Posters Note: Came across this article Via Nepal News. Believe it or not it's actually
a fair and honest article! Lets hope that when the 'Trekkers' return back to their
countries of origin they get involved in Nepal Solidarity activities and expose the
lies of "Maoist terror"!
Attached is a copy of the receipt given to Trekkers following the minimal donation of
which i think in Sterling is around � 7 pounds ( $ 12 ) or so.. This Tax is collected
for use by the New State in Nepal based in the Western region, but nevertheless
enveloping throughout the Nation. The imperialist super rich travel companies make
huge sums of capital from their industry.... now some is returning back to the cause
of the People's Struggle!!
To get active in activities supporting the Revolution in Nepal, go to
http://www.wprm.org , click on contact and make sure to e mail your chapter of the
World People's Resistance Movement !
Lal Salam ! Red Salute !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Close encounters with Maoists
Nepal�s latest tourist attraction: meeting mountain guerrillas
RAMESH POUDEL in POKHARA
ANIL SHRESTHA
It was bound to happen sooner or later: Maoists have become Nepal�s latest tourist
attraction.
Trekking lodges along the Annapurna Base Camp trail are abuzz with hikers exchanging
experiences on their encounters with the rebels and passing around precious souvenirs:
Maoist tax receipts emblazoned with portraits of Lenin, Stalin and Mao.
Compared to last year, when many tourists were apprehensive about meeting Maoists and
felt uncomfortable about paying a �revolutionary tax� to a group espousing violence,
this season�s trekkers seem to have taken the rebels in their stride.
�They behaved like friends,� said Joni Lundstrom from Sweden, �they gave us a receipt
for Rs 1,000 and told us they would provide us with security.�
There is an apparent paradox here: anywhere else in the world news of violence
dissuades tourists but in Nepal it seems to be turning out to be something of a draw.
Part of the reason is that the young Maoists that trekkers have met on the Annapurna
Base Camp trail are non-threatening, friendly and helpful. The result is that the
Annapurna trail has seen a spurt in trekking compared to the last season when
publicity about firefights near Ghandruk forced many to go to Khumbu instead. Some 200
trekkers have been passing through Pokhara every day headed to Annapurna Base Camp or
to Ghorepani.
Although the war tax is mandatory, it doesn�t seem to bother individual trekkers much,
they see it as just another fee that tourists have to pay the authorities every step
of the way in Nepal. Although trekking permits and charges have been scrapped for the
Annapurnas there is still the Rs 2,000 Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) fee.
Till last year, the Maoist receipts were from the �People�s Liberation Army�. This
year the Maoists have a checkpoint in Ghorepani where they charge Rs 1,200 ($15) for
entry and give receipts bearing the name of the Maoists� Magarat Autonomous Region.
Another checkpoint in Ghandruk (pictured above) is on the road to Annapurna Base Camp
and there the Thambuwan Autonomous Region charges Rs 100 per day as �people�s tax�.
But they are flexible. When a Japanese trekker met Maoists only on the return journey
when all his money had finished, the rebel sentry gave him Rs 700 and sent him down to
Pokhara.
The Maoist tax has now become so organised that trekking agents even budget the
expense for their groups before they go on the trek.
�For many trekkers, coming across guerrillas with guns is an exciting experience,� Val
Pikethly, a Canadian trekking guide told us recently. �They get excited because they
are not affected by the insurgency like the locals are.�
Amanda Mockidge, a British trekker, came across rebels in the Annapurna region in
western Nepal recently and was asked to pay Rs 500. �I enjoyed chatting with them,�
she recalled, �they said they would use the money for the revolutionary cause.�
Trekkers say they are never forced to pay the money but the Maoists usually carry a
gun and they pay anyway just to avoid trouble. In the remote Kangchenjunga and Karnali
treks, the fee is $100 per trekkers and Rs 500 for per porter and guide.
Despite frequent reports of encounters with Maoists, many trekkers have returned from
their Annapurna treks without ever meeting the rebels. Other parts of Nepal, such as
Everest and Langtang, are free of Maoist activity even though porters have to go
through intensive searches by security forces at checkpoints along the trail.
Bandinima Sherpa, vice-president of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal, says
news of friendly Maoists have spread through the Internet and travellers� chats and
most trekkers are not rattled to meet rebels anymore. �Trekking is adventure tourism,
and they see it as a part of the adventure package.�
Even so, tourism officials deny they will ever sell Maoism as a tourist attraction.
They say the conflict has ruined the local economy, and everyone in the mountains is
waiting for a durable ceasefire and lasting peace so the tourists return in the
numbers they once came.
No tourist has ever been directly harmed by the Maoists but news of the conflict in
the international media has affected arrivals even though numbers are climbing again
this season for the first time since 1998.
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