Religious groups appeal for end to violence in
Nepal
By DENNIS CODAY
Bangkok, Thailand
With the Nepalese government and Maoist insurgents preparing to
begin peace talks for the first time, religious groups in the Himalayan kingdom
have called on both sides to stop the violence that has killed some 1,700
people and disrupted the lives of tens of thousands of Nepalese and forced
Catholics to close schools.
In one of his first acts as Nepals new prime minister, Sher
Bahadur Deuba pledged to bring the five-year insurgency to an end and in July
secured a truce agreement with the Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Maoists intensified their attacks in the Hindu kingdom after the
murder of the Nepalese royals in late spring and installation of a new
government. On June 1, Crown Prince Dipendra, a 30-year-old graduate of Eton
College in England, opened fire, killing his parents, King Birendra Bir Birkram
Shah Dev, 55; Queen Aiswarya, 51; a brother, Nirajan, 23; and a sister, Shruti,
25, before shooting himself.
On Aug. 18 the two sides preparing for peace talks announced they
had each assembled three-person teams to meet and begin negotiating a lasting
solution. No meeting date has been set.
Religious groups that have largely remained silent on what is
perceived as a political issue have recently banded together to encourage the
talks. A July 28 interreligious forum offered to help mediate talks between the
governments and Maoists.
We appealed both to the government and the Maoists to shun
violence and to come for a healthy dialogue to solve our countrys
problems, said Fr. Silas Bogati, parish priest at Katmandus
Assumption Parish, who represented the Christians at the forum.
Now as the Maoists and the government are preparing
themselves for talks, the whole country is waiting in great hope that we will
have peace once again in Nepal, Bogati said.
Bogati said that to date the government has not responded to the
religious groups offer to help mediate the peace talks, but after keeping
quiet for so long, it was important for the religious communities to have a say
at this critical time.
Since February 1996, a rural Maoist insurgency in Nepal has
resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,700 people. Maoists control at least
eight of more than 70 districts in Nepal, replacing the government in
collecting taxes and organizing education and health care. Raids on local
government buildings in rural areas, especially police stations, have occurred
throughout the West and South of the country, and their influence is felt even
in Katmandu. Since last fall, Maoist insurgent activity has increased markedly,
inflicting heavy casualties.
Bogati said, The Catholic church is going through hard times
because of the Maoist insurgency. The church has had to close schools and
withdraw personnel from rural areas because of the Maoist threat.
Catholics have a small presence in the Hindu kingdom. Jesuit
priests have operated a boys school in Nepal since the early 1950s.
Earlier this year, Maoists ordered all private schools in three
districts closed, including the three Catholic-run schools for poor children in
villages about 100 kilometers out of Katmandu.
According to Bogati, the Maoists want to make these
districts -- Gorkha, Lamjung and Tanahu -- model districts, which means
only public schools can operate.
The Maoists also objected to private schools charging fees. Bogati
said that although the Catholic schools set their fees low to attract poor
students, they were still ordered closed.
Schools closed nationwide on at least two occasions this year when
the Maoists issued blanket threats against schools and school
administrators.
I go once in a while to inspect these empty buildings,
Bogati said. It breaks my heart to see our three schools
[closed].
In a particularly brutal week of attacks in April, in which the
Maoists killed more than 70 policemen, Amnesty International criticized the
insurgents for the execution-style killing of several police officers after
they had surrendered and also for holding captives incommunicado from relatives
and the Red Cross.
Nepal, a country the size of Tennessee situated on the slopes of
the Himalayas, is bordered on the north by China and on the west by India.
Freelance writer Dennis Coday lives in Bangkok,
Thailand.
National Catholic Reporter, September 14,
2001
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