July 31, 2007: India is
increasing security along its long border with Nepal. The major fear is
Nepalese Maoists moving to India to assist increasingly violent Indian Maoists.
July 27, 2007: Tribal
rivalries are turning to violence in the south. Not just against the Maoists,
but against other tribes. There has been ethnic cleansing, and violence in
support of one tribal political party or another. In the northeast, radical Maoist
factions are using violence against opponents, and the police have had to
intervene more often. The tribal rivalries come largely from the migration of
hill tribe people, to the lowlands, during the last half century. The hill
tribesmen frequently maintained their tribal identity and culture in the
lowlands, and were often more successful economically than the lowlanders. This
caused friction over the decades, and now, with all the unrest caused by the
Maoist uprising, scores are being settled.
July 25, 2007: The Maoists are
using their organizations, especially labor unions, in a new extortion
campaign. Newspapers are having their distribution efforts interrupted by
Maoist union members, in order to get the media to adopt a more pro-Maoist
attitude.
July 23, 2007: Maoists refused to accept army bodyguard for
the five Maoist ministers in the government. The Maoists insist that the
soldiers are counter-terrorism troops, who are trained to spy on and kill
Maoists. The Maoists want to use their own troops as government bodyguards. The
government won't allow this.
