A protester tries to run from the riot police personnel (unseen) trying to stop the torch rally in Kathmandu April 6, 2015. According to the local media reports, Maoist parties rallied against the Supreme Court verdict that disallowed providing mass amnesty to those facing accusations for crimes during civil war. Almost a decade has passed since the end of a civil war that pitted Maoist guerillas against the state and killed more than 17,000 people. Nepal's political parties have repeatedly missed deadlines to write the new republic's first constitution. At the heart of the dispute is disagreement over creating new provinces based on ethnicity, a move backed by the former rebels. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar 

Qiu, a 65-year-old retired shipyard worker, carries old books about Chinese late Chairman Mao Zedong up a stairway at his home in Shanghai, December 14, 2013. Qiu, who is a loyal supporter of Mao, has been voluntarily promoting Mao Zedong Thought, or Maoism, since his retirement. China celebrates the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, on December 26, 2013, but will be scaling back festivities as President Xi Jinping embarks upon broad economic reforms which have unsettled leftists. Picture taken December 14, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS SOCIETY) 

A resident rides past a bicycle bearing a portrait of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong, which belongs to 65-year-old retired shipyard worker Qiu (not pictured), on a street in Shanghai, December 11, 2013. Qiu, who is a loyal supporter of Mao, has been voluntarily promoting Mao Zedong Thought, or Maoism, since his retirement. China celebrates the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, on December 26, 2013, but will be scaling back festivities as President Xi Jinping embarks upon broad economic reforms which have unsettled leftists. Picture taken December 11, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS SOCIETY) 

Qiu, a 65-year-old retired shipyard worker wearing a Red Army hat, sits next to his bicycle bearing a portrait of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong, as he looks at a petitioner protesting outside a government building in Shanghai, December 2, 2013. Qiu, who is a loyal supporter of Mao, has been voluntarily promoting Mao Zedong Thought, or Maoism, since his retirement. China celebrates the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, on December 26, 2013, but will be scaling back festivities as President Xi Jinping embarks upon broad economic reforms which have unsettled leftists. Picture taken December 2, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST) 

Qiu, a 65-year-old retired shipyard worker wearing a Red Army hat, poses for a photograph with his bicycle bearing a portrait of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong on a street in Shanghai, December 2, 2013. Qiu, who is a loyal supporter of Mao, has been voluntarily promoting Mao Zedong Thought, or Maoism, since his retirement. China celebrates the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, on December 26, 2013, but will be scaling back festivities as President Xi Jinping embarks upon broad economic reforms which have unsettled leftists. Picture taken December 2, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS SOCIETY) 

A former Maoist rebel is offered tika by his family members as they celebrate his integration as a lieutenant into the national army, as part of the peace deal, at Nepal Military Academy in Kharipati in Bhaktapur August 26, 2013. This is the final step for the integration process of Maoist rebels into the national army. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) 

A flag of one of the labour unions affiliated with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) covers a supporter as he rides his bicycle in front of the rally commemorating Labour Day in Kathmandu May 1, 2013. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

An activist affiliated to the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist covers her face with a shawl during the protest against an agreement to allow Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi of the Supreme Court to head the new administration to oversee the election, in Kathmandu March 14, 2013. Nepal's chief justice took over as the head of an interim unity government on Thursday, the country's main political parties said, a move aimed at ending a political deadlock in a nation still recovering from a decade of civil war. Newly-appointed Prime Minister Regmi replaced Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai under an agreement signed by the four major political parties and will head the new administration until a national election is held in either May or June. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Supporters of the Unified Communist Party Nepal (Maoist) arrive for a mass gathering in Kathmandu June 15, 2012. According to local media reports, the party leaders of UCPN-Maoist organised the meeting to protest the obstructions presented by the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) to the achievement of a constitution with federalism. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) 

Nepalese police clash with the members of the Mohan Baidya faction of the United Communist Party of Nepal during their torch rally to protest against the handover of cantonments to the government in Kathmandu April 11, 2012. Nepal's former Maoist rebels on Tuesday handed over control of their fighters and weapons to the national army, in a move likely to bolster a faltering peace process nearly six years after a civil war ended. Thousands of Maoist fighters, who battled the Nepal Army during the decade-long civil war, have been housed in camps across the volatile Himalayan republic waiting to join the national army. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

