By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Even as a red-faced Nepal government arrested two Maoist guerrillas after the tale of their assault of a Swiss tourist hit the headlines worldwide, complains started pouring in from more and more foreigners about their harassment at the hand of the rebels, whose leadership takes pride in saying no foreigner was ever attacked during the 10-year armed uprising.
After it became known that Maoist cadres had beaten up and injured 31-year-old Swiss trekker Steve Jeanneret who was on the way to the Annapurna mountains, a popular trail for trekkers, for refusing to pay them “donation”, another group of Swiss visitors said they were harassed by the rebels in the same area.
A team of Swiss journalists, who had gone to the Annapurna region about a week ago, ironically to write about the tourism potential of Nepal, are alleging Maoists forced them to pay NRS 2,000.
“We were harassed by the Maoist activists and eventually, had to pay NRS 2,000,” Lorenz Kummer, foreign editor of Swiss daily Der Bund told the Himalayan Times daily.
“We argued that the (Maoist) leaders had said there would be no extortion,” the daily Saturday quoted Kummer as saying. “But they did not let us pass.”
According to the report, the group was accosted in Birethanti village, about 150 km northwest of Kathmandu, the same place where Jeanneret was attacked.
A gang of young men calling themselves Maoists stopped them and asked for NRS 2,000 from each.
“They did not attack us but we had a very bad time,” Kummer said.
Eventually, the tourists agreed to pay NRS 2,000 after being told that their Nepali porters would be in trouble if they refused to “donate”.
After they made the payment, the group was handed a receipt with a flourish.
Written in English, it was signed by Amar Tamu, self-styled convenor of the Tamuwan State Committee, the regional wing of the Maoists.
The Himalayan Times said they were also given a press handout signed in the name of Baburam Bhattarai, the No.2 leader in the Maoist hierarchy.
The “Appeal to foreign tourists” said that Maoists survived on “voluntary donation from well wishers and supporters” at a time there was a vicious propaganda against them.
“We loathe the very idea of extortion,” the pamphlet said. “We humbly appeal to you to make a voluntary donation according to your capacity.”
Jeanneret, who was shown by TV channels as sporting a bloody bandage around his head, was beaten up by Maoists in the same village Wednesday for refusing to pay a “donation” and telling the extortionists that he could complain to Maoist supremo Prachanda.
The assault came at a time Nepal is expecting tourist arrivals to cross the half a million mark and triggered protests to the government from hotel and travel trade associations.
Subsequently, police arrested two Maoist cadres from the district Friday.
Despite the Maoists signing a peace accord last year and promising to stop extortion, the practice has soared in recent times.
Tourists in the Annanpurna area are also feeling the pinch. In less than a month, at least two British trekkers said their groups had been made to pay “”donations””
The rising extortion targeting foreigners comes at a time the Maoists want to improve their image abroad and have been sending several of their leaders to Europe to defend their policy.