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| Nepal Key Events, January 2001 - February 2003
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Summary
Click here for a more detailed timeline of 2001 |
2001 |
The year 2001 started with significant attention on Prime Minister Koirala, who survived a "no confidence" vote by congress in January. Violence was down and political protests were up. By April the government and Maoists were involved in violent operations. Opposition leaders refused to support talks with the Maoists as long as Koirala was Prime Minister. In May, Maoists set up "local governments" in regional strongholds. Police fired on demonstrating political parties killing two people and injuring hundreds with hundreds more are arrested. Tragedy struck in June when Crown Prince Dipendra killed nine members of the Royal family, including the King, over a dispute about the Prince's choice of a bride. Prince Gyandendra is crowned king. By mid-summer the army and Maoists came into direct combat for the first time. PM Koirala resigned in the face of a bribery scandal, citing failure to end the conflict with Maoists. Newly appointed PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and Maoist leader Prachanda take advantage of the situation and both call for peace talks. A cease-fire begins in July and led to two rounds of talks that take place over August and September. The talks broke down after Maoists released 26 police officers and the government did not reciprocate. After more violence, talks were renewed briefly in November only to lead the way to a declaration of a state of emergency. The government issued the Terrorist and Destructive Activities Control and Punishment Ordinance, which limits many rights including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom from preventative detention, and named the Maoists terrorists. The year came to an end with Maoists requesting talks only to be denied by the government which insisted they disarm and give up violence first. |
| January |
2002 |
The Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal, freezes accounts of suspected Maoists. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visits Nepal and pledges United States support in Nepal's fight against terrorism. |
| February |
2002 |
The meeting of Nepal Development Forum (NDF) takes place; international donor agencies and countries pledge $2.5 billion to Nepal. A major Maoist offensive against government posts begins on February 17th, during which at least 129 soldiers, police and civilians are killed. In response, the government increases military activity against the Maoist insurgency, and the State of Emergency, imposed in November, is extended for an additional three months. |
| March |
2002 |
Rebel strikes continue, targeting telecom facilities in Katmandu and torching vehicles. His Majesty King Gyanendra tours four western districts, which have been the scene of rebel activity, to assess the security situation. A strike called by the student wing of the Maoist movement shuts down most schools and colleges for two days. India offers military aid to Nepal, and the Asian Development Bank pledges $300 million in loans as concerns about limited press freedom mount. The House of Representatives passes a controversial Bill guaranteeing equal property rights and conditional abortion rights to women. |
| April |
2002 |
Prime Minister Deuba, in his first foreign trip since entering office in July 2001, seeks the support of the Indian government in its fight against the Maoist insurgency. An exchange of fire between the rebels and the security forces in Sadbariya, Lamahi and Bhalubang of Dang district kills over 300 people. Maoists call for a five-day Bandh (strike), which has minimal success. The United States and China pledge support for the government through military aid against the rebels. |
| May |
2002 |
Fighting escalates between government forces and insurgents. More than 300 rebels are killed in one week along with dozens of security personnel in the Gam area of the mid-western hill district of Rolpa, a rebel stronghold. Rebels renew an offer for peace talks and claim their intention to hold a month-long unilateral truce. The government dismisses these offers as untrustworthy. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba visits U.S. President George Bush in Washington and British Prime Minster Tony Blair in London, requesting military assistance and aid. A Maoist counterattack kills over 100 security personnel. Parliament is dissolved by the Prime Minster and fresh elections are called amid political confrontation over extending the state of emergency. The move allows Deuba to rule by decree until the elections, now scheduled for November 13. Prime Minister Deuba, expelled by his Nepali Congress party, heads the interim government and renews the state of emergency. |
| June |
2002 |
Clashes continue between Nepalese soldiers and Maoist rebels. An attack on a makeshift Nepalese military camp in Salyan district, about 300 kilometers (200 miles) west of Kathmandu, results in a two-day battle that leaves more than 65 dead. |
