March 29, 2006: The political parties (led by the middle and upper class Hindus that dominate the country) have formed a coalition with the Maoist rebels (led by the middle and upper class Hindus that dominate the country) to overthrow the king (who has the support of most of the tribal and rural peoples, who comprise most of the population). While the political parties speak of reform (of the Hindu dominated oligarchy), and the Maoists demand a communist dictatorship, the king offers the status quo and tradition. Most of the population only wants peace.
March 27, 2006: Maoists freed four Polish mountain climbers, after holding them for several days and extracting a ransom. The Maoists are increasingly extracting the maximum payments they can from Nepalis and foreigners alike. Money is needed to buy weapons, medical supplies and pay the salaries of key Maoist leaders.
March 25, 2006: Two policemen died when a truck full of Maoists attacked a police station in central Nepal. The army and police are engaged in a game of cat and mouse, with the Maoists most often being the mouse. If the police can keep the Maoists on the run, the Maoists cannot mass sufficiently large forces to attack army or police bases.
March 23, 2006: India is recruiting another 10,000 border guards, to improve security along its 1800 kilometer border with Nepal. India fears that Indian Maoists will cooperate more often with Nepalese Maoists, if the border security is not increased. It will take about two years to complete this increased border security effort.
