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Rise in Maoist insurgency in Nepal |
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In its first policy statement after the killing of King Birendra and his family by the Crown Prince Dipendra, the Koirala Government has said the Government will try to bring the Maoist insurgents into the national political mainstream. In an address to the Parliament, drafted by the Government but read by King Gyanendra on the Joint session of Parliament on June 29, the King urged the Maoist insurgents to abandon violence and join the nation’s political system.
The Maoists, who are against monarchy in Nepal and alleged that the Palace massacre was an externally-inspired conspiracy, have dismissed the findings of an official two-member Commission of Enquiry which concluded that it was solely the drunk Crown Prince Dipendra, who was also high on drugs, who killed his parents and other members of the royal family. A Nepalese Police officer was injured on June 28 when one of the four bombs planted by suspected Maoist rebels in central Kathmandu went off.
In their latest confrontation, the Maoists have taken on the Government over the new security rules introduced after the June 1 royal massacre. The insurgents have threatened to launch fresh campaign against Prime Minister Koirala over the issue. They have given a call for a general strike on July 12 which would come after four days of rallies by the Maoists and protests in which Mr.Koirala’s effigy would be burned. They will also burn copies of the new security rules that allow detention of any person suspected of working against Nepal’s sovereignty, integrity and public peace. A front of nine mainline Left parties will submit a protest letter to Koirala, the same day seeking withdrawal of the security laws.
Nepal has so far undergone two revolutions - one against the Ranas in 1950 and the other against Panchayati Raj in 1990. Now, the Maoist revolt is being heralded as the third revolution. Some are even saying that designed to change the basic character of the State and alter the balance of political power and economic development strategy, it is the best thing that could happen to Nepal.
More than 1800 people have been killed in five years of the Maoist insurgency and in a large number of districts in the interior Nepal, they have taken control of the local administration. During the seven days in April, Maoist rebels, inspired by Peru’s shining Path guerrillas, wiped out four police posts spread across the country in their most daringly attacks in the five year long “People’s War.” Although late King Birendra, as the supreme commander of the Nepal Royal Army [NRA] was opposed to the use of army to suppress the Maoist rebellion, one of his last acts was to grudgingly authorize deployment of NRA units in the five Maoist-affected districts in the far east. The Government passed the Armed Police Ordinance which was first stuck in the Palace and later in Parliament, but later given the royal assent. The move will empower the raising of a 35,000 strong armed police equipped with 62 mm rifles transferred from the RNA. However, the shortage of funds and those volunteering for the force from the Army is coming in the way of setting up the force.
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