October 19, 2005: The government amnesty program has caused some 4,000 Maoists to surrender over the last two years. Many Maoists are dismayed at the hostility they encounter among many of the poor, rural people they claim to represent. Many rural Nepalese see the Maoists as just another bunch of city slickers out to exploit them for their own ends. The fact that the Maoists fill their ranks with kidnapped teenagers doesn't help either.
October 26, 2005: China is giving Nepal a million dollars worth of military aid, and providing weapons and ammunition for sale as well. This has caused some consternation in India, which has long considered itself the dominant foreign influence on Nepal. But pro-Maoist politicians in India have blocked ship of weapons to Nepal, and the Nepalese are running low on ammunition.
October 25, 2005: Maoists have hurt themselves once more by publishing a map of "Greater Nepal" showing a Maoist controlled Nepal containing large chunks of Indian territory. This has not gone down well in India, where there is some support for the Maoists among Indian leftists. Actually, many Indians oppose the king of Nepal for the way he sidelined the elected parliament and ruled by decree, in order to make more progress against the Maoist rebels. The Maoists have been trying to reposition themselves as good guys, but this new map is a liability. The map is found in training materials used by new recruits for the Maoist forces.
October 20, 2005: In western Nepal, 29 Maoists surrendered, while four others were arrested.
