By Vishnu on August 8th, 2005 in Bashnet Ko Guff
UPDATED: A Dangerous trend which will worsen the bloody situation in Nepal.
In yet another instance of state-supported violence, seven people have been killed while dozens more have been displaced in Agra and surrounding villages of Makawanpur and Dhading districts. It is a state-sponsored lynching mob, ostensibly against the Maoists, that is spreading violence in these areas, according to the locals.
I had been invited to join a group which was visiting the Daman Valley to observe the ongoing violence in those localities. But, I was more interested in the idyllic beauty of the Daman Valley. Rolling through the hairpin bends our vehicles reached the Valley around 11 am. My back-to-nature trip turned sour when I met terror-stricken people pleading for their safety.
According to the villagers, the Maoists had issued a decree a month ago to destroy marijuana in the localities. They have to depend on the money earned through the sale of marijuana as no other crops grow in the region. Marijuana traffickers come in the village from as far afield as India.
But, when the Maoists brutally manhandled an elderly man and a pregnant woman for not destroying marijuana, the enraged people gathered to retaliate. But they dispersed when the Maoists countered them with socket bombs.
But the story took a different turn when some 50 ‘unidentified and mysterious persons’ armed with Khukiris came to Kiranchowk and incited the villagers to fight the Maoists. They were of the same age and armed with Khukuris of the same size, according to the witnesses. The villagers did not know who they were and how they came in the village.
An army chopper landed in the village on July 21 and all the villagers were summoned to attend the meeting called by the army. Then the army told the villagers to recite the slogan ‘Long live the king’. Moreover the army facilitated their anti-Maoist activities by defusing the Maoist-laid landmines in the village on the same day.
“They threatened to kill me on the charge of being a Maoist if I didn’t join the group. So I fled the village early in the morning”, said Sumit Gole, a United People’s Front cadre. He is now living in Palung.
In the name of retaliation against the Maoists, these vigilant groups beat and kill innocent people. Moreover such groups are being used by the government to terrorize people who don’t support the pro-monarch government. They threaten to kill all the family members if a person from each family is not sent to join the group.
For the last five weeks, vigilante groups in Kiranchock, Thinda, Mahadevsthan, Agra, Gogane and Dandakharka VDCs of Dhading and Makawanpur districts are brutalizing not only the Maoists but also the party cadres and innocent people who refuse to join the group. Now, this beautiful valley has been drenched in blood bath. They don�t know when they will be victimized by this new state-supported violence.
14 Responses to “Government Creates Vigilante Group”
1. samrat Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
There is nothing wrong in this. The people should stop giving shelter and food to the terrorists and the only way to empower them is to make them feel empowered. The affect has been very positive. Last year, women from Baglung with sticks kicked out Maoists from their village, so did people of Dailekh. If people come in thousands like the in photo above then even machine guns of the Maoists will be ineffective. This is not setting up vigilante groups. This is empowering the people and making them rise against atrocities of the Maoists. This is to inform them that they are not powerless in front of village thugs and hooligans that even women with brooms can be as powerful as their counterparts with socket bombs. Good. This is a healthy development. Of course, those that do not want to see peace in Nepal like Keith Bloomfield and Mark Mallalieu don’t like this or anything that is positive. They are hell-bent in destroying Nepal. I don’t know why they are against Nepal and the Nepalese.
2. hari Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 12:51 pmIn fact if the political parties could tell their cadres to rise up against the Maoists, it would be really good and the Maoist movement would not have reached where it is today. But, they were not interested in these things only in making money and womanizing.
3. concerned Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 1:13 pmA gun or already a khukri in the hands of some individuals is a lethal waepon. In war times, if sombody wants to defend or revenge, anybody can be blaimed to be a Maoist , a soldier, or a civilian. If he is dead, he can not destify or defend himself. A soldier of any side should comply with certain norms which is obviously not the case in Nepal, such situation can easily turn into civil war, this might just bee the start of it.
4. peter Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 1:44 pm“…the only way to empower them is to make them feel empowered.”
Samrat have you been on one a Self-Empowerment course, you speak knowledgeably on the subject. Perhaps you could join them, would that make them feel empowered?
How can you suggest that this behaviour is OK?
Announcement! Samrat is about to his village to “take up arms” (sticks and stones) against the maoists. All UWB’s readers will come and wave you off on the next bus home!
I can’t see it myself…
Why do you want to encourage these people to do the RNA’s work? Would you fight against guns with a stick! They are not soldiers. They would drop like flies in front of the Maoists guns. And haven’t you heard them say they want peace?
And why do you think Keith Bloomfield doesn’t want peace in Nepal? Can you actually provide a sound argument for his wanting a prolonged brutal and bloody civil war here? It sounds as though you can, will you share your idea with us?
5. peter Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 1:55 pmConcerned, how many people have to die before you call it a Civil war? A civil war is a war in which people from the same country fight each other to the death. This is a Civil War, Nepal has been fighting a Civil War for many years.
6. Raj Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 3:20 pmIf you encourage unarmed and untrained people against ruthlessly armed fighters, you are provoking a massacre and so you are criminal too, Samrat. What for is the army, if people have to defend themselves ? Just for the protection of Kings and Samrats. Do you want to prove that RNA is not a people’s army ? If RNA can not protect the people and provokes them to martyrdom and is shy to express such irresponsibility, people will come to a uprise and every soldier will throw their uniform and be a part of that uprise. Don’t press the people to the extreme.
