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VOL. 03, NO. 11, Oct. 30 2009 (Kartik 13, 2066)
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EASTERN NEPAL
Looming Threats
Businessmen and traders still live and work amidst threats from various armed groups
By UMAKANTA KHANAL
It was hoping against hope. The security situation in eastern hill districts was expected to improve after implementation of the new security strategy and deployment of the armed forces. Businessmen of the eastern hills were optimistic that their trade and commerce would begin to thrive once the government enforced the new security strategy in purwanchal.
The armed forces camps set up in each district headquarters were expected to curb activities of different ethnic groups like Limbuwan and Khambuwan which disrupted smooth functioning of businesses a month ago.
Different Limbuwan groups continue to extort money from businessmen and traders on products like cardamom and ginger.
The main occupation of the people of eastern hills is agriculture. Principal farming includes cardamom and ginger, which are exported to India and third countries.
"The focus of the new security strategy is to control the illegal activities of the different ethnic groups", the superintendent of armed police of Pathibhara Battalion, Lakhanpur, Jhapa - Ganesh Thada Magar said. "If we find any person extorting money from businessmen and blocking roads, we will arrest them and hand over to the administration."
Federation of Limbuwan State Council (Palungwa Group), Lingden Group, Misekhang Group, Limbuwan Pratiya Parisad, Kirat Janabadi Workers' Party and Pallo Kirat Limbuwan Rastriya Manch are active Limbuwan Parties in the east.
The armed forces had claimed that the situation would be normal after the implementation of the new security strategy. But the Limbuwan groups have stood against the strategy blaming that it is against the parties and groups which have been born for separate statehood. The president of Federation of Limbuwan State Council, Lingden Group, Kumar Lingden said, "This is totally against us. We have stood against this."
Kirat Janabadi Workers' Party has also threatened that if the strategy is not withdrawn and the armed police forces begin arresting the party's cadres, the party would start agitation against the government.
The victims of extortion, the businessmen and the traders of agricultural products, have had their hopes belied. They believed they would get to work normally. The president of Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs' Association of Nepal (LCEAN), Rajendra Ghimire had said, "We are hopeful that all kinds of illegal activities and extortions will be controlled after the armed forces are deployed in the eastern hill districts. If the government tries to control such activities, we should be hopeful."
But that was not to be so. According to Ghimire, the businessmen have to pay more than seventy five thousand rupees to the Limbuwan groups for a truck of large cardamom. Seeing the abnormal situation, Ghimire has emphasized the transparent functioning of the armed forces.
"To abolish the tradition of extortion of money and the illegal activities of such groups seems to be a vital task," SP of armed police of Pathibhara battalion Ganesh Thada Magar said, "But the people should support us."
A trader of large cardamom in Phidim, Panchthar, Deepak Nepal has said that the Limbuwan groups are still active in extortion of money. He said, "Recently I travelled from Phidim to Jhapa, but I saw there is no change. Limbuwan groups are still extorting money from businessmen."
It is apparent that the armed forces have a herculean task before them: controlling unlawful activities by different armed groups. "They try to stop even the Chief District Officer’s vehicle on the way," a journalist from Phidim, Prem Ojha, said.
"There is no change in the situation. Many people have been shifted permanently to the eastern Terai because of Limbuwan agitation."
His newspaper has been closed for two months when Limbuwan cadres threatened him with physical assault a few days ago.
