Maoists in Nepal using child soldiers?

[WUOrevolt]

Warning on Nepal child victims
By Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu



Children have been recruited as child soldiers by the rebels
At least 434 children have been killed in Nepal and over 8,000 orphaned in the long running Maoist insurgency, says a leading child rights group.
A report by the Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) said over 40,000 children have been displaced.

Nearly 13,000 people have been killed since the Maoist campaign to overthrow the monarchy began in 1996.

There has been persistent national and international pressure on the rebels and the army to spare children.

Child soldiers

Despite pressure on warring sides, the number of child victims has increased, the report said.


The army has used children as informers and porters

The CWIN report accuses the rebels of recruiting children as combatants.

Government troops have also been blamed by CWIN report for using children as informers and porters.

Both sides deny the allegations.

The CWIN activists say many children have also died while playing with bombs, which they mistake for toys, left unattended by the warring sides.

They say the worst year was 2002 when nearly 150 children died.


Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4758556.stm)

[Janus]

Well, first of all, this article doesn't define what a child is. In third world countries, kids grow up quickly and those who would be considered as "children" in first world nations are adults in their respective countries.

Just to be fair, let's say that a "child" is anyone younger than 12. Even if the Maoists recruited them for actual combat, they would most likely keep them away from the fighting if they could. Furthermore, the Maoists require weapons much more than they require manpower.

Secondly, the army also uses children in positions that may sometimes be just as dangerous as combat.

So, there's really no way to totally verify it. Even if one were to travel to Nepal itself and visit the Maoists, they could still hide the presence of children within the ranks if they wanted to.

[Punk Rocker]

I'm 15, If I was in an army I guess I could be called a child soldier. But If I lived in Nepal I'd join the maoists of my own free will. Nobody said they were forced to fight.

[TC]

the army basically says any villagers it murders who are in maoist zones (which is pretty much everywhere but the cities) are 'maoist soldiers' or 'maoist cadre' or whatever. It is just propaganda. the exception being using teenagers under 18 which i've heard they do use but if a 14 or 15 year old wants to volenteer to shoot at the army instead of simply getting shot at by the army, that seems fair. I think a teenager can make up their minds about politics and how they should best survive in a bad situation.


Whats worse then being an armed child in a warzone under a dictatorship with no respect for civilian status? Being an unarmed child in a warzone under a dictatorship with no respect for civilian status.

[Hiero]

If a child's parents on the Maoist side are orphaned, then CPN(M) has programs that make sure the child is well looked after. So orphans of maytrs are fairly well looked after by the CPN, which the arictle fails to mention.

[Red Heretic]

No one is allowed to join the PLA until they are 18. I actually know a girl who moved here to the US from Nepal when he father got transfered. She complained that she wasn't allowed to join at 17.

Youth are allowed to do volunteer work for the army though. They can get certain amounts of self-defense training, and they can help put together supplies and such for soldiers if they want to, until they are 18. However, they can't join they army itself until 18. The central committee has also stated this several times...

[Niall]

we all know by now that the news reports twist so called facts to suit their agendas

[Body Count]

I'm for the liberation of "children" from "adults"....and truthfully, I think that 14 or 15 year olds can make their own damn desicions.

[Lorca]

here in lebanon....during the civil war ...everybody was fighting...
and specially teens ....out of their own will ...and ignorance ...since they thought it was cool for them to carry guns around...
but u dont hear anybody complaining ...as long as theyre all right wingers ...