Nepali Times Giving children a fighting chance Nepali Times Close encounters with the Maoists Asia Times: In Nepal, It's the King to move Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Civilians Struggle to Survive in Nepal's Civil War

With a .303 slung over his shoulder, Comrade Waibhaba leads a group of Maoists in Rolpa. He claims to be 15 but his friends say he is younger. There were seven of them on the trail to Thawang, boys and girls carrying heavy home-made shoulder bags. The biggest was barely four feet tall, must have been 14. He was carrying a Chinese radio with the antenna pulled out. There was a comb in his shirt pocket and his hair was slickly groomed. In a voice of authority, he asked: "Who are you?" We said we were journalists on our way to Thawang. "Do you have a pass?" We replied that the head of the people's government in Mijhing had told us to get a pass further on. "Ok," he replied.

November 2004

It was bound to happen sooner or later: Maoists have become Nepal's latest tourist attraction. Trekking lodges along the Annapurna Base Camp trail are abuzz with hikers exchanging experiences on their encounters with the rebels and passing around precious souvenirs: Maoist tax receipts emblazoned with portraits of Lenin, Stalin and Mao. Compared to last year, when many tourists were apprehensive about meeting Maoists and felt uncomfortable about paying a 'revolutionary tax' to a group espousing violence, this season's trekkers seem to have taken the rebels in their stride. "They behaved like friends," said Joni Lundstrom from Sweden, "they gave us a receipt for Rs 1,000 and told us they would provide us with security."

October 2004

While King Gyanendra takes time off to review his own performance since he stalled the democratic process two years ago, his hand-picked prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, remains busy finding the right bait to persuade Maoists to agree to a new round of peace talks. But the Maoists say - from their hideouts within and outside the country - that they will not negotiate with royal servant(s); they prefer to directly deal with the king, who is both the de facto as well as de jure ruler of Nepal.

The king is the supreme commander of the Royal Nepali Army (RNA), a force currently with a combined strength of 138,000 armed personnel, including those from civil and armed police agencies. Recent US and Indian support to these security organisations in the form of training and equipment has emboldened the royal regime to take on the rebels, who launched a "people's war" in 1996.

The 102-page report, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Civilians Struggle to Survive in Nepal's Civil War," details how civilians in contested areas are often faced with untenable choices. Refusal to provide shelter to the rebels puts villagers at risk from Maoists who are ruthless in their punishments, while providing such support leaves them vulnerable to reprisal attacks from state security forces.

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