Maoists Pressure Nepalese People with Violence


Hundreds of security personnel's families are displaced by Maoists, but human rights organisations remain silent.

Maoists in Nepal are utilizing their self-announced ceasefire to pressurize the government, by forcing hundreds of family members of security personnel to go to district administrative offices and ask the government either to discharge their kin from security services, or reciprocate the rebels' unilateral ceasefire.

Those who fail to fulfill the Maoists' wishes are obliged to pay compensation anything between 50,000 to 300,000 Nepali rupees. The rebels also threaten the poor people that their houses will be burned to the ground. Members of at least 400 families from 35 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in Baitadi, a remote far-western district, have arrived at the district headquarters holding banners, placards and letters, given to them by the Maoists. The banners contain the slogans: "No war, but ceasefire; Stop killing poor sons and brothers; Start reconciliation; Brothers serving in Royal Forces come back home."

"378 people have already reported at the Chief District Office and we hear more people are coming," the Chief District Officer Bhanu Dev Badu confirmed to the Probe News Magazine correspondent. The administration is trying to convince people by stating that frequent security patrols will be sent to their villages in order to chase the notorious rebels, but the efforts are futile. Family members of security personnel are too scared to return.

"My two sons are in the Armed Police Force. They (Maoist rebels) tell me to bring both of my sons back home otherwise they have said they will burn down my house. They have already abducted my daughter and are seeking my daughter in law; there is a lot of pain..." said Dairi Bishwokarma, a 60 year old woman, before she broke down.

Cases are different, but the pain given by Maoists to those families is the same. Deepak Chand left his house at midnight on 28 September because the Maoists were seeking him to be punished. His crime? He had two brothers serving in the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and he had also helped five boys from his village of Grihejeda, in their efforts to join the army. "All those young men and their families were beaten up once the boys returned to the village after appearing for their recruitment tests recently," recalled Chand. RNA conducts such tests for new recruits in Kathmandu as well as in various security installations in the districts.

Chand added, "The Maoists tortured the boys and their family when they were asleep at night. Though I had been hiding from them since few days then, I came to know that they were searching for me frantically. I thought it wouldn't be good to stay back, so together with my family, I left in the dark of night with only 2000 rupees, half of which was finished by the time we reached Dehemandu."

Now, he lives in Mahendranagar in a rented room with his mother, wife and a four-year-old son.

According to the international non-governmental organizations including United Nations' jargon: Chand and his family members are Internally Displaced People (IDPs).