This is one example how Dr Saheb got huge vote.
By Damodar Neupane in Gorkha
Diary of a reporter
Many people might be curious to know how the election was conducted
in the district where Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai won by the
margin of more than 40 thousand votes. As soon as the voting ended in
April 10 Nepali Congress and CPN UML complained to the Election
Commission about voting irregularities. They refused to take part in
the vote counting and because of that the counting was delayed by a
day. Since representatives from other parties didn’t come, the counting
began in the presence of the representatives from the Maoist and
Janamorcha (Peoples’ Front). I reported about that live on Kantipur TV
at 10 AM in April 11. Within hours Maoist cadre Amrit Upadhayay came to
me and started debating over the report. As I was thinking there was no
use in debating with them, my cell phone rang. I excused myself.
Within less than an hour, Maoist cadres forcibly took out Ramesh
Bastakoti, a Nepali Congress candidate who was going to Kathmandu, from
a microbus and started beating. Police intervened and took him away. In
a few minutes Maoist cadres started beating another NC activist Chitra
Bhatta. Police took him to hospital. They fled the hospital feeling
insecure, I knew later, and were hiding in a bamboo bush near the local
stadium. Maoist cadres found them and started beating again. We were
taking photos of that. At that instant, Maoists started manhandling
reporter Bhimlal Shrestha. They were ordering us what to shoot and what
not to. We left because we felt insecure. After they beat Bhatta and
Bastakoti almost near to death, Maoists handed them to the police.
Vote counting started in the night. We stayed there for whole night.
The Maoist was winning by huge margin in both number 1 and number 2
constituencies. Maoist was ahead in poll results all over the country.
Some Maoist cadres who were standing outside started to become arrogant
about their unexpected victory. They beat up NC activist Phanindra
Dhital who was in his home.
The counting was going on. As the noise outside increased the Chief
District Officer Jeevan Oli, Deputy Superintendent of Police Gita
Uprieti and I were going towards the noise. Lawyer Mohan Pokharel
suddenly came out of the crowd. “Save me,†he was screaming. Maoist
cadres were attacking him saying that they would take revenge of the
‘blood of our 13 thousand martyrs’. He was going to Kathmandu and
Maoist cadres had followed his microbus up to 13 kilometers saying that
he was ’suspicious’ they needed to ‘investigate’ him. He was severely
beaten up by the Maoist’s YCL cadres. “Damodar ji they beat me,†he was
telling me. “Could this be done just because I voted a different
political party? Can’t a person with an opinion different [than that of
the Maoist] live? Thanks to the police who were near and I was saved.â€
We were outside the vote counting station. A colleague called me.
“Sir, you don’t come outside.†I didn’t ask a question. A few minutes
later I heard a threat in my phone: “Now journalist’s turn.†The
atmosphere was tense. The YCL activists who had spread around the
villages during the election had come to the district headquarter. They
were armed with sticks and iron rods. We were feeling very insecure. I
called Kishore Jung Thapa, president of the Gorkha district branch of
the Federation of Nepali Journalists. He also said that the situation
was very tense.
He also said that he had talked to FNJ president Bishnu Nishturi.
Nishturi had assured him that he himself would come to Gorkha should
there be any problem. YCL cadres were stopping people at different
places and searching their bodies, bags and wallets. Some Nepali
Congress cadres were complaining that their money and mobile phones
were confiscated. Maoists were searching for NC cadres and beating
whoever they found. Some groups belonging to NC and UML had gone
underground. I wasn’t in a position to write news about the
development. Other journalist friends also felt insecure and we all
decided not to write anything. Police wasn’t in a position to control
the YCL crowd. NC activists were beaten up in front of the police. It
seemed like there was no presence of the state.
Meanwhile threats were coming in one after another. I didn’t
publicize the problem immediately thinking partly that they could be
solved in couple of hours. I thought for a long. There was no way that
I could get out of the circle created by the Maoists. I talked to the
regional bureau in Pokhara, central district bureau in Kathmandu of
Kantipur Publications and also to Kantipur TV. They told me to be safe.
Colleagues went to their homes in the evening. I stayed there. I told
Maoist lawmaker Parashuram Ramtel about the circumstances. He assured
me that nothign would happen to journalist. I also reminded him of the
reporting that I had done until then. He said that I was free to write
and report the facts.
Maoist distirct in charge Krishna Dhital and Secretary Chudamani
Khadka also said that such was not the party policy. They also said
that there might be infeltration of those elements who are willing to
beat journalists. That statement made us even more suspicious. That
meant in the event of attacks the Maoist wouldn’t take responsibility.
I had to face Maoist threat as the election campaign started.
Maoists had prevented NC candidates Chiranjivi Wagle and Chinkaji
Shresta from going to many villages. They had thrown boulders in
Ashrang village targetting a bus that was carrying journalists,
candidates and human rights activists. When we wrote news about such
incidents Maoists used to complain that we were anti-Maoist. They used
to humiliate us in various ways saying that media was working to defeat
them in the polls. They had mobilized their cadres in the village
against journalists. Maoist district secretary Chudamani used to say
even before the poll campaigns that “since Kantipur was a capitalist
newspaper there battle from now onwards would be against Kantipur.†He
used to indirectly threaten me that I was “a good person so he had no
complain again†me but with the newspaper that I was working for. There
is a long list of Maoist cadres manhandling but we had taken them as a
temporary arrogance.
I have always followed Maoist programs and reported their events be
that Dr Bhattarai’s door to door campaign or other campaign-related
events. I had tried my best to write balanced and impartial news. But
Maoists take any news as the one against them.
The situation was tense until three days after the vote. Amrit
Upadhayay was mainly responsible to create such situation. I am not
sure about his exact responsibility in the Maoist party but he was my
classmate in the college. After finishing BA, I joined MA and he went
underground. He used to complain about my ‘anti-Maoist news’ in our
occasional meetings. The same guy was heating the mass by passing
negative comments on news filed by me.
I continued reporting despite the fact that I wasn’t able to use my
laptop and Maoists continued beating up NC cadres. News came in that
some of the NC cadres were airlifted by a chopper.
Maoist leader Dr. Bhattarai won my huge margin. All three
constituencies went to the Maoist. A victory rally was slated for
Baishak 3. We heard that Maoists would chase away reporters who want to
pariticpate in the rally like dogs. We requested the Maoist leadership
to create an atmosphere in which we could attend the rally and cover
it. Maoist Secretary Khadka said that we would have to walk inside the
YCL security ring. We went to the rally and left a few minutes before
it ended fearing that it uncontrolled people would turn violently
against us.
After a few days of no activities of the Maoist we thought normalcy
had returned. We went to Manakamana along with CDO, DSP and polling
officer. After we returned to the headquarter Maoists started giving
mental torture. “We will analyze what a reporter has written until
now,†they told, according to a colleague. District-level leaders have
gone to village but their cadres who were in the headquarters didn’t
stop spreading rumors to intimidate us. The final results of the
proportional election had also come. I decided to escape from this
torture and go home for a few days. I don’t know what information they
received; Police came today and drove me to my home in Kathmandu.
Damodar is a reporter with Kantipur Publications and Kantipur TV. This article appeared in today’s Kantipur. Translated by UWB.
Last edited: 20-Apr-08 02:49 AM