Maoist to launch 'people's struggle' to settle constitutional crisis

Kathmandu, June 23: The CPN (Maoist) has decided to launch a 'people's struggle' to settle the constitutional crisis in Nepal, after charging the Nepali Congress (NC) of intentionally delayed the formation of the next government.

According to Kantipur, the Maoists took the decision as a meeting of Seven Party Alliance (SPA), held at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's residence on Sunday failed to reach consensus over the structure of Security Council, including a few issues on integration of armies-Nepali Army (NA) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Senior Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai said that the Nepali Congress doesn't want Maoists to form the government. PM Koirala is not resigning on the pretext 'who will accept his resignation' and he is also not ready on our proposal to amend the Constitution and elect a President through the Constituent Assembly (CA).

"The current government has already become unconstitutional following the resignation of the Unified Marxist Leninist and the Maoist ministers. A people's struggle is required to settle the constitutional crisis," Bhattarai added.

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said they would approach the people for justice instead of sitting for another round of dialogue.

However, Nepali Congress General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi termed the Maoist decision as immature.

"It's not a mature decision of the Maoists to leave the negotiating table and go to the people while we are close to consensus," Bimalendra said

During the meeting, Nepali Congress proposed that the Security Council should induct an opposition leader as its member while the Maoists refused it outright.

The Maoists said induction of an opposition leader in the Security Council would create further security complications. However, the Nepali Congress argued that induction of an opposition leader in the Security Council has become inevitable until a new constitution is drafted.

Nepali Congress objects to Indian leftist leaders’ meddling - June 29, 2008 - Three leftist leaders of India, Sitaram Techury of the CPI-M, D. Raja of the CPI and D.P. Tripathi of the Nationalist Congress Party had issued a statement a couple of days ago suggesting that Shri G.P. Koirala should not become President of Nepal and suggesting, by implication, that the Maoists should head the Republic. “Such statements appeared in newspapers in the name of CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, NCP leader D.P. Tripathi and CPI leader D. Raja are interference in Nepal’s sovereignty, national unity and independence,” the International Relations Department of the Party said in a press statement issued on June 16 in Kathmandu. The statement added: “We request leaders to be sensitive towards another independent country’s internal affairs and respect the Nepali people’s right to decide who should form a government and how under the interim Constitution” “The International Relations Department condemns in strongest words the remarks made by the leaders against the supreme leader of Nepal’s democratic movement, Girija Prasad Koirala,” the statement also added. The Indian leaders had criticised Koirala for sticking to the office of the Prime Minister instead of handing it over to Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The Kantipur Daily, which published the statement, commented that “besides politicians across the border, the Indian Ambassador to Nepal (Shri Rakesh Sood) has also been airing his views publicly on government formation here. It is true that Shri Sood has been meeting many political leaders frequently, particularly Shri Dahal. This has been noticed by several newspapers of Kathmandu. These meetings take place obviously under instructions from New Delhi. However, there have been adverse reporting on these meetings in the media there. Almost all major political parties of Nepal, including the Maoists, have been interacting with Government of India functionaries. It is well known that the Government of India had facilitated the “clandestine” visit of Prachanda, the Maoist leader, to India in February 2005 who gave a long interview to a leading newspaper of India. It had also hosted the meeting of seven political parties of Nepal including the Maoists in November 2006 before they signed the 12-point agreement for conducting the future political activities.

I will expose India says Nepal’s Prime Minister - Jun 17, 2008 - “India is behind the Maoists…they are completely against me and my party…I will expose India to the International community”. “The republic agenda in Nepal is the brain child of the Gandhi family and the Indian communists…we made a blunder in haste”. “India is going berserk in Nepal and no body speaks…I will prefer to die but will not quit the government… I will expose Indian highhandedness”.

Maoists kill two villagers in Jharkhand - June 23rd, 2008 - Ranchi, June 23 (IANS) Maoist rebels have gunned down two villagers in Chatra district of Jharkhand, the police said Monday. According to the police, suspected activists of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) abducted two people from Dantar village of the district, around 200 km from Ranchi, Sunday night. Their bullet riddled-bodies were recovered from the nearby jungle area Monday. The slain villagers were identified as Tinku Singh and Bhuneshwar Singh. Police have also found near the bodies a pamphlet from the leftist guerrillas claiming the killing and terming the dead as police informers. More than 60 people have been killed in Jharkhand on suspicion of being police informers during the past three years.

