Imbroglio for Maoists

The armed group which calls itself the CPN-Maoist party is in the process of joining the executive branch of Nepal government. Maoist cadres already have 83 seats in the interim legislature, which was formed through nominations after the old parliament was dissolved. Despite the signing of the historic peace agreement with the Seven Party Alliance led government, the Maoists have simply not given up violence and joined the political process. The recent misbehavior by a Maoist legislator where he flaunted of possessing arms inside the parliament building and his use of abusive language demonstrates that Maoists are very much ‘jungle dwellers’.

More disturbing is the arms registration issue. While registering 30,000 armed cadres, Maoists only presented 3,000 arms. The mismatch is simply unbelievable. This points to the fact that Maoists may be hiding a greater portion of their arms for future confrontation or just armed takeover. Armed Maoists mounted in jeeps were seen in some districts. The arms carried by them were apparently ‘registered with the UN’ as claimed by the Maoists. The UN had said it wasn’t sure whether all arms were duly registered. This leaves plenty of doubt, thanks to Maoists aggressive posture.

Maoist chairman Prachanda recently said his cadres would not call any strikes and would also prevent others from organizing such stoppages. This would surely lead to further clashes with the cadres of Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) and possibly the janajatis. The Maoists created the ethnic based movements to propel their own agenda. Now, they are facing the brunt of the problem.