|
The desperate situation in the rural areas -- over a third of
Nepal's 28 million people live in poverty -- has fed a movement
inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong to establish
a communist state.
Rebel leaders say their aim is to destroy government institutions
and replace them with a peasant regime.
Experts add that the movement also feeds off resentment of Nepal's
strict caste system, which organizes people into distinct upper
and lower classes. Most of the Maoist supporters have traditionally
been treated as second-class citizens or worse, according to the
BBC. 
There are between 10,000 and 15,000 well-trained rebel fighters,
according to military officers, but there are also local groups
that periodically join the battle against government forces.
The Maoists use violence to maintain unity, dealing with dissent
ruthlessly. Human rights groups report that both the rebels and
government forces are guilty of numerous executions and cases
of torture.
In the summer of 2004, the rebels abducted hundreds of school
children for a week-long "re-education" course on Maoist
ideology.
Fighting has left more than 12,000 people dead since 1996 and
more than 100,000 people homeless, according to the United Nations.
|
Pro-democracy
demonstrators and government forces clashed in the capital, Katmandu,
last week, killing at least 12 people and injuring thousands.
But
some protestors are skeptical, saying the king did not expressly
state he would allow a vote on the constitution. 
Joplin was able to rise from the ashes because of help from everyone. And I am eternally grateful to anyone who made that possible.
