I am not denying that maoist revolutions will be handicapped bigtime, if they drop gun. this is armed revolution my friend, and when people lift guns they know what that means to them. the apprehension or fear factor that maoists have is due to the present regime (or old regime in their terminology). the spa and their leaders with the likes of girija still want monarchy to sustain, be it in the ceremonial form. i have already projected the drawbacks of having to keep monarchy (in any form, in nepal) in the other thread. it's quite obvious that maoists want republic (democratic), although if referendum gives the verdict for monarchy. the revolution for republicism can/will be pushed to future but it's inevitable. the other thing is, it's pretty much useless at the moment to argue what maoists will/won't do if they are to come to the government in the future. you cannot judge how an apple will taste unless you take a bite out of it and taste it by yourself. However, you CAN make an educated guess of what maoists wll and wll NOT do if they come in the goverment in the future (which is quite likely at the moment). personally speaking, i don't think they will/can impose tyranny in nepal. Not because they can NOT do, but because that will lead them to downfall, which they seem to know better than you and I. So, all I am saying is have a bit more patience and let the time decide about it. it's high time the spa and them came to an agreement. monarchy and royalists are wounded and battered badly but they are not yet dead. procrastinating means giving them more time for revival, which we don't want, do we? LooTe