News from Nepal

[mosfeld]

The revolution is escalating quickly in Nepal and I think it would be a genuinely good idea to mash all news from there into one thread. Do comrades agree? Would you rather like to see a thread about general revolutionary activity in the south Asian region?

Anyways...



Nepal Plans: Escalating Mass Struggle to Confront Army

UCPN (M) struggle programmes publicised

http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/picture-01.jpg?w=225&h=300

KATHMANDU, Aug 3 – The Unified CPN (Maoist) on Monday made public a month-long protest against, for what they called, establishing civilian supremacy in the country.

Maoist Standing Committee meeting held Monday morning also decided to launch a ‘nationwide awareness campaign’ in order to press the government to implement the agreements reached with the political parties apropos to the civilian supremacy.

The party has warned to protest from August 7 if a specific agreement concerning the Army Chief row and civilian supremacy is not forged within three days.

Protests include rallies, sit-in, assembly, boycotting public event of the President and the Prime Minister and others.

The programme has also been made not to allow the President and the Prime Minister to participate in the public events, Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma informed.

The meeting has also given responsibility to engineer and finalise the stir to Dr Baburam Bhattarai.

According to Maoist Spokesperson Sharma, the party will prepare additional modules for the benefit of left parties and civilian supremacy.

Additional struggle programmes will be launched if the demands are not met by the first phase of programme, Sharma informed.

The Maoist party on Sunday said that it would intensify protest both from the House and the streets if a specific agreement concerning the Army Chief row and civilian supremacy is not forged within four days.


The article can be found here (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/nepal-plans-escalating-mass-struggle-to-confront-army/)


Nepal Maoists: Strengthening Revolutionary Ties Around World


http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/worldpuzzle1.jpg?w=350

“The Maoists’ central committee meeting has decided to renew its fraternal relations with international organizations having similar ideologies such as RIM (Revolutionary International Movement) and COMPOSA (Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia) and other international communist bodies.’

Prachanda slams India, Lanka for anti-terror operations

PTI 3 August 2009, 06:22pm IST

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Maoists chairman Prachanda has criticized India and Sri Lanka for allegedly “suppressing” the extremist outfits in the two countries and said his party would renew its ties with the international fraternal groups.

“The military action of Sri Lankan government against the armed group LTTE and Indian government’s armed action against Indian Maoists in Lalgarh are deplorable acts,” he said while addressing media persons here yesterday.

The Maoists’ have also decided to strengthen their ties with all the Marxists, Leninist and Maoist parties of the world.

“It is our policy to support any movement launched by the Maoists anywhere in the world and we oppose suppression of such struggle by the government,” Maoist central secretariat member Narayankaji Shrestha ‘Prakash’ said.

The Maoists’ central committee meeting has decided to renew its fraternal relations with international organizations having similar ideologies such as RIM (Revolutionary International Movement) and COMPOSA (Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia) and other international communist bodies.

“We will not tolerate any action by the state against our international fraternal organisations,” Maoists’ Foreign Affairs Department chief C P Gajurel said.

The article can be found here (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/nepal-maoists-strengthening-ties-to-revolutionaries-around-world/)

[LeninBalls]

I mean, if a pro liberal bourgeoisie democracy riot took place in Iran, which ended, can get it's own forum, then why can't a mass movement of workers and peasants actually campaigning for real socialism, that is happening right now, get even a little sticky for itself?

Something to do with it being an evil state capitalist anti worker Leninist Maoist Pol-Potist movement, I suspect.

[khad]

This is great news. I have nothing but the highest esteem for these Nepalese comrades, which unlike the Dengist revisionist lackeys of America, do not sell their comrades across the border to the imperialists. To think, the Nepalese maoists were called terrorists by the homeland of Mao.


“We will not tolerate any action by the state against our international fraternal organisations,” Maoists’ Foreign Affairs Department chief C P Gajurel said.

[LeninBalls]

Can we at least get a "no?" :)

[RHIZOMES]

I don't really think there is enough posting about Nepal to justify a forum (Although I really wish there was!). The reason there is an Iranian forum and not a Nepal one isn't so much because of direct bias as much as a result of bias, because the majority of the board don't discuss Nepal as much because they want to avoid discussing a workers movement supporting the Maoists because it doesn't fit into their narrow dogmatic worldview. While with the Iranian issue it was literally spamming up the whole board, so they needed it's own forum.

[LeninBalls]

I kinda see, but I'm (we're) not calling for a forum or a sub-forum, rather just a sticky. In the past few days there's some been news from Nepal worth showing, and I won't be surprised if there's more to come.

[fabilius]

I don't really think there is enough posting about Nepal to justify a forum (Although I really wish there was!). The reason there is an Iranian forum and not a Nepal one isn't so much because of direct bias as much as a result of bias, because the majority of the board don't discuss Nepal as much because they want to avoid discussing a workers movement supporting the Maoists because it doesn't fit into their narrow dogmatic worldview. While with the Iranian issue it was literally spamming up the whole board, so they needed it's own forum.

I´m not a maoist by any stretch of the imagination but that´s not the reason I don´t discuss Nepal so much. I just don´t know so much about it, not enough to comment.

I know more about Iran and therefore I feel I have more to say about it. That doesn´t mean I´m a Mousavi supporter. Whether I was pro-Nepal revolution or pro-Iranian revolution is irrelevant, not irrelevant in an ideological sense, but irrelevant in the sense of whether I have anything to comment on it.

[scarletghoul]

Maoists to obstruct House from today after ruling coalition rejects their demand Friday, 07 August 2009 10:52


With its four-day ultimatum to the government to address the contentious issue of ‘civilian supremacy’ it has raised expiring Thursday mid-night, the Unified CPN (Maoist) is all set to push ahead with its protest programmes of obstructing the parliamentary proceedings and planned agitation across the country.

Maoist spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma on Thursday said that the party was left with no option but to push ahead with the planned agitation, as the government was not serious towards the issue of ‘civilian supremacy’ raised by his party.

The meeting of the High Level Political Mechanism taskforce which comprises leaders from ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), Nepali Congress and main opposition Maoists had ended inconclusively Thursday after failing to reach an amicable agreement on the issues raised by the Maoists.

Reports said that the ruling parties and the Maoists remained adamant on their respective positions.

While the Maoists reiterated their earlier demand that the President’s ‘unconstitutional’ move on the Army chief row should be discussed in the parliament, UML and NC maintained that the issue has lost its relevancy and shouldn’t be taken up for discussion in the parliament.

Later on Thursday the ruling coalition (which includes 22 of 24 parties represented in the Constituent Assembly) held a meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence and called on the UCPN (Maoist) to withdraw their protest programme.

The 22 political parties in the ruling coalition also rejected the Maoists demand that the government address the issue of civilian supremacy and decided to jointly face the challenges posed by the Maoists.

Prior to the meeting with his coalition partners and with the Maoist August 6 deadline in his mind, PM Nepal met with Home Minister Bhim Rawal and chief of the country’s security agencies and ordered them to maintain law and order in the country.

However, the government is learnt to be against suppressing peaceful protests by the Maoists.

Meanwhile, speaking in Pokhara , Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal instructed party cadres to retaliate if the government tries to suppress the party’s agitation.

“Our demonstration will either make way for a national unity government or invite suppression. Chances of the government resorting to suppression are higher,” the Kathmandu Post quoted Dahal as saying at a training session for activists of the Maoist-aligned Magarat State Committee and Tamuwan State Committee on Thursday.

The former rebel party had allowed the stalled winter session of parliament to resume after reaching an agreement with the ruling UML party of Prime Minster Madhav Kumar Nepal on July 6 to resolve their differences over the issue of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav’s reinstatement of Chief of the Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal by reversing the Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s decision.

