Although the Maoists have time and again reaffirmed their commitment to not harm the general public, their promises have always turned out empty. Last Saturday when they detonated a bomb near the busy Chaurpatan intersection in Pokhara, six locals were wounded. After the incident was criticised by many, the rebels issued an apology. But 24 hours later, a bomb targeted at a security forces vehicle was attacked in Chipledhunga and a dozen civilians were injured. A day labourer died in Dang when a bomb left by the Maoists exploded, a taxi driver in Dulegauda in Tanahu was murdered and nine oil tankers and crew were abducted in Banke. Such events clearly reveal the gulf between the Maoists' words and actions and benefit no one. They will further weaken the rebels' tenuous relationship with the seven-party alliance, a partnership that has given the Maoists, who were long a target of international criticism, a chance to return to mainstream politics. The rebels were praised for their four-month unilateral ceasefire, which gave rise to a slight hope that they might abandon armed struggle for peaceful politics. But now that they have returned to their old path there is reason to doubt their commitment. They must renounce violence at once.