We also strongly condemn the internet black out for an hour today by Internet Service Providers
Yes, we agree that what suspected Maoist cadres did to Harilal Shrestha of the Hotel Woodland yesterday was inhuman, unjustified and thus qualifies to be condemned without a second thought. The act, torturing and beating, is deplorable. Maoists have denied doing so but THEY must be answerable to that particular incident because they are the ones who are on rampage against almost anyone. BUT the general strike called by the business community in response to that (and recent Maoist highhandedness against businesses around the country) is equally irresponsible and inappropriate. And the 1-hour-long Internet shutdown by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to express their solidarity to the general strike is deplorable and thus deserves to be condemned. Who are these folks to close down the service that is branded as ESSENTIAL? We don’t need another Gyanendra Shah to deprive us from Internet. [Gyanendra closed down Internet in Nepal for a week when he took over the government in the Feb 2005 coup.] We don’t need another information and communication blackout on any excuse. NO. ISPs must give compensation to the customers and publicly commit that they will never do such foolish thing in future.
And about the sudden banda (general strike) that begin today and will continue tomorrow. Weren’t you the guys (businessmen) who always condemned this particular form of protest? And now WHY you are going for the same? Just because the Prime Minister refused to meet you guys on the gate of his official residence in Baluwataar? Why couldn’t you just sit over there for the day and continue with your protest? Why couldn’t you thought about continuing with dharna and, may be ansan, in front of Singha Durbar? Are you sure your protest program is free from the participation of blacklisted individuals?
Here is the background:
Business community announces indefinite shutdown against Maoist “excesses”
The business community today declared an indefinite closure of all industries, factories, import-export, education institutions, transport, and business from 3pm today, protesting against Maoist attacks on entrepreneurs. The agitating Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) today announced its indefinite strike, stating that the government had not appeared “serious” regarding their problems.
A team led by the FNCCI — which had arrived at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s Baluwatar residence to hand over a memorandum stating their demands– publicized their plan of
agitating during a press meet organized in front of the no. 3 gate of the PM residence. Angered by the PM’s refusal to meet them, the representatives of the business community had announced their strike there and then. According to sources, the irate entrepreneurs had headed towards Durbar Marg following the announcement. The protesters then took out a rally in the streets of the capital.President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Binod Chaudhary said that although there had been repeated instances of Maoist intimidations, threatening, taking over of factories, yesterday’s brutal thrashing of an hotelier was the last straw. “It is pointless to continue with the business and industries when people are being taken from a central place like Durbar Marg and beaten up in such brutal manner,” Chaudhary said. He further added that Nepal’s economy would suffer heavily if the activities to bring down the morale of business community continue as present and the government and the eight parties do not get serious and guarantee security to businesspersons. Chaudhary warned of continuing with the agitation and shut down until eight party leaders are able to “convince the private sector” and until an appropriate arrangement is made to address the demands of the agitating business community.
Following their announcement, all the business ventures including banks were shut down after 3pm today. Likewise, the Internet Service Provider Association of Nepal (ISPAN) today expressed solidarity with the protest, shutting down internet services for an hour from 4pm to 5pm all over the nation.
Earlier, the Maoists had forcefully seized Harilal Shrestha, the owner of the Hotel Woodland at Durbarmarg, Kathmandu yesterday and beat him up severely, on the charge of supporting the king.
United We Blog 
Comments
90 responses to “Business Community Nepal Banda: Deplorable”
Do not get me wrong.
Even if the Maoists did not do this, they have been thrashing gatherings of royalists and other actions consistent with their ideology. They should be held accountable for actions like this.
One of the problems I see with Maoist ideology is that they concentrate far to much on political content and not enough on form. For instance, when they attack royalists, they are attacking the right people. Unfortunately, the method they are using is the same form that the Brownshirts used to bring Hitler to power. There is of course, no objective observer who can tell us who the right people to attack are. So who “right” people are will envariably default to the political enemies of the Maoists. It doesn’t take long before the wrong method being used to attack the right people turns into the wrong method attacking the wrong people.
Using these methods are condemnable acts. However, the Maoists are not the only ones using them now. It is also interesting that there seems to have been an increase in this kind of activity recently, when one would anticipate a decrease. The Maoists should be trying to behave their best ahead of their induction into the government, afterall. Therfore, it would be prudent to rule out the work of other forces trying to discredit the Maoists (as was the case in the above link).
