Cover Story (Spotlight Weekly)

AFTER THE CEASE-FIRE
Rehabilitation And Reconstruction

With the announcement of the second cease-fire between the government and the Maoists, the country has taken the first step toward restoring peace and stability. Lasting peace, however, would depend on many such steps. The focus must shift to reconstruction of physical infrastructure damaged during the conflict and rehabilitation of the rural population displaced by the fighting. Although Nepal's friends have provided firm assurances of financial support, it would not be easy to carry out rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the absence of elected institutional back-up.

By KESHAB POUDEL

"I hope this truce will last long and that I can return home to live safely again," said Ganesh Prasad Bhatta, 52, a resident of Dadeldhura, 600 kilometers to the far west of Kathmandu. Bhatta, who has been living with his family in a rented house in the capital, is among tens of thousands of people displaced by the seven-year-old Maoist insurgency.

The escalation of violence following the breakdown of the last peace talks and the imposition of the state of emergency in November 2001 forced many people to flee their homes. Like many other victims of the conflict, Bhatta's family relies on the monthly compensation provided by the Home Ministry. "I will return home only after the violence really ends. I am still uncertain whether this truce will last long," said Bhatta, voicing a sentiment shared by countless displaced people living in different parts of the country.

When the first cease-fire was announced in August 2001, the number of displaced people was very nominal. After the talks broke down four months later and the rebels attacked the Royal Nepalese army for the first time, the government imposed a nation-wide state of emergency. The war intensified in scope and lethality in the inner rural regions of the kingdom, sending thousands of villagers in search of sanctuary outside.

Ram Narayan Tharu, 46, has a different story to tell. He moved from his village in Rajapur, 400 kilometers west of Kathmandu close to the Indian border, following a death threat issued by the Maoists last June. "We were a happy family of five with 1.2 hectares of land. Our land produced adequate to food to feed the family," he said. "If I am allowed to plow my land again, that will be the greatest achievement in my life. I know it would be extremely difficult to turn my village to what it was before, as there will be much hatred and ill will. But we will have to heal our wounds together."

In the last seven years of violence, more than 7,000 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. Hundreds of thousands of other are forced to live as refugees. The Maoist Victim Rehabilitation Center estimates there are about 200,000 displaced people living in various part of the country. The actual number is said to be as high as 400,000.

A group of Maoist victims have been staging a relay fast for the last year in front of Singh Durbar, central secretariat, demanding that their right to go back home be upheld. "We will continue our fast until the Maoists and the government assure us of our safety in villages," said Krishna K.C. who comes from Rukum, one of the first districts affected by the insurgency. "We have a very bitter experience of the past. That's why we are not confident that this cease-fire will bring lasting peace."

In many hill districts of Bheri, Rapti, Seti and Mahakali zones, thousands of villagers have either moved to the terai or across the border to India escape growing insecurity. In many villages, parents have sent children to urban areas to prevent abductions by Maoists. In the last six months, the rebels have abducted scores of young girls and boys and recruited them as child soldiers, a practice that has sparked severe criticism from the United Nations and a host of other international organizations. The children and the family of the Maoists, too, face similar conditions, as they are often arrested and harassed by the government.

"Our villages, which were once quiet and full of greenery, are now barren lands, with few people left," said K.C. "Even if the situation becomes favorable to return, we would need financial support to feed the family for a year until the new harvest is gathered."

Following the heavy rebels attacks in Dang, Accham and other district headquarters, a large number of people found it difficult to live in the village. The scale of casualties and damage injected a deepening sense of insecurity. Restrictions on movement and other measures imposed by the security forces and the Maoists, further complicated the situation. While the countryside - both in the hills and terai - turned into the main battlefield, large towns and cities suffered relatively nominal effects.

Package for Rural Areas

Despite the cease-fire, lasting peace is far from assured. Unless the rural population finds a permanent opportunity to improve their livelihood, security analysts and development experts say, the resumption of conflict cannot be ruled out.

Western donor countries, many of which have a long experience with programs aimed at people trapped in conflict, have pledged support for rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Nepal can benefit immensely from their funds and their experience in implementing packages tailored to the needs of rural society.

In most insurgencies of the world, individuals and groups have taken advantage of the situation to settle old rivalries, to exercise power, or to gain financial advantage. A hilly country like Nepal is more vulnerable where large numbers of unemployed youths are easily recruited as armed fighters who often engaged in extortion. After the cease-fire, this may prove to be the greatest challenge in the rural areas. Moreover, it would be difficult to monitor the situation.

Successive studies have shown that the current conflict is rooted in popular frustration in villages. Large numbers of people in the hill districts have to leave home in search of employment opportunities. In the districts of mid-western, western and far-western region, many people go to India and other urban areas. Not all can find work.

