Page 2 of 2 Maoists push for action on
the king By Dhruba Adhikary
naming India whenever outside
interferences become an issue of public debate,
the Maoist central committee recently made a
decision to expose both expansionist India and the
imperialist US for their interference in Nepal's
domestic affairs.
Maoists now contend that
both patriotism and democracy have to go hand in
hand. "If the republican setup did not materialize
under the leadership of patriotic and left [wing]
forces, there is a danger
of
Nepal becoming like Bihar or Sikkim," Bhattarai
wrote in Janaadesh newspaper. Bihar and Sikkim are
Indian states; Sikkim was annexed by India after a
carefully orchestrated plebiscite.
Maoists
have been saying they do not intend to return to
their jungle hideouts and launch yet another
"people's war". They now plan to use the streets
should their initiatives in the Parliament and
government prove inadequate. That is why they
quickly organized a group, known as the Youth
Communist League (YCL), to assist the parent party
in implementing its policies and decisions.
Members of the YCL have often been found
cleaning densely populated settlements in and
around the capital; some of them have also been
seen helping police handling traffic on busy
streets and lanes in downtown Kathmandu. But YCL
cadres are not known only for good works. In fact,
they have become a source - and symbol - of terror
in villages and towns for some of their other
deeds. Extortion, beatings and torture of
individuals on flimsy or concocted charges have
become rampant across the country.
In one
of the recent incidents, a YCL group of men
entered the premises of a women's college in
Kathmandu to sort out a petty feud between rival
student groups. The boys physically attacked
female students, often using sticks. One of the
four girls admitted to hospital was in serious
condition after her uterus was badly damaged.
In a separate incident reported from the
western hill town of Daang, YCL militants
assaulted a person who was waiting for the return
of his land and other properties Maoists had
seized during the years of insurgency. To make
matters worse, the YCL band showed their strength
in the presence of Maoist leader Bhattarai and a
Nepali Congress member, Shekhar Koirala.
Maoist leaders have often defended their
young people by terming such activities
spontaneous reactions that had nothing to do with
their party or the YCL. Prime Minister Koirala is
visibly disturbed by the reports of violent
activities, particularly in the context of the
risk he took in taking Maoists into the government
despite reservations conveyed by influential
members of the international community.
Washington, for instance, has not removed the
terrorist tag from Maoists. On the contrary, it
has added a Maoist splinter group in Terai to the
watch-list of terrorist organizations.
Maoists have lately begun to attract
criticism from the United Nations mission in Nepal
as well. In a statement issued on May 1, special
representative Ian Martin said the Maoists were
not cooperating with the UN to begin the "second
stage of registration and verification of
personnel in the Maoist cantonment sites". The
process is necessary for a number of reasons,
including the requirement to identify minors and
set them free, he said. It is estimated that about
9,000 of nearly 31,000 combatants in cantonments
are minors.
Martin's statement also
referred to the need to be attentive to the
"public security" system, relating to the issue of
the elections for the constituent assembly. The UN
official later went to New York to brief the
Security Council on the peace process in Nepal.
In fact, public security has become a
matter of serious concern to the people at large.
With the Nepali Army confined to barracks (as
required by the peace accords) and two police
agencies with low morale (due to the losses
incurred during the insurgency years, and with
Maoists in the government now) there is no
effective law-and-order machinery to check crimes
ranging from simple theft to increasing numbers of
abductions and shootouts.
Unrest related
to ethnic and regional autonomy demands have
separately contributed to the worsening of the
law-and-order situation in the country. Some of
the groups have threatened to run violent
separatist movements. Reports of armed goons
entering Nepali territories through the porous and
unregulated border with India are also on the
rise. Maoists, particularly YCL members,
themselves are being seen as additional sources of
trouble.
Matters relating to law and order
should be the priority issue for the government.
But there has been a marked lack of seriousness on
the part of the Interior Ministry and the minister
responsible for it. Home Affairs Minister Krishna
Prasad Sitaula has often been accused of being too
lenient toward Maoists. He has confronted, more
than once, demands for his own resignation. It is
believed that Sitaula's parallel responsibility to
sit with Maoists for negotiations last year made
him friendly to them, mainly for keeping them
engaged in parleys.
"I feel that public
security in Nepal needs to be a subject requiring
immediate and serious debate at a national level,"
said Roy Fleming, who headed Nepal's
public-security study commissioned by the British
Department for International Development.
The study found that of more than 13,000
deaths reported during the insurgency, nearly
1,500 were of officials working for the police
departments. The families of the victims have yet
to get compensation.
Who stands to make
instant gains from the delay in planned elections?
It is Gyanendra, who until April 2006 ruled Nepal
as a powerful king. Currently in a state of
suspension, Gyanendra gets extra time to maneuver
and salvage the monarchy for his future
descendants. Although remote at this phase, that
possibility still exists.
Dhruba
Adhikary, who has been a Dag Hammarskjold
fellow, is a Kathmandu-based journalist.
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