The Maoists view President Yadav’s move as ‘unconstitutional’ and had threatened to wage protests ‘from the parliament as well as the streets’ if the government fails to correct the move.

As per the protest programme they have announced, the Maoist would obstruct the parliament from Friday and launch protests in the district headquarters across the country from August 9.

Furthermore, the Maoists have said they will even resort to obstructing the public programmes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers if the government doesn’t heed their demands.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/1-top-story/795-maoists-to-obstruct-house-from-today-after-ruling-coalition-rejects-its-demand-.html

[N3wday]

This restructuring is a reflection of the line struggle occurring in their party.




[originally from eKantipur, reposted on Rev SA]
Maoist CC: Dahal’s political document passed, multi-post system adopted

Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, July 30 – Following weeks of deliberations, the Unified CPN (Maoist) Central Committee (CC) Thursday endorsed the political document tabled by Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal some two weeks ago.
The CC meeting held at the party headquarters in the capital endorsed the document today.
Chairman Dahal had furnished answers to the queries raised by the CC members a couple of days ago at the CC meeting.
According to Maoist CC member Devendra Poudel, the meeting also endorsed the statute amendment proposal.
With today’s endorsement, formation of national consensus government for constitution drafting and the conclusion of peace process as mentioned by Dahal in his document have been adopted by the Maoists as their immediate strategy.
The meeting has also decided that the party, earlier following a powerful Chairman model, will be adopting multi-post system.
As per it, incumbent Chairman Dahal will be retaining his post while senior leader Mohan Baidya, former Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai and deputy parliamentary party leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha will be holding the post of Vice-Chairman.
Former Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa will be party’s General Secretary.
Similarly, Chief Whip Post Bahadur Bogati and senior leader CP Gajurel will be party’s Secretary.

[N3wday]

From democracy and class struggle




The Unified CPN (Maoist) has barred its central leaders from owning private property and engaging in any income generating activities.


The 15-point code of ethics issued by the party’s central committee Saturday has instructed its central leaders to adopt an economical life style and transfer any properties in their name to the party.


It has also decided to take back all but seven four-wheelers being used by various Maoist leaders.


There are about a hundred vehicles belonging to the Maoists temporarily registered in the name of various individuals. The party has decided to allow leaders to use two-wheelers, but allow four wheelers only after taking permission from the central committee.


The code of ethics also bars central leaders from sending their children abroad for education. It has instructed party leaders to devote their full time for party activities and put in physical labour where necessary.


According to the code of ethics, party leaders will not be allowed to accept any donations at individual level and need to submit details of their income and expenditure every quarter.


The party issued the code of conduct in an attempt to make the lifestyle of leaders at par the life style of the people of proletariat class following wide criticisms from within and outside the party for luxurious lifestyle of the leaders.

[N3wday]

From SouthAsiaRev



Hisila Yami (alias Parvati) - thesis, antithesis, and synthesis



The full central committee meeting of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) concluded after nearly three weeks of discussion.


Once again, it has achieved a synthesis through the process of thesis and antithesis without splitting the party, much to the disappointment of internal and external forces which wanted to see the party torn asunder.


This is one of the most important two-line struggles (2LS) after the one which took place in 2004-5. The big difference is that in 2004-5, the war was going on and the venue was Rolpa, the epicentre of the People’s War.
The present 2LS took place during the peace process and it was held in Kathmandu, the epicentre of peace. What is important is that in both the struggles, the party emerged more matured and responsible.


Background to this Two-Line Struggle

The present 2LS is a natural outcome of the transitional period that the country is going through and its reflection on the party. Like during any transitional period, the party has a hangover from the past and anxiety of the future. The hangover is a result of the nostalgia to go back and fight the old ways in order to accomplish revolution quickly. The anxiety of the future lies in the fact that the path to revolution taken by the UCPN (Maoist) is unique and Nepal specific; hence it has to go through many zigzags.
The party started out with the aim to establish a new democratic system with the launch of the People’s War in 1996. The war intensified from defensive actions to a state of equilibrium and finally to offensive assaults, and it was during the offensive stage that the party decided to go for a sub-stage of arriving at a transitional type of republic. The transient republic was neither a Westminster-type parliamentary republic, often known as a bourgeois republic, nor a new democratic republic. This republic was necessary to bring on board all the non-monarchical parties. Then in 2005, King Gyanendra mounted his coup.


This was the background against which the Maoists decided to go for signing the seven-point agreement with the seven parliamentary parties. This agreement led to the 19-day-long People’s Movement II which prepared the ground for promulgating a federal democratic republic. The king was thrown out and the Constituent Assembly election took place in which the CPN (Maoist) emerged as the largest party.


Debate Over Moving to New Democratic Revolution

Subsequently, a major debate started within the party whether to consolidate the transitional republic or go for a new democratic revolution.


Those who were advocating a new democratic revolution started alleging that the party leadership had abandoned the cause of the revolution and that it was sliding to the right, indulging in a luxurious lifestyle, creating inequalities within the rank and file and minimizing the importance of ideology.


And those who were in favour of restructuring the state explained that they too were engaged in a struggle, but it was a different type of struggle which may look rightist and reformist in form but that, in essence, it was neither rightist nor reformist. This is because all these steps are being taken not to consolidate the old feudal and comprador-bureaucratic setup, but to achieve a new, restructured state.
The struggle lies in restructuring the monolithic state into federalism based on region, ethnic heritage and language where the question of Dalits, class and gender will be addressed. The struggle also lies in taking the peace process to a logical conclusion thereby integrating the Nepal Army (NA) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into one new national army whereby both the armies will be restructured — the NA will be democratized while the PLA will be professionalized.


The ones favouring restructuring the state further charged that those advocating a new democratic revolution straight away were doing so from a dogmatist angle without realizing the ground realities. They explained that the nature of the struggle in peace time would be different from what it was during the war, and that one had to be more dialectical while being revolutionary.


However, both the forces agreed that one should not be satisfied with what one has gained but should go on struggling to advance the state to a higher level. The differences lie in the nature and the speed of the struggle. What is important is not to overestimate or underestimate the achievements. It is on this basis that a synthesis took place.


A Synthesis, Stalemates and a Question of Timing

This means that one should now move from the stage of a federal democratic republic (since the king has been removed) to a people’s federal democratic republic (which is anti-feudal and anti-imperialist).


The full central committee meeting also agreed that regressive forces within and outside the country wanted to see the UCPN (Maoist) taking a bourgeois line while forward-looking forces wanted to see the party taking the course of a new democratic revolution. It was agreed that the enemy was trying to isolate the party by pushing it to war thus the subject of bringing the peace process to a logical conclusion must be addressed. It was also agreed that civilian supremacy must reign over military supremacy as it was related with restructuring the Nepal Army which has been long due since the monarchy reigned in Nepal.


Similarly, there have been attempts to make the exercise of writing the constitution a dummy affair, thus the party must make the constitution people-oriented and result-oriented.


There have been attempts to undermine the sovereignty of Nepal and break up the country, hence it is the party’s duty to unite all patriotic and democratic forces to consolidate the nation.


And in order to achieve this aim, it is important to rope in all those forces which oppose these regressive steps to form a national unity government under the leadership of the UCPN (Maoist). It is understood that these steps will eventually lead to establishing a people’s federal republic system.


