(Courtesy: Account of events provided by eye witnesses and summarized by our local correspondent in Kathmandu)
It is time again to talk again of protecting ourselves. The Maoists behave in such rampant, undisciplined manner, people beg for protection. The government, with its outside friends, who have words and money but not much else, will not do the first thing demanded of them: protect us.
What the Maoists Call “Peace”
How do the Maoists play the game? We could choose from hundreds of episodes, but let us take only one. On August 27th, a gang of 25 ultra-Maoists – the type who spout the labels they teach the children they kidnap – the words of hatred, the false categories of “oppressed” and “oppressor” – came to Nepal Dairy, Mahaboudha, Kathmandu. They were armed, as they always are, in violation of the agreements, but they hid the weapons in their bags. But they made sure all knew they were armed. Claiming to represent the Maoist-affiliated trade union, they barged into the kitchen, bakery, and fast food outlet and forced all present to join them in a mass meeting "to empower the workers." They were arrogant, like criminals, humiliated and insulted one and all, especially the management.
They tried to impose a Maoist trade union on the workers, although virtually all of the staff and workers agreed that such matters were internal concerns of the industry and signed the minutes that the staff could harmoniously work with the management and mutually settle any problems that arose.
This mattered nothing to the Maoists. They are trying by force to establish their union in industries and factories so that they can paralyze the government by closing down business as and when negotiations fail. They have no goal other than to disrupt business and eventually close down businesses when they need to do so to cripple the country.
As the Maoists threatened the workers, they were helpless. A complete failure of law and order meant there was no one to come to the rescue. Management decided to call the Nepal police.
A group of police came, but they also were helpless. Obeying the agreements, they did not have arms! Looking to the fast developing crowd in the courtyard, the Maoist thugs departed.
Temporarily, the problem was solved, but the Maoists vowed retaliation.
This would be only a matter of time, because there is no security, and the government has turned a blind eye to the problem that the industries are facing everyday. The concerned ministers seem more interested in photo opportunities with foreign delegates instead of pragmatically solving problems.
What are we to say when this is the present state of affairs at the grassroots level right in the heart of the capital, Kathmandu? Is it any surprise that businessmen are confused if they should continue to struggle to keep their businesses going?
Nepal Dairy, established in 1980, is the leading private dairy and food processing industry in Nepal. It has four dairy-based fast food outlets and more than 300 affiliated retail outlets. Its total investment is to the tune of 90 millions of Nepali rupees. It has given direct employment to 200 staff and indirectly supported more than 7,000 farm families by procuring milk and other agricultural products.
None of this reality seems to matter in the make-believe world of the Maoists.
Maoist Way of Doing Business
One of the Maoists, as he left, threatened one of the management, saying, “This guy should be wrapped up in a jute Bag" – the way of killing the Maoist thugs have used before, especially in our countryside. They are no different from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, who used the same methods.
Following this incident, the owner/operator, Dr. Heramba Rajbhandary, informed the Chief District Officer and the concerned ministry. All the major political parties were informed about the incident informally. After that, Dr. Rajbhandary and son stopped taking calls from outsiders and stayed away from public places.
This did not matter, since on September 16th, the Maoist thugs returned.
Again, it was about 25 Maoists who appeared. They entered the residence of Dr. Rajbhandary in Lalitpur and thrashed him and his son while they were still at bed in the morning. Remaining female family members were helpless. Dr. Rajbhandary is 74!
Nepal Police were present, but they could not stop beating and just watched the incident helplessly. In fact, it was factory workers who came and stopped the attempted abduction of Dr. Rajbhandary and his son.
Dr. Rajbhandary is being treated at Bir Hospital. The Maoists threatened the family members not to release the information to media, but this correspondent has learned the truth from the witnesses.
The workers say there were no problems or issues between management and employees in the company. No staffs had been sacked. Problems such as existed were created by Maoists themselves in their effort to achieve their goal of control over the industry.
Some media have reported differently, but that is the way things are now in Nepal. Many media traffic in lies. I do not need to name them here.
Where does this leave us? Industry is the backbone of the country. Nepal government is not in the position to protect its citizens much less its industries. The Maoist goons have not stopped their extortion, their abductions, and their threats against people who differ with their wild ideas.
In such a situation, what hope is there for the true peace that Nepalis long for so desperately? A Constitutional Assembly can't be achieved with this type of actions and mentality by the Maoist thugs. Nepali people yearn for a lasting peace and prosperity in the country, not the imposed “peace” that the criminals have brought to our homes.
There are only several options in such circumstances.
If the Maoists want peace, their leaders must use their disciplined members to end the reign of terror being inflicted on us by the criminal elements.
If they will not do this, then the Nepal Police must again carry weapons and must be supported by the Armed Police Force and the NA.
If none of them will do this, then the people must organize and arm themselves.
“All power to the soviets,” claimed the Maoist god, Lenin. Are the Maoists so foolish not to see that we, the businesses and the workers, are the “soviets”?
It is time for Nepalis to fight back. If our government will not protect us, we must protect ourselves.
(Note: The individuals who provided this report to Nepali Perspectives wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Speaking out in Nepal, as past atrocities have demonstrated, is unsafe).
3 comments:
What happened at Nepal Dairy is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact is, not only the industries but also the people in generalare teror-stricken. Only a few people have dared to risk speaking out against the Maoists and that hardly matters because the government has no character that a true government should have, it is only in namesake and can only pander to the terrorists.
I see a bleak future for Nepal because Maoist terror is going to reign over everything else. Where will democracy and human rights then be?
Totally agree,
Maoist are not afread of SPA, Police, Army... except media. I am sure people are being informed true picture of Maoist.
SPAM is degenerate and disfunctional tools, thats the way they want it, of India. The minute this mayhem reaches a level whereby international intervention is seen required, India will walk as head of UN teams to quell the disturbances and wield its might in Nepal.
The goons do not know what they are doing for they lack the basic education,civility and sense of rights and wrongs. The effort here is to make Nepal a rogue nation, forget about fail nation, in order to beat it to the pulp and rechart its path to their liking and mould.
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