V. Treatment of Children in the RanksChildren play a variety of roles for the CPN (M), including participation in direct combat, carrying military supplies as porters, providing medical assistance, and propaganda activities such as recruiting of other children. Additionally, we found that children among Maoist cadres were isolated from their home, with almost no contact with their parents. Life in the ranks was tightly regulated, and attempts to escape were carefully guarded against and harshly punished. In the line of fireRegardless of their assigned roles, many children serving with Maoist forces were exposed to armed conflict. Some were combatants, but even if children served essentially support roles like those described above, they were called upon to provide such support during battles or encounters with government forces. Children were also vulnerable to attacks by government forces, particularly during the chaos of a Maoist withdrawal from a pitched battle. One group of children interviewed by Human Rights Watch had been captured immediately after they had been involved in a massive Maoist assault on the government center in the western city of Tensen. Several of the children who spoke to Human Rights Watch described participating directly in combat; others told us about the terror they experienced when government helicopters chased them. Several of the children had been injured during combat, and had seen other children suffer injuries and even death. Bikram, the 16-year-old from Jumla, had been involved in direct, bloody combat since age 15:
Bikram, who had received the most weapons training, was also unquestionably the most battle-hardened of the children we interviewed. All the other children we spoke with exhibited much greater fear and anxiety about their battle experiences. Sixteen-year-old Pradeep, who had also received firearms training, described his terror the first time he engaged in combat, and how he was later injured:
Several children who had been involved in the Maoist attack on the government facility in Tensen, and then fled the governments sustained counterattack led by US-trained Rangers, described being caught up in the heavy fighting. According to Hem, who was 17 years old at the time of the attack, dozens, if not hundreds, of children of his age were involved in transporting military supplies before the attack, supporting combat troops during the assault, and providing medical assistance and even cover to retreating Maoist troops.69 Many of the children, who were not prepared for combat and who had only one grenade, were bewildered and frightened. Their superiors had warned them not to surrender, instead exhorting them to use their one grenade against government troops at the last moment. Eighteen-year-old Padma told Human Rights Watch that her superiors had tried to discourage her from ever surrendering, warning her about the treatment she would receive from the Nepali army:
Padma described the circumstances of her capture to Human Rights Watch. She and several other Maoists, including children, were followed by government forces after the battle of Tensen. The small group of Maoists sought shelter in a house in a village, harried by government helicopters, which is where their commanders first told them not to surrender, and then essentially abandoned them:
Sixteen-year-old Maya was also captured in the retreat from Tensen. She said she was terrified to surrender because the Maoists talked a lot about what the army would do to the detainees, but at the same time felt that it was her chance to escape:
Another deterrent keeping children from surrendering was the possibility that they, or their families, would be punished by the Maoists. JS, a 19-year-old who was quite proud of his service with the Maoists (which began at age 17), spoke with Human Rights Watch a week after he had been captured by government forces after a difficult battle. His chief concern was that his former colleagues not think that he had surrendered, due to a combination of fear of reprisal and the possibility of missing out on future benefits:
Weapons trainingAll the children we interviewed had received at least rudimentary training in the use of weapons. Most of the children had been trained in how to use a grenade or socket bomb, while others had received more sophisticated instruction in the use of firearms. The testimony we received indicated that the Maoists had provided combat training to at least hundreds of children as young as 14 years old. The ceasefire has not stopped the Maoists policy of training children in the use of weapons. The OHCHRs September report spoke of credible reports it and Nepali NGOs had received concerning weapons training given to some of the around 50 children OHCHR believed to have been recruited since the ceasefire (see above).74 One of the most alarming developments after the ceasefire has been that Maoists seem to have sped up the rate at which they train children in the use of firearms, subjecting children to weapons training very soon after recruiting them.75 Information gathered by Human Rights Watch and other international and Nepali monitors indicated that before the ceasefire, weapons training had been part of a broader course of ideological and political training. Bikram, the 16-year-old boy from Jumla who had been recruited when he was 14, told Human Rights Watch that he had received military training in the use of firearms, along with many other children:
Sixteen-year-old Pradeep, from Dailekh district, had been 14 years old when he joined the Maoists. He also received instruction in the use of firearms, and told Human Rights Watch dozens of other children had received the same training along with him:
Other children told Human Rights Watch they had received less extensive weapons training. Hem, a 17-year-old, said,
Other children told Human Rights Watch they had received only rudimentary training, though they had all received basic instruction in the use of handheld explosivesand had been issued at least one grenade or socket bomb to carry. Padma, who was 18 years old when she spoke to Human Rights Watch but had been recruited two years earlier, said,
Seventeen-year-old Kalawoti described her instruction on grenade use:
In some cases, the Maoists apparently did not provide children with more extensive weapons training because they were considered too young even for the CPN (M). Shyam, who was only 13 years old when he was recruited (he was 14 years old at the time of the interview) said, The Maoists did not give me military training. I carried grenades and knew how to use them. They didnt want to train me because of my age.80 Ram, a 16-year-old boy from Panchthar district who had been recruited when he was approximately 11 years old, initially viewed the grenade as a toy:
As he grew older, Ram was transferred from a militia to a proper PLA company, and along the way was trained in the use of more complicated weapons:
