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Indian Maoists kill Hindus over Christian conversions
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Suspected Maoists killed a senior Hindu leader and four others in a remote eastern Indian village, an attack that police said may be linked to a controversy over religious conversions in the area.
Armed men raided a Hindu school in Orissa's rural Kandhamal district on Saturday and killed five people, including an octogenarian leader linked to India's main opposition Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The remote, forested region is a hotbed of religious tensions between hardline Hindus who accuse Christian priests of bribing poor tribespeople and low-caste Hindus to change their faith.
Christian groups say lower-caste Hindus who convert do so willingly to escape the highly stratified and oppressive Hindu caste system.
Tensions came to a head on Christmas Eve last year when fights broke out in which one person was killed and churches and temples were damaged.
The region is a stronghold of Maoist rebels and police say they have evidence to link the guerrillas to Saturday's attack. BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Suspected Maoists killed a senior Hindu leader and four others in a remote eastern Indian village, an a... more -
Democracy for Nepal? Maoist Elected Prime Minister
KATMANDU, Nepal — The leader of the decade-long Maoist rebellion in Nepal was elected prime minister on Friday after four months of political wrangling. His victory sets the stage for the former rebels’ toughest challenge: how to uplift the lives of 27 million people in one of the poorest countries in the world at a time of soaring food and fuel prices.
The Maoist leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal — who goes by the nom de guerre Prachanda, “the fierce one” in Nepali — won more than two-thirds of 577 votes cast in the Constituent Assembly on Friday evening.
His election had been expected since April, when the Maoists won a majority in a special assembly elected both to draft a new constitution and to form a government.
For four months, however, Nepali Congress, the nation’s oldest party, which has a long list of grievances against the Maoists, blocked their bid to lead a government of national consensus.
The election of the prime minister opens the way to the establishment of a democratic government in Nepal. That would be a milestone in resolving issues remaining after the decade-long civil war, a conflict that claimed the lives of an estimated 13,000 people before it ended with a peace accord in 2006.
The Maoists have already achieved their main goal, ending 239 years of Hindu monarchy. At its first session, in May, a Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal republic. The former king, Gyanendra, the world’s last Hindu monarch, was forced to vacate the main palace here and live as a commoner.
On Friday, Prachanda, 54, won with the support of three of the four biggest parties in the 601-member assembly. Nepali Congress still refused to support his Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), accusing its youth force of brutality. It also said that the Maoists had not returned private property seized from political opponents during the war.
Prachanda defeated Sher Bahadur Deuba, a three-time former prime minister from Nepali Congress, though not without making significant concessions. A senior Maoist leader, Baburam Bhattarai, said Maoist party officials would no longer hold positions in the party’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army. He also pledged that the party would return seized property to its owners.
Since shedding his fatigues and transforming himself into a politician, Prachanda has sought to cast his organization as a political party that merits the trust of the Nepalese people and foreign donors.
As they form a government, the Maoists face their biggest challenge ever. Fuel is in short supply in the cities and hunger looms in the countryside. The Maoists will also press to integrate their former fighters into Nepal’s army, a demand that the army is likely to resist vigorously.
The Maoists remain on the United States’ list of banned terrorist organizations, although American officials have established contact with their political leaders, including Prachanda. “We hope that election of the prime minister removes the last barrier to speedy formation of a government, constructive action on key issues facing Nepal and a start on the difficult but necessary task of drafting Nepal’s new constitution,” the American Embassy said Friday in a statement. KATMANDU, Nepal — The leader of the decade-long Maoist rebellion in Nepal was elected prime minister on Friday after four months of po... more -
Maoist Pressure Halts Nepalese Beauty Pageant
Maoist pressure and threats from female activists has forced the indefinite postponement of Nepal's biggest beauty pageant, officials and media reports said Thursday.
The Dabur Batika Miss Nepal 2008 pageant was scheduled to start Thursday but was put off indefinitely, said Girendra Man Rajbanshi, managing director of Hidden Treasure, an event organizer that puts on the show each year.
Rajbanshi said opposition from Maoist members in the government's constituent assembly as well as threats against participants and organizers forced the postponement.
‘We are currently holding talks with Maoist lawmakers and women activists to reschedule the event at some other time,’ Rajbanshi said.
The Maoist have opposed the beauty pageant, calling it ‘anti-women activities inspired by capitalist elements.’
The Maoists tried to stop the event last year as well but were unable to do so after police stopped activists from entering the hall were the show was held.
‘Such contests send wrong messages to the society as they emphasize physical beauty rather than intellectual ability,’ the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted an unnamed Maoist lawmaker as saying.
The annual Miss Nepal contest began in 1994 with the winner representing Nepal at the annual Miss World contest. Maoist pressure and threats from female activists has forced the indefinite postponement of Nepal's biggest beauty pageant, offic... more -
Nepal king's palace becomes museum
ng's opulent palace into a museum and unfurled the national flag on Sunday as a symbolic move to signify the end of monarchy.