I also don’t agree with Mr. Wagle’s post here.
I also want compensation from my ISP.
i got 718 messages for at least 10 times… they would have informed about the black out!
bloody businessmen!
Wagle still doesn’t get it!
Maoist Machinery of intimidation, extortion and execution must be curtailed!
Whatever be the case, the culture of bandh is not an appreciable task for the nation with the pre-existing turmoil.
If the lady with labor pain, with her utmost labour try not to conceive the child in her womb, tis just a weirdism.
and by the way, where the hell is this NONAME ???
why is this statement is in bracket “(and recent Maoist highhandedness against businesses around the country) ”
Are we supporting maoist ideology which support kidnapping and torturing people?
I believe it is stupid to ask question like this “And about the sudden banda (general strike) that begin today and will continue tomorrow. Weren’t you the guys (businessmen) who always condemned this particular form of protest? And now WHY you are going for the same? Just because the Prime Minister refused to meet you guys on the gate of his official residence in Baluwataar? Why couldn’t you just sit over there for the day and continue with your protest? Why couldn’t you thought about continuing with drama and, may be ansan, in front of Singha Durbar? Are you sure your protest program is free from the participation of blacklisted individuals?
Prove that there is security for people and we won’t do that….
All the leader has promised those things so better pointing finger on them… then pointing on madhesi, bahun and enterpruner….
Waggle should be taught the basic of “FREE” democracy and write about the exploitation of the basic citizen right. The Maoist have broken every civil liberty law that one can find since the SPAM government has been in place. Waggle what would you do if for example the Maoist came to power and put a gag order on the media….wait a minute the king did that and I remember you crying like a bitch about it…..
Second, the law should take these people into custody. The Maoist trade union that has said the one of it’s members did this and they are taking “the issue” is not how a country runs. There is one government and these Maoist trade union people need to be ARRESTED. NO IF AND BUTS.
Waggle if you want to be considered a up and coming journalist tackle hard hitting issues that may get you in trouble but write what the citizen of nepal are facing, “FEAR”….The Maoist are running a own system of government and I bet these people never see a jail cell.
Waggle write od-ed articles that support civil liberty not just your rights…That’s being selfish….Either you are a journalist or just some blow joe covering the news. Freedom to live peacefully should be a birth right in this country. You journalist are scare to talk about hard hitting issues….Learn to live free, and support your fellow citizen and the problems they face…
By complaining about the internet shutdown is just plain selfish and not very journalistic.
Hey guys
Dont worry. Wagle will get it only after interim goverment will form. Maoist taking Misinistery of communication. He will geet it when maist impose hard rule maosit in communication. wait for few more days. I’m very happy tht maoist taking misistry of communication, then they will truly understand meaning of fress freedom.
Neil I think you have an overly naive view on the Maoists. The idea that they are following a noble ideology in order to uplift the marginalized people is just utterly false. It may have started with that intent. However, today it is nothing more than a bunch of THUGS, gangsters, mobs roaming around. I am very apprehensive about this whole Maoists workers union. This is not a good omen for the future of free market economy. The last thing Nepal needs are inflexible and stringent labor laws. The way I see it the Maoists must either completely change their behavior or resume fighting. It’s a pity we don’t have a politician with a some balls. Otherwise the only viable way to deal with the Maoists seems to be to chase them back to the jungles!
thanks Neil.. I get your point… I was just concerned that each time a finger is raised on the Maoists, you try to bring in an element of doubt they are, in fact, the culprits by saying things like “we need to analyze IF the maoists did it or if it was the other elements” etc. There is no doubt in anyone’s minds that the Maoists are a terrorist party as it came to power by the use of force for what they think is the right reason mostly by threatening the wrong people who were always silent as they sat on the sidelines waiting for a better day. I am glad that you realize that the means that the maoists are using are ourightly wrong and after that, whether the cause was right or not is secondary. They cannot go around thrashing people at their will jsut because the same people were dead scared when the terrorists were threatening them through the barrel of the gun. Now, the terrorists have to realize that they cannot have the cake and eat it too. They cannot try and be part of this “competetive democratic” government and also continue to use their terror tactics. The onus is on them to chose which one they want to be and there is no better time than now to make that decision. They can’t continue to hold this nation hostage just because their desires to full fledgedly rule this country may take longer than they had realized at the time of what this blog described as a historic peace deal.
