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Jajarkot:
Maoist cadres dissent against their central leaders November
2001 |
The
Maoist cadres in mid-western hill districts have started showing their
support for Ram Bahadur Thapa also called Comrade Badal, who is believed
to be the main military strategist of the party. The cadres have started
painting the slogans on the walls in favour of Thapa, instead of their
supreme leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also known as ComradePrachanda. |
 The campaign being launched in the Maoist stronghold of Jajarkot
indicates that chairman Prachanda and the second most powerful leader,
Baburam Bhattarai, who are said to be in favour of the peace talks with
the government, have started to lose their grip on the Maoist armed force.The
armed rebels, who respected the party chairman Prachanda as a great Communist
leader before the cease-fire in July and subsequent peace talks, seem to
have switched support towards Thapa. Thapa is said to be the mastermind
of the Maoists military activities. The cadres are showing their dissent
against the Maoists leaders stance on the ongoing peace talks with the
government. Instead, Thapa is garnering support inside the party as he
commands strong support in the Maoist armed force, which has been the party's
main base in their struggle for the establishment of "People's State."
The Maoist party had started portraying Comrade Prachanda as the party's
supremo after the party's second national convention held about one and
a half years ago. Thapa is at present assigned to the eastern part of the
country to look after their movement there where he popularly known as
Comrade Bishal among the party rank. He was transferred to the eastern
region as a punishment for him getting married to a senior Maoist leader,
despite the party leaders' opposition. Earlier, Thapa played a crucial
role in recruiting cadres for political and combat training in Sisne Himal
of Rukum and Jaljala of Rolpa districts. This campaign was also known as
the "Seize Campaign" in the party, before the CPN (Unity Centre) split
up into the CPN (Maoist) and CPN (4th Congress) in 1993. The Maoists launched
"People's War" in February, 1996.
The Maoist cadres are showing their dissent against the Maoists' leaders'
stance on the ongoing peace talks with the government. Instead, Thapa is
garnering support inside the party as he commands strong support in the
Maoist armed force, which has been the party's main base in their struggle
for the establishment of "People's State."
Slogans
like Long Live Comrade Bishal have been seen in various places of the Jajarkot
district. Such slogans are widespread in the Maoist stronghold known as
area No-11 that include Village development Committees of Jajarkot, Surkhet,
Dolpa districts and of Bheri and Karnali zones. They have operated their
own legal and administration system in these areas. Some of the leaders,
addressing a public meeting in a remote village last week also warned that
they would even fight against their central leaders if they attempted to
suspend the "People's War" until their declared goal was achieved. |
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Syangja:
After a Maoist nightmare November 2001
|
It's
been three weeks since the Maoists mowed down 14 policemen in the western
hill district od Syangja, and life is yet to get back to normal. Banks
and most of the government offices continue to remain closed. The
once bustling streets of the district headquarters wear a deserted look,
with shops closing down by 4:00 p.m. Curfew is still in force in the night. |
The Maoist-police encounter in November had laid waste several government
offices and houses, while many vehicles too were destroyed. The loss is
estimated to be morethan Rs 150 million. The one good news is that reconstruction
work is going on at a rapid pace. But with banks not yet back in action,
the people of this district, especially the business community, are showing
signs of despair. There are also many governmentemployees here who have
not drawn their salary because of the closure. Overall, the development
activities too have come to a standstill.
It's particularly hard these days for those seeking credit from financial
institutions. An District Agriculture Development Officer says that there
is difficulty getting fuel for the office vehicles since dealers refuse
to do it on credit. Most of the transactions with government offices have
come to a halt. No passports or citizenship certificates are being issued,
neither are tax, telephone and electricitybills being settled.
Around 100,000 land revenue certificates were damaged in the attack. "It
will take at least six months to prepare them again," officials says. On
the social front, wedding ceremonies are also being affected even as the
cultural life of this district is struggling to get back to its usual pace.
A
local whose house is adjacent to the District Police Office, once had considered
herself as secure. But after seeing the carnage, she and herfamily are
feeling increasingly insecure. They do not spend the night at their home
but put up at a neighbour's home. But the authorities maintain that the
security situation has improved considerably since the nightmarish incident
of late November. |
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