Nepal’s gays hit by Maoist clean up drive

Maoist cadres have gone around ordering house owners not to let out rooms to lesbians and homosexuals

KATHMANDU: After being persecuted by King Gyanendra’s regime and the new multi-party government, Nepal’s homosexual community is now at the receiving end of a society clean up drive launched by Maoist guerrillas.

The communists, who now freely roam in the capital after they signed a peace accord with the new government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and had the terrorist tag lifted, have now turned their attention to cleaning “social pollutants”, ranging from pornographic films to homosexuality.

Kathmandu’s gays, who had joined hands with the Maoists and political parties to oppose King Gyanendra’s direct rule, felt the new communist crackdown last month after Maoist cadres went around ordering house owners not to let out rooms to homosexuals and lesbians. Alarmed at the diktat, members of the community met Sagar, the former Maoist commander of Kathmandu to persuade him to call off the drive.

“We don’t want to evict anyone,” Sagar told IANS. “So we have asked house owners to allow tenants. However, we are against any aberrant activity that could have a negative effect on society.” The insurgents, who have been campaigning against polygamy, polyandry, infidelity and drunkenness, have a zero tolerance policy towards homosexuality.

Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s only NGO fighting for gay rights, met senior Maoist leader Dev Gurung to try explain the rights of gays, lesbians and transgenders to him. The rebel leader reportedly told the organisation that homosexuality was a byproduct of capitalism.

“Under Soviet rule there were no homosexuals in the Soviet Union,” Gurung reportedly said.  “Now they are moving towards capitalism, homosexuals may have arisen there as well. So homosexuality is a product of capitalism. Under socialism this kind of problem doesn’t exist.”

When Blue Diamond Society met other Maoist leaders to point out that homosexuals were under attack from cadres, the reaction was “disheartening”, it says.