Revy
15th April 2009, 22:37
http://libcom.org/news/nepal-maoists-restate-intention-ban-strikes-other-news-10042009
There also seems to be some factional splitting going on:
Inter-Maoist bloodletting
Matrika Yadav, a former leading Maoist, has split from the ruling Unified CPN (Maoist) party - claiming that leader Prachanda/Kamal and co have abandoned socialist principles and are living in luxurious corruption. (Maoist ministers have chauffeur driven cars and salaries 40 times the average Nepali wage.) He has organised a new party - CPN-Maoist - with other disaffected Maoists.
On Wednesday night (8th Apr) these two factions clashed in Biratnagar bazaar, south-east Nepal. Matrika's faction torched a bus in which the Unified Maoist cadres were travellng. Shots were fired, with some casualties including police. Since then the police are patrolling in large numbers and have had to use baton charges and tear gas to break up clashes. Things are now reported to have quietened down.
Across Nepal such clashes are occurring regularly between different political rivals - disputing various political, ethnic, separatist and other territorial claims. One legacy of the Maoist civil war is that the gun is becoming the first resort in settling rival claims - bullets have become the dominant mode of political discourse.
There also seems to be some factional splitting going on:
Inter-Maoist bloodletting
Matrika Yadav, a former leading Maoist, has split from the ruling Unified CPN (Maoist) party - claiming that leader Prachanda/Kamal and co have abandoned socialist principles and are living in luxurious corruption. (Maoist ministers have chauffeur driven cars and salaries 40 times the average Nepali wage.) He has organised a new party - CPN-Maoist - with other disaffected Maoists.
On Wednesday night (8th Apr) these two factions clashed in Biratnagar bazaar, south-east Nepal. Matrika's faction torched a bus in which the Unified Maoist cadres were travellng. Shots were fired, with some casualties including police. Since then the police are patrolling in large numbers and have had to use baton charges and tear gas to break up clashes. Things are now reported to have quietened down.
Across Nepal such clashes are occurring regularly between different political rivals - disputing various political, ethnic, separatist and other territorial claims. One legacy of the Maoist civil war is that the gun is becoming the first resort in settling rival claims - bullets have become the dominant mode of political discourse.