A Month Of Emergency
Situation Has Improved

By Prem N. Kakkar

IT IS just over a month that the State of Emergency was declared with the primary intention of taming the Maoists who acted as if they had the right to violent tactics when a valid and revered Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 was the basic law of the land. It was their misconception that they could do anything while nothing could be done against them. It is true that the government had tried to go for peaceful negotiations in a bid to satisfy the demands of the Maoists but within the limits prescribed by the Constitution.

In its attempt to pacify the Maoists the government had fulfilled a number of requests especially regarding the release of their activists in custody or serving jail sentences. The three rounds of talks, though inconclusive, had opened a path for important resolutions to emerge. Even before the conclusive fourth round of government-Maoist talks were to convene, the change of path by the Maoists by unilaterally resorting to the spree of violence was quite puzzling. When the Maoists were having their set of demands fulfilled they could have peacefully arrived at an amicable solution. However, as it was, they showed their true colours by once again attacking security personnel and innocent citizens in the name of their weird ideology.

Killing and looting seems to be their ultimate aim and it has nothing to do with politics. This is what can be understood by the rash actions of the Maoists. In fact, it was Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, on assumption of the high office, being rather liberal, opened the doors for talks with the Maoists. It seems that the Maoists took it as a sign of the weakness of the government and broke off from the talks without any reason whatsoever. This was quite an unfortunate decision on the part of the Maoists.

The Maoists may have believed that the people were with them and the arms and ammunitions they had amassed by looting police and army posts would be enough to do whatever they wanted. This might have been the reason that as soon as they closed the doors for negotiations they went for a simultaneous attack in over twenty districts. This was, in fact, a foolhardy attempt. In addition, they suffered consequently.

The declaration of the State of Emergency coincided with the Maoists being declared as terrorists. The term ‘terrorist’ had not been used earlier. But now they are dubbed as terrorists and are being targetted by the security personnel in every corner of the
country.

Of course, fighting within the country cannot be called a good event but the Maoists terrorist invited the situation. If they had been real patriots they should have refrained from shooting at their own countrymen. However, this was not the case. They were adamant and wanted to disrupt the very peaceful condition that was prevailing in the country.

The aim at present is the disarming of the Maoist terrorists and bringing them into the mainstream of national politics. In the course of the past one month hundreds of so-called Maoist have surrendered before the authorities concerned. Many are being investigated upon by the security personnel. This has brought about a change in the condition of the country. The people are now feeling more secure as the Maoists are under fire and do not have any chance of retaliating. Despite the fact that a number of security personnel have lost their lives in course of duty towards the nations, the morale among the security personnel is very high. This is because they have a long tradition for service to the nation and loyalty is their motto.

The Royal Nepalese Army, since its mobilisation a month back, has stepped up its ‘cordon and search’ activity so that the Maoist terrorists face the noose. In the course of its actions, RNA has made it sure that the terrorists are captured as far as possible and not shot dead. This is a remarkable guideline that they have been following. Ask anyone who has had to go through security checks and they all have said that the army personnel have been considerate despite the fact that the checks have to be thorough.

The support of the people is with the security personnel. The people in general want to live without fear and the presence of RNA has added that sense of security. The country is going through "tough’ times and solidarity is the need of the time. To say that the state of emergency should be ended soon and so on does not make sense. The political parties should understand the gravity of the situation before making comments. Just being critical does not solve the problem. So the opposition has to be serious and think in the positive light and realise the gains made since the state of emergency was declared and the RNA mobilised.

Thai Addicts Kicking Their Habit

By Matthew Pennington

DEJECTED drug addicts in leg irons sit in rows under the shade of a tree by a Buddhist temple, waiting for a dose of herbal medicine prepared by an elderly monk to help them kick their habit.

At an army base in a neighboring province, a drill sergeant barks orders at convicted drug users and dealers. Dressed like over-aged boy scouts, the prisoners scurry straight-backed around the parade ground in a rush to form a line.

Thailand is using a wide range of means in an attempt to cope with its worst social scourge: addiction to methamphetamine, known to Thais as "yaa baa" - "crazy drug" - because of the severe mood swings it causes.

The Health Ministry estimates 2.4 million of Thailand’s 62 million people use the drug. Of those, 820,000 are considered addicts.

Tavee Ayuwattako, a 76-year-old monk and herbal medicine practitioner, treats some of the toughest cases at a leafy retreat set up in 1998 by the Bor Ngeun Temple, in Pratum Thani province northwest of Bangkok.

Nearly a dozen of its 55 inmates have their feet chained to stop them from escaping.

Mongkol Aruwatakoh, 35, keeps his leg chains on voluntarily, having escaped seven times.

"I’ve upset so many people," says Mongkol, his eyes bloodshot, his hands jittery after nine years of addiction to heroin and yaa baa. "Buddhism is helping me separate the good from the bad."

There are more than 700 registered drug treatment centers in Thailand, including regular hospitals, but few offer the long-term rehabilitation needed to shake dependency on yaa baa, which experts say is as much mental as physical.

As one way to provide such care, the Thai anti-drugs agency is training monks at 300 Buddhist temples on rehabilitating addicts.

At Tavee’s retreat, inmates, mostly in their 20s and 30s, sleep in the open and rise at 5 a.m. to chant mantras. They are forbidden to smoke or carry money in case they use it to buy drugs.

Tavee counsels them for an hour each day before they swallow his concoction of 61 herbs to ease withdrawal symptoms, such as muscle and joint pains.

One violent new arrival - a tranquilizer addict who beat his mother - sits in a small cage. A sign pinned on the bars reads: "Don’t Stay Close."

"We’ll let him out in three days time," says Tavee, who has been assaulted by patients several times. "We have to lock them up sometimes if they don’t want to be here. Their families bring them here."

Yaa baa took hold in Thailand in the mid-1990s after opium and heroin producers in neighboring Myanmar, at the center of Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle, branched into cheaper, but still highly profitable stimulants.

According to the Corrections Department, 60 percent of convicts in Thailand are drug offenders. Increased arrests have led to overcrowded prisons, now filled to three times capacity.

To ease the pressure and try to reform offenders, 25 army camps are putting 2,500 drug convicts through the rigors of boot camp before they are released back into society.

At the 11th Infantry Division’s base in Chachoengsao, northeast of Bangkok, 100 former dealers and addicts who have all tested negative for drugs are spending three months of drilling, vocational training and counseling.

"We can live our new life with courage ... We live our life for others and not just ourselves!" they shout in unison after a morning of exercise and drills.

Maj. Gen. Boonserb Khocharatana, the division commander, says military discipline teaches the convicts to "live with each other and come out as good people."

Chairat Kongkeo, 28, a former factory foreman who used yaa baa and also sold it to co-workers to get through long shifts, is happy to be at the camp after two years of "torment" in a violent provincial prison.

Chairat stands at attention as he speaks - after leaping with a yell off a 34-foot- (10-meter-) high parachute training platform and sliding down a rope to the ground. Later in the day he’ll study mechanics, which he hopes can help him get a job after his release.

Inside a nearby barracks, Ratchawong Thongpien, a tough-looking 28-year old with tattooed forearms covered in self-inflicted scars, participates in a less gung-ho group therapy session with nine other convicts.

Ratchawong, who was addicted to yaa baa for five years and is completing an 18-month jail term for drug possession, draws a childlike crayon picture of a house in the countryside.

"That’s where I want to live with my wife and kids when I get out of here," he says.

(AP)