In the last 50 years, the country has not properly formulated programs to address unemployment and other problems of the hill regions. So, a large number of unemployed youth are easily available to carry guns.

Only an effective development package to generate employment will eliminate the breeding ground for such insurgencies. There must be pro-poor development packages implemented through elected local bodies.

"The government will provide employment opportunities to the people living in insurgency-affected areas and will announce special packages," said Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand in nationally broadcast address to the nation this week. "Once permanent peace prevails, the government will implement many packages addressing the problems of the rural areas."

Risk management analysts say Nepal's current crisis is not as severe as in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Although some dozen districts are facing high-level risk, many others have medium to low risk. But asking people to surrender their arms is always difficult.

"The social and economic issues [behind the conflict] must be addressed when both sides sit together in order to achieve a permanent peace," said Padma Ratna Tuladhar, a prominent human rights activist who served as a facilitator in the first round of peace talks. "They must follow certain norms and code of conduct during for cease-fire."

In almost all district headquarters, one can see many displaced people along with their distraught family members. There are tens of thousands of people living in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Dhangadi and Mahendranagar. Some people are living in various parts of India.

Devastation and Destruction

In the last seven years of the Maoist "people's war", the country has lost infrastructure worth over $US300 million. Moreover, massive flows of funds would be required to reintegrate and rehabilitate the victims. Civil wars not only destroy economic resources and physical infrastructure but also undermine social institutions, established roles and relationships, and political structures, which are essential for growth.

Government ministries, along with undertakings like the Nepal Telecommunication Corporation and Nepal Electricity Authority, have already started work on updating the scale of damage. "We will come out with details on the displaced population and exact amount of damage and destruction of infrastructure," said Dr. Shanker Prasad Sharma, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission. "We are already engaged in the process of rehabilitating displaced population and providing them ways of restarting their livelihood."

A vast array of rural infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. Basic facilities like drinking water, telephone, school buildings and health posts have been destroyed in many villages of the far western and mid-western regions. Although the government has distributed V-Sat telephone in some district headquarters, it needs huge amounts of money to restore school buildings, health posts and other infrastructure.

In many places, airports, the only means of transport, and towers have been destroyed. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), reconstruction of these alone would cost millions of rupees. "It would be meaningless to invest in the rehabilitation of airports unless there are guarantees of lasting peace," said a senior official at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. "Some of the airports rehabilitated in the last few years were again destroyed amid an escalation of violence."

In the last one and half years of intensive fighting between the security forces and the government, the rural parts of the country have virtually been turned into rubble. Development infrastructures built painstakingly over the last 30 years have been destroyed.

"Out of 3,9,00 VDC buildings, more than 2,000 were destroyed, along with health posts and documents. We are calculating the total cost of such buildings," said an official of the Ministry of Local Development.

"The country has virtually been turned into a war zone. Although it was just an internal rebellion, the level of destruction, including in district headquarters, airports, school buildings and health centers, roads, telecommunications and local institutions, shows that the country fought a major battle," said a security official. "We have lost five beautiful and well organized district headquarters including Dang, Solukhumbu, Accham, Syangja and Sandhikharka."

An immediate plan is required to reconstruct VDC buildings, school buildings, health posts, airport tower, roads and hydro power plants. Forest posts and agriculture service centers, too, require reconstruction.

According to the Country Assistance Strategy Progress Report prepared by the World Bank, the conflict has claimed over 7,000 lives, more than half of them during the last year. While the deployment of the army could contain the insurgency, lasting peace will remain elusive unless the root causes are addressed, including improved service delivery and social inclusion.

Humanitarian Loss

The infrastructure damage may be recoverable, but the psychological trauma caused by the massive loss of human life on both sides of the conflict would be much more difficult to overcome. The children who have witnessed deadly assaults and grown up amid crackles of gunfire and explosions in the rural parts of the country would be affected for a long time.

There are a large number of widows and orphans of security personnel, civilian population and Maoists. One of the difficult tasks is to reintegrate them in society. "It will take many more years to recover from the psychological trauma as many young widows and children have seen their husband and father killed in front of them," said a psychologist. "There is a need for other programs along with the reintegration and rehabilitation of displaced persons and victims."

According to the Child Workers Initiative Nepal (CWIN), 146 children were directly affected by the violence last year. Among them, 64 children were killed, 49 injured and 15 kidnapped. Many children are facing food deficiency. "The rehabilitation and reintegration of the children will be a very difficult task. The reintegration of child soldiers will be another challenging task," said Gauri Pradhan, president of CWIN.

