Maoists, Be Sincere
THE Maoist insurgency has steadily become a
major national problem. A huge amount of the national budget, which should have been used
for development purposes, is now spent for security reasons. Furthermore, more than one
thousand people have lost their lives and there is a sense of insecurity prevailing in the
country. Thus, the insurgency is not in the interest of either the nation or the people.
However, it was an encouraging development when His Majesty's Government decided to free
two top Maoists leaders and create an environmnt for talks to be held with the insurgents.
The rebels had been demanding the whereabouts of those two persons for quite sometime.
Going one step ahead, the government freed the two Maoists, hoping that it would pave the
way for a peaceful resolution of the long-standing insurgency. However, going by the
continued violent activities of the insurgents even after this gesture from the
government, it can be seen that the Maoists are not serious about seeking a peaceful
solution to the ongoing problem. Speaking at a press conference Deputy Prime Minister and
Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel informed that the recent release of Dinesh Sharma and
Dinanath Gautam was meant to create an environment for talks with the Maoists.
Quite correctly, Deputy Prime Minister
Poudel appealed to the intellectuals and the civil society to make a rational judgement on
who – the government or the Maoists – is more sincere and honest to find a
permanent solution to the insurgency issue. Going by the current developments, the
government clearly looks more open and sincere in its dealings. The Maoists on the other
hand, are continuing their terrorist activities and killing police personnel as well as
innocent people. This is a stark contradiction to what they had said earlier. The
insurgents had promised that they would come forward and hold talks if the government
created the minimum environment for it. In the meantime, all the people should appreciate
the efforts of the government and put pressure on the Maoists to halt their violent
activities and come to the table for talks so that the insurgency can be ended in a
peaceful manner. It can be said that now the ball is in the court of the Maoists and the
people are watching whether they mean what they say or are they resorting to deception and
duplicity, as accused by the government.
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