Reports
on Nepal's Civil War
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Maoist
ceasefire - some gains, some violations
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September
2005, IRIN News report
KATHMANDU,
12 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Civilians and NGO staff in remote parts of Nepal are
asking Maoist rebels, who now control the majority of the Himalayan kingdom,
what exactly their unilateral ceasefire announced on 3 September means.
Reports
by Nepali media and human rights organisations suggest that the Maoists
are still indulging in abductions, school closures, extortions and road
blockades throughout the country. Activists said that the fact these activities
continue indicate the Maoist leadership is not serious about the ceasefire.
Following
reports that Maoist foot soldiers are still involved in harassing civilians,
their leader, Prachanda, released a statement saying such violations would
be investigated.
Despite
the commitment from the Maoists' leadership, there are fresh reports that
abductions and school closures continue. On 11 September, several civilians
were abducted from Khandbari, district headquarters of Sankuwasabha, a
Maoist stronghold in eastern Nepal, nearly 200 km east of the capital.
In
Udayapur, another district in the east of the country, the student wing
of the rebel movement announced the closure of community schools, according
to a statement by local teachers.
"The
situation is still the same for us, even if there is a ceasefire," 65-year-old
Bahadur Rai from Bhojpur said on reaching the city of Dharan, 220 km east
of the capital.
In
several districts of Paththar and Taplejung, in the extreme east, road
blockades are still reported to be intact. "Local Maoist commanders said
that the statement from their leaders is not enough and [they] have decided
not to withdraw the [road] blockade," said local journalist Dambar Shrestha,
who has been reporting on the post-ceasefire situation from Dharan.
According
to villagers from Risku and Tribeni in Udayapur district, 170 km east of
Kathmandu, they are still being forced to pay Maoist taxes and make food
donations to the rebels. "A group of Maoists came and demanded cash and
20 kg of rice from each household," one local told Shrestha.
Despite
the reports, human rights abuses by the rebels have decreased over the
past nine days, some NGO staff said.
"There
are definitely abductions and extortions taking place but they are way
down compared to the situation before the ceasefire," said activist and
development worker Sakuntala Baral in Biratnagar city in east Nepal.
Now
activists want the government to acknowledge the Maoist's gesture by declaring
a ceasefire themselves. "When one side has declared a ceasefire, the other
part has to reciprocate," said former peace negotiator and rights activist
Padma Ratna Tuladhar, in the capital.
There
have been renewed calls for verification of the ceasefire. "Independent
and impartial monitoring has to start immediately to make the ceasefire
last," explained rights activist Rameswar Nepal, who added that the Maoists
still have to work hard to win the trust of local people given the failure
of previous ceasefires.
The
first ceasefire of 2001 lasted only four months whereas the second ceasefire
in 2003 petered out after seven months.
According
to key political leaders, the seven main political parties in the country
are making preparations to hold peace talks with rebel leaders in the near
future in order to present a stronger, united front against the monarchy.
"We are already making provisions to hold talks with the Maoists," said
Bamdeb Gautam, senior leader of the communist Unified Marxist-Leninist
(UML) party.
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Credit
and Copyright © IRIN 2005
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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