A report prepared by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) after conducting a survey in Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Jajarkot says only 20-30 percent of the people living in these areas have joined the insurgency on their own free will. According to a source in the RNA most people are supporting the Maoists out of fear of retribution and pressure. The source says 2-3 percent of Maoists are elderly people who have joined up of their own free will and that the rest are mostly youngsters. Unemployed youth find the job of an insurgent attractive. "The Maoists even provide a salary to the young," said the source.
The report, which the source says took one year to prepare, places the blame squarely on government's weakness and failure to control the insurgency. The army source also claims that the military can easily bring the situation under control but that the government should set the stage to use the army. "To use the army, the government must declare a military programme in the region," said the source. According to the Military Act 1962, in case military rule is announced, all cases looked after by the civil courts will be handled by the military court except those of homicide and rape. To use the army, the region must be declared a riot-hit region, after which the civil administration will automatically be transferred to the army. Habeas corpus all other civil rights will be discontinued.
The fact that Maoists have declared their own government in certain regions is an attempt against sovereignty. Because this is not a common riot situation but one that questions sovereignty itself, the army, which is at the disposal of the government, may be utilised.
After the formation of the Armed Police Force, the question of whether to use the army or not has definitely moved further away. While the army chief, Prajwol Shamsher Rana, has said that the army will only move in if the Armed Police Force fails, a major general has been included in the central security board of the force.