Solution Of Maoist Problem

Top Priority Accorded

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE group of over two hundred persons from the Far and Mid Western Region staging a sit in at Bhadrakali signifies the gravity of the problem. The said people have walked to Kathmandu to show the plight of the people in the Maoist affected regions. Many people have been displaced from their ancestral homes and have fled to terai or other places of the country in search of a safe haven.

Great Loss

It is estimated that over 1200 people including police personnel, ordinary people and Maoists have been killed since the so-called Maoists started their uncalled for activities some five years back. The achievement of the violence perpetrated by the Maoists has been condemned by in light of the fact that the loss of life and property can never augur well when the question of national development is concerned.

Every government in the past five years has focussed on the Maoist problem and even committed itself to solving the problem but no concrete attempts were made so that the violence could be checked. Without a sense of security in the affected areas the development activities have not been up to the mark. If such a state persists for a long time then all the attempts to raise the living standard of the people in the Maoist affected areas will prove to be futile. This fact must be realised by the Maoists.

Development cannot be possible unless there exists an atmosphere of peace and this is what is lacking in the many districts of Nepal where the Maoists are active. Holding people to ransom has made the life of the people difficult. This is the reason why the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has laid top priority on the maintenance of law and order in the country besides good governance, poverty alleviation and checking corruption which is considered to be rampant.

It needs no reiteration that Nepal is among the poorest countries in the world and this calls for speeding up development activities in the country but with the disturbing forces like the Maoists the efforts in this direction has failed in many districts due to the presence Maoists. And as a result the people have had to pay dearly by losing their near and dear ones or having their houses destroyed. After all the violence has not benefitted anyone if it is viewed in the right perspective instead the country as a whole is suffering.

At a time when there was positive indication of the Maoists sitting for talks with the government, the Panchkatiya incident has rocked the whole nation. Not only police personnel but even ordinary villagers including small children were killed mercilessly. This incident comes as a dampner in the whole process of negotiation attempts.

The government feeling that the problem could be solved by talks had formed the Deuba Commission which had ex-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the convenor in an effort to solve the Maoist problem by creating consensus among the political parties in the country. There was every hope that the Maoists would heed the feelers and come out in the open to negotiate without and pre-conditions. But the hopes were belied by the simple fact that violence has picked up in recent times and the targets have not only been the police but anyone from the community.

The indiscriminate killings have created a sense of insecurity among the people in the affected areas. The recent killing of quite a number of police personnel in Jajarkot has added to the problem though the government has already initiated a search campaign in the district. The hide and seek game between the police and the Maoists cannot bring an end to the problem.

The Maoists must realise that violent tactics can never bring any good. Meanwhile the government and the political parties together with other people must think about the problem and the causes behind it so that a solution to it may be arrived at. The problem needs a well-defined strategy to deal with it. Ad hoc types of decision will not be able to solve the problem.

It is evident to any observer that the Maoists are most active where absolute poverty is the rule rather than the exceptions and this is the reason why the government has set emphasis of taking development to the door steps of the people in those areas.

It may be worthwhile noting at this juncture that the mandate of the Deuba panel has been extended as there have been positive indications. The interactions of Deuba with the leaders of the political parties have yielded positive responses. Arriving at a consensus with all will make activities designed to curb violence more credible. And talks with the Maoists can give good results provided that they come forward for talks to end the five-year old insurgency.

At a recent programme convenor of the Maoist Problem Resolution High Level Committee Mr. Deuba has attributed the Maoist problem to rampant poverty, unemployment and social discrimination. This is true to a large extent because in the past the far and mid western region were discriminated as far as development was concerned but now there has been quite a rethinking and the development priorities have been directed towards the regions.

Solution

The Maoist problem is a challenging one and stop gap measures alone will not be enough. Long term solutions are essential. Steps must be taken cautiously so that the root cause can be identified. And as is the need, development must reach the grass roots so that the youth in the remote districts are not misguided to take to the path of violence. Herein it is worthwhile mentioning that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has recently stated that he would once again visit the Maoist affected areas soon to oversee the development activities conducted in person. This is quite a reassuring gesture and must give hope for a quick end to the spate of violence unleashed by the Maoists.

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