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Nepal
2008: On the Way to Democracy and Peace
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An
inclusive peace process in Nepal and the role of the EU
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Kathmandu,
19 February 2008 (IRIN)
Former
Maoist rebels are spreading fear and insecurity through intimidation, abductions,
threats and extortion, and are responsible for the current political crisis,
human rights workers and independent analysts told IRIN on 19 February.
"The
[post-November 2006] peace process is becoming fragile due to constant
violations by the Maoists," said a prominent human rights worker, Subodh
Raj Pyakhurel. He said fear was gripping civilians and that they lacked
protection as Maoist-affiliated groups defied law and order.
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| With
national Constituent Assembly (CA) elections due on 10 April 2008, the
Maoists have been sending chilling messages around the country that they
will seize power if they do not win, according to local media reports.
Leading
national newspapers have become critical of the Maoists' "non-competitive"
style of doing politics, saying it is a return to the tactics they adopted
during their decade-long insurgency of 1996-2006.
Despite
joining mainstream politics and the government in 2007, Maoist leaders
have failed to deliver on their promise to abide by normal, competitive
politics, according to local independent analysts. |
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"The
Maoists are still acting like rebels and not like a responsible political
group. Their leaders are members of parliament but cannot control their
own party members who disrespect the rule of law," said Pyakhurel. He said
the Maoists were responsible for the present state of anarchy and lawlessness.
The
Maoists signed a peace treaty with the Nepalese government (led by an alliance
of seven national parties) in November 2006, giving rise to new hopes of
rebuilding the nation, according to human rights groups.
"But
2007 only saw a series of violations of the peace agreement at the hands
of the Maoist rebels," said an independent analyst who preferred anonymity.
He said the problems started after the creation of a new Maoist-affiliated
group called the Young Communist League (YCL) which, he said, was responsible
for most of the abductions, extortion and threats.
Other
parties accuse Maoists
National
political parties also accused the Maoists of violating the peace agreement
and hampering the peace process.
"The
Maoists have not improved their behaviour," said Madhav Nepal, head of
the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party, one of the country's leading
parties.
He
said the rebels were intimidating other political parties, assaulting and
abducting politicians and preventing them from peacefully campaigning in
the elections.
Denial
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CPN
(Maoists) chairman Prachanda
"Former
Maoist rebels are accused of spreading fear and insecurity through intimidation,
abductions, threats and extortion
However,
senior Maoist leaders deny any violations, saying other political parties
could not abide seeing their support wane.
They
said it was criminal groups, and not their party members, who were involved
in extortion and abductions. |
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"We
are committed to the CA elections. We will participate in the polls and
we don't want to miss the opportunity," said Maoist chairman Prachanda
at a mass meeting held recently in the capital.
Maoist
leaders said that if there had been any truth in the allegations in the
past, party members had now been told to stop any violations.
Media
report abductions
However,
local media continued to report abductions and people being forced to make
"donations", as during the armed conflict.
Local
civilians and businessmen told IRIN YCL members were constantly issuing
demands and making threats to get people to pay "donations and Maoist taxes".
A
recent report by the UN Secretary-General in January also said the Maoists
had largely failed to curb the excesses of the YCL. It said this trend
reinforced growing doubts within Nepal about the Maoists' commitment to
a peaceful negotiated solution.
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Credit
IRIN 2008
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2008
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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