Conflict areas benefit from ceasefire

Working directly with the community, Khim Bahadur Rana walks five hours every day visiting poor households to educate illiterate Nepalese women and girls on the importance of childcare and nutrition in the remote village of Benimanipur, 280 km west of the capital Kathmandu. The job is difficult, if not dangerous, in the village, which like most rural areas of Nepal has been seriously affected by the decade-long conflict between the Nepalese government and the Maoist insurgents. But that may change following an announcement by the Maoist rebels on 4 May that they were ready for peace talks with the new government - which was formed by the seven main political parties after Nepalese monarch King Gyanendra gave up absolute rule on 24 April following nationwide mass protests against him. With the new government in place, both sides have declared an indefinite ceasefire. These positive political developments have brought relief to Nepalese villagers who had been living for years in fear, and had suffered violence at the hands of both the security forces and rebel militants. They are now awaiting the dividends of peace. “I can now do my community work without any fear. I no longer worry about returning home safely,” said Rana, who hopes that the conflict, which has already cost over 13,000 lives and displaced over 100,000 Nepalese villagers from their homes, is now in the process of heading towards a peaceful political resolution. “We should lose no time in resuming our rural development activities,” said Rajendra Debkota, a local government worker at the Benimanipur Village Development Committee (VDC) office, explaining that many projects had been impossible to implement during the conflict. “The peaceful situation has allowed the poor villagers, especially the women, to organise groups to raise funds for their community development work,” said Yam Kumari Rana, a female community worker, who added that villagers were now returning home after many years to be with their families. In addition, internally displaced families who had been living in major towns and cities in generally impoverished conditions were also starting to head back to their villages after the Maoist rebels made their announcement, coupled with a pledge to return all properties seized by them earlier. Both the government and the rebels have expressed hope that the political crisis could now be resolved, with the former already conceding to Maoist demands for an interim government, constituent assembly and the eventual establishment of a democratic republic. The rebels in turn have also agreed to join mainstream politics in a peaceful manner. “There are clear signs that the new government is sincere about a new political resolution. The truce will not be broken on our part unless there is betrayal from the parties,” said Maoist leader Akash, who added that talks with the government would soon take place. But villagers remain concerned over Maoists still collecting money from each household to fund their rebellion. “This is extortion and not a voluntary contribution as the rebels claim,” said one shopkeeper, requesting not to be named. He claimed that the extortion in both rural and urban areas was continuing, despite calls by the seven main political parties to the Maoist leadership to stop it. Still another major concern among citizens’ groups and human rights activists is that the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) remains loyal to the king, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces. The rebels have said that the RNA will be a key issue during upcoming talks and have demanded that a new national army be set up to include both the RNA and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA-Maoists). The parties and rebels both fear that today’s fragile peace will not last as long as the RNA is not independent from the king and his palace secretariat.