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| Tuesday, 28 October 2003 |
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Nine killed in Maoist fighting in Nepal Kathmandu Monday (AFP) Seven people died when 200 Maoist rebels raided a police station in Nepal, while two guerrillas were gunned down elsewhere and three civilians were killed by a leftover explosive, officials said. The rebels arrived in a truck, a minibus and on motorcycles early Sunday to the post at Sunwal in southwestern Nawalparasi district, trading fire with police for 30 minutes before setting off a bomb and fleeing, state radio said. At least five policemen were killed and three others were unaccounted for, said the radio, quoting local police. It said Bhoj Raj Gopali, a streetside tea seller, and Ashok Nath Yadav, a government development worker, were killed in the crossfire. Two Maoists died in a separate gunbattle with the army at Sangram village in Sarlahi district, 190 kilometers (118 miles) south of Kathmandu, an army official said. Elsewhere, rebels bombed and destroyed the village home of a former army colonel, Dhanendra Bahahadur Thapa in the western Lamjung district, the army official said. Thapa was not at the residence at the time. Meanwhile with violence surging across rural Nepal, villagers and political leaders opposed to Maoist rebels charge that the guerrillas have stepped up extortion and driven thousands from their homes. Dhana Kumari Ghale, 82, is suffering from bronchitis. She says she and her farmer husband fled their village in eastern Nepal for an uncertain life on the road after Maoists demanded money to fund their seven-year "people's war." "We have been forced by the Maoists to be refugees in our own country," said Ghale, interviewed by a state television reporter. "At a time when we don't have enough to eat and the bitter winter is coming, how can we pay a huge amount of money to the Maoists?" she asked. The Maoists say their insurgency, which has claimed more than 8,200 lives, is aimed at improving the lives of villagers like Ghale by overthrowing the monarchy and the rest of the Kathmandu-based elite. Last week the rebel leadership said it would not destroy infrastructure or public projects except those "run directly by the United States." The Maoists also said they would stop political killings. But Nepal's mainstream parties say their rural rank-and-file still live in a climate of fear, as they are particular targets of extortion and violence. The five main parties estimate around 400 of their activists have been killed by the Maoists since the start of the insurgency in 1996. D.L. Paudel, the secretary of the Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist and Leninist (NCP-UML) in the Ramechhap district 268 kilometres (167 miles) east of Kathmandu, said Maoist intimidation was widespread in his part of the kingdom. "Maoists knock on each and every village door and demand a contribution of between 5,000 and 50,000 rupees (67 to 675 dollars)," Paudel told AFP. "They also demand from each family two young volunteers, be they sons or daughters, to join the rebels' 'People's Liberation Army,'" he said. He gave the example of Katap Bahadur Basnet, a 68 year-old in his district who used to serve with the Gurkhas, the Nepalese regiment that has fought for two centuries with the British military. The Maoists consider the Gurkha programme imperialism and last week took one British and six Nepalese military recruiters hostage for two days as a protest. Paudel said the former Gurkha was harassed by Maoist activists who demanded he pay 50,000 rupees and send two children to the rebel army. "After he said he couldn't pay he was severely beaten, leaving deep blue marks on his back," Paudel said. He said Basnet, his wife and their four sons and four daughters fled for three days from their village to arrive in Kathmandu on October 21. In the capital they have found safety but no employment, as they left behind their cattle to an uncertain fate. The army has launched a relief drive near Maoist-controlled areas. State television Saturday showed a queue of villagers some two kilometers (one mile) long waiting for food, medicine and blankets handed out by troops. A negotiated settlement to end the Maoist insurgency looks uncertain. The rebels ended a seven-month ceasefire August 27 after the government refused to call a special assembly to redraft the constitution. The government has since insisted the Maoists commit to laying down their weapons before any launch of negotiations. |
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