October
2005 - Press Release
| Nepal's
Maoists: Their Aims, Structure and Strategy |
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Kathmandu/Brussels,
27 October 2005: Despite the Maoist rebels' brutality and violence, there
can be no resolution of Nepal's conflict without confronting their strengths
and tackling their political agenda.
Nepal's
Maoists: Their Aims, Structure and Strategy, the latest report from the
International Crisis Group, examines the insurgency in detail and offers
insight into dealing with it. Through both force of arms and force of ideas,
the Maoists have emerged as a formidable political organisation. They have
been more successful than anyone envisaged, and their movement will not
be easily displaced.
"Whatever
the outcome of their armed insurgency, they have changed politics irrevocably",
says Rhoderick Chalmers, Deputy Director of Crisis Group's South Asia Project.
The
Maoists have brought into sharp focus the failures of past gestures towards
land reform, ethnic, caste and gender equality and regional issues, social
and economic iniquities and decades of failed development. Most visibly
and painfully, however, they have successfully demonstrated that Nepali
society does indeed contain a capacity for violence that can be turned
to political ends.
They
have employed force since the start of their armed campaign in 1996, including
torture, execution and other forms of violence. But they have also been
more restrained than many insurgent groups.
The
Maoists are not the next Khmer Rouge, nor are they a terrorist organisation
that refuses to talk. They have limited civilian casualties and also left
the economy functional, if weakened. There are encouraging signs that serious
negotiations will be possible, but the Maoists will rejoin mainstream politics
only if they see sufficient advantages in it and are convinced they will
not make greater gains by other means.
"The
unilateral three-month ceasefire announced by the Maoists in September
2005 is welcome, though temporary and conditional", says Robert Templer,
Director of Crisis Group's Asia Program. "Now the Maoists will have to
work hard to convince mainstream parties they can fully abandon their violent
repression. The government's refusal to reciprocate the ceasefire, however,
only encourages renewal of the conflict".
Behaviour
towards the newly established United Nations human rights mission will
be a crucial test of Maoist attitudes and capacities. If they can prove
they are ready for peace and capable of implementing a negotiated settlement,
the political mainstream will be ready to deal with them. Judging by widespread
popular relief following the September 2005 ceasefire, Nepal's people would
back a reasonable compromise that delivers peace.
To
find out more, visit the Crisis Group's Maoist Insurgency page, which has
links to Crisis Group's reports and opinion pieces on the conflict, details
of our advocacy efforts to date, links to other resources, and information
on what you can do to support Crisis Group's efforts.
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