Maoists threaten former child soldier for speaking out

KATHMANDU, July 5: Despite having been forced to spend two years for a cause she didn´t believe in, 18-year-old Sita Tamang who went public last month saying her life with the Maoists was “sad and painful” has failed to earn immunity from Maoist intimidation.

Revisited by horror

On Sunday, ninth grader Tamang sat for math test at Bhandara School in Chitwan, returned home, and then left for a nearby forest to tend to cattle when horror revisited her.

Only two weeks ago, she had recounted at a United Nations Security Council meeting on protecting children in armed conflict in New York the travails she went through during two forced years with the Maoist army.

Five Maoist combatants from Shaktikhor cantonment reached her residence in Bhandara, Chaukidanda Sunday morning and chillingly reminded her that her past tormentors were still a potent force.

“They told me and my mother that anything can happen to me,” said Tamang.

Four men and a woman reached her house, told her parents that they wanted to talk to an old acquaintance and asked that she be summoned.

Tamang reached home after being informed that she had visitors waiting for her. The combatants asked her how she became involved in the war, who took her, and what happened during her two years with the Maoist army.

Intimidated by their questions, Tamang called up local journalists, and seniors at a social organization she is involved in. They advised her to be very careful and say as little as possible.

“I did accordingly. They (Maoists) then said that my intentions were not good, and warned that anything can happen to me,” said Tamang.

“Of the five, I recognize the woman. I don´t remember her name, but I had first met her four years ago,” she said.

Going public

On June 16, Tamang recounted to the Security Council meeting how she suffered during her years with the Maoist army.

Tamang was forced to join the Maoist army in September 2005 when she was just 13.

She was taken by the Maoists under the infamous diktat of one-member-per-family for the Maoist cause.

She was initially taken with the promise that she would be returned home after a week. But she ended up spending two years with the Maoist army.

Tamang had to survive 14-hour jungle walks, dig ditches, and go hungry for weeks. She learned to shoot a gun when she was just 14.

“Many of my friends had died fighting and many had become disabled while fighting. Most of us were weak. During the war, at times, we wouldn´t be able to eat for an entire week. Sometimes, we would survive on water and corn flour,” she told the meeting.

Tamang once became a commander but was demoted to a cook after being accused of faking ill health to avoid work.

She was also stigmatized in her own neighborhood once and went back to the Maoists just 10 days after returning home. She returned home for good in May, 2007.

Security Concerns

Newswire reports on Tamang´s account at the Security Council meeting last month identify her as Manju Gurung, which is a regular journalistic protocol on sensitive stories. But her pictures were made available to the media, thus exposing her true identity.

Until Sunday evening, no concrete measures were taken to protect Tamang, who is terrified after the visit by the Maoists. Additionally, the visit is sure to take a toll on her performance at her school´s internal exams that started Sunday.

Maoist third division deputy commander Uday Chalaune has admitted to a local journalist that the five had been sent from Shaktikhor cantonment, according to a journalist based in Chitwan.

“Chalaune said they had been sent for enquiry as it involved the Maoists,” said Ekal Silwal, correspondent of Himal newsmagazine. Silwal´s story on Tamang was published in the latest edition of the newsmagazine. Chalaune is not happy with that story either.

“After the story was published, Chalaune called me up and said the story was not based on facts,” Silwal said, adding, “He was unhappy that I did not consult with him before filing the story.”

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=20666