Thus the thesis that the party had become reformist and rightist has been countered by the antithesis that the gains made so far have to be taken further by consolidating them. Thus the synthesis that has been accomplished is the path to establishing a people’s federal republic system which emphasizes national sovereignty and the participation and leadership of workers and peasants in federal governance.
At this point in time, it is interesting to note that the two important 2LS that were held in Rolpa and Kathmandu revolved around one topic, namely over centralization of leadership. Hence the question of creating a multi-post system with the chairperson followed by vice chairpersons, general secretary, secretaries and treasurer was raised and finally solved.


Also, it is interesting to note that the first 2LS revolved around establishing a federal democratic republic while the second 2LS focused on creating a people’s federal democratic republic.

[Janine Melnitz]

Good lord that CNN-BBC-spawned forum is still up there?

Sticky this

[N3wday]

Something to do with it being an evil state capitalist anti worker Leninist Maoist Pol-Potist movement, I suspect.

lol, yes. you forgot crypto nazi, red fascist, baby eating, peasant starvers

:laugh:

[Saorsa]

Good lord that CNN-BBC-spawned forum is still up there?

Which forum is that?

I've been regularly forwarding news reports from Nepal, to my Party's external email list for the past year or two, I'll start posting them here as well. I'm also putting together a blog to post any news report about the revolution in Nepal, I'll post a link to it here when it's up. I usually send about two or three links a day so I'll be able to keep people fairly up to date.

That plus the excellent Kasama (http://www.revleft.com/vb/www.mikeely.wordpress.com) and SouthAsiaRev (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/) (I recommend checking them every day) will be more than enough to keep people informed of the momentous events unfolding in the Himalayas.

[Janine Melnitz]

Which forum is that?
The one where people talk(ed) a huge bunch about something happening on TV using the exact same language they'd heard on TV

[gorillafuck]

The one where people talk(ed) a huge bunch about something happening on TV using the exact same language they'd heard on TV
The media was supporting Mousavi. Nobody in the Iranian Uprising forum was supporting Mousavi or jerking off to "reforms" as far as I can recall.

And as for this thread, I have very great hope for the Nepalese Maoists.

[Janine Melnitz]

The media was supporting Mousavi. Nobody in the Iranian Uprising forum was supporting Mousavi or jerking off to "reforms" as far as I can recall.
Right, I'm not accusing RevLeft (or people generally) of being "brainwashed" by television, or even saying it's bad to talk about Iran, I'm just annoyed that TV determines what gets talked about in the first place

[fabilius]

Right, I'm not accusing RevLeft (or people generally) of being "brainwashed" by television, or even saying it's bad to talk about Iran, I'm just annoyed that TV determines what gets talked about in the first place

I understand that irritation. I don´t even watch TV, yet I talked a lot more about Iran.

But I´ve seen iranian films, met iranian people, and even read some novels by iranian middle class writers... Nepal on the other hand... I watch, I read, I never comment:

What should I say, never met a Nepalese, never seen a nepalese movie and never read anything from Nepal.

Still very interesting. An interesting country, an interesting struggle. Geostratically speaking, Iran matters more. (population, oil, proximity to american imperialist wars, history of many colonialist involvements, big importance to the "muslim world", I can name more factors...).

[Saorsa]

The one where people talk(ed) a huge bunch about something happening on TV using the exact same language they'd heard on TV

What on earth are you talking about

[Janine Melnitz]

What on earth are you talking about
http://www.revleft.com/vb/iranian-uprising-f235/index.html

[NaxalbariZindabad]

Geostratically speaking, Iran matters more. I understand what you mean, but I don't think your reasoning is right. Of course, Iran as a country has a much more important place in the world than Nepal. But we're not talking about countries themselves, we're talking about the popular movements taking place there.

The current upheaval in Iran is certainly progressive, but it is not revolutionary or socialist. On the other hand, what we're seeing in Nepal is the first revolutionary communist movement to rise with real popular support since decades. It seems clear that the Nepalese revolution is not getting the attention it deserves from leftists and revolutionaries in imperialist countries. This revolution can really help put revolutionary communism back on the map.

Plus, you have to keep in mind the potential "chain reaction factor" :


Nepal is such a marginalized backwater that it is hard to imagine its politics having impact outside its own borders. The country is poor, landlocked, remote and only the size of Arkansas. Its 30 million people live pressed between the world’s most populous giants, China and India.

But then consider what Nepal’s revolution might mean for a billion people in nearby India.

A new Nepal would have a long open border with some of India’s most impoverished areas. Maoist armed struggle has smoldered in those northern Indian states for decades – with roots among Indian dirt farmers. Conservative analysts sometimes speak of a “red corridor” of Maoist-Naxalite guerrilla zones running through central India, north to south, from the Nepali border toward the southern tip.

Understanding the possibilities, Nepal’s Maobadi made a bold proposal: that the revolutionary movements across South Asia should consider merging their countries after overthrowing their governments and creating a common regional federation. The Maobadi helped form the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA) in 2001, which brought together ten different revolutionary groupings from throughout the region.

A future revolutionary government in Nepal will have a hard time surviving alongside a hostile India. It could face demands, crippling embargos and perhaps even invasion. But at the very same time, such a revolution could serve as an inspiration and a base area for revolution in that whole region. It could impact the world.This quote comes from the pamphlet "4 Reasons Nepal's Revolution Matters", by Mike Ely. I recommend reading and circulating it, it's short and quite good:

4 Reasons... English HTML version (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2008/06/08/eyes-on-the-maobadi-4-reasons-nepal%E2%80%99s-revolution-matters/)
4 Reasons... English PDF version (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/kasama_nepal_4reasons.pdf)

Spanish version (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/mike-ely-los-ojos-puestos-en-el-moabadi)
Farsi version
(http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/4-reasons-why-nepal-in-farsi.pdf)

[scarletghoul]

Urgh, since when did we support liberal uprisings over socialist revolution because the liberal uprising is in a more important country? Dagnabbit man

[mosfeld]

Nepal: Launching a New Phase of Struggle

Maoist deadline set to end, warning sign ahead; 22 parties firm

http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/cpn-flag-fist.jpg?w=350

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 – With the deadline set by the UCPN (Maoist) to address the issue of ‘civilian supremacy’ ends Thursday evening, there is a warning sign in the road ahead for the already-troubled UML-led government.

The political crisis is likely to deepen and eclipse the major tasks of drafting a new constitution and taking the beleaguered peace process to a logical end as the major political parties remained adamant on their respective stances.

Earlier, the main opposition party UCPN (Maoist), who quit the government in May following a row over reinstating the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), had warned to storm from the parliament and the streets from Friday if their demand for civilian supremacy over military was not addressed by this evening.

The UML-led alliance and the Maoists reached an understanding on July 4 to address the issues of civilian supremacy and the role President Dr Ram Baran Yadav in reinstating Army Chief Rookmangud Katawal by this evening.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned in May after President Dr Ram Baran Yadav reinstated the army chief, who was sacked by him.

The Maoists have described Dr Yadav’s move as unconstitutional and have demanded that the issue be debated in parliament.

The parties could not forge an agreement over the issue until this evening despite hectic parleys among the political parties throughout the day.

Maoist leader Narayan Kazi Shrestha discussed the issue with Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and urged the duo to create an environment for discussing the issue in the Legislature-Parliament.

PM Nepal, in response, said he was in favor of solving the issue through consensus adding that the Maoist demand of discussing the issue in the Parliament, however, could not be entertained.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the 22-parties supporting the UML-led coalition is underway at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar in order to forge consensus on the Maoists’ demand.

The Maoists are all set to commence their earlier announced two-pronged struggle programmes from tomorrow.

The article can be found here (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/nepal-launching-a-new-phase-of-struggle/)

[mosfeld]

A bit old news..