7. raj Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 5:45 pmyes these people(like samrat) had forgotten the death of 40 plus villager in nawalparasi, half by vigilante and half by maoist!
It is the obligation of the state to protect the civilian!. This act if is true then the state is itselft worst than the maoist!
8. yodam Says:
August 8th, 2005 at 9:14 pmvery shallow idea samrat. sorry. have you ever tried to know what the army is for in Nepal? nothing, aside from defending the king and the monarchy. in fact, Nepal does not need army. it is not under threat of any invasion.
its immature and irresponsible of this dumb king’s army to try to sponsor and encaurage his boys to defend his tenure. its gonna lead to a bloody civial war (come on, we really cant afford this). the only sector going to be happy with it is the “king’s army”. coz it will have a reason to stay there.
9. manan Says:
August 9th, 2005 at 12:06 amSamrat thinks that by encouraging villagers to fight for themselves, they can
protect themselves from the brutality of the Maoists. Its not a heartless suggestion, because Maoists really have been a scourge, but it is naive.For starters, as some noted, these villagers have no guns. And if they were to acquire them, the situation would become worse. Then we would go back to the zamindari days, where warlords would keep their own little armies as in Afghanistan. These people, under no central authority, would be even less restrained than the RNA is. In Bihar, the Ranvir Sena fights as viciously as the
Maoists
10. Muni Muni Mya Says:
August 9th, 2005 at 1:43 amWhat are you thinking Samrat ?? This is totally wrong, General people shouldn’t killed no-one otherwise they will be called Terorists.
11. aNepali Says:
August 9th, 2005 at 8:57 amWhy did defense budget go up? To kill people. Where does money come from? Mostly sucked from people themselves and rest begged to kill people by the label of Maoists. RNA or any royal butt licker are not going to quell maoists because it’s a political problem rather than military.
Some of the budget might have gone to Samrat too. How much do you get? Huh?
Once movement takes momentum, butt lickers will hide like snakes unless they risk getting burnt alive or beaten to death by people.
12. samrat Says:
August 9th, 2005 at 10:49 pmAnswer to Peter:
The reason why Keith Bloomfield wants a sustained bloody conflict in Nepal is because he says there has to be negotiations when Tony Blair himself never thinks of talking with Bin Laden. The British government kills completely innocent civilians in train stations in the name of fighting terrorism and they preach us of talking with a ruthles rebellion group because “it is a classic guerrilla warfare.”
Can the British Army ever fight the Al Qaeda even if it doesn’t have any formal structure? Can the British Intelligence ever find out ehere Bin Laden is hiding? Hasn’t the American Army created vigilante groups of local Iraqi citizens in Iraq to defend the might of America?
Read the Time magazine, Peter and Raj.
The American army has set-up innumerable small groups in Bashra and other towns to fight the old Bathists. Bloomfield talks of security situaiton getting worse but everybody feels that Kathmandu’s situaiton has considerably improved. Bloomfield issues travel advisories but tourism in July is up by 15 percent compared to last year. Of course it is the job of the state security to provide security to the people but it is also the responsibility of every citizen to help in that fight against terror sponsored by the British government.
It doesn’t mean that the villagers have to fight with stones, they just have to shun giving unnecessary aid to the terrorists. And the peopel are helping the state security although slowly the realization is coming. Baglung is one perfect example.
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The Brits have proved to be the most ungrateful people on earth. What a disgrace We fought for the British empire. We even guard the Buckingham palace and no. 10 Downing Street. We fought in Falklands without having any enmity with Argentina, we lost thousands during the 1st and 2nd world wars. And when we are in trouble, the British have ditched us. They have left us in our battle against our enemies.History will remember this ungratefulness of the British. Did we ever try to give them a lesson that fighting against Hitler is against humanity, that Argentina rightfully possesses the Falkland islands, did we ever ask any questions and try to preach them on freedom and democracy? Or even on reconciliation between Edward Heath and Winston Churchill? Or between Thatcher and the Labor Party? We just did what the British told us to do not because we were slaves and were getting paid but because we believed in friendship and genuine warmth and cordiality towards the first country with whom we established diplomatic relations.
But look at the way how they have paid us back? They have stabbed us by tacitly aiding the Maoists. The RIM headquarters in London. Baburam�s daughter studies there. The BBC always interviews Maoist leaders, and the hated Bloomfield never stops in teaching us lessons of what we should do to get back his military aid. Sir, we don�t need any of your assistance anymore. We have seen your true colours. If you can, please raise the pension of the victoria cross soldiers otherwise even that is fine.
13. Shyam Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 2:44 pmThe general concept of the reality is people will not always keep quite. If RNA do the mistakes the time will come RNA will loose in front of the people. Similarly if Maoist do the mistakes, the time will come people will unite to confront with them. How long people will see killings there brother sisiter, son daugter father mother. The time will come they will confront to safeguard themselves. The time will come they start to realise if today they will not confront then they will be killed tomorrow. This is the reality of life, history and the future.
14. Maha Says:
August 31st, 2005 at 3:06 pmWe are planning to launch a SAARC blog. Only rules: No political and or religious discussions. We want to creat a cultural fusion there.
May we ask you to join the team. Please reply at (itiswrite@gmail.com) and add some blurb about you as well. Thanks.
