NEPAL: Maoist Makeover to Suit Democratic Times

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Suman Pradhan

KATHMANDU, Jul 24 2006 (IPS) - In the official jargon of current Nepalese politics, armed Maoists who helped topple the world’s only Hindu monarchy are no longer ‘rebels’. Neither are they ‘terrorists’ nor ‘anti-government forces’. Instead, they are, to mainstream politicians, ‘partners’ and ‘fellow travellers’ in the mission to establish a new Nepali state.

This denotes just how far the image of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has changed in recent days. This country of 26 million has, for a decade, grappled with a deadly Maoist insurgency that has claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people and turned Nepal into one of the bloodier countries in Asia.

Since April – when a peoples’ movement led jointly by the Maoists and an alliance of political parties forced an autocratic King Gyanendra to recede into the background – Nepal has been witnessing a rare bout of peace.

If all goes according to plan, the rebels will soon be part of an interim governing coalition with the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) that is currently ruling this poor mountainous country. The task of that interim government will be to institutionalize the fragile peace process and hold elections to a new constituent assembly that will write a new constitution. That document, in theory, could deliver to the Maoists what they have been fighting for so long – a republican state.

But before it gets to that stage, the Maoists face the difficult task of surmounting opposition from political parties to their radical agenda. Despite the softening of their public image, peace talks with the SPA government have sputtered in recent weeks over Maoist demands to dissolve parliament, and a refusal to decommission and demobilize armed fighters ahead of the constituent assembly polls.

The issue of arms management has kept the Maoists in the spotlight, but has also hindered their attempt to cultivate a more conciliatory image. Many in Nepal still view the guerrillas through the prism of the time when they freely killed, abducted and extorted in the countryside.

“It’s not as bad as before, but we still fear the Maoists,” says Jongbu Lama (name changed), a frail 64 year-old villager in Harnamadi village, about 60 km south of Kathmandu, the capital. “They are in a position to wreak havoc in our village and we have to be mindful of that.”

The Maoists are aware of their reputation, though they gloss over it. “We have been treated as their own sons and daughters by villagers. I don’t think anyone fears us but rather they respect us for what we are fighting for,” says Jwala ( who like others here uses only one name), a 25 year-old political commissar of the Maoist Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA).

Such talk however does not stop the Maoists from doing what mainstream political parties do: cultivate potential voters. In this south-central district of Nepal, amidst the rolling hills, lush paddy fields and dense forests, hundreds of Maoist fighters have been engaged in helping rural folk tend to their fields and livestock, all the while propagating their idea of a state based on a new constitution.

“We were always in the midst of people, this is nothing new,” responds Sunil, a Maoist central committee member and regional chief of the strategic area that rings Kathmandu Valley. “We have always been helping rural folk and we are doing so again to tell everyone that we are a benign force, not a threatening force.”

The Maoists’ new “help villagers” campaign is aimed specifically at cultivating support for future constituent assembly elections. Asked what they tell villagers, Sita, an 18-year-old female fighter, says: “We educate villagers on inequalities in Nepali society and how we can change that. Creating awareness is our major goal.”

While out in the villages, the Maoists are careful to leave their weapons behind in base camps set up on hillocks,” explains Sita. “Because it is peace time, we don’t have to keep moving from place to place like before,” she says. “We can rest in our camp and move on slowly.”

Just month ago, Maoist groups would keep a low profile while moving about, avoiding army patrols and helicopter gunships that King Gyanendra’s government sent after them.

Villagers say they have detected a change in the attitude of the Maoists. “Before, they just used to come and demand food and shelter from us. That really was a problem,” says Vikas Khatiwada (name changed), a shopkeeper. “Now they don’t do that. They seem very disciplined and treat us with respect. That is a welcome change.”

The fact that the Maoists are openly setting up camps is a calculated strategy, say analysts. “It’s a flexing of muscles. They are still a force to be reckoned with. That is the message to Kathmandu,” says Pratap Bista, a local journalist in Makwanpur district. “If the peace talks don’t turn their way, they could go back to fighting again.”

This is a point hammered by Jwala. “We want the peace process to succeed. But if it does not, we are ready to carry on the struggle. We are prepared for any eventuality.”

‘’Our arms are under our control and will be under our control,” asserts Sunil. “These are arms lifted by an ideology. They don’t fire by themselves. A solution can be found permanently only when everyone agrees to the demands of the people, and that is a full-fledged republican state.”

But somewhere beneath that tough talk, there is a yearning for peace. As they work with the villagers, Sunil and his fighters are clearly enjoying the peace as much as the rest of the country.

“We share our ideas with the villagers and listen to their concerns. We want the villagers to see us as a modernizing and benign force in their lives,” he says. Adds Sita: “We aspire for durable peace as much as anyone else. We too want to spend time with our families, not fight all the time.” (ENDS/IPS/AP/IP/HD/DV/NP/CS/SPR/DR/06)

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