I hate to say this, but this sort of article is too common in Nepal, especially after the deaths of many civilians. Let's get one thing clear: This is NOT the first time that the Maoists have killed so many civilians and have said sorry. This will NOT be the last time they do so. That is why, this whole issue will be history by next week, and life in Nepal will have moved on to more killings and more mayhem. If not, then, how come EVEN AFTER ALL THESE DEATHS in the last 10 years: a) Nepali civil society members and the State do not have a basic apparatus in place to identify the dead and mourn for them properly? (If the recent past is any guide, these unnecessarily dead Nepalis, often drawn from the poorest sections of Nepal, will end up being no more than blips of statistics in this civil war, forgotten after that.) b) Nepali civil society members and the State do not have a basic apparatus to find a way to provide relief, let alone compensation, to the victims. In fact, other families of the Maoist victims were recently rounded up and beaten in Kathmandu by the Police. MY point is this: As long as some civil society members risk their own lives to press for SPECIFIC changes (and NOT always talk about GENERAL human rights issues) in the system (for instance, say, pressing our mafia-like bus companies to insure ALL passengers and pay proper compensations to victims), nothing;s going to change by calling for peace and more peace. May the victims -- who are, as is usually the case, related to no one powerful and influential in Nepal -- ko souls rest in peace. oohi ashu