Between the anti-Rana revolution of 1950-1951 and the Maoist 'people's war" launched in February 1996, the country saw four insurgencies. Two were launched by the Nepali Congress against the partyless Panchayat regime. The Naxalite movement led by elements in today's CPN-UML was a violent campaign to eliminate "class enemies". The hitherto obscure Nepal Janbadi Morcha set off bombs at the then state legislature, Rastriya Panchayat, a five-star hotel and outer perimeter of the Royal Palace.

Despite the deaths of some civilians and security personnel, most of these insurgencies were small. The number of displaced people was negligible, since there were few targeted civilian and police killings. The cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation, too, was nominal.

This is the first time violence and destruction has threatened to bring the country to its knees. And recovery would depend on much more than political and economic healing. "There is the tendency in human psychology to bury the past and start a new life in changing conditions," said Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhaya, chief psychologist at the Public Service Commission. "We need to have special social integration packages in the reintegration and rehabilitation programs."

Some NGOs have already set up rehabilitation centers for the children rescued from the conflict. In the coming days, more people would require such facilities before reintegrating into their house holds. Along with holding the talks, the government also needs to consider the plans for reintegrating rebels who surrender their weapons.

"We will publish the final assessment of damage and destruction of infrastructure and number of missing civilians, security personnel and family members," said a senior Home Ministry official. "Our initial reports have shown that children in 10 districts of the mid-western and far-western regions have been devastated by seven years of insurgency. Much needs to be reconstructed and rehabilitated."

Once the cease-fire was announced, both the government and Maoists expressed their readiness to address the human aspects of the conflict. "The search for peace is a long process. Along with initiating the peace process, the government will have to work to address humanitarian matters, including releasing the names of missing persons and Maoists in the government custody and civilian and security personal in the Maoist custody," said Minister of Works, Transport and Physical Planning Narayan Singh Pun, who secret contacts with rebel leaders through intermediaries resulted in the truce.

"We are visiting various jails to collect information on the number of Maoist detainees. We are also planning to visit various parts of the country to assess the humanitarian situation," said Pun.

In the initial phase, the "people's war" was a low-intensity conflict targeting police stations and village development committees. At another level, it was just a law-and-order problem, with killings directed only against Nepali Congress workers. After the third general elections of 1999, the Maoists intensified their assaults by hitting police stations, political workers of most parties, VDCs, development projects, suspension bridges, health posts and telephone towers.

After the termination of four-month cease-fire in November 2001 and the imposition of the state of emergency, the human toll from the conflict increased massively and more vital infrastructure were targeted. "If you visit some districts of the mid-western regions, one can see only crumbled buildings and other infrastructure," said a senior official of the Home Ministry. More infrastructure was damaged in the last two years of violence than the first five.

In separate press statements, the European Union and the British government have shown willingness to provide financial support to carry out rehabilitation and reconstruction work. The British government has been playing a major role to mobilize the international community to support Nepal's post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The German ambassador to Nepal also expressed his willingness to provide such support. The question now is whether the negotiations will end the seven-year violent insurgency. As the Maoists unilaterally broke the cease-fire last time, it is their duty to prove that they will act responsibly this time.

Unlike last time, the Maoists have announced a high-level negotiating team led by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. The five-member team include Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal). Dev Gurung, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Matrika Prasad Yadav. Mahara was the convenor of the last negotiating team, while Badal is regarded as the rebels' military strategist. The inclusion of Gurung and Yadav is seen as an effort to balance ethnic and regional imperatives.

"The composition of the negotiating team under Bhattarai's leadership shows that the Maoist are serious about negotiations this time," said Tuladhar. "But the process of negotiations is very difficult and both parties have to be very cautious and sincere.

Institutional Support

A durable peace process requires institutional support. As the House of Representatives and local bodies are not in place, there is a clear absence of institutions to back the initiative taken by the government. In terms of carrying out rehabilitation and reconstruction work, local bodies can play a very important and effective role. The sooner the government holds parliamentary and local polls and brings elected representatives into the peace process, the better for the future of the country.

"The government must recognize the role of the major political parties. In the absence of their support, it would be impossible to achieve lasting peace," said a political analyst.

Prospect of Peace

Sandwiched between two big Asian powers, prolonged fighting would have a direct spill-over effect on both neighbors. Unlike other parts of the Himalayan region, Nepal has a formidable population and size. The mountainous terrain is said to be very fertile for any kind of insurgency. While Indian support is crucial for Nepal's survival, Chinese sensitivities on its security interest must be taken in account.

This may be the reason why the international community has shown great interest in finding a peaceful solution to the Maoist insurgency. The United States and other western countries, including Britain, have long pressed for the resumption of the peace process. India, United States and other countries have also provided military and other support to the Royal Nepalese Army and police.

India, China, United States, Britain and other major governments immediately welcomed the cease-fire and expressed hope that peace would prevail soon. Firm international support would be central to Nepal's efforts to negotiate a political settlement as well as to speed up long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction.