NATIONAL7Spotlight Weekly)]

Human Cost

Displaced people from the internal conflict arrive in the capital

By A CORRESPONDENT

When most of the people in rural areas are anticipating good monsoon to carry out their farming, some 250 people displaced by the four-year-old Maoist people's war have started an indefinite sit-in in the capital beginning Monday. "We have arrived here after walking on foot for 28 days and will not return until the government makes any proper arrangement for us," said Anil Yogi, convenor of the Forum of the People affected by Maoist People's War. Yogi said the people came from 14 districts affected from Maoist people's violence. He demanded that the government recognize them as "internal refugees" and treat them accordingly. More than 1300 people have lost their lives and an estimated 60,000 people have left their houses in the course of the so-called war.

Displaced people : Victims of violence

The group started its journey to Kathmandu from Lamki in Kailali district, far western Nepal, where they were living temporarily. "Maoist rebels want us to support them whereas Police want us to cooperate them in their operations. We have been victimized by both the parties," said Jaya Krishna Sanjel, a victim of Maoist violence. "We want that our representatives raise our voice in the Parliament and compel the government to come to our assistance."

With the onset of the so-called "people's war" more than four years ago, cases of human rights violations are on the rise. Rebels are using minors in the armed conflict, kidnapping people who have different ideologies and have even handed out "death sentence" to those who they allege have informed Police. Police, on its part, is allegedly killing even innocent people suspecting them to be Maoist rebels. "Violations of human rights from any quarter is a deplorable act," said the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies, a Kathmandu-based human rights group, in a statement this week. "Both the government and rebels should find out ways to end the violence through dialogue."

The previous K. P. Bhattarai government had formed a high-level committee headed by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to recommend ways to resolve the problem of Maoist insurgency. The committee had taken initiative to make contacts with the rebels and convince them to come to the table of dialogue. But with the change in government and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala talking tough against the rebels, the peace initiative seemed to be moving to the back bench.

Thanks to the concern shown by the international community, the government has said it wants peaceful dialogue with the rebels to end the violence. "The government will fully cooperate the Deuba committee to find a peaceful solution to the problem," said Koirala recently. The rebels too have shown positive response to the government's initiative.

"We will return home as soon as peace returns to our villages," said Yogi. Until the violence ends, hundreds of people like him will be continued to flee their homes looking for safe cover.