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An update on highlights:
Prachanda does it again. He accuses royalists to be involved in the protests by businessmen. He has attempted to fool everyone five weeks in a row. Is this how the comrades did politics in the jungle-bagh aayo bagh aayo!!
4 weeks ago:
prachanda says that their weapons were swept away by floods and burnt in fire
3 weeks ago:
prachanda claims that the palace is going to assasinate US officials. The American ambassador is still asking for proof.
2 weeks ago:
prachanda says palace is going to assasinate all political leaders
1 week ago:
maoists present the CD as a proof that the palace has plans to assasinate political leaders
This week:
Maoists beat up a businessman as he didn’t ‘donate’ money. Prachanda alleges ‘royalist’ involvement in the protests by businessmen.
1 week later:
Maoists are in the government
Now Maoists would have realised that they are not let to do whatever they like to!
Everything has its limit!
even the businessmen and industrialsts should not cross their limits!
?? ????? ??????, ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ? ??? ???, ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ????
?? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ????????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?????,???? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??
Very interesting to read the outpouring of emotions and reactions on this topic here.
As I see it, calling for strikes and bands in Nepal has become a cavalier fashion Kathmandu and most of the erudite who blog here are oblivious or careless of economic impact of bandhds that is so frequent nowadays. They can sit behind their computer and lash out against the Maoist, royalist and politicians, but don’t I don’t see anyone who is speaking for of ordinary people especially those who have to make a daily living?
A bus driver gets into to altercation and gets a black eye and whole bus drivers gang up and disrupt bus service. A cab driver brings the traffic to halt for hours just because a traffic police misbehaves. Now one hotelier gets beaten up and whole country shuts down indefinitely. What kind of society are creating and cheering with these ineffective and counter productive measures? Action of Maoist is reprehensible, but I don’t think the whole economy should be disrupted. Business people should know better how bands affect the productivity and loss of revenue.
If we want to recover from wounds of insurgency and have a have economic growth the Nepal bandha should stop. Whoever disrupts economic activities and functioning of law and order should be criminalized in the court of law. Now, most of you will shout and say, what law and order I am bullshitting about, whose court, who is to blame and who is wrong and right, but please remember that two wrong does not make it right and we should try to do the right thing.
hami madhya kati jana le ramro sanga bichar gareka chau nepal ma santi staphana ko lagi Maobadi badhak ho bhanera.
Communists should be killed and wiped out from the world. Just kill them.
IS IT STILL NTO OBVIOUS ? What more proff do we need to have o say that these Maoist (terrorists) are speaking out fo their asses. Remember the majority of their supporters have no education. They are like dogs, prachanda gives them meat and they will lick his ass, take for example the owners of this website Mr. Wagle and Mr. Neil. They too salivate with joy everytime prachanda comes up with something and they post it here while wagging their rears.
reading the posts here and the reponses, I now find it fruitless to argue with these staunch supporters of these terrorists about their leader’s (Prachanda’s) hollow propaganda.
Latest in news:
“Meanwhile, Maoist affiliated trade union, All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) has said that two of its cadres have been suspended for their involvement in the beating up of hotelier Shrestha.
ANTUF chairman Salik Ram Jamarkattel said that Deepak Rai and Mukunda Neupane had been involved in the incident and that action has been initiated against them.
The Maoist cadres had abducted Shrestha from the hotel and severely beat him up when he refused to pay donation.”
Then Prachanda says :
“Maoist chairman Prachanda has accused that royalist elements were blowing the strike called by the business community out of proportions.”
Good luck to other Nepali, who visit this website which I find has a lot of Maoist propaganda. Our country is now going deeper and deeper into hell with these terrorists. If anyone wants to join in a movement against the Maoist specifially to eradicte them from the face of nepal using their tactics of Guerilla warfare then lets do it. Support is plenty.
Latest in news:
“Meanwhile, Maoist affiliated trade union, All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) has said that two of its cadres have been suspended for their involvement in the beating up of hotelier Shrestha.
ANTUF chairman Salik Ram Jamarkattel said that Deepak Rai and Mukunda Neupane had been involved in the incident and that action has been initiated against them.
The Maoist cadres had abducted Shrestha from the hotel and severely beat him up when he refused to pay donation.”
Then Prachanda says :
“Maoist chairman Prachanda has accused that royalist elements were blowing the strike called by the business community out of proportions.”
