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No, they’re comrades, not docs
By Sangeeta Rijal

Kathmandu, 27 July:Date: Wednesday, 26th of July 27, 2006

Venue: The Operation Theater, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj

Time: 10:30 am

Two youths are moving about here and there along with surgeons and other medical personnel. Anyone could mistake them, clad in white gowns with masks covering the mouth and nose, for the much revered members of the medical profession.

But no, they are members of the Maoist organization, which until three months ago was fighting a bloody war with the state.

When asked if they could talk to the media, they said they would reply the next day, "as they needed time to seek permission from higher-ups".

The two are among a total of eight Maoists involved in such activity in this sensitive area of the hospital. They said they are there for "observation" of medical practice. Their colleagues are doing likewise at other hospitals and medical colleges in Kathmandu Valley. "They don't practice, they just observe how it's done," said Dr. Mahesh Khakurel, director of TUTH.

The hospital management said they had been told - just told (no certificates were produced) - that all of them have passed the Community Medicine Auxiliary (CMA) course.

Their observations cover the gynecology and obstetrics, surgery, neurology and orthopedic departments. The Maoists bring their own gowns and the hospital management has issued them temporary visitor identity cards, Khakurel said.

However, Dr. Prakash Adhikari at TUTH said that it wasn't possible for "medical people" to learn just by observing medical activity. "One should become fully involved in the medical practice to really learn it," he said.

A high-level source at the hospital said the request to involve them in observation of the medical process came through a doctor at TUTH itself. "It's well understood that it was not possible for the management to reject their request though they are not qualified," the source said.

Similarly, a source at Nepal Medical College (NMC), Jorpati said there are about 30 such Maoists at NMC as well. "They have been 'volunteering' at the hospital including in the emergency department," the source said. The source also added that they have rented a room near the college.

Talking to the Post, Dina Nath Sharma, one of the Maoist negotiators in the ongoing Government-Maoist talks, admitted

that their cadres are involved with medical institutions.

He, however, said he had no further details including the reason behind their involvement or the number of cadres involved.

"We have a separate health division; so, you have to talk to [Krishna Bahadur] Mahara [who is the chief Maoist negotiator] for details about the health division or to get the 'right' person to provide you with information," he said.

However, Mahara denied any kind of Maoist involvement in medical institutions.

"We don't have any such program," he said, completely contradicting what his comrade, Sharma, had said. "They might be some other people, not ours," he said.

People’s News/The Kathmandu Post