NGOs voice concern over conflict escalation

NGOs in Nepal are becoming increasingly concerned over the impact the ongoing conflict is having on rural communities. More than 13,000 people have died since the Maoists launched their armed insurgency against the government in 1991. “We have a very clear view of what is happening. The situation is clearly worsening,” Richard Fichtl, Country Representative for the French NGO, Terre des homes, told IRIN in the capital, Kathmandu. “Having worked in several conflict-affected countries – I’m shocked to see how fast things can deteriorate here. I was not prepared for that scenario when I came here three years ago.” But Fichtl, who claims that the UN and NGO community only awoke to the conflict in 2004, now believes that impact is only intensifying. Today the Maoists control 60 to 80 percent of the country, he added, with that figure rising to 90 percent at night, he estimated. He was not alone in his concern. “I’m expecting things to worsen and I’m sure this will have an adverse effect on what we are doing,” Jean-Bertrand Lebrun, Country Director for Handicap International, warned, citing the sheer complexity of the conflict. Such reactions are not unusual amongst members of the NGO community who generally enjoy better access to larger areas of the country than the United Nations itself. Although most international NGOs and UN agencies are centred in and around Kathmandu valley, the true gravity of the humanitarian consequences of the conflict is best assessed in the rural areas of the country. Outside Kathmandu, where government control has been particularly marginalised, there remains little sign of government infrastructure and while the Maoists have attempted to install parallel structures in their place, that too has largely failed. “Maybe we don’t clearly understand what is going on – but you do get a clear picture when you go out on the district level,” Fichtl, whose organisation is already working in 40 of the country’s 75 districts, said. “I’m afraid for a longer lasting conflict. I do not really see a willingness for peace; an attitude towards considering compromises,” he warned - a concern shared by his colleagues. “Violence begets violence, again and again,” Keith Leslie, Country Representative for Save the Children remarked. “After 10 years of on and off-again hopes, one has to be a bit cautious with optimism. As my religion professor used to say, “I’m an optimist against my better judgement”. Others cited the political standoff being played out and the role it was having on local communities. “The political stalemate is there and the confrontation between the key political forces is likely to increase. The development activities from the government are very minimal,” Anil Pant, acting Country Director for ActionAID Nepal, said. Citing Maoist-imposed blockades or ‘bandhs’ routinely imposed in the countryside which severely affected local communities, he emphasised the need for the UN to strengthen its ties with the NGO community – both international and local – given their work on the village level, as well as their contacts across the political, security and social spectrum. Meanwhile, Handicap International’s Lebron offered an important message to donors at large. While not dismissing the importance of humanitarian work now being undertaken in the country, he cautioned for the need to find a balance between humanitarian and development work still taking place in the country. “In crisis situations, development work is often forgotten and this is a mistake,” he said, referring to the decades of development work that has already taken place. “We need to find a balance between them both.”