Reports on Nepal's Civil War
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Maoists' truce 2005
Nepali Times: Ceasefire fears(Sept 2005)
Nepali Times: "It has to be reciprocal"(September 2005)
Nepali Times: What next? (September 2005)
Asia Times: War by other means (Sept 2005)
BBC: Nepal Maoists are 'open to talks' (September 2005)
Nepal News: No immediate possibility of govt-Maoist talks(September 2005)
BBC: Nepal Maoists seek to isolate king (September 2005)
BBC: Nepal's Maoists declare ceasefire (September 2005)
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Truce Period
September 2005
Ceasefire fears
Local Nepali Congress leader Tilak Bahadur Khatri does not bat an eye when the ceasefire is mentioned. For him, it's just part of a good strategic game plan. "When the king can describe himself and parties as husband and wife, the Maoist ceasefire is neither a surprise nor is it of any good," he declares. "Anything is possible."

Instead, Khatri seems preoccupied with what is going to happen next in his little town of Jaygadh about three hours northeast of Sanphe Bagar. Locals here say that when the government failed to agree to the ceasefire, local Maoist cadres felt at risk and left the area's villages to seek refuge in the far-flung hills. Villagers say they now feel even more unsafe and exposed because with the rebels gone, security forces are free to fill the vacuum.

"That's what they usually do, come when Maoists are not around and trouble the villagers," says shopkeeper Min Raj Timilsina.

Full story ...
Ceasefire fears
(September 2005) - external link
Nepali
Times
September 2005
"It has to be reciprocal"
"We met Maoists on the way but they said nothing about a ceasefire," says 27-year-old Bal Bahadur Rai, who arrived in Chhatara after walking along the Kosi for two days from Bhojpur district. Rai and his group were herding goats to the market towns of the tarai. "Ceasefire or no ceasefire, it makes no difference to us," added Man Bahadur Rai, 65.

Even after the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Maoists, there seems to be either a lack of communication or a break down in the chain of command. Rebel road blockades are intact in the district headquarters of Pachthar and Taplejung in the east and local Maoist commanders are saying that the ceasefire statement from their leader was not clear so they have decided to maintain their blockades. Ratna Tuladhar. Other activists also believe this is a great opportunity for the government to match the Maoist offer.

Full story ...
"It has to be reciprocal"
(September 2005) - external link
Nepali
Times

September 2005
What next?
Five days have passed since the Maoists declared a unilateral ceasefire and now everyone is asking 'what next'?

Given the fate of previous ceasefires and how they were used for tactical advantage, there is also scepticism about the motives behind the Maoist move. Many pundits believe that the rebels have effectively cornered the king, while ordinary Nepalis who seek only peace are worried that the government and army haven't yet reciprocated.

"In similar conflicts elsewhere, when one side calls for a ceasefire the other side usually responds positively," says former peace negotiator Padma Ratna Tuladhar. Other activists also believe this is a great opportunity for the government to match the Maoist offer.

Full story ...
What next?
(September 2005) - external link
Nepali
Times

September 2005
War by other means
The shift in Maoist strategy that had been emerging since June has now crystallized in what is evidently a tactical and - for Kathmandu - deeply unsettling unilateral declaration of ceasefire.

On September 3, Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, issued a media statement declaring a three-month truce under which the Maoists will not undertake any "offensive activities", but will "remain in a position of active defense and resist if there is an offensive from the side of "the enemy" (the government).

The Maoist chief also warned that if the government intensified its military offensive or expanded army bases by interpreting the Maoist move as "weakness", the ceasefire could be ended at any point.

Full story ...
War by other means
(September 2005) - external link
Asia
Times

September 2005
Nepal Maoists are 'open to talk
Senior rebel leader Prachanda said a dialogue could take place if the royalist government reciprocated the offer of a truce.

But he ruled out the possibility of immediate talks with the government.

The government has said it doubts the sincerity of the offer, but opposition parties have welcomed the move.

The comments by the rebel leader come less than a week after the rebels ruled out talks with the king and declared a three-month truce, in order to open a dialogue with the main opposition parties which have been protesting against the king.

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Nepal Maoists are 'open to talks'
(September 2005) - external link
BBC
News

Peace Talks?
September 2005
No immediate possibility of Govt-Maoist talks
Padma Ratna Tuladhar, one of the facilitators of previous two rounds of government-Maoist peace talks, has said there is no possibility of immediate dialogue between the government and the insurgents even as the latter declared a three-month-long unilateral ceasefire today.
Talking to Nepalnews, Tuladhar said that CPN (Maoist) supremo Prachanda's statement to observe unilateral ceasefire for the next three months is basically a confidence building measure rather than a real gesture of talks with the royal government.
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No immediate possibility of govt-Maoist talks
(September 2005) - external link
Nepal
News

Maoist strategy
September 2005
Nepal Maoists seek to isolate king
The Maoists do not want the dissolved parliament restored
The unilateral ceasefire declared by Nepal's Maoist rebels on Saturday is strategically timed and is intended to isolate King Gyanendra rather than help his government.

It comes in the wake of important meetings of the country's two largest political parties, the Nepali Congress and the Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist) (NCP-UML).

After the meetings, the parties decided to abandon their allegiance to a constitutional monarchy.

Full story ...
Nepal Maoists seek to isolate king
(September 2005) - external link
BBC
News
Nepal's Maoists declare ceasefire
September 2005
Maoists have declared a unilateral three-month ceasefire
Rebel leader, Prachanda, said the Maoists would "not launch any offensive" during the truce, which began on Saturday.
In the past few months the rebels have been trying to woo political parties who are also opposed to the rule of King Gyanendra.
The king assumed direct power in February, saying politicians had failed to tackle the nine-year insurgency.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr Prachanda said his forces would remain in a state of what he called "active defence" and would not launch any fresh offensive unless attacked. He warned, however, that if the army increased its military activities or expanded its camps, his party would break its ceasefire and launch what he called an offensive of even higher level.

Full story ...
Nepal's Maoists declare ceasefire
(September 2005) - external link
BBC
News
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