A humanitarian crisis is taking place in Nepal.
The Maoist movement has been targeting innocent civilians, and today Maoists have killed a one-year-old baby. Recently, a land mine planted by Maoists exploded under a packed bus in southern Nepal. Fifty-five people were killed and dozens more wounded. Nepalese people continue to fall victim to their barbaric acts.
The Maoist war has entered a stage of genocide. It is unacceptable to let innocent people be killed in the name of Maoist extremism, which is a threat to Nepal's democracy and civil liberty. If this continues, Nepal will surely become another Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bosnia or Rwanda.
The Maoists, who began their "People's War" in 1996, are attempting to preserve their killing culture from "contamination." If history is any guide, then they will refuse to come to the negotiating table. They simply buy time to reorganize their ragtag, hit-and-run fighters for the next wave of violence and destruction of public infrastructure.
The situation in Nepal is always tense. Nearly 10 years of war have left roughly 12,500 Nepalese dead. Innocent people and police officials of various ranks and even members of opposing political parties have been the most affected. Attacks have struck different different parts of the country, destroying electricity and communication networks.
Thousands of people in Nepal have lost their sense of security and many face an indefinite period of uncertainty and anxiety. The Maoists have affected lives in almost all of the 75 districts of the country. Thousands are now coming to Kathmandu from the southern plains, called the Terai, and the hills for security. Horror stories of Maoists capturing people and literally hacking them to pieces with knives are commonplace.
The Maoist war has ruined a multitude of lives, massacring villagers whom they suspect of collaborating with the government. Any Nepalese man, woman or child who is seen as a threat, or who refuses to obey orders is killed. It has made some mentally ill, and left numerous women poor and desolate after their husbands' deaths. Their activity runs counter to the Geneva Convention and should not be tolerated.
Cambodia and Nepal are two democratic kingdoms that have suffered immensely from the ravages of terrorism. For this there can be no political justification.
Maoists are one of the most dangerous groups on Earth. Radical Maoist movements have failed to take power in Peru and Cambodia, but in Nepal their tactics are to terrorize the countryside by setting up ambushes and seeding minefields. Because of the Maoists, thousands of Nepalese are dying due to disease and starvation.
As for the national economy, the atmosphere of insecurity and terror has ruined it.
Many villages are still under the control of Maoists, and schools in rural areas have been among the targets. They have killed many teachers. Many parents, fearing for the safety of their children, are choosing not to send their children to school. Innocent people are either in the way or are deliberately targeted by Maoists. Forceful recruitment of women and young children is another serious issue.
Maoists have even taken to attacking ambulances, and the Red Cross is restricting its movement, making it almost impossible for the injured to get treatment and for humanitarian aid activities to be carried out.
In many countries, the power behind any communist revolution was rejected. Communist groups in the universities and schools during the 1970s tried to form a Marxist revolution but failed. They then tried for black support, but again they failed. They used the Vietnam War and Shining Path, and that too disappeared. Lacking support, the movement apparently faded away.
We Nepalese people know that terrorists caused American deaths in the Middle East since 1983, when they bombed marine barracks in Lebanon. There have been many isolated terrorist acts against Americans since then, but U.S. reactions to these events were low and ineffectual.
However, when another group of terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, the U.S. government unleashed concerted national support to uproot terrorism worldwide. The wars being waged in Afghanistan and Iraq are the immediate objectives of this war against terrorists. Terrorists can survive longer if they become immune within a country; that is why it is important to eliminate their havens. We need to wage war wherever terrorists are concentrated in large numbers.
We Nepalese reaffirm our commitment to combat terrorist acts in all forms and manners, wherever they happen, and regardless of who commits them. Now, the Nepali-speaking world energetically condemns terrorism, and pledges to fight terrorist acts.
Peace Media urges Maoists to enter negotiations. Constitutional monarchy and democracy are the two pillars that can provide political stability in Nepal.
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