DATE=12/29/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=NEPAL / MAOISTS
NUMBER=5-45142
BYLINE=LUCINDA GORRINGE
DATELINE=KATMANDU
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Nepal, a democracy for a decade, is one of the
poorest nations in the world. People are beginning to
show signs of anger at the slow pace of development.
A Maoist underground movement operating during the
past three-years says it wants to improve the living
conditions of ordinary people by fighting a "people's
war." Lucinda Gorringe has been in Katmandu to find
out how the movement is viewed.
TEXT: /// DEMONSTRATION SOUNDS ///
For the second time in as many weeks, demonstrators
call a day of national strike. They are striking
against the government's recent price rises in
gasoline and electricity.
Journalist Shakti Lamsal says he supports the Maoists
because he believes there should be complete freedom
of speech, that everyone should know the plans of the
government.
/// SHAKTI ACT, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER ///
He says he thinks the main reason the Maoists started
the people's war is, what he calls - the continued
suppression of the people by the Government. He said,
as a supporter of the Maoists, the explosive growth of
the movement shows the support of the people. He said
if the Maoists can fulfill their promises he is sure
they will continue to have the support of the people.
/// OPT /// Almost every day, says journalist Shakti
Lamsal, there are references to Maoist rebels in most
daily newspapers.
/// SHAKTI ACT, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER ///
He said he does not have accurate figures, but he said
according to newspaper reports, he said more than a
thousand people have been killed by the police. He
said a lot of people have been taken into police
custody and then simply vanished. The Maoists, he
added, are aiming to take the whole country so it will
no longer be an underground movement. Journalist
Shakti said the Maoists are aiming to create a
government that is anti-imperialist, anti-feudal and
nationalist. They want to create, he concludes, a new
type of communist system for the people. /// END OPT
///
Madhav Kumar is the leader of the opposition party,
the unified Marxist-Leninist party. He is concerned
the government of Nepal is not taking the Maoists
seriously enough. He condemns the violence and
terrorism the Maoists have brought to Nepal, and he is
concerned that their tactics will de-stabilize the
country and threaten the country's democracy.
/// MADHAV KUMAR ///
Actually the way they are moving, they will not
establish any people's, so called, democratic
regime. Rather, it will be a petty bourgeois
dictatorship of so called Maoist leaders. We
oppose their thinking and their methods of
struggle. But the Government here, the Nepali
Congress (Party), is not serious enough to
perceive the threat of the Maoist, to see the
problem has been spreading, the terror expanded,
and they have not been able to mobilize the
required resources to cope with the problem.
/// ACT ENDS ///
Little is known about the Nepal Maoist movement, its
leadership or even how many followers it has. The
general secretary of the Nepali Congress would not
comment on the extent of the Maoist movement or how
the government is dealing with it.
Human -rights worker, Kishma Pahadi, says he is very
concerned by the way the government is dealing with
the Maoist group.
/// KRISHMA PAHAHI ACT ///
Actually, the government is responsible for
human-right violations, like arbitrary arrests,
arbitrary detention, several cases of torture.
There is a lack of mechanism to bring justice to
the perpetuators of these -rights violations.
And the government is not willing to take action
against human-rights-violation cases, but on the
other hand the Maoists are responsible for
human-rights abuses, like the killing of
innocent people who are not taking part in this
conflict, and the abduction of people who are
opponents of their ideology. It is a serious
situation in Nepal and every day the situation
is deteriorating.
/// ACT ENDS ///
According to newspaper reports, more than one-thousand
Maoists have been killed, but there are also reports
of anti-Maoists disappearing.
/// OPT /// Tirtha Gautam's husband was killed by the
Maoists earlier this year. She shares Krishama's fear
of the Maoists.
/// TIRTHA ACT, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER ///
She said the Maoists of Nepal are not communists. She
said -- how can they be communists if they take
anything from the people, and at gun-point? They
should not use force, but if you do not agree with
them you are killed and, she said, they call you the
enemy of the people. /// END OPT ///
/// OPT /// Madhav Kumar of the Unified Marxist-
Leninist party said he is very concerned about the
effect the Maoist movement is having on the communists
and democracy.
/// MADHAV ACT ///
They are using the problems the people are
facing, the backwardness, poverty, unemployment,
repression, exploitation all these things, the
corruption, mismanagement. So the people who
are frustrated by the work of this present
government are attracted to the Maoists. The
Maoists are giving them money, they are using
the weaknesses of the state administration, they
are becoming a threat to democracy here, and to
the actual communist movement here.
/// ACT ENDS // END OPT ///
But human-rights worker Pahadi is very concerned the
violence from both sides of the conflict risks
plunging the country back into a military style
government that could be disastrous.
/// KRISHMA ACT ///
/// OPT /// Last year we organized on behalf of
11-organizations, several demonstrations, and a
month-long campaign, focusing on some specific
cases, asking the government to stop the
killings and seriously incite (start) a peace
process. As well, we asked the Maoists to stop
the killings and get involved with a peace
process. But both sides are not interested.
/// END OPT ///
If we ask the government to respect basic human
rights and freedom, then the government said we
have a problem. They think they have a right to
suppress the people in the name of Maoist
movement. That is totally wrong and not
acceptable. And when we criticize the Maoists
over the killings, they said we are anti-
Maoists. The Maoists are trying to capitalize
the human-rights thing, they are trying to
interpret human rights on their own campaign.
It means the military are coming back, so the
country's future is looking dark.
/// ACT ENDS ///
The Maoist influence is strongest in the northwest
part of Nepal. Although their activities are largely
aimed at a grass-root level, the movement has
significantly gained support and momentum in the past
year. (SIGNED)
NEB/LG/GE/RAE
29-Dec-1999 13:11 PM EDT (29-Dec-1999 1811 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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