Good luck to other Nepali, who visit this website which I find has a lot of Maoist propaganda. Our country is now going deeper and deeper into hell with these terrorists. If anyone wants to join in a movement against the Maoist specifially to eradicte them from the face of nepal using their tactics of Guerilla warfare then lets do it. Support is plenty.
My comments are being moderated once again.
Movement against the Maoists is much needed. Just as Maoists are bound to take control of Nepal and that it is only a matter of time, their downfall is also inevitable and they won’t last long. However, a fight against maoist should not mean a fight for an active dictator king. This can be ensured only after the king is declared ceremonial with no political power whatsoever. This can be ensured only when King Gyanendra abdicates in favor of Hridayendra or one of Shruti’s daughters. I believe that totally getting rid of the king will also invite unnecessary tension and violence as we are already seeing the symptoms. Only after Monarchy is taken care of in such way can we start a full fledged war against the Maoists which will ensure a safe and democratic future for the country. Otherwise it will always be saandhe ko judhai bachcha ko michai.
First, Maoists need to be defeated politically. They are already losing their goodwill (if they had any) and credibility. Anyone who is following Prachanda’s comments has hardly any reason to believe him these days. The courage and unity shown by the businessmen can be a lesson for other people also who have been victimised by the Maoists. People should support and boost the morale of political parties like NC, NC-D and RPP so that they can stand confidently against the communist parties and not be dictated by them. At present the political parties know that they have already lost their credibility and if they screw up so that the Maoists go back to the jungle everyone is going to blame them. So, cut to the chase, I believe that abdication by King Gyanendra and bolstering the leadership of political parties like NC, NC-D and RPP can be the two milestones on the roadmap to defeat Maoists.
why the fuck shouldnt the internet service providers suspend service for an hour wagle…have you lost your mind, these people are harassed everyday by the maoist…you know it better than us your journalist friends from kantipur and else where would have all the insider scoop as to what really is going on behind the political scene..more abduction and killing….while the property of innocent people have not been returned; our netas are pressing the maoists for their properties to be returned…what about ours brother and sisters in rural nepal? just cause you couldnt get on the internet this afternoon, oh please dont fret! do you see a royal conspiracy ? fuck you to all fucking journalists who cant a spade and a spade! all you care about is juicy news and if a single mother fucking journalists is manhandled there is so much fan fare – what about us common people who live everyday to work for ourselves – we have no connection…nor does our family…maoists keep collecting money and we are helpless…
The End Game
(Courtesy: Siddhartha Thapa)
“The mere absence of war is not peace”, said J. F. Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis. This statement is relevant to Nepal’s context today. Despite repeated assurances from the Maoists that they have retracted from violent politics, the reality is vastly different. Clearly, the Maoist have made a travesty out of the peace process and arms management. It has become obvious that the elections to the Constituent Assembly cannot be held in the stipulated time frame for mid June. This unfortunate circumstance is mainly due to the failure of the government to confine Maoist to peacetime politics. This failure consequently led to the rapid deterioration of law and order. The ramification of the postponement of the elections is immense – a fluid political vacuum.
The government still has not learnt from the Maoist war. It is this war, which forced the nation into a grinding halt. It is also the Maoists who have distanced the country from peacetime democratic politics. Deeper understanding is needed to comprehend the issues plaguing the country’s transition into a peaceful nation with a sustainable democracy.
Our portly political pundits need to understand that the discontented ethnic groups that have been staging agitations across the country are just now in the initial phase of their revolution. The issues of seclusion and minority rights have the necessary ingredients for the brewing of a greater revolution. Therefore, the continued dillydallying and delay in addressing ethnic issues, has the potential to push country into further quagmire – with the rise of a series of mini and counter revolutions, which could lead to the disintegration of the nation state. The ethnicity dilemma could and should have been solved at the beginning of its insurrection but unfortunately, the demands set forth by the various agitating groups have soared due to continued negligence from the government. On the other hand the Maoist insurgency has served an ideal benchmarking model for agitating groups to attain political limelight and power through the use of arms and violent politics.
The recent turmoil and continued political unrest in the Terai has exposed that in the absence of elections, the major political parties are rapidly losing their base; proving that it is only the Maoists, by using force, and indigenous groups that retain some control over rural Nepal. In more recent times the blatant violation of the peace process by the Maoists and the continued intimidation conducted by its cadres has been reciprocated with brute force by agitating groups. The Maoist influence in the Terai has been questioned for the very first time. It is interesting to note that the Maoist high command has toured the southern belt as a precautionary damage control measure.
