Parsa Pointer
THOUGH quite regrettable, this was bound to
happen sooner or later. When common people are continuously forced to do things against
their wishes, they are likely to resist it as soon as they feel they have the power to
defend themselves. When a section of arms-wielding people go around asking for donation or
making other demands with spoken or unspoken threat of violence, people will out of fear
kowtow to it in general. But when some of those at the receiving end begin to chafe at the
unreasonableness of it all, protests emerge which get louder in correspondence to the
intensity and consistency of the violent activities perpetrated on them. Then some people
begin to wonder whether they should continue to submissively give in to the violent
tactics of these bands of people. When victims think enough is enough and they begin
resisting, counter-violence erupts. This is what happened in Parsa district on Saturday.
Violence erupted in Biruwaguthi and Bagbanna Village Development Committees in the
district when the local "resistant committees" began to defy the local
Maoists’ demand for donations. Unfortunately, the resistance turned violent and in
the ensuing clashes two Maoists were killed and many others sustained injuries. As Home
Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka told the House of Representatives Monday, the local victims
of Maoist atrocities, including forceful collection of donation, revolted and beat up some
of the extortionists and even set fire to some houses belonging to the Maoists.
Responding quickly to the Parsa incident, the
government has formed a three-member probe body headed by a joint-secretary at the Home
Ministry to investigate the incident and submit a report within a week. Additional
security measures have been stepped up in the district and an all-party meet was held to
solve the problem through dialogue. The government has done well to swiftly move to
contain the violence in Parsa. The incident must not be treated as just a flare-up between
two bands of violent people. What it points out to is that there is a growing resentment
at the popular level to the terror and loot that Maoists are continuing despite their
engagement in peace talks. The danger is that once such flare-ups graduate into a cycle of
violence and counter-violence, then things can get out of control and those who want to
fish in troubled waters, like communal forces, have a field day. Therefore, the Maoists
must respect the people’s rights to live in peaceful environment and desist from
engaging in atrocities as they had pledged during the first round of talks last month. The
local people, on the other hand, must not take law into their hands and begin handing out
summary justice. Considering the pointers provided by Parsa incident as to the
counter-violence waiting to surface, the administration should be alert to defuse any such
flashes.
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