Nepal Mobilizes Army for War with Maoist Rebels Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Nepal mobilises army for war with Maoist rebels By Peter Popham in Kathmandu 21 May 2001 There is a large new signboard at the entrance to Thamel, the quarter of Kathmandu crammed with shops devoted to gratifying the young foreign backpackers' every whim. "Your security is our dearest motto," it says. It's a nice thought, but an empty boast. Until now no one has thought to put it to the test. But beyond this enchanted zone, with its German bakeries, American diners and Guinness pubs, Nepal is an increasingly terrified country, frozen in the headlights of an ultra-left insurgency that is gaining strength and confidence by the week. One year ago, the rebellion by the Marxist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which broke out in 1996, was, from the standpoint of the Kathmandu valley, a faraway rumble, a problem in the impoverished west and north where central government control has always been weak. Now all that has changed. In the past week, at least four policemen, some of whom were tortured first, have been killed and several others injured; four forestry officials have been abducted, and a group of teachers, lawyers, industrialists and factory managers were kidnapped, taken by bus to a Maoist-controlled village and put through a re-education programme. Gold, silver and guns have been looted; 21 teenagers were reported to have run away from home to join the rebels, and a student group allied to the Maoists forced all the country's 8,000 private schools to shut down. Something, it seems, has got to give, and in the coming weeks, for the first time since the rebellion started five years ago, the government is sending the army to particularly disturbed districts to confront the insurgents. Until now the only resistance has been by the police, who are poorly armed and motivated. The rebels' weapons are even more primitive, but they have prevailed through force of numbers and the guerrillas' traditional advantages of stealth, cunning, fear and popular support. From now on it is going to be a different game. But in parts where they are strong, the Maoists are daring the authorities to do their worst. At a rally on Saturday in the district of Rolpa, more than 200km (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, one of the areas into which the Royal Nepal Army is scheduled to march a few days from now, the Maoists announced to thousands of villagers that they were creating a "people's local government" for the district. Speaking at the rally, a self-styled "election commissioner" told a local reporter that the community had elected village and ward committees for Rolpa's 51 villages in elections held in April. Santosh Buda, head of the "committee in charge of local government", said: "The ruling reactionary [local] government was an illegitimate one, and our government has been declared today to topple it ... Our party is in war phase now, that is why it appears to be dangerous. But our government will help make constructive works and projects, too." Nepal's parliamentary democracy is only 11 years old, and has stumbled from crisis to crisis in that time. The Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, embroiled in corruption allegations concerning a controversial aircraft lease, faces demands to quit from every side. With parliament stalled for three months by opposition protest, Nepalis despair of decisive action from the government to stem the crisis. The only glimmer of hope lies in talks. A committee of human rights activists is trying to get them started, and one of its leaders said last week that the Maoists have sent a letter expressing willingness to begin negotiations. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-06.02.01-01:17:17-29668