Maoist chairman Prachanda to leave for London Saturday

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/Snx0Ekc24EI/AAAAAAAACnY/f0mNexRD35U/s400/afp_nepal_maoist_leader_prachanda_1.jpg

In his first foreign trip after stepping down as the Prime Minister, Maoist chairman (Prachanda) Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to leave for London, where he will participate in interactions organised by Nepali expat community, on Saturday.

Dahal will stay in London for a week, participating in programmes organised by various organisations of Nepalis living in Europe, Dahal's press advisor Om Sharma told Nepalnews.

Asked if Dahal would meet British government officials during his stay, Sharma said he was unable to confirm it because few things regarding the tour itinerary were yet to be worked out.

Wife Sita and son Prakash will accompany Dahal during the visit, it is learnt.

The article can be found here (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/maoist-chairman-dahal-to-leave-for.html)


Public Meeting in London with Prachanda August 10th - Woolwich Town Hall

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/Sn6iibUunFI/AAAAAAAACn4/LWzZSe5SOVU/s400/prachanda1.jpg

Former Prime Minister and chairman of the Unified CPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' arrived in London Saturday evening on a five-day visit to London to apprise his party workers and supporters regarding the decisions made by the recently concluded Central Committee meeting and the latest strategy of his party.

Dahal is being accompanied by his spouse Seeta Dahal and son Prakash Dahal.

Members of Nepali Samparka Mancha UK, entrepreneurs and social workers welcomed the Dahal family at the Heathrow Int'l Airport.

During his stay in London, he will address a gathering of Nepalese at the Woolwich Town hall, south east London, on Monday afternoon and interact with Gurkha veterans on Sunday, organisers said.

A number of Nepali organisations have invited him for meetings during his stay in London, reports said. There is also speculation in The Nepal Telegraph that Prachanda will meet with RIM and CCOMPOSA leaders in UK to discuss differences.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/Sn1a_TUYFLI/AAAAAAAACno/Rko3TrCFN-0/s400/WoolwichTownHall1.jpg

Picture Woolwich Town Hall

Dear all,

Namaskar ! As you might already be informed that Ex-Prime Minister and Chairman of Unified Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) Comrade Prachanda will arrive on 8 August in London and will departure on 12 August for Belarus. Nepali Samaj, UK is going to organise a public meeting in support of United Nepalese Front, Europe in his presence.

He will give a speech and afterwards there will be an interaction with public on various burning political issues which Nepal has witnessed for. So, on the behalf of Nepal Samaj, UK, I am very much pleased to invite all of you to attend this public meeting.

I hope that you will make a time to join in this programme. I am sorry for any inconvenience it may cause to you due to this short notice.

Please note down it in details for programme which will follow as:

Programme: A speech given by comrade Prachanda followed by interaction with public. (Public meeting)

Venue: Woolwich Town Hall, London
Date : 10 August (Monday), 2009
Time: 1:PM ( Sharp)


If you need any further information regarding this programme, please feel free to contact me in your convenience. Thanks.

With best wishes,

Rana K. C.
Coordinator

Nepali Samaj UK
Central Conference Preparation Committee
Nepali Samaj, UK
Contact NO. 07878744494

The article can be found here (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/public-meeting-in-london-with-prachanda.html)

[Saorsa]

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6008

This is obviously pure speculation, but the Nepalese media are claiming that Prachanda is going to try and take leadership of the RIM. It'll be interesting to see what happens there.

Nepal Maoist Chief likely to bag RIM leadership in London


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1915594931.jpg TGW
Reports revealing the inner secrets of Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, Unified Maoists, sudden dash to London, UK, reveal that the main agenda for the trip is to bag the top leadership position of the RIM (Revolutionary International Movement).
“Prachanda left for London, Saturday August 8, 2009, mainly to bag the top leadership position of the RIM”, claims Tarun vernacular weekly dated August 10, 2009.
The Maoists sources claim, writes the Tarun weekly that though Prachanda’s trip to London has been attributed to his meet with the party cadres spread across Western Europe, however, after meeting the party cadres the Maoists chief will attend a conference organized by the RIM- the global ultra-leftists organization at an unknown place.
The RIM is the origination of extreme leftists’ from 14 countries across the globe.
Bob Awakin, a US citizen is the chief of the RIM.
On the other hand, the Tarun quoting the Maoists’ sources claim that Prachanda is in London to deposit the unauthorized amount he amassed in the last two years.

[Hiero]

Is there much point in joining Rim, I can understand Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia.

[Saorsa]

The Nepalese already were in RIM, they've been affiliated since before the beginning of the People's War. RIM is practically non-existent at the moment and I suspect the reason the Nepalese media are playing it up is because some politician (can't remember who) attacked the Maoists by saying they were affiliated to various ultra-left terrorist groups. Also at their recent Central Committee meeting the Maoists voted to reconfirm their affiliation to both CCOMPOSA and the RIM.

[Pogue]

"On the other hand, the Tarun quoting the Maoists’ sources claim that Prachanda is in London to deposit the unauthorized amount he amassed in the last two years."

Huh?

[Saorsa]

Huh?

That's called media slander.

[Pogue]

That's called media slander.

I've heard similar things before. Is it at all founded? He was Prime Minister for a while, I am sure some financial benefits come with that, unless the Moiasts exercised the 'working wage' rule that some revolutionarys talk about.

[N3wday]

'working wage' rule that some revolutionarys

none of the maoist leaders are allowed to own personal property and last i heard the maximum amount of income they were allowed was 3x that of an average worker. but, regarding pay that was many months ago and since there have been investigation campaigns surrounding possible corruption headed by the far left winger in the party 'kiran', so that may have changed as well.

[N3wday]

an article from mrzine putting recent events in context.

Is Civil Peace in Nepal Endangered?
by Analytical Monthly Review Analytical Monthly Review, published in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, is a sister edition of Monthly Review. Its May 2009 issue features the following editorial. -- Ed.

Today, in May 2009, few familiar with recent events in Nepal would dispute that there is a serious threat to the civil peace, whose origin dates from the unilateral cease-fire obeyed by the Peoples Liberation Army ("PLA") from the start of Dasain 2005.

In fact, civil peace in Nepal has been endangered continuously since it was first achieved. But the discipline of the PLA has preserved the peace, despite -- from the outset -- repeated provocations. In December of 2005 the U.S. advised and trained Rangers Battalion of the Royal Nepal Army ("RNA") landed, heavily armed, in helicopters in towns in central Rolpa, the heart of the then liberated district. But PLA discipline prevailed, they withdrew, and the Rangers were permitted to leave unmolested, without even a tear or rip in their new uniforms. In the months leading up to the success of the great urban rebellion of April 2006, the "Second Janandolan," civilian Maoist meetings in the countryside were attacked from helicopter gunships, and those who today command the Nepal Army were then ordering their troops to "shoot-to-kill" to enforce the Royal curfews in the cities. But the PLA kept its discipline. The initiative fell to the brave unarmed urban demonstrators, and it was the soldiers of the RNA who refused orders to shoot down the protesting crowds in the cities -- acts of defiance that brought the Royal regime to its close.

The April 2006 temporary regime of politicians from the expired Royal parliament -- leaders of the Nepal Congress and the Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist) ("UML") -- set out to reach a peace agreement. The November 2006 agreement between the revolutionaries and the parliamentary politicians put a formal end to the civil war, and provided for a new transitional government that would hold elections for a Constitutional Assembly to draft a new Constitution. This now official civil peace commenced with the agreement that the former Royal Nepal Army (now "Nepal Army") would be placed under the command of a new coalition government that would include the revolutionary CPN(Maoist), and that would "democratise the institution to make it an inclusive and national army." In the meantime, both the Nepal Army and the Peoples Liberation Army would alike be confined to barracks under UN watch, and fed and supported by the national government.

