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The eruption of a violent Maoist insurgency in Nepal in the late 1990s was met with bewilderment even among many of those who claimed to know the country well. Any such development possesses its own historical depth and socio-cultural background. This book provides much of that background, and describes the ongoing struggle. Nepal’s so-called ‘people’s war’ was launched in 1996 by the Communist Party of Nepal to overthrow the political establishment, including the monarchy, and establish a Maoist regime. Using brutal tactics similar to those of Peru’s Shining Path in the 1980s, guerrillas have murdered government employees and supporters of other political parties. Initially the rebels numbered a few hundred, mainly poor peasants, ex-soldiers and unemployed youths, drawn to the movement by Nepal’s poverty and disenchantment with its corrupt politicians. They have since grown to more than 25,000, with training camps in the country’s remote west. In 1999 the Maoists announced the ‘Fourth Stage’ of their war. Since then there have been many attacks on police stations, banks and power installations, and many areas are now under guerrilla control. The army was deployed against the Maoists for the first time in late 2001 and the indiscriminate nature of the military crackdown was widely criticized. The war has begun to encroach on the capital, Kathmandu, and in 2003 the first moves towards peace talks between the government and the Maoists took place.
ISBN - 9781850657217
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