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1. ISSUE AND CONTEXT Some Western countries have come very close to labeling Nepal a 'failed state'. This is debatable. But what is not debatable is that the decade-long Maoist insurgency has divided and traumatized the country like never before. How did the country come to this pass? There is no definitive answer. One version of the story attempts to explain the ascendancy of the Maoist movement in Nepal thus (but this is by no means the only version): Since the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, the successive governments have largely failed to focus their attention on rural Nepal. The government continued to neglect remote mountain and hill areas as well as the plains adjoining the Indian border. Many government officials and political leaders focused instead on amassing personal wealth at the people's expense and holding onto power by hook or crook, thus creating a culture of bad governance in high places. This trend partly contributed to creating pockets of discontent in the neglected regions of Nepal, particularly among the more traditionally/historically marginalised groups: the indigenous peoples, the Terailis (people in the plains), the Adivasis (aborigines), women and the Dalits, who together comprise over three-fourths of the population. Moreover, the historical grievances that these marginalized groups have against the patriarchal monolithic state apparatus of Nepal have always been conveniently brushed aside by the government under one pretext or another. Some political analysts have even argued that Nepal under multiparty democracy has been even less inclusive than under the Panchayat system it had replaced.. All these developments and more conspired to create a perfect opening for the Maoist camp to highjack not only the agendas of the marginalized and other disenchanted groups but also their sympathies. Thus, the Maoist insurgency that started out small from the most neglected region of Nepal - Far Western Nepal - built up gradually and swept across much of Nepal like wildfire. The Maoist rebels have not only been able to bring the country to its knees repeatedly by issuing nationwide blockade but also been able to pose a challenge to the two most revered institutions of the country: multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy. The Maoist insurgency doesn't bode well for Nepal since it uses violence as a means to an end: a communist republic. Today, the majority who earlier sympathized with the Maoists are fed up of their ruthless tactics, if not their people-centered agenda. It is generally agreed that if the Maoist camp wants power, they should follow the democratic norms: renounce violence, field their own legitimate political party and contest elections. As for now, it would be best for all concerned if the Maoist insurgency could be resolved through dialogue, since the former has local, national, and regional implications. However, signs are not encouraging that this will happen anytime soon. The International Mountain Day 2004 (IMD2004), whose theme is "Peace: Key to Sustainable Mountain Development" provided a perfect excuse for the Radio Team to collect people's stories on the Maoist insurgency. Although views on all kinds of mountain-specific conflicts were sought in keeping with the theme of IMD2004, most people the Radio Team approached chose to speak on how the insurgency has impacted their lives. Not surprising considering that the Maoist insurgency dwarfs all the other conflicts confronting Nepal today. |
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2. PEOPLE'S VOICES Tshering: "Conflict situation in my village...what can I say? Fate has been unkind to us. We cannot live peacefully. Rather than go back to my village, it's better to stay here. Who doesn't want to go back to his/her home village? But there are no vehicles. One has to walk. But there is palpable fear every step of the way. They (Maoist rebels) do not let strangers or those who have fled back into their village. However, I make it a point to go back once a year. "The Maoist rebels repeatedly exert control over the district through a people's government. The atmosphere is charged. We subsisted on dhindo and flour. I never imagined I would some day be living in Kathmandu, but have little choice." Shanti: "Ten to twelve Maoist rebels beat me up real good for three hours. I vomited blood. I was certain I would die. To make sure that I was alive they made me sit and stand up repeatedly. Waiba: Indrawati Hydro Project III. Now that area is crawling with Maoist rebels. The Irrigation system has been impacted. People who operate the water mills have also been affected. Tenzing: Maoists come to my village frequently, but not the army. Dorje, Trekking guide: When we go on treks, we run into Maoist rebels. They ask for donations and sometimes do not let us go where we want to go. They are very suspicious of foreigners. We are not permitted to trek in the evening , or trek alone at day time. The fear of being caught in the crossfire is palpable. Kanchhi (from Sankhusabha in Eastern Nepal): "Hotels and inns went out of business. Kids were afraid to go to school. Maoists tried to take my husband to fight their revolution. We cried begging that our kids are small. Maoists beat us up. They would come day and night to our house to pressure us. Police and army were stationed in camps some three-four hours away. The rebels asked for donations, we said we don't have money. They then dragged my husband. He cried, begged and finally ran away. Now that we are in Kathmandu life is safer but more difficult. We have rented a small place. We struggle to raise our kids. "Yes, we'd hear gunfire from both sides. At night we couldn't go out or stay on the verandah. Everybody hurries inside and bolts the door when they hear gunfire. There is no peace in my village." Sonam: "The Maoist problem is very much there in my village. That's why I came to Kathmandu. If I go back, they (Maoists) might abduct me." Hira: "They fire guns there now. When you are out walking, sometimes they (Maoist rebels) warn you beforehand of the impending crossfire. So I don't go out often." Hari (from Solukhumbu): "I used to teach in a primary school in my village. Schools were repeatly shut down and students abducted from the classroom. The Sherpa Liberation Front and Tamang Liberation Front, both of which are wings of the Communist Party of Nepal, repeatedly pressured me to join the ranks of insurgents. They said they needed capable people like me to serve in the revolution, to do something for this country. I decided not to join the Maoist ranks, so I fled to Kathmandu. If the Maoist insurgency is resolved I will head back to my village, if not, I will stay right here. So far there has been little progress." Dhan Bahadur: "The village itself is sometimes caught in the crossfire. My police friend, my school teacher and my brother in law have all died in the crossfire." Lies