Aid work threatened by Maoist rebels

NGOs working in remote parts of western Nepal have halted development work due to insecurity and mounting pressure from Maoist rebels. The Maoists, who are in peace talks with the interim government to end Nepal’s decade-long conflict, have asked local NGOs working in the impoverished districts of Dadeldhura and Parbat, northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, to agree to a series of demands or remove their projects from villages. Padam Pal, from the NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN), an umbrella body representing 200 groups, said a lot of NGOs had been forced to stop their humanitarian and development work “due to fear of the Maoists”. NFN said Maoist groups in Dadeldhura wanted local and international NGOs to register with the party, pay them taxes and get permission before implementing programmes. Each NGO staff member had been told to pay a monthly tax to the Maoists equivalent to five percent of their salary. “At a time when NGOs have been playing a crucial role in the country’s current transitional peace period, they have been put in a difficult situation by the Maoists,” Arjun Karki, NFN’s chairman, said. There have been a number of incidents where both sides have accused each other of not following agreements reached in Kathmandu during the peace talks. Observers said local Maoist cadres often failed to follow policy agreed by regional or national leaders. NGO representatives in the capital were reportedly engaged in talks with Maoist leaders to solve the problem of rebel intimidation. There has been a surge in development and aid programmes in rural Nepal in the past two months due to the security provided by the peace process and ceasefire. About 20 NGOs are working in the region in partnership with the government’s Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF). The World Bank-funded PAF has helped more than 54,000 poor village households in nearly 50 districts. Its programmes centred on employment, income generation and infrastructure development. Foreign donors provide more than US $100 million annually to fund NGO work in the country, which remains heavily dependent on external help.