The national flag is fluttering in the hands of the people in the royal palace now," said Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at a ceremony at the former palace Sunday.
Ex-King Gyanendra, 60, left Narayanhiti Royal Palace on Wednesday. He will live as a civilian in a summer palace on a forested hilltop outside the capital.
Gyanendra's departure came following the declaration of the former Himalayan kingdom as a republic last month.
The monarchy's end after 239 years of rule was the culmination of a two-year peace process in which Maoist insurgents in Nepal gave up their armed struggle, joined mainstream politics and won the most seats in April's election for the Constituent Assembly. ng's opulent palace into a museum and unfurled the national flag on Sunday as a symbolic move to signify the end of monarchy. ... more -
Peru: Mass grave uncovered
Forensic teams have exhumed 60 bodies from what is thought to be the largest mass grave from the Peruvian government's bloody war against the Maoist.
Several children were among about 140 peasants massacred by the military in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru in 1984. Fifteen of 60 bodies recovered so far were those of children.
Excavators are comparing DNA extracted from the remains with living relatives who believe they lost loved ones in the incident.
The burial site in Putis is believed to be the largest mass grave related to the Peruvian military's fight against the Shining Path, a Maoist group that fought in the 1980s and '90s to replace Peru's government with a revolutionary regime. Forensic teams have exhumed 60 bodies from what is thought to be the largest mass grave from the Peruvian government's bloody war... more -
Nepalese Clash With Police
Nepalese demonstrators demanding King Gyanendra immediately quits the royal palace clashed with police in the capital, Kathmandu, a day after lawmakers declared the country a republic and abolished the 240-year-old Shah dynasty.
At least 10 people were injured when police wielding bamboo sticks beat stone-throwing protesters trying to break a security cordon around Narayanhiti palace yesterday. The government said it will notify the king that he has 15 days to move out.
Nepal's newly elected parliament voted May 28 to scrap the monarchy, the key demand of the former rebel CPN (Maoist) group which staged a 10-year insurgency that ended with a peace accord in 2006. The Maoists won most seats in last month's general elections.
The king, who hasn't publicly commented on his plans, will receive a letter from Cabinet's political committee today notifying him of the Constituent Assembly's decision to declare Nepal a federal democratic republic and the deadline for his departure. Nepalese demonstrators demanding King Gyanendra immediately quits the royal palace clashed with police in the capital, Kathmandu, a da... more -
Maoists Put An End To Monarchy And The Shah Dynasty In Nepal
Having won a majority in parliament in the recent democratic elections in Nepal, the Maoist communists have put an end to monarchy in Nepal, thus cutting short the Shah dynasty. Having won a majority in parliament in the recent democratic elections in Nepal, the Maoist communists have put an end to monarchy in ... more
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Nepal Maoists claim poll victory
"The Maoist party of former rebels in Nepal has for the first time explicitly claimed victory in the country's national elections, held nine days ago.
The Maoists' leader, Prachanda, said he would head a new government, with the monarchy abolished.
Votes are still being counted - the Maoists are certain to have the most seats but not an overall majority.
The two other big parties have been badly beaten but the Maoists want to include them in a coalition government." "The Maoist party of former rebels in Nepal has for the first time explicitly claimed victory in the country's national elec... more -
Nepal begins counting votes in historic poll
Authorities began the arduous task Friday of tallying votes in Nepal's first election in nine years -- a historic vote meant to secure lasting peace in a land riven by communist insurgents and an autocratic king.
Scattered shootings and clashes that killed two people on election day Thursday -- and eight others in the days leading up to the poll -- did not deter millions of Nepalis from casting ballots.
The United Nations said the turnout was a display of "overwhelming enthusiasm" for the election that many hope will usher in a new era in this largely impoverished and often violent country.
International experts say it will be hard to sort out the results, and the behavior of the losers will determine whether Nepal sees peace or more bloodshed. Authorities began the arduous task Friday of tallying votes in Nepal's first election in nine years -- a historic vote meant to s... more -
Nepal police kill seven activists
At least seven activists from the Maoist party in Nepal have been shot dead by the security forces in the west of the country.
The incident happened after a scuffle between the Maoists and youths employed by a local candidate of a rival party standing in Thursday's election.
The police have confirmed several deaths, in the worst single incident of election-related violence so far. At least seven activists from the Maoist party in Nepal have been shot dead by the security forces in the west of the country. ... more -
UN helicopter crashes killing 10
A helicopter carrying UN officials has crashed in east Nepal, fatally wounding at least ten people.
The passengers onboard were UN workers who were returning from a visit to a camp for former Maoist rebels in eastern Nepal.
According to the BBC, witnesses reported seeing the helicopter on fire before it crashed into a hillside, and although the cause of the crash remains unclear, initial thoughts believe it is down to bad weather in the region, with some reports claiming the chopper was hit by lightening.
Rescue workers have reportedly pulled 10 bodies from the wreckage, but it is still unknown how many people were on board, and how many were UN workers. A helicopter carrying UN officials has crashed in east Nepal, fatally wounding at least ten people. ... more
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