NICKELASIA/PHILIPPINES - Map of mining projects in the Philippines. Taganito mine and two other mining projects were attacked by hundreds of Maoist rebels on Monday. (SIN07) 

Disqualified Maoist combatants participate in the torch rally in Kathmandu August 7, 2011. The former Maoist combatants, who had been "disqualified" by the United Nations Mission in Nepal's verification process in 2007, have announced Kathmandu-centric protests, saying that they have not been given relief packages promised by the government. The government had evicted 4,008 combatants disqualified by the UNMIN during the verification process. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Vegetable vendors carry baskets on their backs during a general strike called by dissidents who broke away from Nepal's ruling Maoist party, in Kathmandu May 24, 2011. The Maoist dissidents have threatened to declare an indefinite strike if the country's new constitution is not ready by May 28, according to local media reports. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: SOCIETY) 

A Maoist combatant stands guard with his gun at Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan, some160 km (99 miles) south of Kathmandu January 22, 2011. After the exit of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), camps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will be handed over to the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Combatants on Saturday in a move expected to boost a peace process that ended 10 years of civil war. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) 

A Maoist combatant walks past plastic guns kept at Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan, some160 km (99 miles) south of Kathmandu January 22, 2011. After the exit of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), camps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will be handed over to the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Combatants on Saturday in a move expected to boost a peace process that ended 10 years of civil war. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) 

Residents and Maoist supporters collect firewood to prepare food for Maoists rebels who are meeting at Palungtar village, at Gorkha, North of Kathmandu November 20, 2010. The United Mission in Nepal UNMIN has opposed the participation of some 1000 Maoist soldiers staying in various cantonments in preparation to attend a gathering of former rebels at the Northern town of Gorkha on Sunday. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) 

INDIA-MAOISTS/ - Map of India locating Maoist rebel-affected states Jharkand, where five people were killed on Tuesday, and Chhattisgarh, where 70 police personnel went missing on Wednesday. (SIN10) 

Maoist activists set fire to the effigy of Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar outside the Constitutional Assembly building in Kathmandu May 28, 2010. Maoists are accusing the Kumar of hindering the process of writing the new constitution. Nepalese law makers are debating on the extension of the specially elected constituent assembly, which has until the end of Friday to complete the draft of the nascent Himalayan republic's first constitution. The majority Maoist said they do not support the extension. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

INDIA-MAOISTS/ - Map of India locating Chhattisgarh were some 35 people were killed by a Maoist attack on a bus on Monday. RNGS. (SIN05) 

A Maoist activist injured during a clash with local police and residents in Birgunj, about 250 km (155 miles) south of Kathmandu, holds his head May 6, 2010. Residents across the country demonstrated against the indefinite general strike called by Maoist former rebels, which on Thursday had entered its fifth day. The Maoists are demanding that the government make way for a national unity coalition headed by them. REUTERS/Ram Sarraf (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A Maoist volunteer rests during their formation of a human chain around the Ring Road in Kathmandu May 4, 2010. Nepal remained virtually closed on the third day of an indefinite general strike called by the Maoists in a bid to topple the government. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Maoist activists and supporters hold a torch light rally in Kathmandu May 2, 2010. The Maoist party in Nepal is enforcing what it says will be an indefinite strike, in an attempt to force the government to resign. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS) 

A Maoist activist from a district takes part in martial arts training to combat any offensive during their protest, in Kathmandu April 29, 2010. Maoist have announced nationwide indefinite general strike from May 2 to force the government to resign. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Elderly men watch a protest rally in Kathmandu while holding flags distributed to them by Maoist activists April 27, 2010. Maoist-aligned Newa State Committee organized sit-in protest in front of the Constitution Assembly building, demanding to promulgate the constitution on time and to guarantee ethnicity-base federal system in new constitution. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Maoist supporters hold a torchlight rally ahead of a general strike in Kathmandu April 11, 2010. The Maoists have called for a general strike on Tuesday to oppose the contract given to India to print Nepalese machine readable passports (MRP). REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) 