Prime Minister Koirala’s effort to induct the Maoist into government was based on the thesis that once the rebels are inducted in govern- ment, the vantage of being in opposition would no longer be a luxury enjoyed by the Maoist and they would be forced to change and act within the norms of multi party politics.Unfortunately the violence and brutality perpetuated by the Maoists has not subsided. Maoists are unquestionably the primary political party in the alliance. The revolt by the indigenous groups for equality indicates that confrontation is inevitable. The demands put forward by the indigenous group contravene Maoist school of thought – radical communism. The ramifications of these developments are critical.
Since Maoists are now a part of the interim government, any attack against the Maoist will be termed as an attack against the govern- ment. Prachanda recently declared that the Maoist have been eyeing Home and Defense ministries as a precondition to join govern- ment. This means that once the Maoist join the government, the state security organs might be used to crush any voice or ethnic movement that calls for change and opposes Maoist rhetoric. If these minis- tries are allocated to the Maoists, it will ignite violent unrest and mar Nepal’s transition towards permanent peace and democracy.
It is foreboding that even while in government the Maoists have failed to abide by the peace agreement and renounce violence. As the election date nears, Maoist violence might reach its peak and the Prime Minister be forced to postpone the vote fearing fraudulent and violent elections. Till the time of the elections the Maoist might have incapaci- tated state organs, political opponents and built a case of public discontent against the government creating an environment for protests engaging in a dual role – govern- ment and opposition.
The state organs lack the required leadership to thwart Maoist designs. The Prime Minister has also failed to boost government confidence. Going by the government’s lack of policy, the indications are that in any event, the Maoist will capture state power- either through forcing fraudulent elections or by brewing public discontent against the government.
– There are very few businessmen, perhaps some new enterprenuers all are corrupt. The one who is beaten up by the undeciplined and undemocrat Maoist cadres also is one of the corrupts. All hotel owners near the Darwar Marga are royalists and puppets of Gyane and Pare.
The royalists are catching the mood of the business community and are taking regressive amples to down play with the people’s mandated government and democracy.
It is courageous of Wagle to write the truth about the mob mentality of the royalists and their filteration in the strike. If the business community leaderships are smart they should call the stike back and help the country to move forward with peace and democracy.
Our objectives are – CA election to draft our constitution that will guarentee our civil liberty, protect our civil rights and our national integrity.
Business community has to contribute to this cause of our nation. If not then otherwise democracy and peace process are undermind and damaged by the business community’s strike with the filterations of the royalists in the strike then the consequence will bitter and bunisess community will have to pay the price.
Thank you Mr. Wagle – you rally blog Democracy and peace.
Let us move on, there are many among us with you.
tyo jammarkattel vanne chor lai tudikhel ko bich ma hang garnu parcha. Byapari haru lai phone garera dhamki dine tyahi ho. Yeti chanda dine vae de natra mero keta haru le j maan lagyo tyahi garchan vanera dhamki dinchha. New road ko cassette pasale sanga jabarjasti 20,000 Rs lageko thiyo.
Tesko bhaktapur ma 6 ropani ko jagga chha. Saab luteko paisa le kineko ho.
Prachanda afai le vaneka thea maobadi neta haru le sampati rakhdainan vanera. tara sabai ko aa aafno paitrik sampati chha ra dherai le pachi janata bata lutera ghar jagga bank balance jodeka chhan.
The above post reminds me of a interesting posting by fellow blogger Maila Baje in http://nepalinetbook.blogspot.com/
For those who find it easier to read in Nepali a translation of some of Maila Baje’s blog can be found on
http://jethoblogger.wordpress.com/
Enjoy!
there should of rule of law.Period. If this fucking government belives in rule of law and democracy let all the culprits who perpertrate the crime be them Maoist or else should be punished as per law of Nepal. Or government should declare that Maoist are above the law and they can do whatever they like. Then we have to seriously thinking about raising the arm and destroy this government by force. If we peopel rise again this will be the end of old order and that include this bullshit Maoist as well.
And what about YCL ?? this fucking government knows where there barracks are as they have captured carpet and garment industries in Kathmandu and using this as base for their fucking stormtroopers. If government is serious about controling crime let them destroy this YCL barracks if not people of Kathmandu have to do that themselves. Then dont blame us for starting another bloddy civil war. If now war starts the Maoist war for 12 year will be peanuts. We will make sure of that.
