Former Maoist rebels causing trouble

Former Maoist rebels are exacerbating the problems of the poor and those still displaced from the 1996-2006 conflict, say human rights groups, despite the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist being the leading political party.

Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal and several senior ministers - all Maoist leaders - have been unable to control incidents of intimidation, threats and extortion carried out by party workers, they say.

The Maoists are causing economic hardship by delaying the return of, or refusing to return, land and property seized during the conflict, said Arjun Narsingh, a spokesman for the Nepali Congress (NC).

The NC, the second largest party in Nepal, has boycotted parliament on several occasions in a bid to put pressure on the prime minister to implement his commitment to get all seized property returned to its rightful owners.

In November, Dahal said his government would ensure the return of all such property. The fact that many displaced people have no means of livelihood without it, is causing the displacement problem to continue in some areas.

Local government officials who requested anonymity have said there have been problems resettling displaced families in remote Maoist-controlled villages because they were too frightened to return.

Publishing house attacked

On 21 December, Himalmedia, a leading publishing house, was vandalised and its reporters attacked by some 50 Maoist workers.

Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times and one of the country’s most eminent journalists, was also assaulted for his investigations into Maoist-affiliated trade unions which have closed down hundreds of factories and firms over the past year.

“We condemn such acts, which are [a] barbaric face of political fascism,” said prominent rights activist Subodh Raj Pyakhurel, chairman of the human rights NGO, Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC).

"This is a purely criminal act, and it has happened because criminals think that they can get away with it," said Sushil Pyakhurel, former commissioner of the country’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The NHRC has called on the government to take whatever steps necessary to protect press freedom and journalists at risk of attack.

Prime Minister Dahal said he had ordered the ministers of home affairs and communications to carry out an investigation into the incidents and take appropriate action. However, like most of senior Maoist ministers, he denied his party was involved.

Burden of the past

Rights activists and political leaders have accused the Maoists of trying to establish totalitarian control over the country at a time when the nation is gradually recovering from the decade-long armed conflict and moving towards peace.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), humanitarian needs in Nepal are largely the result of the decade-long conflict affecting an already vulnerable population.

"The signing of a peace agreement in 2006 may have ended hostilities, but the post-conflict period peace process has remained incomplete - hampered by a lack of infrastructure, weak institutional structures, a cultural legacy of discrimination, poor economic performance, geographic isolation and harsh weather conditions," said an OCHA planning and budget document for 2009.

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