INDIA-MAOISTS/ - Map of India showing where 73 police were killed in an ambush by Maoist rebels on Tuesday, with highlights showing areas most affected by the rebels. (SIN09) 

INDIA-MAOISTS/ - Map of India showing where 73 police were killed in an ambush by Maoist rebels on Tuesday, with highlights showing areas most affected by the rebels. (SIN09) 

A Maoist activist takes part in rally to mark People's Movement Day in Kathmandu April 6, 2010. Maoist had declared the start of a new round of protests from today to uphold civilian supremacy, national integrity and for timely constitution drafting and peace in the country. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) 

Maoist activists and supporters take part in a protest rally after the successful completion of the first day of a three-day nationwide general strike in Kathmandu December 20, 2009. Maoists in Nepal launched a general strike on Sunday, shuttering businesses and keeping vehicles off the roads in their biggest protest since they quit the government and plunged the Himalayan nation into crisis. The Maoists demand a return to power, saying they were "unconstitutionally" forced to resign seven months ago in a row with the president over the sacking of the army chief. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Maoist activists and supporters take part in a protest rally after the successful completion of the first day of a three-day nationwide general strike in Kathmandu December 20, 2009. Maoists in Nepal launched a general strike on Sunday, shuttering businesses and keeping vehicles off the roads in their biggest protest since they quit the government and plunged the Himalayan nation into crisis. The Maoists demand a return to power, saying they were "unconstitutionally" forced to resign seven months ago in a row with the president over the sacking of the army chief. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

People listen to Maoist leaders addressing a mass meeting after ending the picketing of the main secretariat Singhadurbar in Kathmandu November 13, 2009. Maoist activists closed all the entrances to the main government secretariat during their protest against the president's reinstatement of the army chief. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A Maoist supporter takes part in a traditional dance during a sit in protest in front of the main secretariat Singha Durbar in Kathmandu November 13, 2009. Maoist activists closed all the entrances to the main government secretariat on the second day of their protest against the president's reinstatement of the army chief. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

Police are silhouetted as they stand guard behind a Communist party flag during a Maoist sit in protest in front of the main secretariat Singha Durbar in Kathmandu November 13, 2009. Maoist activists closed all the entrances to the main government secretariat on the second day of their protest against the president's reinstatement of the army chief. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT) 

Maoist activists and supporters shout anti-government slogans during a protest in front of the Kathmandu Municipality office in Kathmandu November 2, 2009. Nepal's former Maoist rebels have re-launched their nationwide protests to topple the government over the army chief sacking issue. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL CONFLICT POLITICS) 

Maoist supporters and activists take part in a torch rally in Kathmandu November 1, 2009. Nepal's Maoist former rebels have re-launched their nationwide protests to topple the government over the army chief sacking issue. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT) 

A riot policeman arrests a Maoist supporter taking part in a protest against Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav near the Principal Secretariat in Kathmandu September 13, 2009. The Maoists pressed for a return to power, four months after they quit in a conflict with the president. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

Maoist supporters and activists take part in a protest rally against the government in Kathmandu August 9, 2009. Nepal's Maoists began their street rallies as announced to protest against the government's failure to resolve a row triggered by the sacking of the army chief, officials said. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

Maoist supporters and activists take part in a rally in Kathmandu June 19, 2009. The Maoists were protesting the government's decision to avert the decisions taken by the then Maoist government to sack of army chief General Rookmangud Katawal. The former Maoist rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who still uses his nom de guerre Prachanda, resigned as Prime Minister on May 4 after President Ram Baran Yadav stopped him from firing Katawal. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

A villager (in background) begs a policeman to spare him from being arrested at Pirakata near Lalgarh, some 170 km (106 miles) west of the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, June 18, 2009. India began deploying hundreds of police on Thursday to push back Maoist rebels who declared a "liberated zone" close to the eastern city of Kolkata, sparking unease among investors in the communist-ruled state. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) 

A villager (C) begs a policeman to spare him after his arrest near Lalgarh, some 170 km (106 miles) west of the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, June 18, 2009. India began deploying hundreds of police on Thursday to push back Maoist rebels who declared a "liberated zone" close to the eastern city of Kolkata, sparking unease among investors in the communist-ruled state. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A Maoist family takes part in an anti-government motorcycle rally in Kathmandu June 12, 2009. The protesters were denouncing President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav's decision to reinstate Rookmangud Katawal as the Army chief. Rookmangud Katawal had been sacked by the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