Not until April 2007 were the leaders of the Nepal Congress, who dominated the interim regime, willing to create the coalition government with the CPN(Maoist) called for by the November 2006 agreement. The Nepal Congress kept control of the chief executive position of Prime Minister and the Defense Ministry. But no steps were taken to "democratise" the Nepal Army, now under the command of the arrogant royalist General Katawal, adopted brother of the King Gyanandra. Instead a policy of provocation began, marked by a deliberate refusal to abide by the agreement to provide the funds necessary to feed and support the PLA. But the PLA kept its discipline and the peace, constructing its cantonments under conditions that would have provoked a mutiny had they been imposed upon the Nepal Army.

At last, elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in April 2008. The Nepal Congress and the UML were soundly defeated. The CPN(Maoist) won more seats than both Nepal Congress and UML combined, and became the leading party of the Constituent Assembly with some forty percent of the seats. In June 2008 the Republic was declared by the Constituent Assembly, and the King deposed.

An interim constitution provided for a ceremonial president, and in July 2008 a minor Nepal Congress politician was selected for the post -- qualified solely by the facts that he was a Yadav [the most numerous caste of the Tarai, historically tenants and in confrontation with their Brahmin landlords] and had not been defeated in his constituency, unlike all the more senior Nepal Congress politicians. As for the executive positions, the CPN(Maoist) -- having won the elections -- claimed the leading positions in the coalition government previously held by the defeated Nepal Congress. In August 2008 Comrade Prachanda became Prime Minister, and Comrade Badal, Defense Minister. The CPN(Maoist) sought to preserve the all-party coalition, but the defeated Nepal Congress leadership demanded the Defense Ministry and went into opposition when it was denied. From that point on they allied with the Nepal Army command, in opposition.
The commander of the Nepal Army, General Katawal, refused to obey the orders of the Defense Minister and accept civilian supremacy, and the defeated politicians of the Nepal Congress obstructed the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly. Despite these provocations, as well as a fierce campaign by the bourgeois (and foreign connected) media that blew up every report of a village fight involving a revolutionary into a national cause célèbre, the PLA and the cadres of the revolutionary party -- now expanded through the association of smaller communist parties into the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ("UCPN-M") -- have kept the peace, and kept their discipline.

In Nepal for eight months there have been no political prisoners, no political exiles, and -- by the standards of every other country in South Asia -- complete civil peace. The UCPN-M have established their credentials with the majority of the people of Nepal, and with all fair-minded observers elsewhere, as the party of peace. In April 2009 by-elections were held simultaneously in several constituencies of the Constituent Assembly. Only the UCPN-M, already the largest party, improved its position.

The insolent disobedience of General Katawal reached new heights. Recruitment for the Nepal Army was commenced, in open violation of the peace agreement as noted by the UN. Ordered to stop, he refused. Eight senior generals reached retirement age; the elected government ordered them retired and he defied the order. The fifth Nepal National Games were held at the start of April, the first in eleven years, and the command withdrew the Nepal Army teams to protest the participation of the PLA, in defiance of an order from the government.

In May, the elected government cashiered General Katawal for his insubordination. He refused to obey the order. The Nepal Congress leaders defeated in the April 2008 elections made the ceremonial president "countermand" the order of the executive. Prime Minister Prachanda then resigned, placing civilian supremacy over the Nepal Army as the unavoidable question of the hour.

In his defiance General Katawal enjoyed the open support of the defeated politicians of the Nepal Congress. And Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood, who, in the power vacuum occasioned by the interminable Lok Sabha elections, publicly demonstrated the limitations of the foreign service mindset to the fullest possible degree; servile toward the United States, paranoid toward China, and arrogant toward Nepal. Katawal also had the quiet backing of U.S. Ambassador Nancy Powell, who engineered a timely U.S. denunciation of the UCPN(M) as "terrorists." If any question remained as to the role of the United States, it was removed days after Prachanda's resignation when a report in the official media revealed that a videotape that had suddenly appeared, displaying an old boldly revolutionary talk by Prachanda to PLA commanders, had been distributed by the Army's Directorate of Psychological Operations. Commanded by Army spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri, the Directorate was set up under the supervision of U.S. "advisers" and has remained a primary U.S. intelligence asset in Nepal.

In short, the defiance by General Katawal, the calculated sudden assertion of Royal authority by the ceremonial president, the "scandalous" video portraying Prachanda in his role as a revolutionary leader (!), the betrayal by several UML politicians -- most particularly the shady Ishwor Pokharel -- who had promised Prachanda support in asserting civilian supremacy and then stabbed him in the back, suggest a coup attempt. But a key factor was missing; there was not even a trace of public support. When General Katawal defied his dismissal, the Nepal Congress politicians called out the "outraged" public so that the ploy with the ceremonial president would appear the result of pressure from the masses; but no one came out.

Peace is the achievement of the revolutionaries, and it is less endangered today than before the coup fizzled out. The UCPN-M has the masses behind it, and it needs solely to preserve its discipline, as it has since it began the peace process at Chumwang in Rukum in the weeks before Dasain 2005.

One can be confident that in not too many weeks General Katawal will go, and the ceremonial president will be reduced to his proper place or disappear into the obscurity from which he was plucked. These conditions are understood by every Nepali to be the minimum required for the UCPN-M to support a new government. Will the feudal remnants leave the scene without a final desperate attempt at restarting the civil war? One can hope so; they are angry, fearful and stubborn, but they are not insane.

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

The UCPN (M) is doing magnificent work. Keep it up Comrades!

[Zeus the Moose]

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6008

This is obviously pure speculation, but the Nepalese media are claiming that Prachanda is going to try and take leadership of the RIM. It'll be interesting to see what happens there.

If this is true, it's probably one of the best things that could happen to the RIM in recent years.

[N3wday]

Lt. Gen. Gurung appointed acting army chief in Nepal

Aug 10, 2009
Kosh R. Koirala - Reporting from Nepal
Kathmandu, 10 August, (Asiantribune.com): Nepal government has appointed Lt. Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung as an acting chief of Nepal Army as the incumbent army chief Rookmangud Katawal is taking a customary leave one month before his retirement. A cabinet meeting held on Sunday took a decision to this effect.


Gurung, 57, will officially head state army after Katawal’s three-year tenure expires on September 9. This is the first instance of a person belonging to ethnic community heading the national army with 92,000 plus strong force so far.


Traditionally, the army chief would come from the families close to erstwhile Royal Place. Only the ruling Shah, Rana and Thapa have been appointed as the army chief in its entire history of some 250 years.


Started his army career in 1971 after completing Bachelor level education from Tribhuvan University, Gurung has had an untainted career as an apolitical officer within the army. Gurung has received training from the Indian Military Academy, Deharadun and has also completed military courses from US Army Command and General Staff College and National Defense University of China.


The retirement of incumbent army chief Katawal will bring the curtain down on the career of the most controversial army chief so far in Nepal.
Katawal was dragged into controversy as he vehemently opposed idea of former rebel party, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), to integrate their combatants into the army, arguing that the integration of ‘politically indoctrinated’ guerillas will spoil the institution of army.


The erstwhile Maoist-led government was forced to step down from the government on May 4 after President Dr Ram Baran Yadav blocked their decision to sack him. The Maoists are still staging protest against the president’s move both in the House and in the streets.


***


This is a pretty significant development. Judging by the timing this clearly a move from the government to try and discredit the Maoists recently initiated wave of struggles.



The kicker is this person comes from a "commoner's" background. Katawal does as well, but was adopted into royalty. So, this person will be the first head general not from an aristocratic background.



