Maoist use of ethnic groups complicates Nepal's peace

Nov 21, 2007, 11:11 GMT

Kathmandu - The end of 11 years of a Maoist insurgency in Nepal has given rise to growing violence blamed on ethnic groups demanding a greater say in the country's political and economic decisions, often resulting in political losses for the former rebels.

Until recently, the ethnic groups had largely remained silent, but the Maoist insurgency brought them to the forefront.

'The Maoists systematically used ethnic groups that were largely ignored by the ruling elites by offering them a share of governance in areas they controlled during the insurgency,' said political analyst Sudhir Sharma, who closely followed the Maoist conflict. 'In exchange, the ethnic groups provided the rebels with manpower to fight government forces.'

But with the Maoists being bogged down in political intricacies in Kathmandu since they signed a peace agreement a year ago with the government, ethnic groups have gone ahead to pursue their own interests, aided by a lax security system across the country, Sharma said.

In the months since the signing of the November 21 peace deal, many of the Maoist-aligned ethnic groups have fallen out with the mother party and others have been in open confrontation with it.

The resulting political losses have virtually wiped out the Maoists' influence in many areas of southern Nepal, and with half of the country's 28 million people living on the plains there, the region dominated by ethnic Madhesi communities is extremely importantly in terms of votes.

The Maoists have tried to counter the loss of their political influence by labelling the ethnic groups in southern Nepal as being nothing more than criminal groups out to terrorize the people.

Such labels have raised amusement among political analysts who pointed out that many of the ethnic groups are carrying out exactly what they were taught by the Maoists.

The southern region has seen a proliferation of armed groups, strikes, demonstrations and violence. Weeks of protests and clashes at the beginning of the year left dozens dead.

'The Maoists feel ethnic groups, especially in southern Nepal, have taken up the cause they fought for and in the process have rendered them without an agenda for the people there,' political analyst Bipin Kharel said.

In September when Maoists decided to organize a roundtable conference' to build support for their demands for immediately abolishing the monarchy and reforming the electoral system, the ethnic groups decided to stay away, resulting in the shelving of the conference.

It was an embarrassment for the Maoists, who during their insurgency championed ethnic rights.

'They are nothing but a criminal group who have hijacked our agendas for ethnic groups,' Maoist leader Prachanda told reporters earlier this year, referring to the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, which was involved in the violent protests this year.

The demands raised by the group for proportional representation in the electoral system, according to the Maoists, is something they have campaign for all along.

In April, violent clashes between cadres of the two groups resulted in the deaths of 29 Maoist activists. It was the final nail in the coffin for Maoist influence in southern and south-eastern Nepal.

Since the peace deal, demands by dozens of ethnic groups have mushroomed across the country, including demands for autonomy, a federal structure of government and the right to self-determination.

The Maoist attempts to wrestle back influence appear to have made little impact and was possibly one of the reasons why they demanded full proportional representation in elections to chose an assembly to draw up a new constitution, political analysts said.

Their gamble backfired when coalition members rejected the demands, which led to the Maoists quitting the government in September and the indefinite postponement of the elections.

'Such conflicts during the interim period is natural and is the result of years of repression of these groups,' Lok Raj Baral, a political scientist, said, 'but the government must act either to address the problem or take action to find out if the groups really do have criminal ties.'

The resolution to the ethnic conflicts is necessary to ensure Nepal's peace process remains on track. Without resolving the problems, elections, a key part of Nepal's peace process, cannot take place and that could threaten stability in the country, analysts said.