DATE=5/14/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43405
TITLE=NEPAL MAOISTS PT. 2 OF 2
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS IN NEPAL, A SPORADIC BUT VICIOUS
WAR BETWEEN MAOISTS AND POLICE HAS BEEN GAINING INTENSITY. MANY
VILLAGERS HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES TRAPPED -- CAUGHT BETWEEN
FIGHTING BETWEEN MAOIST GUERRILLAS WHO CALL THEMSELVES NEPAL'S
"RED ARMY" AND POLICE SENT TO PROTECT THEM. AS V-O-A'S JIM
TEEPLE REPORTS, MANY PEOPLE IN THE NEPALESE COUNTRYSIDE ARE
AFRAID.
// INSERT SOUND OF CONCH SHELL //
TEXT: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE PEOPLE OF NEPAL HAVE
COMMUNICATED WITH EACH OTHER ACROSS THEIR MOUNTAIN VALLEYS WITH
CONCH SHELLS. UNTIL RECENTLY, THE SOUND OF A CONCH SHELL WAS A
SIGN OF GREETING IN NEPAL. NOW, IT IS THE SOUND OF TERROR.
MAOIST GUERRILLAS USE CONCH SHELLS TO CALL THEIR FOLLOWERS TO
TORCHLIT MEETINGS IN THE HILLS ABOVE NEPAL'S SMALL VILLAGES.
POLICE SAY THERE ARE ABOUT TWO-THOUSAND MAOIST GUERRILLAS ACTIVE
IN 12 OF NEPAL'S 75 ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS. THEY BEGAN THEIR
ARMED REBELLION IN FEBRUARY 1996, DECLARING A "PEOPLE'S WAR"
AGAINST THE NEPALESE STATE.
HIMALAYA DANGAL HAS FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE "PEOPLE'S WAR."
HE WAS SHOT IN THE BACK BY A MAOIST GUERRILLA AND LEFT FOR DEAD
AS HE WALKED HOME TO HIS SMALL VILLAGE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. MR.
DANGAL IS A PROSPEROUS SMALL LANDOWNER WHO LIVES NEAR THE TOWN OF
CHAUTARA ABOUT 50 KILOMETERS SOUTH OF THE TIBET BORDER. HE IS
ALSO A POLITICAL ACTIVIST FROM A PARTY OPPOSED TO THE MAOISTS,
WHICH MAKES HIM A "PEOPLE'S ENEMY." MR. DANGAL SAYS HE AND HIS
NEIGHBORS ARE TERRIFIED.
// INSERT DANGAL ACT, NEPALI ACTUALITY W/TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH
//
I FEEL THE TERRORISM NOW. MAOISTS HAVE TARGETED ME
AGAIN, TO KILL ME. NOW I'M IN A DANGEROUS POSITION, I'M
TERRIFIED. THIS WHOLE VILLAGE IS TERRIFIED BECAUSE THIS
IS THE SECOND TIME THE MAOISTS HAVE PLANNED TO KILL ME.
I'M ON A HIT LIST NOW.
// END ACTUALITY //
MR. DANGAL SAYS EVEN A NEWLY ESTABLISHED POLICE STATION SEVERAL
KILOMETERS AWAY WITH 15 OFFICERS CAN'T PROTECT HIM FROM THE
MAOISTS.
// OPT // IT IS NOT ONLY CIVILIANS WHO ARE BEING TARGETED BY THE
MAOISTS. BHIM DHAKAL IS A POLICE INSPECTOR AT THE NEARBY
DISTRICT POLICE HEADQUARTERS IN CHAUTARA, ABOUT 20 KILOMETERS
FROM HIMALAYA DANGAL'S HOUSE. INSPECTOR DHAKAL SAYS MAOISTS
RECENTLY TRIED TO KILL HIM AND SEVERAL OF HIS COLLEAGUES BY
DETONATING A BOMB NEAR WHERE THEY WERE DRIVING.