This is also done in opposition to the Maoists choice candidate (Lt. Gen. Kul Bahadur Khadka), who they originally chose because he was supposedly favorable to integration.



So, likely the government is hoping that the new appointees class background, along with Katawal stepping down, will stave of the justified anger of people in nepal towards Katawals insubordinance and defuse the the power of the mobilzations the UCPN is calling for.

[N3wday]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/870-maoist-students-announce-stir.html


Maoist students announce stir

Maoist affiliated All Nepal National Independent Student Union – Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) has announced a fresh phase of stir against the Tribhuvan University administration.

In a press meet on Tuesday, union general secretary Himal Sharma said they would close all private higher secondary schools for an indefinite period from Wednesday.

He also said they would also force all educational institutions across the country to remain shut on August 18.

The union’s chairman, Lekhnath Neupane, threatened of action against the university vice chancellor if the university fails to agree for opening new admissions at the Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL).

Three members of the union are on indefinite hunger strike at the TU premises in Kirtipur since three days demanding TU to open admission at PCL level. nepalnews.com

[N3wday]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/847-maoists-tells-govt-to-face-serious-consequences-for-its-refusal-to-address-civilian-supremacy-issues-.html

Maoists tell govt to face 'serious consequences' for refusing to address 'civilian supremacy' issue

Unified CPN (Maoist) Vice-Chairman Narayan Kazi Shrestha has said that the government should now be prepared to face the 'grave consequences' of the month-long nationwide agitation Maoists are waging to restore 'civilian supremacy' and national sovereignty.

Speaking at a press meet organized by Tamuwan State Council in Pokhara Monday, Shrestha, who is also the deputy parliamentary party leader of the UCPN (Maoist), said that the Maoists have also started the protest movement to exert pressure (on the government) for integration of former Maoist combatants into Nepal Army, timely drafting of constitution and taking the ongoing peace process to its desired conclusion.

He also hinted that the Maoist agitation might be the beginning of the 'third People's movement ', if the aforementioned demands are not met.

The second people's movement waged by various political parties including ruling CPN-UML, Nepali Congress and Maoists had toppled the royal regime in 2006.

He blasted at the 'reactionary forces', the usual Maoist punch bag, "for trying to impose traditional parliamentary system in the country against the people's wishes, wanting foreign intervention to continue, not wanting to see integration of Maoist combatants into NA and favouring military supremacy over civilian supremacy".

"While continuing our agitation against all this, we would also keep the doors for consensus and cooperation open," he said.

Shrestha said Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's statement that the government will suppress the Maoist agitation if it threatens to turn into a 'people's revolt' is very careless and will only push the country towards more confrontation.

He again reiterated that the Maoists will under no circumstances join the 'puppet government' led by UML.

The Maoist party had announced stir from Friday with the expiry of the four-day ultimatum to the government to address the contentious issues of 'civilian supremacy', including what it called 'unconstitutional move' of the President vis-à-vis the Army chief row.

The main opposition party had staged demonstrations in different parts of the country Sunday as part of its month-long protest movement.

In Kathmandu, Maoist leaders and cadres took out demonstration rallies. Similar demonstrations were organised outside the capital. There were no reports of violence or arrests during the largely peaceful Maoist demonstrations. nepalnews.com

[N3wday]

Retaliate if Nepal Govt resorts to repressive measures: Prachanda

TGW
The Chairman of the Unified Communist Party-Maoist Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal has asked his political cadres to forcefully retaliate if the government resorts to repressive measures against their protest beginning today, August 7, 2009.

Mr. Dahal instructed his cadres while addressing a training program in Pokhara, Kaski district Thursday, August 6, 2009.

“The Protest will lead to the formation of the National Government, however, I will not lead the emerging government”, Dahal was quoted as saying by one of his cadres adding, “Henceforth, I will steer the party.”

Dahal also told his cadres that the mood of the government was to take retaliatory action against their what he called “logical protest programs”.


Some four hundred Maoists’ cadres had participated in the cadre training program that saw the presence of Maoists’ top hats as well.


Senior Vice President Mohan Baidya Kiran, Vice President Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal were some of the top-hats of the party who were present at the meeting.


The security at the meeting venue was provided by the YCL cadres who were equipped with Khukuri and Lathi, writes Kantipur Daily


Dated August 7, 2009.


http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/nepal-next-wave-of-struggle-is-contestation-for-power/

[N3wday]

i know this is dated, but its important to clear up misconceptions.

a direct quote from the comprehensive peace agreement of 2006

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/document/papers/peaceagreement.htm


4.2. All the arms and ammunitions would be securely stored in the camps except those needed for providing security of the camp after the Maoist combatants are sent to the cantonments. They will be put under a single lock system and the concerned side would keep the key of this lock. For the UN to monitor it, a device with siren as well as recording facility will be installed. When there is need to examine the stored arms, the UN would do so in the presence of the concerned side. Prepare the details of technology including camera for monitoring as per the agreement among the Nepal government, the Maoists and the United Nations. In other words there are storage facilities with lots of weapons located inside Maoist camps with a single lock to qhich only the maoists have the key for. the weapons are monitored with an alarm system that will ring if they decide they want all their arms.

so, they have NOT been disarmed by the UN or any other such nonsense that has been propagated by misinformed folks.

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

Excellent. The time for the Revolution is at hand...

[N3wday]

Puppet Nepal Govt. await Gyanendra’s fate: Dr. Bhattarai


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_339636240.jpg TGW
Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai who is already being taken as the prime minister in waiting which got only substantiated by his one and half hour long secret tête-à-tête with the Indian envoy to Nepal, Rakesh Sood last week, has in a threat loaded statement said that the Maoists’ led government will take shape courtesy the so-called ongoing Peoples’ Uprising.


“The Maoists’ led Government will replace the current puppet government with the strength provided by the ongoing peoples’ uprising,” declared Dr. Bhattarai.



Dr. Bhattarai who is the vice president of the Unified Maoist Party addressing a press gathering organized by the Jansanchar Abhiyan, August 10, 2009, declared that the ongoing protests were only the first phase of the series of protests programs the party was undertaking.


“To restore Civilian Supremacy, a National Government will take shape soon in Singh Durbar by the thrust provided by the current protests”, he continued


Though Dr. Bhattarai was himself involved in secret parleys with Rakesh Sood-the de facto ruler of Nepal, he did not let the opportunity go, he said, the current puppet government executes decisions after receiving diktats from the Aakasbani (ethereal medium).


“If the current puppet government resorts to repression in the manner similar to the Royal Regime, their fate will be akin to former king Gyanendra Shah”, Bhattarai thundered.


“The leader of the puppet government Madhav Kumar Nepal has no right to sign a Treaty or an agreement in his forthcoming visit to India” Bhattarai said adding the unconstitutional government can not make any agreement that goes against the will of the people.


Some even claim that Dr. Bhattarai’s loud cry against the incumbent government has increased after he met with Ambassador Sood August 5, 2009.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6017

[Saorsa]

N3wday dismissed the rubbish about the PLA being disarmed. This recnt media report shows that after all this time, the Maoists still haven't returned the land they took from feudalists and distributed amongst the people.

Properties of 30,000 families still under Maoist control

Even after three years of joining the mainstream politics by renouncing war, the Unified CPN (Maoist) has not returned properties of about 30,000 families in 72 districts, a parliamentary committee formed to monitor the implementation of Maoist commitments has concluded.

The tenure of the committee itself has ended on July 22. The committee had published public notices seeking information on confiscation of property. It received thousands of applications in the District Administration Offices of 72 districts, according to the committee. No applications were received in Manang, Mustang and Dolpa.



