KATMANDU, 15 January (IRIN) - "I was only 15 years old when I was forced to flee my home after my father, Shiva Prasad, was brutally killed
by the Maoist rebels six years ago. He was our only breadwinner and his death has severely impoverished our family. "I cannot forget the crime against my family. My father was barely 43 years old
and he was so brutally killed. He was executed in public. His throat was sliced. How can we ever forgive these Maoists for such a crime? "I have four younger siblings and my mother and all of us had
to leave our native village, abandoning our farms, house and other property in our remote village of Gorkha district [nearly 700 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu]. We survive with low-income
jobs in the capital and I am responsible for the welfare of my siblings and mother. "My father was a good teacher and his only crime was that he could not afford to pay the 'donation' demanded by
the local Maoist cadres. He also refused to join their People's War [between 1996 and 2006], as he wanted to commit his life to teaching."Today I am 21 years old and trying hard to forget the
incident that has affected my family so much. I am trying hard to make a living to look after my family and also going to college to complete my education and follow in the footsteps of my father as a
teacher. "Today, the Maoists are joining the government with the seven national parties and many victims and their families are still wondering if we should accept them. All we want is justice
served against the perpetrators, not just the Maoists but also the state security forces who were responsible for making so many children orphans. Both have been responsible for making many young
women, such as my mother, widows. "It is good that the armed conflict has ended and that the Maoists are joining mainstream politics in a peaceful way but we want the Maoist leaders to be
accountable by punishing their many cadres for their crimes against humanity."All we want is the Maoists and the parties to form a national truth commission when they form a new government soon.
Many children who have become orphans or lost one of their parents have formed our own organisation called the Society of Terror Victims and are lobbying hard in the capital to ensure that both the
Maoists and security forces responsible for crimes against the innocent Nepalese people be punished."at/sz/mw
