Rebels without a cause

Nearly a month after the 1 February 2005 coup, Nepali Times reported how the Maoists were cutting off towns and highways. Tens of thousands of people including our reporters were stranded and forced to walk long-forgotten mountain trails.

Here is an excerpt of an editorial published 20 years ago this week on issue #236 25 February – 5 March 2005 where we said somewhat prophetically that the coup might have given the rebels an opportunity to join mainstream politics:

It is clear that the rebels have now gone beyond caring about public opinion. Their actions point to total indifference to what the people think about them and their revolution: setting fire to ambulances, opening fire on bus passengers and snipers shooting at anything that moves. Turning into what they consider the last lap, they are choking off the towns to spread panic and frustration so as to prove things aren't better for the people post-Feburary First…

…Improbable as it may seem, February First has actually given the rebels an opportunity to join the political mainstream. In his reaction, Prachanda himself called for solidarity with the political parties and civil society. But he should know it won't happen until his party renounces violence. The political parties may have messed things up, but they are still the only entities that don't owe their survival to the barrel of a gun. This is the time for all forces that want social change to unitedly address the structural problems in the polity to ensure long-term peace and development. It's still not too late for parliamentary democracy and a progressive, enlightened monarchy to co-exist and take us there together.

For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: nepalitimes.com