The Maoists have only returned properties belonging to Rastriya Janashakti Party chairman Surya Bahadur Thapa, UML leader Amrit Kumar Bohara and former Chief of Amry Staff Sachit Shumsher Rana.


Nepali Congress headquarter has informed the committee that properties of 28000 families including 2253 NC cadres, mostly in the mid-western and far-western Terai districts, is still under the control of Maoists.



Nepali Congress, which had been raising the issue of returning the seized properties vehemently when it was in opposition, has not been pro-active to expedite the process after it joined the government.



The Maoists have been doing communal farming in the seized lands in various districts. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/829-properties-of-30000-families-still-under-maoist-control.html

[N3wday]

Pictures of Prachanda at Woolwich London 10th August 2009 text of English Speech (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/picturesof-prachanda-speech-at-woolwich.html)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR6xXmddXI/AAAAAAAACpI/VJQLcAG2Luc/s400/344.JPG (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR6xXmddXI/AAAAAAAACpI/VJQLcAG2Luc/s1600-h/344.JPG)
Prachanda speech at Woolwich Town Hall, London transcribed by KASAMA
August 10, 2009

We are completely aware, we are fully aware that we have a very big responsibility and we have real historical opportunity and challenge right now we are facing. And we understand the concern of our fraternal comrades in other parties and institutions, that they are very much concerned about the future of the Nepalese revolution.

Either it will go ahead in a very creative and a very scientific way, or it will deviate from (inaudible) fundamental theory and fundamental ideology. I am very clear in my mind that we will not deviate because we are trying our best to apply this theory according the conditions of 21st century.

We understand the whole dynamics of 21st century, and we in Nepal, together have leading a very special, very specific type of revolution. Although there are so many ups and downs, and twists and turns in the process necessarily, but ultimately we are trying to lead this revolution according to the changed condition.

And we derived, I think when we were in the war, (inaudible) just after 5 years of the initiation of people’s war, we tried to understand the whole lesson of 20th century, all the revolution and counter-revolution, all the positive and negative lesson of the revolution. And we came to a new understanding. We came to a new conclusion that, we had to develop some new strategy and tactics we cannot copy the insurrectionist strategy of Lenin, and mechanically we cannot copy the whole theory of protracted people’s war according to our conditions.

Therefore, we tried to develop something new, and we tried to something new although in fundamental sense, in basic sense.

We are clear that we fighting against feudalism and imperialism, and we are leading the New Democratic revolution. We have not any kinds of doubt in these basic questions.

But to lead this revolution, we should have to develop some new strategy and new tactics according to the (inaudible) situation, therefore we developed this competitive politics, you know?

We developed some new kinds of military strategy at that time, and we with the fusion of this protracted people’s war and insurrectionist tactics. We tried to create something new,a series of tactics.

At that time we said we would have to demand for the election of the constituent assembly just after 5 years of the people’s war. We developed this series of tactics.: (Inaudble), constituent assembly, republican state, and overall restructure of the state. And (inaudible), just after the synthesis of our ideology and the series of ideas, we departed on the Prachanda Path according to the concrete path of the Nepalese revolution.

We never advocated that this is the path for all the proletariat all over the world.

What demanded at that time, and what we concluded that we should have to develop some series of ideas, and this idea led us for the peace negotiation and the struggle on different fronts. And we derived that revolution cannot be repeated, it can only developed.

One method problem with the communist movement: We try to mechanically follow the strategy and tactics of the Russian revolution or Chinese revolution.

But a revolution cannot be repeated, it can only be developed.

Paris commune could not be repeated in October socialist revolution of Russia, it can only be developed. If Lenin had not been able to develop this ideology to the level of Leninism, Russian revolution could not succeed. In the same way, if Mao Tse-tung would not been able to develop this ideology to the level of Mao Tse-tung Thought first and Maoism in the second period, mainly during the period of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese revolution could not succeed.

Therefore, we communists in Nepal, we understand our responsibility, our proletarian duty. We have not deviated from our fundamental duty, but we are trying our best to develop this ideology, to develop some new strategy and tactics according to the situation, and we are fully confident that we will lead the revolution to success.

And we want to contribute something new, per the new (inaudible), per the whole communist movement and all the revolutions.

We are fully aware of this duty of the proletarian internationalists.

Therefore I want to issue you, let us come to the debate, let us come in a very creative interaction, because the Nepalese revolution has created something new!

Maybe there are some sort of comments, maybe there are some negative lessons, maybe there are.

But in an overall sense, we think that we are trying to develop our ideology according to the situations of the 21st century because we are fully confident that the 21st century will be the century of the world revolution. We are trying our best to contribute to this revolution from this small country.

Thank you very much. Thank you.


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR8ETvZh2I/AAAAAAAACpY/GlfVybxxdfU/s400/346.JPG (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR8ETvZh2I/AAAAAAAACpY/GlfVybxxdfU/s1600-h/346.JPG)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR7VHikxqI/AAAAAAAACpQ/p7lz-gcGruM/s400/342.JPG (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR7VHikxqI/AAAAAAAACpQ/p7lz-gcGruM/s1600-h/342.JPG)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR5SK3f0TI/AAAAAAAACpA/c19mI5G2tyo/s400/348.JPG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoR5SK3f0TI/AAAAAAAACpA/c19mI5G2tyo/s1600-h/348.JPG)
Posted by nickglais at 1:34 PM (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/picturesof-prachanda-speech-at-woolwich.html)

[N3wday]

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6040&PHPSESSID=db90710174b6efb6ec7345e123ac3c93

New Nepal Kings creating troubles for Maoists: Dr. Bhattarai


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_230477516.jpg TGW
”The Kings of New Nepal sans Crowns have indeed troubled the Maoists’ Party of late”.
Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, the Unified Maoists’ Party vice chairman on Thursday August 13, 2009, said that with his party undertaking the decade long revolt and the final 19 days long Peoples’ Uprising having successfully ousted the King with Crown, and with the country declared Republic, May 28, 2009, there have been the unwarranted births of New Kings without Crowns.
Though Dr. Bhattarai did not made public the very good names of the New Kings of Nepal, he said that the achievements of the Peoples’ Uprising-II have been overshadowed and that a final thrust could only get rid the newly born kings of Nepal.
Dr. Bhattarai was addressing a program organized by Engineers Association in Kathmandu.
“The current uprising will guarantee Civilian Supremacy and National Pride which will topple the current puppet government only to be replaced by a National Government”.
This does mean that of late Nepal has several Kings. But is he the next prime Minister?
2009-08-14 09:04:55

[mosfeld]

Two recent and unposted articles from southasiarev.


Nepal: Replacing Army Commander, Hoping to Pacify the People

http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/tbb_8772_chhatra.jpg?w=350

Kathmandu, 10 August, (Asiantribune.com): Nepal government has appointed Lt. Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung as an acting chief of Nepal Army as the incumbent army chief Rookmangud Katawal is taking a customary leave one month before his retirement. A cabinet meeting held on Sunday took a decision to this effect.

Gurung, 57, will officially head state army after Katawal’s three-year tenure expires on September 9. This is the first instance of a person belonging to ethnic community heading the national army with 92,000 plus strong force so far.

Traditionally, the army chief would come from the families close to erstwhile Royal Place. Only the ruling Shah, Rana and Thapa have been appointed as the army chief in its entire history of some 250 years.

Started his army career in 1971 after completing Bachelor level education from Tribhuvan University, Gurung has had an untainted career as an apolitical officer within the army. Gurung has received training from the Indian Military Academy, Deharadun and has also completed military courses from US Army Command and General Staff College and National Defense University of China.

