There is more to the war of words between the military and the Maoists than meets the eye. Prime Minister Koirala told the former rebels in his cabinet that he had no prior information about the change of the security detail provided by the Nepal Army to Maoist ministers. The Army's explanation was vague.

Apparently, elite guards were provided only to Maoist ministers. Messrs Mahara, Gurung, Yami, and their comrades in cabinet had reasons to be miffed. But that doesn't excuse their immature reaction. After all, members of the CPN-M continue to be protected by their own comrades too.

If the former insurgents see as little significance in continuing to be in government as Baburam Bhattarai would have it, that is a matter of ideological difference, and should be addressed as such. Not by stirring a storm in a teacup over personal security. As if they didn't have other more pressing matters that need urgent attention.

If anything, the ruckus appears to stem from tensions within the Maoist party just as their effort to paralyse the private media even though a Maoist is Minister of Information. This is a dicey transition for the comrades. Minors lured into cantonments with promises of monthly cash allowances risk being sent out by the UN verification team.

Youngsters in cantonments are getting sick of their boy scout lives. Desertion rates have gone up, a rift between hardliners and pragmatists has emboldened local commissars to do as they please.

The Maoists need to salvage their revolutionary image before they go to face the electorate. The Madhes Uprising and janajati discontent have seriously weakened their past mobilisation. Even freed kamaiyas and newly-empowered dalits, traditional Maoist strongholds, have begun to explore other alignment options in national politics. The Maoist leadership is under severe stress as it prepares to face the fifth meeting of the party's central committee. The public rhetoric indicates tectonic pressures building up within the movement.

The seven parties need to help the peacemakers among the Maoists prevail, not gloat over their disunity. The Nepal Army must also be attuned to the compulsions of the ex-guerrillas. The uprising in the tarai diverted the attention of the nation away from the fact that we are just coming out of a decade-long violent insurgency.

There will be a heavy price to pay if parties play politics with the travails in the Maoist camp. United, they stand. If they splinter, the country will be back to square one fighting a radical faction.

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