Three Chhattisgarh special police officers found killed - Raipur, June 19 (IANS) Police search teams Thursday found three bullet-ridden bodies of special police officers (SPOs), missing since a Maoist attack a day earlier, in a thick forested area in Chhattisgarh’s southern Bastar region. The five others missing safely returned to a police base. A constable was killed and eight SPOs went missing Wednesday after heavily armed Maoist guerrillas ambushed a police team sent to open a road at a dense forest in Dantewada district, close to the Andhra Pradesh border, about 500 km south of state capital Raipur. The road-opening team led by Chhattisgarh police constable Dashruram Bhogami were on foot when armed insurgents, who were waiting atop a hill, opened fire on it. Bhogami, who received gun shots on his chest and leg, was killed on the spot. “The police teams that were sent to Konta forested belt of Dantewada to search the missing men, located three bullet-ridden bodies of the SPOs, some 2 km away at a forest stretch from the attack site,” S.I. Baghel, additional superintendent of police of Dantewada, told IANS. “Insurgents have also made off with their arms but luckily the other five missing SPOs returned to a nearest police base unhurt,” the officer added. The Chhattisgarh government has recruited about 4,500 local youths, mostly the tribals, in insurgency-hit Bastar region on a monthly remuneration of Rs.1,500 to team up with the police force to dismantle the Maoists’ terror network at village level.

Three troopers killed in Maoist blast in Chhattisgarh - June 8th, 2008 - Raipur, June 8 (IANS) At least three Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were killed and two injured Sunday when their patrol jeep hit a landmine laid by Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh. The incident took place in an interior, forested location of Durg district’s Dalli Rajhara area, 150 km from here, around noon when the leftist insurgents triggered the landmine blast. The paramilitary troopers of the CISF were patrolling in a jeep to guard an iron ore mining area owned by Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship unit of the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). “Three CISF jawans were killed on the spot while two were critically injured,” Dipanshu Kabra, Durg superintendent of police, told IANS. But the state’s inspector general of police (Maoist operations) Girdhari Naik said: “The rebels also looted weapons and ‘Insas’ assault rifles of the dead and injured cops.” Reinforcements were sent to the area to track down the insurgents who reportedly sneaked back into their nearby thick forested bases. In March, Maoists had carried out an attack in the same area, Mahamaya Mines of the BSP and walked away with 1.75 tonnes of explosives and briefly held hostage six BSP mining officials.

Maoists killed BJD leader in Orissa - June 7, 2008 - Suspected Maoist guerillas have reportedly killed yet another political leader in Orissa on Friday. Jana Bidika, a leader of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Koraput district of Orissa shot dead the local activist, who was the president of Bandhugaon Block. A group of armed rebels shot dead Jana Bidika, 38, at about 10 p.m. on Friday night in Sanasarpali village, as district police reported on Saturday. As per the local report, Bidika was also a contractor and police relate to his murder to various construction works. This is the second such instance when armed Maoists killed any political activists in the state. Earlier on May 15 armed Maoists killed Rajendra Sahu a contractor in Rayagada district followed by May 26, when naxal sympathiser shot dead Prabir Kumar Mohanty, who was an advocate in Malkangiri district. Both of them had considerable political back-up in their respective regions. There are several such instances reported so far in Maoists' dominance districts such as Koraput, Rayagada and Malkangiri where Maoist activists come into direct confrontation with politicians. In the case of Prabir Mohanty, rebels first abducted the lawyer and then shot him dead. These incidents have posed a serious challenge for the police to deal with as in a constant attempt the Maoist activists are trying to broaden their base from neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand to several western districts of Orissa bordering those states. In one of the Maoist attack in the state and of the country earlier this year (February 16) at least 13 people most of policemen were killed and several others injured, when a faction of maoists numbering around 500 attacked three police stations in Nayagarh district and looted government armoury.

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