December 20, 21, 22 in Kathmandu, Unified Communist Party Nepal - Maoist (UCPN-M) held a strike that disrupted the valley for three days. There were some violent clashes that took place quite near to the school house and my flat. L and I decided to stay at one of the major hotels in town for the three days (coinciding with my birthday celebration) to stay informed and be sure that she was able to get to the airport this afternoon. All went well, and the strike was even called off at noon today.
Many say that Maoists have broken the comprehensive peace accord signed in 2006 made with the government and that force must be taken to keep them in line. Yesterday, L read an article in the Kathmandu Post saying that China and India have publicly given their support to the government of Nepal to contain and pacify the Maoists sending in ammunition if needed.
Al Jazeera article (among others) states that OHCHR says the police used 'excessive force' to deal with the 'peaceful' protesters. The NYT gives an informative perspective here (along with the evocative photo I linked above). Comments from Democracy Underground about the three day strike. An Indian paper "The Hindu" reports on the 'peaceful-turned-aggressive' strike here. Dailyindia.com here mentions that the Maoists accuse the government for aggressing first. Here, and Here, Bloomberg.com insinuates personal tensions between Prachanda and President Nepal are the source of the conflict. This short article talks about a law recently signed into affect that puts a condition on any aid Nepal recieves from the US - human rights violations must not happen.
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