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Maoists in Nepal
The Maoist Insurgency: Anatomy of the Conflict
Maoist insurgency - Anatomy of the Conflict
Complex combination of social, economic
and political problems

Humanitarian Conditions

Complex combination of social, economic, and political problems

The ongoing conflict in Nepal is a result of a complex combination of social, economic, and political problems. A monarchic government has been in power in Nepal since 1962. The multiparty democracy introduced in 1990 made no difference in economic conditions of Nepalese people nor did it bring about any real transformation in the country's political culture. Poverty, along with a weak government, no real transition from autocratic to democratic rule, and absence of efforts to address caste and ethnic problems, resulted in a period of instability which led to the rise of the Maoists. In February 1996, a group of rebels led by the Communist Party of Nepal and the United People's Front, both organisations of Maoist orientation, launched a "people's war" against the Nepalese state. The purpose of this war was to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a republic, and as the multiparty system established in 1990 had not brought about any change, in the views of the Marxists, the system too had to be replaced. ced.

Throughout the late 1990s, the Maoists attacked police outposts, but until November 2001, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) was not permitted to get involved in the fighting. At first the Maoist operations were limited to western districts of Rolpa and Rukum, but during the years the RNA did not act, the Maoists expanded their operations in various parts of the country, and attracted new recruits. Peace talks were started between the government and the Maoists in August 2001, but the latter walked out of negotiations in November, broke the ceasefire, and the fighting resumed.

A second cease fire began in January 2003, and during negotiations the Maoists demanded the drafting of a new constitution to limit the King's powers. Recently the Maoists have agreed to accept the multiparty system, but also call for elections to be held for a constituent assembly, which would then draft a new constitution and decide the outcome of the monarchy. Despite several rounds of talks, the two sides could not come to an agreement, as the government opposed the idea of creating the constituent assembly (although it did agree to revisions being made to the existing constitution), and the peace talks broke down in August 2003.

Since then the humanitarian and human rights situation in Nepal has deteriorated. The conflict is expected to escalate as the government creates local civilian militias - made up of untrained and undisciplined civilians - and if the Maoists' fulfill claims that they are planning to raise a militia of 50,000 children by April 2004.

Humanitarian Conditions

Following the breakdown of peace talks in August 2003, Nepal has been experiencing the highest level of violence since the start of the armed conflict in 1996. As pointed out by Amnesty International, there has been an exponential increase in violations of human rights by both sides to the conflict, including arbitrary arrests, disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture, including rape, and other serious human rights abuses. More than 2,000 people have been killed since August 2003, including a substantial number of civilians, and the majority of the killings have been done by the state.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has noted that people have been fleeing their villages to escape being caught in the crossfire, which has led to the breakdown of education, closure of businesses, weakening of local economies, and interruption of public services. The elderly, women, children and poor villagers are often less able to flee, and they have ended up staying behind to face worsening poverty, food shortages, and harassment by Maoist and security forces.

March 2004
by Kavita Shukla, Refugees International

Special Link Refugees International
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Timeline of the Maoist Insurgency
Nepal
Conflict
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