Stop the Blame-Game

By Edwin Koo

17 May, 2010

A few days ago, I read in The Himalayan Times that my journalist friend was issued a death threat by “Maoists”.

This is a serious matter, especially in Nepal, which has seen several media workers killed in the last year.

Obviously, these guys weren’t very happy with my friend for a story about their ‘donation drive’.  In a nutshell, the cadres allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 (US$650) from the Drinking Water Consumer Committee –  as a ‘donation’.

Rewind back to the days of the People’s War (1996-2006),  when it was not uncommon for Maoists to ask trekkers for donations. The comrades were so organized, they even issued a ‘receipt’ to ensure the donors are not subject to similar obligations. Tourists back then would keep these receipts as memorabilia to say “I’ve been there, done that”.

As a pragmatic Singaporean with a leftist leaning, I can understand the need for ‘donations’ in those tumultous years. The Maoists were underground rebels, with a guerilla army to feed. Whether or not you support or slam their cause, ‘donations’ were necessary, simply because it was a matter of survival.

Fast forward to present day. More than three years after the November 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed, an epidemic of “donation-mania” has returned. This is happening, despite the fact that Maoist party have given up their arms, entered mainstream politics, and even won an election.  The state is paying salaries to the 19,000  interned Maoist combatants, on top of forking out for their food and shelter.

So why then, do these ‘Maoist’ cadres need more ‘donations’, in this time of relative peace?

No one really knows, but my guess is that some cadres are filling their own pockets using their party’s clout. It would not be surprising that these extortionists are fishing in troubled waters, far from the supervision of the party whip in Kathmandu. Presently, Nepal is more an anarchy  than a democracy, especially in the plains of the Terai (southern Nepal, bordering India).

Before this episode, threats and extortions have already become the order of the day in the wild wild south, with armed bandits making phone threats in the day and waylaying buses in the night.

Hence I hesitate to label this a ‘Mao-badhi‘ (Maoists, in Nepali) problem.  The real problem is one of lawlessness and a weak state. How did the state organs even allow such threats and killings go unpunished, whoever committed them?

The alleged extortionist could have come from any outfit – this one happened to be Maoist-affiliated. It would be short-sighted of local media to lash out at the Maoists as a knee-jerk reaction. Report the facts, and let the truth do the rest. If the Maoist leaders care enough for their next electoral results, they will rein in their errant cadres with the Red whip.

Of course, it doesn’t help that some media always seem too happy to throw a “Maoist” label to every incident reported.

This brand  of “instigative journalism“, would only create a “siege mentality” around the Maoists, who may feel they are being victimized by a “malicious media” out to make them scapegoat for every wrongdoing perpetrated. In a vicious cycle, the attention is taken away from the extortionists, who continue their lawless reign once the dust settles.

It was a good thing that my journalist friend came out in the open to expose these threats. It was only right, as an advocate of truth, to let truth speak for itself. I still worry about the safety of the journalists in the Terai, who continue to work fearlessly in a very hostile environment.

What I sincerely hope is that this episode doesn’t become another round of “Mao-baddies”-bashing. It may be true that a number of incidents can be linked back to the Maoists, with perpetrators sitting in positions of power. It may also be true that Maoist supremo “Prachanda”, has on many public occasions threatened the media to stop negatively portraying the comrades. But I wouldn’t say the media is totally faultless – especially those culpable of instigative journalism.

Simply put, not all media is “bad”, so there is no excuse to “punish” the media in general. Similarly, a few bad Maoists doesn’t make all Maoists, baddies. So let’s all behave and stop this nonsensical blame-game.

These are my Maoist friends, and they are NOT extortionists or murderers. They are freedom fighters who spent their youth fighting for a cause they believed in