February15, 2007:
The Maoists have increased their extortion efforts, apparently to
make up for what they would have been making with bank robberies and other
outright theft. Since the peace deal with the government, the Maoists have
promised to stop things like bank robbery. But the rebels still need the money
to cover their expenses.
February
14, 2007: The new elections, and the promised new constitutions, has many of
Nepal's tribes now demanding autonomy, and more money. Some of the tribes are
in the capital to hold demonstrations.
February
13, 2007: A Maoist representative was captured in Indian Kashmir, making a deal
to buy weapons from an Islamic terrorist group. The Indians are still trying to
figure out what all this means.
February
12, 2007: Maoist leaders are now talking about a conspiracy to rig the June
elections and undo the Maoist victory. The Maoists are also calling for the
removal of the monarchy, and establishment of a republic. Most Maoist gunmen
have surrendered their weapons, which have been placed in freight containers.
While Maoist commanders have the keys to the locks on these containers, the
containers are guarded, for the government, by retired Ghurka soldiers
(who are unarmed). The political parties suspect that the Maoists still plan to
take over the government by force and establish a communist dictatorship.
February
11, 2007: In western Nepal, villagers conspired with some Maoist gunmen to dig
up a buried treasure, worth nearly a million dollars, and steal it. The gold,
money and valuables had been buried by a Maoist leader. Most of the money was
the result of a bank robbery two years ago. Believing the Maoist commander
planned to keep the treasure for himself, some of his subordinates made a deal
to have some local villagers dig up the loot and carry it away. However, once
the goodies were shared out, some of the villagers started living large, and
this was noted by the Maoist commander. He checked his treasure, found it gone,
and began interrogating the newly affluent villagers.
February
9, 2007: The ethnic violence in the south has ended, after the government
agreed to give the ethnic Indians in the south more seats in parliament. The
Maoists pushed the ethnic Indians to violence with strong arm tactics and the
prospect of continued bad treatment.
February
1, 2007: Ethnic violence continues in the south, with at least eleven dead so
far, and over a hundred injured.