// INSERT NEPALESE ACTUALITY //
INSPECTOR DHAKAL SAYS HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES ESCAPED UNHURT AND
THE MAOIST LEADER WHO PLANNED THE ATTACK WAS LATER KILLED IN A
GUN BATTLE WITH POLICE. THE POLICE INSPECTOR SAYS FIVE VILLAGERS
HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THE MAOISTS AROUND CHAUTARA AND POLICE HAVE
KILLED SEVEN MAOISTS. INSPECTOR DHAKAL SAYS THERE ARE ABOUT 30
ACTIVE GUERRILLAS IN HIS DISTRICT BUT THEY HAVE MANY LOCAL
SUPPORTERS. // END OPT //
WHO ARE THE MAOISTS? MANY ARE YOUNG PEOPLE -- FRUSTRATED BY A
LACK OF JOBS IN NEPAL'S COUNTRYSIDE. RAJENDRA DHUNGEL HAS JUST
FINISHED SECONDARY SCHOOL IN CHAUTARA AND HAS YET TO FIND A JOB.
HE SAYS HE HAS NO INTENTION OF JOINING THE MAOISTS BUT HE KNOWS
SEVERAL YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE BECAUSE THEY CANNOT FIND JOBS.
RAJENDRA DHUNGEL SAYS MANY YOUNG PEOPLE WHO JOIN THE MAOISTS ALSO
SAY SAY NO POLITICAL PARTIES IN NEPAL SEEM TO CARE ABOUT THEIR
SITUATION.
// INSERT DHUNGEL ACTUALITY //
SOMETIMES WHEN WE GATHER TOGETHER THEY SAY THAT
UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE MAOISM. THEY
THINK THAT OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES OR OTHER PEOPLE
CANNOT REMOVE THE PROBLEMS OF THE PEOPLE -- THEY CANNOT
DO ANYTHING FOR THE COUNTRY OR THE PEOPLE OF THE
COUNTRY. FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE AT THE GRASSROOTS LIKE
US, LIKE IN THE VILLAGE, THEIR PROBLEMS ARE INCREASING
DAY-BY-DAY, NOT DECREASING DAY-BY-DAY.
// END ACTUALITY // // END OPT //
RAJENDRA DHUNGEL SAYS MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE BECAUSE
THEY CANNOT FIND WORK AND CANNOT HELP THEIR FAMILIES. SOME
PEOPLE IN THE AREA, HE SAYS, DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY FOOD
AT LOCAL MARKETS.
KARPIL SHRESTHRA IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN KATHMANDU, ABOUT
100 KILOMETERS SOUTH OF CHAUTARA. MR. SHRESTHRA, WHO HAS CLOSELY
STUDIED THE MAOIST MOVEMENT IN NEPAL, SAYS MAOISTS HAVE STEPPED
UP THEIR ATTACKS OVER THE PAST YEAR, HE SAYS SOME PARTS OF NEPAL
ARE BEING DEPOPULATED AS A RESULT OF THE INCREASED FIGHTING.
// INSERT SHRESTHRA ACTUALITY //
MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO MAOIST VIEWS HAVE
LEFT THEIR VILLAGES. THEY ARE COMPELLED TO LIVE IN THE
DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS. THEY ARE COMPELLED TO MOVE INTO
THE CAPITAL CITY. THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN HAS
BEEN DISRUPTED AND LIKEWISE THE FARMING HAS SUFFERED
BECAUSE MOST OF THE MEN -- BOTH MAOIST AND NON-MAOIST --
HAVE LEFT THE VILLAGE. SO THE WOMEN HAVE TO BEAR THE
BURDEN OF FARMING AND EVERYTHING. SO EDUCATION HAS
SUFFERED, THE ECONOMY HAS SUFFERED AND PEOPLE SIMPLY
HAVE LOST FAITH IN THE CAPABILITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION
TO PROVIDE THEM WITH SECURITY.
// END ACTUALITY //
FOR NOW, THERE ARE NO SIGNS THAT MAOIST ACTIVITY AROUND CHAUTARA
IS FORCING PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES. A HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE IN
THE AREA HAS KEPT THE MAOISTS AT BAY. POLICE SAY MANY MAOISTS
HAVE, IN FACT, LEFT THE AREA. HOWEVER, FOR THOSE IN CHAUTARA WHO
HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY THE MAOISTS -- LIKE HIMALAYA DANGAL, WHO IS
STILL RECOVERING FROM HIS BULLET WOUND -- THE MAOISTS ARE VERY
MUCH A THREAT -- A THREAT THEY FEAR EVERY NIGHT. (SIGNED)
NEB/JLT/LTD/GE
14-May-99 9:09 AM EDT (1309 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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