| July |
2002 |
The Maoist rebels make an offer for peace talks but the Nepali Government rejects the offer and says the rebels must give up their arms first. A bomb blast rocks the party offices of Nepal's prime minister in Kathmandu; 8 people are injured. Heavy rains lead to flooding and mudslides affecting over half the country. |
| August |
2002 |
Supreme Court upholds Prime Minister Deuba's decision to suspend parliament, legitimizing his rule by decree until new parliamentary elections are held. Government forces went into the Rolpa district, the heartland of Maoist rebellion, and attacked a training camp killing 30 rebels. At the end of the month, Deuba's government lifts the state of emergency, which had been in place since November, 2001. Flooding and mudslides continue from July, leaving over 300 people dead. |
| September |
2002 |
In response to the end of the government's state of emergency, Maoist rebels launch multiple attacks against security forces, punctuated by a bombing inside Kathmandu. One such attack, in Bhiman Village, leaves over 40 police officers dead, along with an even higher number of guerillas. Intense clashes between government forces and rebels rage throughout the month, reportedly leaving over 100 security personnel and 250 rebels dead. Near the end of the month, an independent election committee gives Deuba's government a "full mandate" to further postpone parliamentary elections from the scheduled November 13 date due to the security situation. In other government news, Chirinjibi Wagle, Minister for Physical Planning and Construction, resigns from Deuba's government amid allegations of corruption. |
| October |
2002 |
On October 4, king Gyanendra sacked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, accusing the cabinet of incompetence. The move was the first time a Nepali king had assumed direct power since 1990. Political parties said the move was undemocratic and held a major protest rally in Kathmandu. On October 11, the king appointed Former Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand - a pro-monarchist - as interim prime minister and asked the new government to resolve the long-running insurgency and hold elections as soon as possible. The rebels have not responded yet to Mr Chand's offer to hold talks. Mr Chand said elections would be organised as soon as peace was restored. |
| November |
2002 |
Clashes in the Ghorka, Jumla, and Lamjung districts throughout the month resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, rebels, and security personnel. The Maoist movement called for a three-day general strike beginning November 11 that effectively shut down business in Kathmandu and further weakened the Nepali economy. Elections for a new government remain indefinitely postponed, and on November 18 King Gyandendra appointed 13 new ministers to the cabinet. Thousands protested the decision on November 26 in a demonstration organized by the centrist Nepali Congress party, which criticized the king's appointment as unconstitutional. |
| December |
2002 |
After proposing peace talks with the government, Maoist guerillas
continue to bomb and raid government and civilian targets. The Nepalese
government army is in the midst of an extensive modernization effort,
importing weapons from the United States, Belgium, and China. The
government comes under fire from Amnesty International in a report
accusing security forces of endemic human rights violations. Throughout
the month, protests against King Gyanendra's assertion of power continue,
including one that drew 60000 people. A two-week student strike closes
over 4000 schools, while a later two-day general strike paralyzes
Kathmandu. |
| January |
2003 |
Controversy continues to embroil the monarchy, as political parties
protest King Gyanendra's adoption of executive power, and Former Prime
minister Girija Prasad Koirala threatens to expose a "grand design"
behind the 2001 massacre of the royal family. Cold weather took its
toll, leaving dozens of dead. United States military assistance begins in
earnest, with US advisors training government forces. Maoist guerrillas
kidnap and release hundreds of schoolchildren, and later assassinate the
chief of the government's Armed Police Forces, Krishna
Mohan Shrestha along with his wife and bodyguard. Three days later, at
the end of the month, a ceasefire is agreed upon by the government and
the Maoists. Nepalese minister for Physical Planning and Works Narayan
Singh Pun is credited for his role in declaring ceasefire and paving the
way for peace process. |
| February |
2003 |
The ceasefire receives local and international approbation, as
government and Maoist negotiators engage in "intense talks." Other
political parties, stripped of power by King Gyanendra, demand a place
in the negotiations. Central issues to be resolved include the
repeal of government anti-terror laws and Maoist acceptance of Nepal's
constitutional monarchy. By the end of the month, a formal
cease-fire agreement seems imminent.
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