Nepal: who is going to stand up against the Maoist terrorists?
Bhumika Ghimire
April 01, 2006
Ten years after the armed rebellion started by the Maoists, Nepal has seen unprecedented rise in incidents of human rights abuse and violence. The government security forces and the Maoists, in spite of their commitment to human rights in paper, have shown a total disregard to honor their commitment.
According to reports, the conflict has caused death of 13,000 civilians. There is no credible data on number of the insurgents killed. More than 200,000 people have been displaced by the violence. Many of whom have migrated to neighboring India. Some have moved to cities within the country.
To bring out the crises in Nepal, I have listed some incidents of violence below:
2006
February 28: Eighteen Maoists and 11 SF personnel were killed in a clash at Panena, a bordering area between the Arghakhanchi and Palpa districts.
February 27: Three SF personnel and a civilian were killed when Maoists attacked a team of troops at Kavre Bhanjyang area in the Kavrepalanchowk district.
February 9: Sixteen SF personnel, four Maoists and a civilian were killed at Rambhapur area along the Sunwal-Butwal section of the Sidhhartha Highway in Nawalparasi district, when the Maoists attacked security personnel who had reached Rambhapur to remove roadblocks put up by the former.
February 7: Five soldiers were killed and three sustained injuries when Maoists launched a massive attack in Dhankuta targeting the district administration office, regional administration office and all security agencies in the district.
2005
August 27: Seven persons traveling in a passenger bus from Kathmandu to Dang were killed and three others sustained injuries in an explosion at Surai Naka section on the Mahendra highway at the border of Kapilvastu and Dang districts.
August 26: Five SF personnel were killed and two others were injured in an IED explosion at Khairanpur in the western district of Kapilvastu.
June 14: Maoists kill seven family members of police personnel, including three women and a one-year old child, at Attariya in the Kailali district.
April 16: Maoists kill ten civilians, including a child, at Baragdawa in the Somni area of Nawalparasi district.
April 9: Insurgents attack the District Police Office, an Army battalion, district prison and also burn some Government offices at Charikot, headquarters of the Dolakha district, and freed some 30 prisoners from the prison.
March 6: A group of Maoists kill five civilians, allegedly members of an ‘anti-Maoist retaliation group’, at Kudarmatewa village in the Kapilavastu district.
2004
August 26, 2004: A group of 50 armed Maoist insurgents shot dead a former Chairman of Dhanusha District Development Committee and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) leader, Badri Bahadur Karki, in the Bharatpur area.
March 20 - 21: In a Maoist attack on the District Jail, Office of the Chief District Officer and Army Camps at Beni Bazaar in the Myagdi district, at least 51 security force personnel, including 33 Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel, and 20 civilians are killed.
March 3: Maoists insurgents, numbering around approximately 1500 to 2000, attack Nepal Telecommunication Towers and kill 32 security force personnel in Bhojpur district.
January 15: Maoist insurgents kill the Mayor of Birgunj and member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Gopal Giri, at Bahuaari in the Birgunj district.
2003
January 26: Armed Police Force chief Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and bodyguard are killed in an attack by Maoist insurgents in Kathmandu.
2000
February 7: Maoists waylay a bus in Dolakha district carrying Polish tourists and rob them of approximately US$ 5,000 in cash. This is the first major incident by Maoists targeting foreign visitors.
1999
March 5: Communist Party of Nepal––Unified-Marxist-Leninist (CPN–UML) leader Yadu Gautam is assassinated by Maoist insurgents
(Source:http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/database/majorincidents.htm)
The above list, although is focuses mostly on the security force and Maoists clashes, no way represents the way the Maoists have been terrorizing the public with their violent and brutal actions. For example: Eight members of the dalit(untouchables, according to Hindu customs) community allegedly had their legs crushed with hammers by CPN (Maoist) members at a secondary school in Thalsa, Achham, in June, apparently as punishment for working for a local landlord. Also the Maoists often abduct minor students in remote villages and force them to take part in the “political meetings”, where the students are indoctrinated with the Maoist agenda. They are told that the government is their enemy and anyone asking for help will be punished. There have been many incidents where students have been forced to join the guerilla army.
For more on Nepal and the insurgency, please visit:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nepal_insurgency.htm
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1462&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=29247
http://www.nhrcnepal.org/
Due to the insurgency, Nepalese economy has also suffered. One the poorest nation, Nepal has a per capita income of $250(as per 2004 data). 70% of the population lives in the villages, with less than $1 a day. According to the World Bank, in the year 2004, Nepal’s total GDP was $6.7 billion (Sergey Brin, 32, of Google is worth twice as much).
Many foreign investors have pulled out their ventures in Nepal because of the security situation. The Maoists in their part have increased their attacks on factories with foreign (especially Indian) investment. They have forcibly closed much business in villages in small towns. It seems that their strategy is to drive people into desperation, with economic hardship and violence so that the public would accept their every demand, notably proclaiming Nepal as republic.
For more on economy of Nepal, please visit:
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Economic_Updates/NEP/default.asp
www.worldbank.org
The hopes of people of Nepal are now with the international community to stop this cycle of violence and poverty, as the nation's leaders have shown that they are not capable of doing so. Maybe if they spend more time thinking about the people than their next step to prove that they are better then their opposition, things would be different.
