April 5, 2006: It's beginning to look a lot like Cambodia 30 years ago. Then, as now, a radical communist movement (the Khmer Rouge) forcibly recruited, indoctrinated and armed teenagers to form a large army of ruthless fighters. When the Cambodian radicals took over, they killed about a third of the population in an effort to "purify" Cambodian society. The Nepalese Maoists have similar goals and methods, although they insist there won't be anything like the degree of violence and death seen in Cambodia. Meanwhile, the Maoists continue with their strategy of recruiting kids, and terrorizing the parents. It's working.
April 4, 2006: The deadlock between the royalists (who control the army and police, and the loyalty of most of the rural population), the political parties (backed by most of the urban population) and Maoists (backed by their own guns and terror tactics) remains. The political parties continue to cooperate with the Maoists, to topple the king. Once that is accomplished, the Maoists, who have more guns than the political parties, believe they will be able to take over, and abolish political parties, as well as the monarchy.
March 31, 2006: Maoists set off a bomb in a high school in western Nepal, wounding a dozen teachers and students. Such attacks are meant to terrorize the teachers into cooperating with the rebels.
March 30, 2006: In one of the few combat actions, a police patrol encountered some Maoists, leaving two policemen and one rebel dead.
