A donors meeting about the government’s pilot project plan for demobilization is scheduled for Thursday at UNDP headquarters, according to the Cambodia Veterans Assistance Program.
The World Bank, leader of the donors’ sub-group on demobilization, called the meeting after receiving the revised plan Friday, bank representative Bonaventure Mbida-Essama said Monday.
The bank official said the plan was distributed to donors for review, but refused to discuss its contents on the telephone. A senior Council of Ministers spokesman said Sunday the pilot plan proposal was incomplete and had not been distributed.
The government had planned to start a pilot program to demobilize 1,500 soldiers in four provinces early this year.
Andy Pendleton, the bank’s consultant on demobilization, said Sunday the new plan is centered around community-based assistance programs, rather than giving each soldier $1,200, as planned in the original draft.
The government will revise the plan after taking comments and suggestions from donors.
The final plan is slated to be reviewed by the bank’s board in Washington late February.