Prachanda was spotted in the Businessmen protest against against Maoist excesses and extortion.
Neil,
I have possible explanation for you to explain the current behavior of businessmen.
You know that the King has considerable business interests in Nepal. And he also has vast amount of property in Kathmandu. So he must have instigated the CII, FNCCI, and other businessmen to protest that CA elections are not held in time and Interim Government is not formed. THIS IS SURELY WORKING OF THE ROYALIST, REACTIONARY AND FEUDAL ELEMENTS. Earlier, they instigated Terai and now the businessmen… Man, politics works in the strange ways
What I suggest is that you along with your comrades, ala Prachanda, Baburam, Badal et al, to go out with AK 47, M16, Bazooka go out silence these people because that is the only way you people know. Or else, how will your glorious movement reach its ultimate goal? You know what the ultimate goal is – that is 9MM bullet on the back of your head.
Neil and Wagle are promoters of the Maoist propaganda which we have had enough of. Neil like I said, call me a Royalist becasue I went against the Maoist. Anyway whenever there is somthing wrong thats what your bastard leader does by calling it a “reactionary act” or acts of regressive forces or Royalists.
Prachanda and his fellow people need to be castrated and their testicles need to be fed to the hungry drug deprived terrorists that he has been raising.
This seems to be the general opinion of people now. Please do your job Wagle and Neil and give this information to your Masters.
There is no doubt that this website has become a tool for the Maoist leadeship to judge public opinions.
Maoist Atrocities:
Cadres of Maoists affiliated Young Communists League have abducted a printing press owner of Kathmandu-6, Sitapaila on March 17.
A group headed by YCL Kathmandu-6 area commander Bishal Dongol abducted Suresh Bahadur Malla, 50 and took him to an undisclosed place, a police source said. Malla is the proprietor of the Malla Press in Chhauni.
According to YCL coordinator Sagar, Malla was taken to ‘that’ place after he agreed to pay back 40 lakhs and 50 thousand to one Raju Maharjan. Sagar claimed that Malla had cheated the sum from Raju.
Maoist Atrocities:
When Maoist forces broke into the house of farmer Pasang Sherpa in eastern Nepal, they were looking for one thing: an able body. They took Mr. Sherpa’s 15-year-old son, Pemba.
Pasang was told that Pemba would be sent to the Dolpa district in far-western Nepal, so that he could serve in the “great people’s war.” But Pemba never made it to Dolpa. Only two months after his abduction last year, he was killed in his home district in a confrontation with the Army.
He died without even understanding what Maoism means,” says a tearful Pasang. “Pemba was a virtuous boy. He used to help me till land,” he adds.
Forced recruitment of children has now become widespread in Nepal’s remote hills, with the introduction some months ago of what the Maoists call “Whole-timers,” or WTs. In rural regions under the rebel thumb, every family must send one member as a WT to aid the rebels’ cause. The job often falls to the most dispensable family member – usually a child.
Both the Maoists and the Army have involved children in their bloody nine-year war. The Maoists, who are trying to overthrow the monarchy, control 75 percent of the country’s territory – most everything but cities, towns, and district headquarters. They have set up their own courts and systems of taxation and governance. Over 8,000 children have been orphaned and tens of thousands displaced in a conflict that has claimed over 12,000 lives. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has caused two-thirds of the deaths, according to INSEC, a human rights organization.
Fighting between the Army and rebels exploded over the weekend in western Nepal, reports Agence France-Presse. An Army spokesman claimed that more than 60 insurgents may have been killed in clashes that began when rebels attacked an Army checkpoint.
To escape Maoist atrocities, people with means continue to flee Nepal’s hills en masse to the kingdom’s relatively safer lowlands and cities, and to neighboring India. This has depleted the recruitment pool of adults for Maoists, making them turn to children.
Child rights organizations here say that it is not only the Maoists who abuse children, however. Many of the children who survive state bullets by surrendering to the RNA are then used as informers or porters by Army units. Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dipak Gurung denies the charge. “We hand over children to organizations volunteering to support them,” he says.
