the security needs of Nepal has to be determined in the first place. On the basis of the need assessment the number in the entire security organs has to be determined. If Nepal needs more security personnel for its internal security as well as external security, the Maoist PLA can be incorporated either into the present security organs or a separate security agency can be created. If the number of security personnel is already adequate, then trimming has to be done in all security organs to create space for the entry of the PLA members.Given Nepal's geo-strategic position and Nepal's economic and other strength, the small Himalayan republic cannot afford military solution to ensure its security from external threats, if there is any. Nepal is surrounded by world's two military giants-China and India. Nepal's approach in dealing with these two great powers and also other countries should, thus, be based on effective and efficient diplomacy. The Nepal Army, whose strength is just over 97,000, cannot fight with any of our two immediate neighbours, which have huge military powers equipped with modern and sophisticated arms. In this sense, Nepal's army is a mere showcase just for a national prestige but not for fighting against the external threat. Some people have raised the issue of efficiency, professionalism and neutrality of the Nepal Army. there is no shade of doubt that the professionalism and competence of the Nepal Army needs to be enhanced. So far as the efficiency of Nepal Army is concerned, it has not been tested in the modern history of Nepal. The last war the Nepal Army fought was during the Nepal-Tibet war. Since then, Nepal Army has not fought any war and unless it is tested in war its efficiency cannot be ascertained. The other issue is the professionalism. The Nepal Army has been participating in the United Nations Peace-Keeping operation in different parts of the world but its performance has not been highly rated. In the past especially during the Panchayat regime and later, too, the Nepal Army offered allegiance to monarchy and it was misused for the interest of the monarchy and the feudal system. The way the army was misused in the past, it gave a feeling to the people that the Nepal Army belonged to the monarchy but not to the people. This is the general sentiment about the Nepal Army, which needs to be dispelled from the mind of the people. This is one of the reasons why reforms and restructuring in the Nepal Army and other security organs are a must.Currently, there are 97,000 in the Nepal Army. A debate must be conducted on the right size of the Nepal Army. Is the 97,000 is adequate or is it more or less? We need to arrive at a conclusion what should be the exact size of the Nepal Army. If the present size if big, it should be trimmed down to the right size. If it is less, the size needs to be enlarged either by recruiting more people or integrating the PLA members. Similarly, the size and efficiency of the Police, para-military force and intelligence agency should also be properly brought to the c correct size. For this purpose, all aspects of these security organs need to be restructured and reformed. Similar should be the case with the PLA members. The PLA is already in the process of reforms and restructuring. The size has already been reduced from earlier 33,000 to the 19,000. The real number to be integrated into the security forces may be further less. Also there is a discussion on scattering the PLA members to different security organs and the possibility of creating a separate force with different responsibilities like border security, forest and wildlife conservation, construction and development works and industrial security.Now time is running short and an early decision has to be taken on security sector reforms and management of the PLA. If the peace process is to be concluded at the earliest, the issue concerning the management of the PLA must be settled as soon as possible. For this, the security sector reform is the right option which would be acceptable to all sides.
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