Nepal rebels termed intolerant

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoist guerrillas remain intolerant of media criticism although there has been a drop in attacks on journalists, an international media watchdog has said. The Maoists threatened at least four journalists since September and also forcibly occupied a building owned by the state-run television in west Nepal, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The rebels launched a violent campaign in 1996 to topple the monarchy - a conflict that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.

A ceasefire is holding between the government and Maoists since King Gyanendra restored democracy after weeks of mass protests in April. They have since resumed peace talks that collapsed in 2001 and 2003.

“Even though Maoist attacks on journalists have considerably decreased compared to previous years, they are nevertheless regular and symptomatic of a failure to tolerate criticism,” the RSF statement said.

It said the Maoists also formed a human chain and prevented the press from reaching the location of a meeting between the government and rebel leaders in Kathmandu last month.

“The Maoist party's most senior leaders have sworn their commitment to the freedom and security of journalists,” the RSF said. “These commitments should be urgently respected in practice.”

On Tuesday, the Nepali Congress, the country's biggest political party, accused the rebels of attacking and kidnapping its workers in violation of a code of conduct linked to the peace process.—Reuters

Maoists launch charm offensive

KATHMANDU: Swapping guns for brooms, hundreds of rebel Maoists have started a clean-up campaign in Nepal's polluted and often filthy capital in a bid to gain wider respectability.

“The garbage problem in the city had remained ignored. The government authorities and concerned bodies were ineffective in dealing the issue, that's why we took the initiative,” said Hisila Yami, a rebel who is leading the anti-litter campaign.Around 500 rebel cadres are involved in the programme, with Kathmandu Metropolitan City authorities providing the Maoists with vehicles, brooms and shovels, said Yami, wife of the Maoist second-in-command Baburam Bhattarai.

Wearing a red and white sash reading “Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) Volunteer”, rebel cadre Ashok collected garbage from a roadside and placed it in a basket in a busy suburb of Nepal on Wednesday morning. “We want to create awareness among people about garbage management,” he said.

“Besides, being involved in community service will improve our image as we are not the same force that we used to be during the insurgency period,” said Ashok, who like many rebels goes by only one name. The campaign will likely be extended, said Yami, the woman in charge of the project.

“Initially, we started it on Tuesday as a four-day campaign but people have asked us to clean up their respective areas so we might extend it for a couple of days,” said Yami.

The rebel leader said that they were now concentrating on social activities as the political situation in the country was gradually improving.

Earlier this month, the rebels launched security patrols in Kathmandu in a bid to halt rising crime. Since the rebels declared their people's war” a decade ago, at least 12,500 people have been killed in the impoverished Himalayan nation.

Nepal's Maoists, who control large swathes of the countryside, moved to the capital after three weeks of pro-democracy protests in concert with political parties forced King Gyanendra to end 14 months of direct rule in April.

The rebels and a multi-party government have observed a ceasefire for just over six months, but human rights activists have accused the Maoists of continued violence, extortion and intimidation.—AFP