Combat supportChildren performed many of the combat support roles for Maoist forces, including basic logistics and medical assistance. Even in such roles, and away from battle, though, children came face to face with violence and threats. Furthermore, it bears repeating here that the prohibition against using children extends to using them as cooks, porters, and messengersnot just as combatants. Ramesh, who had been recruited as a 10-year-old, described how he had seen action even though he was mostly a sentry:
Ram, who had joined the Maoists when he was only 11 years old, joined a PLA company when he was 14, after three years in a militia group. In the PLA, he and other children were responsible for sentry duty and collecting food from villages, at times by intimidation:
Other children were assigned to medical duty (which could mean work as simple as carrying the injured) or menial work, such as cooking and portering. Maoist forces often recruit children for temporary stints as they were needed. One 17-year-old boy described how he had been taken from home, ostensibly for a short period, before he was caught by government troops after a particularly fierce battle:
Attempts to escapeMaoist forces closely watched the children in their ranks to make sure they did not escape. The children were forcibly kept apart from their parents; attempts at escape were harshly punished. Not only the children, but their families were vulnerable to punishment if the children fled service (for the related fears children had about surrender, see above). Seventeen-year-old Kamala, who had been with the Maoists for two years, described the fear that kept her and other children in check:
Seventeen-year-old Sita told Human Rights Watch that after the Maoists brought her back after she attempted an escape, they guarded her closely. They also prohibited her parents from seeing her. She said,
Eighteen-year-old Padma who was recruited at age 17 told Human Rights Watch,
Sixteen-year-old Maya said,
Other children confirmed Mayas experience. Children who had already attempted escape were guarded particularly closely and punished by being forced to engage in hard labor. Seventeen-year-old Govinda, who had been kidnapped by the Maoists, explained that he had tried to escape nearly immediately:
For many children, the Maoists threats and the serious punishments meted out to captured escapees, or their families, were sufficient deterrents. Sixteen-year-old Birendra told Human Rights Watch,
Ram, who had been recruited when he was 11 years old, regretted joining the Maoists because of the difficulty of life in the ranks, even though as a particularly young recruit, he was exempt from carrying the heavier burdens. Nonetheless, he stayed on because of the Maoists serious threats:
The majority of children interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that they had not seen or been in touch with their families since they had been recruited, some of them for several years. Immediately after recruitment, while the children were still in their home district, the Maoists discouraged and prevented the contact, and later on it was not possible as the children were taken far away from their homes. Fifteen-year-old Reema, who was recruited at age 14, told Human Rights Watch,
Seventeen-year-old Kamala, who has been with the Maoists for two years, said that she wanted to go home and see her family but the Maoists did not let her: The Maoists kept telling me that they also have homes and families where they would like to go, but they dont go, and I also shouldnt think about it.93 The forced separation from family was clearly one of the more difficult aspects of life for children serving with the Maoists, and one of the main reasons why they braved the Maoists threats and the dauntingly unfamiliar terrain they often found themselves in. Fourteen-year-old Shyam described how his longing for his old life finally prompted him to flee:
Another serious deterrent to escape was the absence of a mechanism whereby children could return to their families. The deficiencies of the Nepali government response is discussed in the next section, but one aspect of the childrens difficult life is particularly relevant here: often, even if children escaped successfully, they could find themselves detained by government security forces and employed as forced labor. After fourteen-year-old Shyam managed to elude the Maoists, he had no way to get back to his parents. He told Human Rights Watch,
67 Human Rights Watch interview with Bikram (age 16, from Jumla), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. 68 Human Rights Watch interview with Pradeep (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 69 Human Rights Watch interview with Hem (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 70 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal) Butwal, March 5, 2006. 71 Ibid. 72 Human Rights Watch interview with Maya (age 16, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 73 Human Rights Watch interview with JS (age 19, from Kalikot), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 74 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, Human Rights Abuses by the CPN (M): Summary of Abuses, September 25, 2006. 75 Human Rights Watch email correspondence with Advocacy Forum, Kathmandu, August 30, 2006. 76 Human Rights Watch interview with Bikram (age 16, from Jumla district), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. 77 Human Rights Watch interview with Pradeep (age 16, from Dailekh district), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 78 Human Rights Watch interview with Hem (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 79 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 80 Human Rights Watch interview with Shyam (age 14, from Taplejung), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 81 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. 82 Human Rights Watch interview with Ramesh (age 15, from Tehrathu), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 83 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. 84 Human Rights Watch interview with Govinda (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 85 Human Rights Watch interview with Kamala (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 86 Human Rights Watch interview with Sita (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 87 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 88 Human Rights Watch interview with Maya (age 16, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 89 Human Rights Watch interview with Govinda (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 90 Human Rights Watch interview with Birendra (age 16, from Arghakanghan), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 91 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. 92 Human Rights Watch interview with Reema (age 15, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 93 Human Rights Watch interview with Kamala (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006 94 Human Rights Watch interview with Shyam (age 14, from Taplejung), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006. 95 Ibid. 96 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006. |