June 10, 2007
Nepal Shutdown: Maoists Torch Buses,
Army Refuses to Budge By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu
Nepal's Maoist guerrillas Sunday set five buses ablaze in a district
in the southern Terai plains for plying during an indefinite closure
enforced by them while the army, the target of their anger, refused
to pull out from the area.
Kapilavastu district in southwestern Nepal, revered by Buddhists as
part of the ancient kingdom where the Buddha was born and spent 29
years before leaving home in search of enlightenment, has lain
crippled since Saturday after an indefinite shutdown called by the
Maoists.
The communist guerrillas have called the protest to force the Nepal
Army, once their bete noire, into pulling out its base at Birpur
village in the district, where about 40 soldiers are stationed.
Two years ago, almost immediately after King Gyanendra seized power
with the help of the army and declared war on the rebels, the
royalist government began arming vigilante groups in Kapilavastu and
other districts to take on the guerrillas.
The Maoists allege that between Feb 17-23 that year, around 500
people, including army men and state-backed criminals, killed 22
people on the suspicion they were Maoists and set nearly 700 houses
on fire.
They also allege that the army post in Kapilavastu is intended to
primarily protect a villager who headed the vigilante group.
At around 3 a.m. Sunday, the Young Communist League, the
controversial youth wing of the Maoists that was recently dubbed the
Young Criminal League by an irate Prime Minister Girija Prasad
Koirala, set fire to five buses in Kapilavastu that had been caught
unawares by the closure and were trying to move under cover of
darkness.
The Nepal Army meanwhile refuted the accusation that it was
providing protection to an individual and said it would not leave
the area.
"The Birpur army base was established during the past conflict, when
it was deemed necessary to set up security bases in certain areas to
provide security to the public," it said in a statement issued in
Kathmandu.
"The bases are for the security of the people and not any individual
or group. In the present situation, none of these camps can be
removed."
However, the eight-party government remained silent on the issue.
The ruling coalition has just succeeded in averting a two-day Nepal
shutdown, which was to have been enforced from Sunday, by an
umbrella of over 40 ethnic communities, who are demanding greater
political and cultural rights.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