Sources:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engasa310362005
http://www.amnestynepal.org/news_annualreport.php
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa310472005
Copyright:Bhumika Ghimire,2006
According to reports, the conflict has caused death of 13,000 civilians. There is no credible data on number of the insurgents killed. More than 200,000 people have been displaced by the violence. Many of whom have migrated to neighboring India. Some have moved to cities within the country.
To bring out the crises in Nepal, I have listed some incidents of violence below:
2006
February 28: Eighteen Maoists and 11 SF personnel were killed in a clash at Panena, a bordering area between the Arghakhanchi and Palpa districts.
February 27: Three SF personnel and a civilian were killed when Maoists attacked a team of troops at Kavre Bhanjyang area in the Kavrepalanchowk district.
February 9: Sixteen SF personnel, four Maoists and a civilian were killed at Rambhapur area along the Sunwal-Butwal section of the Sidhhartha Highway in Nawalparasi district, when the Maoists attacked security personnel who had reached Rambhapur to remove roadblocks put up by the former.
February 7: Five soldiers were killed and three sustained injuries when Maoists launched a massive attack in Dhankuta targeting the district administration office, regional administration office and all security agencies in the district.
2005
August 27: Seven persons traveling in a passenger bus from Kathmandu to Dang were killed and three others sustained injuries in an explosion at Surai Naka section on the Mahendra highway at the border of Kapilvastu and Dang districts.
August 26: Five SF personnel were killed and two others were injured in an IED explosion at Khairanpur in the western district of Kapilvastu.
June 14: Maoists kill seven family members of police personnel, including three women and a one-year old child, at Attariya in the Kailali district.
April 16: Maoists kill ten civilians, including a child, at Baragdawa in the Somni area of Nawalparasi district.
April 9: Insurgents attack the District Police Office, an Army battalion, district prison and also burn some Government offices at Charikot, headquarters of the Dolakha district, and freed some 30 prisoners from the prison.
March 6: A group of Maoists kill five civilians, allegedly members of an ‘anti-Maoist retaliation group’, at Kudarmatewa village in the Kapilavastu district.
2004
August 26, 2004: A group of 50 armed Maoist insurgents shot dead a former Chairman of Dhanusha District Development Committee and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) leader, Badri Bahadur Karki, in the Bharatpur area.
March 20 - 21: In a Maoist attack on the District Jail, Office of the Chief District Officer and Army Camps at Beni Bazaar in the Myagdi district, at least 51 security force personnel, including 33 Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel, and 20 civilians are killed.
March 3: Maoists insurgents, numbering around approximately 1500 to 2000, attack Nepal Telecommunication Towers and kill 32 security force personnel in Bhojpur district.
January 15: Maoist insurgents kill the Mayor of Birgunj and member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Gopal Giri, at Bahuaari in the Birgunj district.
2003
January 26: Armed Police Force chief Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and bodyguard are killed in an attack by Maoist insurgents in Kathmandu.
2000
February 7: Maoists waylay a bus in Dolakha district carrying Polish tourists and rob them of approximately US$ 5,000 in cash. This is the first major incident by Maoists targeting foreign visitors.
1999
March 5: Communist Party of Nepal––Unified-Marxist-Leninist (CPN–UML) leader Yadu Gautam is assassinated by Maoist insurgents
(Source:http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/database/majorincidents.htm)
The above list, although is focuses mostly on the security force and Maoists clashes, no way represents the way the Maoists have been terrorizing the public with their violent and brutal actions. For example: Eight members of the dalit(untouchables, according to Hindu customs) community allegedly had their legs crushed with hammers by CPN (Maoist) members at a secondary school in Thalsa, Achham, in June, apparently as punishment for working for a local landlord. Also the Maoists often abduct minor students in remote villages and force them to take part in the “political meetings”, where the students are indoctrinated with the Maoist agenda. They are told that the government is their enemy and anyone asking for help will be punished. There have been many incidents where students have been forced to join the guerilla army.
For more on Nepal and the insurgency, please visit:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nepal_insurgency.htm
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1462&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=29247
http://www.nhrcnepal.org/
Due to the insurgency, Nepalese economy has also suffered. One the poorest nation, Nepal has a per capita income of $250(as per 2004 data). 70% of the population lives in the villages, with less than $1 a day. According to the World Bank, in the year 2004, Nepal’s total GDP was $6.7 billion (Sergey Brin, 32, of Google is worth twice as much).
Many foreign investors have pulled out their ventures in Nepal because of the security situation. The Maoists in their part have increased their attacks on factories with foreign (especially Indian) investment. They have forcibly closed much business in villages in small towns. It seems that their strategy is to drive people into desperation, with economic hardship and violence so that the public would accept their every demand, notably proclaiming Nepal as republic.
For more on economy of Nepal, please visit:
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Economic_Updates/NEP/default.asp
www.worldbank.org
The hopes of people of Nepal are now with the international community to stop this cycle of violence and poverty, as the nation's leaders have shown that they are not capable of doing so. Maybe if they spend more time thinking about the people than their next step to prove that they are better then their opposition, things would be different.
Sources:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engasa310362005
http://www.amnestynepal.org/news_annualreport.php
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa310472005
Copyright:Bhumika Ghimire,2006
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