Maoist activists perform cultural shows during a protest against Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav in Kathmandu May 10, 2009. Yadav asked the Himalayan nation's parliament on Sunday to elect a new leader to replace Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda who resigned last week after failing to sack the army chief. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

A Maoist activist scuffles with police as she is stopped from reaching President House in Kathmandu May 7, 2009. The Maoist supporters and activists were protesting after their leader, Prachanda, quit as prime minister on Monday because Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav had stopped him from removing the Himalayan nation's army chief, General Rookmangud Katawal. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) FOR BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE SEE GF2E55K0X4D02 

A Maoist activist scuffles with police as she is stopped from reaching President House in Kathmandu May 7, 2009. The Maoist supporters and activists were protesting after their leader, Prachanda, quit as prime minister on Monday because Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav had stopped him from removing the Himalayan nation's army chief, General Rookmangud Katawal. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

Maoist supporters take part in a protest rally in Kathmandu April 21, 2009 demanding the resignation of Nepal's army chief Rookmangud Katawal. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL POLITICS CONFLICT) 

Maoist leader Prachanda (C) talks to the media after meeting with visiting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Evan A. Feigenbaum at his residence in Kathmandu May 26, 2008. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL) 

Maoist supporters sit in the shade during a May Day rally in Kathmandu May 1, 2008. Thousands of Communist supporters later congregated to a mass meeting at Open Air Theatre. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL) 

Maoist activists shout "long live Maoism" at a May Day rally in Kathmandu May 1, 2008. Thousands of Communist supporters later congregated to a mass meeting at Open Air Theatre. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL) 

Maoist leader Prachanda sits with garland after being declared winner in the election in Kathmandu April 12, 2008. Nepal's Maoist former rebels took a shock early lead on Saturday in an election aimed at cementing a peace deal that ended a decade-long civil war. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (NEPAL) 

Supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) rally with with party flags through Kirtipur, in the outskirts of Kathmandu on April 6, 2008. Nepal is scheduled to hold its national elections on April 10. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (NEPAL) 

Maoist supporters listen to the speech of the Maoist leaders during a rally in Kathmandu September 18, 2007. Nepal's Maoist former rebels quit the interim government on Tuesday and vowed to disrupt preparations for historic elections in November unless the Himalayan nation's monarchy was abolished immediately. REUTERS/Shruti Shrestha (NEPAL) 

Portraits of Russian and Chinese Communist Party founders and leaders (from-L) Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping are displayed at a bookstore in Chengdu, capital of China's southwestern Sichuan province, July 19, 2004. Although Mao's thought remains the state ideology after his death in 1976, it was Deng Xiaoping's "seek truth from facts" doctrine that has reduced the influence of Maoism in China's political policies. REUTERS/Bobby Yip BY/SH 

American Joan Hinton, 76, checks milking equipment at a dairy farm in Beijing. Joan, from Vermont, was an atomic physicist who helped build the atomic bomb in the U.S. but she quit and went to China to work as a farmer in the 1940s when Washington dropped the bombs on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Joan married fellow American Sid Engst, a farmer from Gooseville Corners in upstate New York, in Hunan province in 1949 - the founding year of the People's Republic of China. The two veteran communists said they were glad U.S. President Bill Clinton will be visiting China this month to improve Sino-U.S. relationship but disillusioned to see China abandon Maoism. Picture taken 15JUN98.

ASW/TAN 

American Joan Hinton, 76, and her husband Sid Engst, 79, display photographs of themselves in the 40's when they settled in China and worked as farmers. Joan, from Vermont, was an atomic physicist who helped build the atomic bomb in the U.S. but quit and left for China when the U.S. blew up Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sid, a farmer from Gooseville Corners in upstate New York, went to China with the United Nations to investigate a famine in Hunan province, where he married Joan in 1949 - the founding year of the People's Republic of China. The two veteran communists said they were glad U.S. President Bill Clinton will be visiting China to improve Sino-U.S. relationship but disillusioned to see China abandoning Maoism. Picture taken 15JUN98.

ASW/TAN