Nepal's 'Maoists' present in Tibet - www.phayul.com

TIN[Friday, October 01, 2004 09:07]
Death sentences allegedly imposed on two Nepali nationals in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and new measures taken by the Nepalese government to curb the smuggling of medicinal ingredients into the TAR indicate an increasing nervousness among both the Chinese and Nepalese authorities about the intensification of cross-border activities of the Nepalese 'Maoist' guerrillas.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been waging a guerrilla war against the existing regime since February 1996. It is estimated that in the course of military encounters and punitive expeditions about 10,000 people have been killed, many of them civilians who were either caught in the crossfire between the two protagonists or were victims of reprisals. Both the insurgents and the Nepalese authorities have been accused by human rights organisations of serious human rights violations, including torture and summary executions.

Although the rebels, who derive their ideology from Mao Zedong's interpretation of Marxism and adopt military strategies inspired by the Chinese leader, call themselves 'Maoists', the People's Republic of China (PRC) which for decades has strived to develop and maintain good relations with the Nepali establishment considers them an embarrassment. Both governments appear eager to maintain a relationship of political symbiosis. While Nepal hopes to counterbalance perceived Indian preponderance, the PRC regularly finances mostly prestige or infrastructure projects in Nepal and, in part successfully, presses for a strict control of any political activity by the Tibetan refugee population. The PRC has repeatedly condemned the 'Maoists' and assured the Nepalese government of their support in containing the insurrection. The Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Wu Congyong, in 2002 stated, "China labels the insurgents as anti-government outfits, and we never call them as [sic] Maoists. They misuse the name of Chairman Mao, which impairs the image of the great leader of China, and at the same time, it can serve as an excuse for the international anti-China forces to create troubles."

No government is known to directly or indirectly to support the rebels and they have been branded a 'terrorist organisation' by the US government. In order to finance their military actions, they therefore levy 'taxes' from the civilian population living in the regions under their control, from businesses, either in these regions or from traders passing through, and even from tourists.

The resumption of military action after failed peace talks with the Nepalese government in August 2004 increased the pressure on the 'Maoists' to develop new sources of income. Paradoxically, it appears that the Chinese authorities' efforts to make traditional Tibetan medicine one of the TAR's 'staple industries' have pointed the Nepalese rebels to a potentially lucrative resource. The increased demand for plants and other ingredients used in the manufacturing of Tibetan traditional medicine, some of which are rare or even protected by international conservation conventions, has boosted smuggling from the mountainous regions of Nepal where both the practice and many of the raw materials for traditional Tibetan medicine are widespread. An especially high demand exists for caterpillar fungus, known scientifically as cordyceps sinensis and in Tibetan as yartsa gumbu. Yartsa gumbu is made into a powerful tonic said to increase one's vigour, endurance and libido. The harvesting of cordyceps is, particularly in eastern Tibet, a very popular secondary source of income for rural Tibetans. But despite intensive collection there, market demand for cordyceps/yartsa gumbu seems to exceed the PRC's domestic supply. In Lhasa, one kilogram of cordyceps ranges from 10,000 to more than 30,000 yuan [UK£666-£1,999; US$1,207-$3,622; EUR€970-€2,915] This has induced rural Nepalese in western Nepal to collect cordyceps, as well as other medicinal ingredients, and sell them across the border in the TAR.

Rather than collecting cordyceps themselves, the Nepalese rebels are known to 'allot' certain territories under their control to groups or individuals in exchange for payments. They also either levy fees on collected cordyceps brought clandestinely to Tibet or even organise the trafficking of the fungi themselves. With the money earned, the rebels then buy weapons on the clandestine Chinese market and other supplies across the Tibetan border and bring them back to Nepal where they are used to continue the insurrection. The Nepalese Kantipur Post of 22 September 2004 estimates that the Maoists are reported to have thus earned "millions of rupees" with the trade of cordyceps and other medicinal herbs to Tibet. However, the basis for this estimation is not known.

With the aim of undermining the Maoists' trans-border activities, the Nepalese Defence Ministry reportedly requested the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation to "regulate" the collection, use and trade of cordyceps. The outcome of this request however appears questionable since the Nepalese government and its representatives have long lost de facto control of complete regions in western Nepal, and the rebels have established their own regulative structures.

Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities, obviously also eager to prevent the Nepalese rebels' activities, have started to crack down on the smuggling of weapons into Nepal and, as recently as June 2004, the PRC pledged, as yet unspecified, "military assistance" to counter the insurgents after meetings between Nepal's chief of army staff General Pyar Jung Thapa and Chinese General Cao Gangchuan. The Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement on 17 September 2004 alleging that the Intermediate Court of Xigatse [Tib: Shigatse] had convicted four Nepalese of smuggling arms and ammunition. According to the statement, the court sentenced two of the men to death and the other two to four and seven years respectively. The four were arrested in October 2003 after a quantity of arms and ammunition were seized, the first time such a seizure has been made on the Nepalese border with Tibet. The Nepalese government has asked the court to reconsider the death sentences as Nepal is opposed to such punishment. The Maoists also condemned the sentencing, saying that: "capital punishment of the sixteenth century had lost its relevance in the twenty-first".

The Chinese authorities have so far neither confirmed nor denied the sentences. Asked about the case during a press conference held in Beijing on 28 September 2004, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan declared, "The case is going through its procedure and the Chinese court will give a ruling in accordance with law". This could indicate that there is no ruling as yet regarding the sentences or possible appeals. Sphere: Related Content