Kirkoff, VSO Volunteer in Eastern Nepal: "When I first came to Nepal, the political situation was not as bad as it is today. One would, of course, hear of Maoist rebels in neighboring districts, but I hardly encountered any in the district where I worked. Even when we knocked on the inn-door at night, we were welcomed and put up for the night by innkeepers. Even though the Maoist insurgency didn't affect my work, the situation gradually deteriorated. When one works as a volunteer, one learns of the the ground realities first hand. But today, it is unsafe to work in rural Nepal. One could get caught in the crossfire. The Maoist rebels may ask you for donations or brandish their khukuris (Nepali knives) and guns at you. As volunteers, we mobilized forestry user groups. We organized seminars in the forest. If you spend too much time in the forest, you too may be mistaken for Maoist rebels. Many of our friends feared for our lives. Once the state of emergency was declared by the Nepali government, I came to the safety of Kathmandu. I was gripped by fear. The army do not harass me (on account of my being a foreigner) and the Maoists have not touched me so far. However, it is difficult to work in a climate of insecurity. I had to leave my work because of the deteriorating situations in Eastern Nepal." Arjun Karki, Chairman, Federation of Non-Government Organizations: "Political conflicts in Nepal have adversely impacted development work. The Maoist insurgency is a political problem, which has restricted the mobility of development workers and hence development. Field-level development work in the hinterland has come to a virtual halt. Many NGOs have shifted their field offices or monitoring stations to district headquarters. They have, moreover, developed a mindset of working only in relatively more secure and more convenient places. Providing security to these entities even in convenient locations is a challenge." [Apart from political instability, there is conflict over natural resources. Because politics is involved in the use of natural resources, many locals feel that their user rights have been infringed upon.] Person 1 (name withheld on request): "We are not opposed to development. Development can be good. While development has been good for some, it has been bad for others. That's why disenchantment with development has also set in." Narayan: "The river here is like our mother. If the river is diverted, this place is going to look like desert. The contractors come here and try to divert the water elsewhere, but they do not consult us. We do not think of water in quantity terms like they do. We don't understand figures like 17-18 million cubic liters that are bandied about. They must tell us how much water they'll leave for us." Ambika: "This here is a 19-ropani plot. I have not been compensated for the loss I have suffered. I have lost crops three times. They bring rocks and sand and deposit them here. They are in effect telling me to eat rocks and sand. |
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3. WRAP-UP Dr. Bishnu Raj Upreti, Conflict Resolution Specialist: "Life in mountains is invariably tangled up in conflicts. However, the mountain people per se are not the reason for conflict. "Forest cover and tough terrain of mountain areas are natural breeding grounds of guerillas or separatists as they provide a perfect backdrop for challenging the state, conducting hit-and-run offensives against security forces as well conducting training in guerilla warfare. Because security forces cannot easily conduct ground search in mountain areas, they offer guerillas a strategic advantage. Moreover, it is easier for guerillas to control drug-trafficking as well as trade in high-value natural resources. This in itself is a cause for grave concerns. "The number one reason why there are conflicts in mountain regions probably has to do with the fact that mountain regions have traditionally been neglected by the state, owing to their remoteness. This creates frustrations and despair on the part of mountain people faced with limited livelihood options in the harshest of conditions. This naturally adds to mountain poverty. Natural resources in mountain areas are, more often than not, mismanaged. This affects the mountain environment by disturbing the ecosystem. Take, for instance, Afghanistan, where poppies are grown extensively in mountain areas. "From the natural management perspective, there are conflicts over resources in remote mountain areas of Nepal. More so in hill areas. The main reason for hill or mountain poverty is marginalization of hill and mountain people. Take, for instance, Peru and Chechnya. Today, wars are affecting 22-23 mountain countries. The basic reason for this is that the state either has not serviced mountain areas adequately or is unable to. Whether you look at conflicts in some South American countries (Peru and Colombia) or in African countries or in Eastern Europe or in Nepal or in Kashmir or in Afghanistan or in parts of India, you see one overarching thread running through all of them, which is linked to control over the mountain environment and its resources. Because the states have not been able to deal appropriately with this underlying problem, these mountain areas have become hotbeds of conflicts. "Because of inequitable distribution of land as well as of benefits accruing from natural resources, including the state's failure to provide adequate public services to mountain and hill people, you sense a different kind of tension and despair amongst them. Anti-establishment forces have capitalized on this despair. They rationalize: "The state has not done anything for us. So we have no choice but to take up arms!" Reasons like this can easily sway people against the state. "The state should have given mountain people constant assurance that they too are citizens of this country, that they are also getting the same level of economic and political security as others, and that the state is looking out for their interests. To give this assurance, of course, means to give hill and mountain people a greater degree of access to resources as well as to decision-making. Unless the issue of 'access' is addressed adequately, conflicts will continue to become recurring features of the mountain countries of the world. "The state has to first admit that problems capable of fueling political conflicts exist in mountain areas and address them. It has to take a lead on this. The role of the international national community is also important in this regard. Civil society and political factions have to likewise get into the conflict-resolution mode. If all parties are serious in their commitment to resolving conflicts and have the political will to do so, only then can they even begin to address them." |
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4. RELATED LINK(S) a) Radio
script of episode 8 (Nepali PDF version) |
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