Fear psychosis

You reap what you have sown. The Maoists sowed fear during the insurgency, and therefore they are suffering from fear psychosis. For more than a decade, they connived, sabotaged, killed and exploited innocent people in the name of "people's war". The situation has taken a full circle with the Maoists in the government since last year. Time has changed so much that people are prepared to accept the Maoists as a responsible political force. The political parties have provided ample space to them in the parliament and the cabinet, so as to assimilate them into mainstream politics. But the Maoists themselves have been struggling, so far unsuccessfully, to come out of their wartime mindset. They see conspiracy in everything. If they fail to gain confidence, they will start distrusting their own party cadres and well-
wishers.

Last September, the Maoists went on a rampage believing that Nepal Army was bringing three trucks of loaded arms from India. It turned out to be a huge embarrassment for the Maoist leadership when they learnt that the trucks being brought were for the purpose of UN peace keeping mission and were totally empty. Then, they were overreacting to the situation. However, the overreaction has taken the form of fear psychosis. The Maoists have gone to the extent of holding a press conference and are threatening to quit the government just because Nepal Army deployed soldiers for their personal security. The Maoists have claimed that Nepal Army was hatching a conspiracy against them by sending troops trained at the infamous Bhairabnath
battalion.

The concern of the Maoist ministers cannot be completely ignored. They have all the rights to be apprehensive about their own security. However, they have jumped into a conclusion too early. Without cross-checking whether the troops were from Bhairabnath battalion or not, and whether the soldiers deployed for their security were trustworthy or not, the Maoist ministers sought immediate meeting with the prime minister. And when the prime minister refused to entertain them, they held the press conference threatening to quit the government. Meanwhile, Nepal Army issuing a press statement has made it clear that the soldiers deployed for security of Maoist ministers were from Singhanath battalion at Tokha. It is high time the Maoists stopped jumping into early conclusions and kept good faith in the intention of the political parties and the people. They must understand that it was for the sake of restoring peace in the country that the people and the parties brought them into mainstream politics. If the eight parties fail to build trust within the coalition, the country will fail miserably, which will ultimately provide an opportunity for the regressive force to raise its head.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, July 25, 2007