Maoists organized a mass meeting on Wednesday to warn the government on issues including Constituent Assembly in a school in Mahendranagar (Kanchanpur). Maoist guerillas present cultural program in combat uniform. Pic by Chitrang Thapa
It’s an open secret in Kathmandu that the recently ‘concluded’ historical Jana Andolan was in fact triggered by the Maoists. These days we can hear many people saying something like this: “They came to me and said ‘either come with us [in the jungle] or go with them [carrying flags in the city area and participate in the Jana Andolan]. And I choose to go to city and take part in the Andolan.” That is why, people say, this Jana Andolan saw such a massive turnout. That was beyond anyone’s expectations. King Gyanendra included. Read what Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, top Maoist leader, wrote the other day in Kantipur daily. Responding to his old time friend Dr. Arun Sayami’s open letter in the daily, the rebel leader claims the same: We sent all those folks in the city to take part in the movement. That was part of the Maoist policy to surround the city after capturing the villages. 19 people died, thousands were injured in Jana Andolan. That is why, the rebel leader argues, it wasn’t a peaceful movement. It was, according to Dr. Bhattarai, part of the Jana Yudda (Peoples’ War). Continue reading
