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| Kathmandu, Wednesday May 08, 2002 Baishakh 25, 2059. |
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Lisne Lek operation
This refers to a series of news stories
carried by TKP about the ongoing Lisne Lek operation.
Your newspaper reported that over 450 rebels
have been gunned down in the operation so far claiming that the final toll could reach as
high as 500. The security personnel surrounded some hardcore Maoist leaders, including
Krishna Bahadur Mahara. Unfortunately, a few of them managed to escape. The security
personnel have also found traces of slaughtered buffaloes, cows and utensils used by the
rebels. This operation has boosted the army’s morale, and hopefully the army will
remain active in flushing out the rebels from the remote and mountainous regions.
However, the killings of innocent people or
attacks on the security personnel by the Maoists may not come to an end as long as the
rebels operate from India. I mean it has become easy for the rebels to hit and run due to
the open border between Nepal and India. And my reading says that there are some people in
India who directly support the Maoist movement in Nepal. So this fight may last more than
a decade.
What is necessary then ? We have set up an
intelligent cell, but have failed to explore the relations between the Maoists and the
people who support them from across the southern border. The government should be prepared
to hire people to eliminate the Maoists even if they are in India. This is how the secret
agency of any country works. I am sure it is not difficult to eliminate Babu Ram Bhattarai
or Prachnada sitting in Kathmandu. The only thing we need is to hire people and arm them
to eliminate the rebels.
Man Bahadur Gurung
Pokhara |
