Q & A with a reble commissar
By Neil Horning in Myagdi and Pokhara
We know what Prachanda and Barburam are saying. What does their military think? This is an interview with commissar of the Basanta Memorial Brigade, 4th Division of the Peoples Liberation Army. The Maoist military has both a military officer and a political officer for each unit down to the company level. A section is 10 to 15 solders, a platoon is 50 to 70, and a company is 100 to 200. Three companies make a battalion, and three battalions make a brigade. There are about 25 brigades in the PLA, they say, comprising 7 divisions.
The Basanta memorial brigade did not have anyone present who could speak English well. The interview was conducted with the Brigade Commander, a Company Commander, District Secretary, a Brigade medic, and a female Brigade Medic Assistant present. After I submitted the written questions they all listened to a translation from Deep, the Medic, and took notes while conferring with one another to see if they understood the translation. Then, after dhal bhat, the brigade commander decided that the questions were political in nature and should therefore be answered by the Commissar. I did not know what his responses were until I had them translated in Pokhara. It is clear from the translation that he didn’t fully understand all of the questions. Continue reading
