"The Military Solution Is Next"

Whe

n King Gyanendra of Nepal named Suryabahadur Thapa the country's Prime Minister in June, no one had to show the new Premier where the pens and paper are kept—Thapa had been PM four times before. The moderate royalist is expected to be replaced once again in coming weeks, a casualty of partisan maneuvering as the nation's politicians attempt to unite with the palace against the Maoist rebels. At his home in Kathmandu, Thapa spoke to Time's Alex Perry.

TIME: How bad is the current situation?
Thapa: We are not at all scared. We are determined to foil their attempts. But it is definitely a crisis, there's no denying it. If all the political parties do not come together, democracy itself in Nepal is threatened.

TIME: Haven't the mainstream political parties boosted the Maoist cause by failing to address poverty and social inequity?
Thapa: Certainly the political parties have not been responsible and effective and this has caused concern, but that's not the main factor in the insurgency. The main factor is that the Maoists use terrorism to gain support and people are scared. They have tortured people, cut off their limbs and harassed them. It should not have taken this long for the parties to come together and defend democracy against these Maoists, but we are doing it now.

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TIME: What about the persistent allegations of torture and executions by your own troops?
Thapa: There's no truth in that. The violations of human rights are all by the Maoists.

TIME: Do you see peace talks resuming?
Thapa: The priority should be dialogue and to address Nepal's socioeconomic and political problems. We have to address the imbalance in incomes, particularly between Kathmandu and the regions. We put forward measures to produce such a progressive transformation in the last round of peace talks. But looking back, the Maoists were not sincere in the talks, didn't look at our proposal and merely used the lull to regroup.

TIME: How angry were you when the Maoists broke off the cease-fire?
Thapa: I wasn't angry, I was sad. But we have learned from what has happened. If talks do not work, the military solution is next—and our military is much more advanced and better trained.