SUMMARY

The Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist (CPN-M) has carried out one-sided violence in the context of its intrastate conflict against the Government of Nepal. CPN-M has waged a “people’s war” against the government, in order to sweep away what it believes to be a “feudal” and oppressive system of governance dominated by the upper classes. In carrying out this “people’s war” CPN-M has targeted not only the Nepalese army and police, but also civilians that it deems to be supportive of the government and the “oppressive system” it is facing.

CPN-M attacks on civilians have not usually occurred in the form of “massacres”, i.e. killings in which a large number of civilians are targeted. Instead, most violence has occurred through targeted killings of different sorts. In general, CPN-M targets and kills people it deems to be “class enemies” or “class traitors”. Several distinct categories of civilians can be found within this crude categorization.

Firstly, CPN-M is known to have targeted members and/or followers of opposition political parties. Killings in this category range from murdering high-profile officials (often recorded as battle-related deaths due to the targeting of government structures that this entails), to low-level political activists of non-Maoist parties.

Secondly, CPN-M has targeted civilians they suspect of being informers. An “informer” can be any civilian who has actually given information to government forces, or only given food or shelter to the same.

Thirdly, civilians have also been killed simply because they have been deemed by the group to be opposing Maoist rule and doctrine. Many civilians in this category have been killed when attempting to resist extortion (often labeled as “tax” by the group). People of relative wealth can often be found within this target category.

In areas captured by CPN-M many of the killings have been carried out as summary executions or as punishments meted out by “people’s courts”. Often CPN-M accepts responsibility for these killings, charging the killed civilians with being “informers”. This charge can encompass any activity that opposes the Maoist movement. Many of these executions have taken place in full view of the public eye, so as to maximize the deterrent effect of the killings. The one-sided violence can thus be seen as a strategic part of the “people’s war”; i.e. ensuring that the populace does not collaborate with government forces and structures. Many executions are known to have been accompanied by torture.

Many civilians have also been killed by bombs and booby-traps set by CPN-M. These blasts have often taken place along routes and public places where police or soldiers are likely to pass by, but have instead killed civilians.

Analyzing the entire time period of CPN-M's one-sided activity shows that violence has been carried out in most of Nepal’s 75 districts. Violence has, of course, spread as the group expanded the territory under its control. Activity has perhaps been at its most intense level in the western parts of the country, whilst Kathmandu and the most mountainous areas of the country have seen less activity.

CPN-M first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1999, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in April that year when one civilian was killed in the district of Siraha, pushing the cumulative one-sided death toll to 25 deaths.