Issue No. 605
International
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
26 Sept. - 2 October 2002 Issue No. 605 International |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Nepalese nightmare
Maoist insurgents now pose the biggest challenge to the Nepalese authorities, reports Sudhanshu Ranjan from Katmandu
In Nepal's second largest city, Pokhara, the lights go out early and the streets are quickly deserted. Approximately 10 months after the army began to crush the kingdom's Maoist insurgency, tourists have gone and political instability has replaced them. There are no signs of the war ending anytime soon. Stepping off the plane in Pokhara, a bustling centre shrouded in a mist that drifts down from the surrounding Himalayan mountains, you are immediately frisked by armed policemen. Police stand guard outside of the airport and government building.
Nepal has recently been shaken by an increase in violent attacks by the rebels. The government is now considering reimposing the state of emergency which was lifted on 28 August. These renewed concerns follow two days of harsh violence that left 300 policemen and soldiers dead. At least 48 policemen were killed on 8 September when 1000 Maoist rebels raided a police post at Bhimad in the eastern Sindhuli district. According to the official state-run radio, "The attack began Saturday at midnight and the terrorists and the policemen clashed for over four hours."
This attack was the largest offensive by rebels in over 10 months. In another strike the next day, rebels attacked security posts in Sandhikhark killing 85 security personnel. Nearly 2000 protesters, chanting pro-Maoist slogans, entered the district headquarters and started attacking the army and police corps. They also set fire to several government offices. Immediately after these two incidents, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba held a meeting with his top defence advisers to decide on a new strategy to combat the escalating violence. On 10 September Deuba visited the Arghakanchi district, where two days before thousands of guerrillas had fought the armed forces. The government claimed that the bodies of 163 rebels, who died during the fighting and had been buried by their colleagues, were found nearby.
Emergency rule was first imposed in Nepal in November 2001 after the guerrillas broke their four-month- long cease-fire with the government and pulled out of peace talks. Soon after, the rebels overran police posts in Syangja, sending shock waves through nearby Pokhara, the second most visited tourist destination after the capital, Katmandu. Since then the Royal Nepalese Army has played out a deadly cat and mouse game with the guerrillas in the thick pine forests covering the mountains west of Pokhara.
The army claims that nearly 2300 rebels have died since the offensive began last November against the Maoists. But few bodies have ever been found. Human rights activists and political analysts say that a large swathe of the country is under rebel control. About 50,000 soldiers, armed with mortars and heavy machine guns, and using helicopters and jeeps, are scouring forests and mountain valleys to hunt down the rebels. According to a former Nepalese army chief, there are still about 2,500 insurgents, which is down from last year's high number of 4,000. Maoist rebellion has shaken the whole country and pushed Prime Minister Deuba to the wall. Experts feel that corruption, which is gnawing at the flesh of Nepal, is the main reason behind the growth of the Maoist insurgency. Politicians and public servants are plundering national wealth.
Government officials allege that Maoists are extorting and harassing the people. The inhabitants of the mid-western region, where the Maoist revolt began in 1996, are asked to come up with cash and goods, says an official. Some villagers claim the poor are forced to give up either a son or a daughter to the Maoist cause. "You see many young girls getting killed," said one weary villager. Deuba is left with no option but to reinstate the emergency laws. But those who are sympathetic to the Maoists dismiss such charges, claiming that the only solution to this conflict are negotiations.
Rebels have made a fresh call for dialogue with the government. In a statement sent to several Katmandu- based newspapers, the Maoists' elusive leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the rebels were ready to declare a new cease-fire if the government was ready to find a "positive and peaceful" way to end the conflict. "We really want to end this turmoil through positive political means, but if the government forces us to fight then we shall fight till the end," said Dahal, who is better known as Prachand or "the Fierce".
Since the massacre of some members of the royal family in June 2001 Nepal has been in turmoil. Maoist rebels are dead-set against the monarchy. The ruling King Gyanendra is still not accepted by the people, many of whom regard him as an assassin. In such circumstances he cannot act as the unifying force. Nor is Deuba in a position to deliver results as he is facing stiff opposition from within his own political party which dominates the ruling Nepali Congress. Deuba's only strength is that he enjoys the confidence of the king and can easily get him to sign the declaration of emergency. But if this conflict is to come to a peaceful resolution the government must work to fight corruption and start a dialogue with the rebels.
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
