Kin of conflict victims leave Maoist top brass speechless

MANOJ ADHIKARI PALUNGTAR (GORKHA), Nov 29: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal faced an awkward situation while meeting the relatives of those who lost their lives during the armed conflict. Around 40 kins of the conflict victims met Dahal and other senior party leaders in the hut number six inside the plenum site after the completion of the sixth plenum and Dahal was lost for words when a relative fainted during the meeting.  The faces of the leaders fell when the relatives vented ire at the party´s failure to fulfil the dreams of their dear ones who lost their lives or have been made to disappear for the party´s cause. The relatives, who had waited in the dark hut for around an hour, also blasted the leaders including vice-chairmen Mohan Baidya, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Narayankaji Shrestha, and leaders Ram Bahadur Thapa and Hishila Yami for neglecting them. Baidya took off his glasses and wiped the tears with handkerchief when the relatives were lambasting the party with teary eyes themselves. Dahal tried to placate the relatives of the missing arguing that the party is not in the government and expressed commitment to find the truth behind the disappearances by forming a probe commission. But the relatives didn´t buy his arguments and accused the party of playing with the blood of their dear ones. Samundra Kumari Gandarva of Gorkha passed out in front of the leaders when a plenum participant told that her only son Bikash, who was missing for 11 years, had died during the war six years ago. “My only hope in life was the son. I had lived with hope of his return till now. Why should I live now?” she said before passing out. The leaders who could not react after seeing her collapse were in for more bashing as the relatives accused the party of cheating by using their dear ones for their self-interest even as the party cadres carried her out of the hut. Chief of the Tamuwan State Committee Hit Man Shakya, who had arranged the meeting with the leaders, tried to cool the relatives down but to no avail. “It turns out our comrades failed to inform the family of Bikash´s martyrdom due to technical reasons. The concerned comrade has written an apology for failing to inform the family on time. Please relay this to Bikash´s wife,” Dahal said after she fainted. General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa then said that the plenum declared Bikash as a martyr Saturday. Bikash had joined the Maoist party 11 years ago while he was an eighth grader and was killed by the bullets of the Armed Police Force (APF) at Jhyanspokhari, Bhojpur in June, 2004. “I never knew that my son was involved in the war. Why didn´t anybody tell me wher my son was?” she questioned. A man, who had lost his kid brother 10 years ago, said the party has done nothing for the family of the martyrs while a girl, who had lost her father during infancy, complained that her futures has been doomed due to lack of proper education in her father´s absence. “There are schools for the children of martyrs but I have not got opportunity for higher education,” the girl complained before adding, “You all shed tears before us but do nothing afterward. Don´t just nod your heads and shed tears. Do something for us.” Similarly a woman, whose husband has been missing since the days of conflict, said that her tiny son leaves her speechless asking about the father. “You all should answer about his whereabouts. I cannot pass my whole life in tears. Show us the body if he has died or else bring him to us,” she said breaking into tears. Dahal claimed that the party´s first priority was to find the whereabouts of the disappeared cadres but the political parties didn´t allow the formation of the commission in the absence of law. “Our government went down even as we were trying to formulate act. The party will pay attention to the plight of martyrs´ families and will take initiative to find out whereabouts of the missing. Your tears will inspire us in the mission of fulfilling the martyrs´ dream,” Dahal said. But the relatives were still not impressed. Published on 2010-11-29 02:30:58 http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25675