[lbo-talk] Nepal Maoists to train 50,000 child soldiers

[uvj at vsnl.com]

HindustanTimes.com

Friday, February 27, 2004

Nepal rebels plan to train 50,000 child soldiers

Sanjaya Dhakal (OneWorld.net)
Kathmandu, February 27

This week, Nepal's Maoist rebels announced plans to raise a militia of
50,000 children by April, amid reports of mass abduction, even sexual abuse
of kids, who they allegedly use as cannon fodder.

On February 22, the leader of the Maoists student wing, Kamal Shahi, said
the decision to raise child militia was taken by the rebel leadership on
January 10-11.

This marks a major departure from their previous commitments to avoid
recruiting children below the age of 18.

The radical decision has raised the hackles of rights activists and
international organizations which have criticised the ideological
indoctrination and military training of children in the conflict-torn
kingdom.

While the activists described the numbers dished out by Shahi as
over-inflated, they said the issue of recruitment of child soldiers - which
has been consistently denied by the Maoist leadership -is assuming serious
proportions.

In the past couple of weeks, the Maoists have resorted to mass abductions,
particularly of young students of grades six-ten (average age: 12-16 years)
from schools in western Nepal, a hotbed of insurgency.

The Maoists have abducted hundreds of students and dozens of teachers from
Holeri in the southern Rolpa district, and taken them to an unknown
location. Witnesses said a group of Maoists arrived there and forcibly
herded away students and teachers.

Last week, the Maoists announced they would provide military training to
students and teachers of Bal Udaya Secondary School in Rolpa. In addition,
the rebels have forcibly enrolled 13 girls into their army in Achham
district.

All these girls were aged below 21.

According to a recent statement by the leading child rights nongovernmental
organization, Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Sector (CWIN), two dozen
children have died in the past six months of conflict in the country.

"In this period, around 950 children were abducted," says CWIN. Though most
abducted students are allowed to return after a couple of weeks, the
ideological and military training they are given, traumatises many of them.
Says Unicef's resident representative in Nepal, Suomi Sakai, "This is a very
sensitive matter. Children must not be used in any form of war." She adds
that Unicef will try to ascertain the facts about this issue.

While rights organizations claim over 30 per cent of the Maoist militia and
army comprises children below 18 years of age, most tragically, many
children end up as human shields.

"There is credible evidence that children were used as soldiers, messengers,
cooks, porters and suppliers by rebel groups," points out the executive
director of rights organisation, International Institute for Human Rights,
Environment and Development, Gopal Krishna Shiwakoti.

"They are also being used as human shields. Since the Maoists have
predominantly been using light weapons and small arms, young children with
very little training can handle them," says Shiwakoti.

"There are incidents of using children in different aspects of conflict. And
the trend is getting dangerous," warns the former chief of the Nepal chapter
of the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Krishna
Pahadi.

The glare of the United Nations is falling on the outrage. In November 2003,
UN secretary general Kofi Annan presented a report for the General Assembly
and Security Council, which included a list of 15 nations, including Nepal,
where armed rebel forces abused children.

In its recent briefing for the Fourth UN Security Council Open Debate on
Children and Armed Conflict, the International Coalition Against Child
Soldiers stated, "There were reports of recruitment and use of children aged
between 15 and 18, although the Maoist leadership denied this. Many children
were reportedly abducted by the Maoists, including 518 children in January
2003."

The children - most of whom were released after receiving political
indoctrination - said they had been trained in "guerrilla warfare." Child
recruits were reportedly used in some cases as fighters and human shields,
as well as messengers and porters.

The briefing claimed that reports of sexual abuse of underage girls were
also received.

The director of Amnesty International (Nepal), Raju Sarkar, is alarmed over
the trend of using child soldiers in Nepal. "Though the exact number or
percentage of child soldiers is not known, it is a fact that they are being
used," he says.

In its report titled 'Nepal: A Deepening Crisis' released a year ago,
Amnesty International stated, "In areas under their control, the Maoists
exercise a recruitment policy of 'one family, one member.' Children,
including girls, are deployed in combat situations, often to help provide
ammunition or assist with evacuating or caring for the wounded."

It said a 16-year-old boy from Dang district (of western Nepal) reported how
he was forced to assist with carrying wounded Maoist combatants to India for
treatment in May 2002. He revealed how he and six others of the same age
managed to run away.

Amnesty also obtained evidence of the training of children in the use of
arms. A 14-year-old girl explained how arms training took place by
torchlight during the night, with children attending classes during the day.
The Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a leading rights organisation,
has also conducted some studies regarding the use of child soldiers.

"Although the Maoist leadership denies it, there have been events and
incidents, which suggest otherwise," says Yogesh Kharel of INSEC.
The INSEC report cites an incident that occurred in November 2002 when
12-year-old Buddhabir Thing was arrested by security forces. He was involved
in attacking police posts and looting banks, and was booked under the
anti-terrorism law.

Krishna Gautam, also of INSEC, recalls seeing children below 12 years of age
working as messengers and guards in Rolpa district. "These boys even had
socket bombs (crude bombs) hung around their neck and they acted as
messengers. They were also out of school," he says.

While the Nepalese government has set up separate centers to receive
surrendering rebels, they have not made any efforts to take care of the
special needs of children caught in the conflict.

A shade belatedly, officials at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social
Welfare say they are planning to take initiatives to help such children.

© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.