But Nepal’s Army does not have a clean human rights record. Wayward soldiers have raped minors and have shot at school buildings, killing students. Cases of extrajudicial detention of children have also surfaced recently. On March 14, Ram Lal Tharu, 13, was released from the Banke district prison, in western Nepal, after a court issued his release order. Tharu had been arrested on June 25, on charges that he posed a “grave threat” to peace and security.
In a bid to weaken the rebels, the government announced a general amnesty in 2003 to those who surrender. State-owned Nepal Television has been broadcasting interviews of former rebels in programs designed to persuade disillusioned guerrillas to surrender and to spread an anti-Maoist message in rural Nepal. A significant number of the interviewees are children.
According to one estimate, the number of children under 18 in Nepal’s Maoist insurgency makes up 25 to 30 percent of its total strength, and young girls are a significant presence in the ranks. Total rebel numbers are believed to be around 10,000.
“Until some months ago, rebels used children only as messengers, porters, cooks, and cultural troops,” says Tarak Dhital, program coordinator of Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), a nongovernmental organization working for child rights. “More recently, children are being used as soldiers. Most of the Maoist combatants who have surrendered … are teenagers,” he adds.
CWIN estimates that 405 children under 18, including 115 girls, have been killed in the conflict so far. But in a war where keeping count of the dead is difficult, identifying or guessing the age of the dead is a tall order
I SUGGEST WE ARM OURSELVES AND FIGHT THESE BASTARDS.
What’s deplorable Wagle is the states impotancy in dealing with maoist’s and their high handedness under the law, and the fact that you assume that everybody is supposed to do nothing and wait for the SPAM to decide pathetically for the rest of us. I think now it is a war of brains versus the brawn. Good for the business community. Finally they have got it right this time.
Maoists do not want the CA to take place anytime soon. They themselves are creating obstacles so that the election does not take place. They have seen their “popularity” falling ever since the terai fiasco. The recent accusations made by the Maoist supremo reflects their desperation and paranoia. Wherever they look the see “reactionaries” and “regression.” They know that the CA will not give them any leverage to ensure that the Kingdom is transformed into a republic due to their recent past and their present behaviour. Prachanda has lost control of his mob. Therefore, the maoists at the party level are taking every imaginable steps to avoid the CA and are dictating that the Kingdom be declared a republic through the interim parliament so that they do not have to face the music come CA election!
I don’t agree with the argument that all businessmen are corrupt. It is unreasonable to generalise such observation just as it is unreasonable to claim that all politicians are honest and are working for the interest of the nation and its people.
There are hardworking businessmen who have dedicated their lives to their respective fields. If the maoists and its affiliated militant trade unions are running an “extortion” racket they must be punished. The business community has been reeling against such atrocities for many years especially after the People War gained momentum. It is a known fact that the business community has been bringing these issues to the governments’ attention periodically through various channels. The “powerful” ISG time and again called upon the government to convince the maoists to change their attitude vis-a-vis business community. But these strategies never proved to be effective.
The issue here is not this particular incident where a businessman was kidnapped and tortured. The issue which the business community is raising is the apathy shown by the political leaders towards the concerns raised by the community. Their right to security and their right to carry on their daily activity without the threat from anyone…….their demand is, like the demand of all Nepalese, environment free of coercion, intimidation, extortion and fear. I am sure these are legitimate demands and which must be met if we are serious about creating a prosperous and successful Nepal.
The maoist leadership must convince their cadres that the only way to ensure sustainable political victory is by working for the welfare of all Nepalese people irrespecive of their political affiliation and beliefs. And by renouncing all sorts of violence and intimidation. After all are we not aspiring to establish an all inclusive democratic society?
G came to my place yesterday with a sack full of money and told me to attend the business bandh.
Gawd … this blog is a joke. I only come here for the entertainment value… and to incite more royalist support .. bua ha ha ha
establish the “Nepalease Federation of Maoist Extermination” (NFME).
Maybe the business people can start collecting donations from the maoists, use their homes to house their workers and use the moaist food to feed their workers.
I’m sure some of these bastards have families and shite too. let them feel what we feel.
BEATING UP BUSINESSMEN is a ROYALIST-MAOIST CONSPIRACY!!!!!
HeHeHe….
Yo Shayam bhanne ko ho.yesko kura le ta yo gatilo character ko jasto ta lagdaina yesle aafai daku ko jasto boli gareko cha.yesko janma gatilo father bata bhayako jasto chaina ra euta father ko son hola jasto ta chaina ni boli le garda ta?