Nepal: Everyone is Losing

Archives

January 23, 2006: Not wanting to upset India, which can isolate the country economically, the government is quietly procuring military supplies from Pakistan and Israel. China is openly supplying weapons.

Most of the demonstrators arrested over the weekend have been released. The stalemate continues, with the king trying to defeat the Maoists, the political parties (representing the power of the urban middle class, a minority) are trying to regain power, and the Maoists (a radical spin-off from the educated urban population) are still trying to play off the king against the political parties (so that a Maoist dictatorship can be set up). The majority of the population is rural, and is exploited by the aristocrats and urban middle class. Thus many of the rural Nepalese support the king, often more for emotional than practical reasons. The royalists and democrats have to consider the possibility of another Cambodia, if the Maoists take over. Such a brutal communist dictatorship could leave millions dead and the economy in ruins.

January 22, 2006: Over the weekend, clashes with Maoists left at least 26 dead, most of them rebels. Anti-king demonstrations in the capital led to the arrest of several hundred people.

January 20, 2006: Cell phone service was cut in the capital as police rounded up 107 political activists, who were accused of organizing attacks on the power of the king.

January 17, 2006: A curfew was imposed on the capital, after weekend attacks by Maoists left twelve policemen dead. This is a change for the Maoists, whose bases are in remote areas. But the partnership with the political parties, which are based in urban areas, gives the Maoists access to allies that can help hide rebel gunmen.

In western Nepal, battles with Maoists left about two dozen dead.

 

Article Archive

Nepal: Current 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 1999

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close