Four years ago a civil war between Nepal's military and Maoist rebels ended. That does not mean the violence ceased completely, however. The Maoists (or Unified Communist Party of Nepal) have been guilty of many violent attacks, guerrilla warfare, and now control the western half of Nepal.
The party has calmed down considerably, and even participates in government. Now the discussion is how the Maoists will transform from a paramilitary group to civilian government. Nepal, now a secular democratic monarchy, has become impoverished due to the 10 year conflict and now seeks to recover.
The former Prime Minister was Maoist, but after conflicts last year, he resigned, and the UCPN withdrew from government. One problem is that all the veterans of the civil war from the Maoist side are sitting around, waiting to find out what will happen. The government of Nepal does not want to integrate them into the military. Some veterans say they will declare another civil war unless they get jobs and are taken care of.
UCPN is the largest political party. There is some data about this that I do not yet understand. While they seem to have populace support, the news stories indicate that they do not have "political party" support.
As far as I can tell, there does not seem to be many violent demonstrations at this point. The UCPN is trying to go more "mainstream," and calls themselves civilian. Naturally, without complete communism, the party will continue to push, and maybe rebel, against the other political systems.
For a detailed 20 minute news story, watch the YouTube from AlJazeera English below.
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