Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - Overview

Overview

The CPN(M) was formed following a split in the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre), and used the name CPN (Unity Centre) until 1995. On February 13, 1996 the party launched the "Nepalese People's War", and it gained control of some rural areas throughout Nepal before a ceasefire agreement was reached.

In 2001, the civil war escalated as the Maoists attacked the Nepalese Army for the first time. Although there were intermittent ceasefires, fighting was roughly continuous through 2005. In 2005, the CPN(M) sought a different strategy of seeking permanent peace accords while forming a pro-democratic alliance with several other mainstream political parties in opposition to the monarchical dictatorship of King Gyanendra. Following massive popular uprisings and protests (some involving over a million people each), a prolonged general strike in 2006, and several violent clashes between protesters and the Nepalese Army, the monarchy finally capitulated. The CPN(M) gained international legitimacy as they agreed to lay down arms and participate in the new electoral process. In the aftermath of the conflict, several western European powers removed the CPN(M) from their government's terrorist lists,. In 2012, the US State Department followed suit and delisted the CPN(M) as a "terrorist organization", citing the party's "...credible commitment to pursuing peace and reconciliation...".

In early 2008, the CPN(M) won the largest voting bloc in the Nepalese Constituent Assembly. International observers, like the Carter Center, said that the election was held in a "peaceful, orderly" manner and were "satisfying" Other major political parties in Nepal such as the democratic Nepali Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), however, accused the Maoists of using force and fraud to win the election.