The retirement of incumbent army chief Katawal will bring the curtain down on the career of the most controversial army chief so far in Nepal.
Katawal was dragged into controversy as he vehemently opposed idea of former rebel party, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), to integrate their combatants into the army, arguing that the integration of ‘politically indoctrinated’ guerillas will spoil the institution of army.

The erstwhile Maoist-led government was forced to step down from the government on May 4 after President Dr Ram Baran Yadav blocked their decision to sack him. The Maoists are still staging protest against the president’s move both in the House and in the streets.

The article can be found here (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/nepal-will-katawals-replacement-quell-the-peoples-anger/).


Nepal: A Third People’s Uprising Ahead?

Maoists: govt will face ’serious consequences’ for refusing to address ‘civilian supremacy’ issue

http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/nepal_protest_uncpn_maoists_katawal.jpg?w=320&h=200

Unified CPN (Maoist) Vice-Chairman Narayan Kazi Shrestha has said that the government should now be prepared to face the ‘grave consequences’ of the month-long nationwide agitation Maoists are waging to restore ‘civilian supremacy’ and national sovereignty.

Speaking at a press meet organized by Tamuwan State Council in Pokhara Monday, Shrestha, who is also the deputy parliamentary party leader of the UCPN (Maoist), said that the Maoists have also started the protest movement to exert pressure (on the government) for integration of former Maoist combatants into Nepal Army, timely drafting of constitution and taking the ongoing peace process to its desired conclusion.

He also hinted that the Maoist agitation might be the beginning of the ‘third People’s movement ‘, if the aforementioned demands are not met.

The second people’s movement waged by various political parties including ruling CPN-UML, Nepali Congress and Maoists had toppled the royal regime in 2006.

He blasted at the ‘reactionary forces’, the usual Maoist punch bag, “for trying to impose traditional parliamentary system in the country against the people’s wishes, wanting foreign intervention to continue, not wanting to see integration of Maoist combatants into NA and favouring military supremacy over civilian supremacy”.

“While continuing our agitation against all this, we would also keep the doors for consensus and cooperation open,” he said.

Shrestha said Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s statement that the government will suppress the Maoist agitation if it threatens to turn into a ‘people’s revolt’ is very careless and will only push the country towards more confrontation.

He again reiterated that the Maoists will under no circumstances join the ‘puppet government’ led by UML.

The Maoist party had announced stir from Friday with the expiry of the four-day ultimatum to the government to address the contentious issues of ‘civilian supremacy’, including what it called ‘unconstitutional move’ of the President vis-à-vis the Army chief row.

The main opposition party had staged demonstrations in different parts of the country Sunday as part of its month-long protest movement.

In Kathmandu, Maoist leaders and cadres took out demonstration rallies. Similar demonstrations were organised outside the capital. There were no reports of violence or arrests during the largely peaceful Maoist demonstrations. nepalnews.com

The article can be found here (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/nepal-a-third-peoples-uprising-ahead-if-conditions-are-not-met/).

[mosfeld]

Prachanda flies to Belarus after promising world revolution

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SoXIUCLYrVI/AAAAAAAACpg/rPxClXZ5Fow/s400/minsk.jpg

London, Aug 13 (IANS) Nepal’s former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has left for Belarus after telling supporters in London his Maoist party in Nepal is certain to usher in “world revolution”.

“The twenty-first century will be the century of world revolution,” Prachanda told a large gathering of supporters at a meeting in south-east London.

“We in Nepal are trying to develop new strategies and tactics. We cannot mechanically repeat the strategies and practices of the Russian and Chinese revolutions.

“We are confident that we will lead the (Nepali) revolution to success,” he declared at the meeting organised by the Nepali Samaj - a sister organisation of the opposition Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), of which Prachanda is chairman.

At one point during the meeting at Woolwich town hall Monday, Prachanda told a questioner about the “ongoing struggle in eastern India against a series of mining multinationals in the tribal areas”, and said NGOs and INGOs (international non-government organisations) “confuse the masses”.

Prachanda, who was in Britain on a private visit left Wednesday for Belarus, a major European outpost of Communism, from where he will travel to Russia before returning to Kathmandu, Nepali Samaj coordinator Rana Bahadur KC told IANS.

However, the reason for Prachanda’s visit to the British capital remained unclear.

Before leaving Nepal, the Maoist leader denied newspaper reports that he wanted to attend a meeting of an umbrella of international Maoist movements and assume its leadership.

Although one Nepali source in London insisted “he came for some purpose”, Rana Bahadur KC said Prachanda wanted to interact with his supporters in Britain.

“He wanted to meet the cadres and give us some ‘prashikshan’ (education), including a briefing on the situation in Nepal and what happened in the last party meeting,” Rana Bahadur KC said.

The article can be found here (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/prachanda-flies-to-belarus-after.html).


Maoists warn of mass agitation in Nepal

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/Soa5YLwIOMI/AAAAAAAACpw/6PsH3oR8wpY/s400/Gajurel_tv_24oct07_210.jpg

Kathmandu: Ahead of Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's visit to India, Maoists on Saturday warned of a mass agitation if any agreement on the Pancheshwor hydropower project is reached with New Delhi during the trip.

Senior Maoist leader C P Gajurel said the Pancheshwor Project is a part of the Mahakali Integrated Treaty, signed in 1996 between the then Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart P V Narasimha Rao in 1996, "which is a treacherous treaty".

"The Mahakali Treaty needs to be reviewed. If Prime Minister Nepal reaches any agreement with India to forward the Pancheshwor it will fuel our party's ongoing agitation," he said.

Maoists have launched a month-long agitation to uphold "civilian supremacy" and to "rectify" the President's move to reinstate Army chief.

"Instead of discussing extradition treaty, which is not Nepal's priority, we should take up the issue of resolving Bhutanese refugees with India. The issue of 120,000 Bhutanese refugees residing in eastern Nepal nearly for two decides is a burning issue, not the extradition treaty," he said.

Addressing a function, Gajurel said the government should not reach any agreement to import arms from India. "If the government decides to acquire arms from India, at this point the peace process may be derailed," he said.

"This will be the violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to import arms from India at a time when we are engaged in building peace in the country," he said.

Gajurel also asked Prime Minister Nepal not to sign any agreement regarding boundary map, saying India side has encroached border at 58 points.

Speaking at the programme, Nepali Congress leader Prakash Sharan Mahat said Pancheshwor Project is in the interests of Nepal.

"India has adopted most flexible attitude towards the Pancheshwor Project in terms cost sharing, constructing dam, water rights and opening office of the project in Nepalese side, so we should not lose this opportunity," he said.

"There are certain groups in India, which are launching campaigning against the Pancheshwor saying that it is more at the interest of Nepal than India and the Maoists might have been influenced by them," he said.

He said Nepal government is not going to import arms from India.

The article can be found here (http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2009/08/maoists-warn-of-mass-agitation-in-nepal.html).

[Cael]

This should def be a Sticky. Its of infinitely more interest and importance that whats going on in Iran.

[Muzk]

Seconded. This might just be one small country, but once it begins, it can't be stopped.

[BobKKKindle$]

I'll stick this on the condition that posts should not be one-line celebrations of the most recent news from Nepal, and nor should they be simplistic denunciations of Maoism - either post a news article or make a sensible contribution. Of course, me stickying this should not discourage people from starting other threads on Nepal including the re-posting of individual articles as separate threads.

Stickied.

PS - you Maoists had better thank me =P

[Saorsa]

OMG BK is like so teh awsumz!!!!

Cher mate.

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoist CA member claims PLA on High Alert, revolt imminent


TGW
“Revolt is not for pleasure however, the situation is such that we are forced to take on to the path for yet another revolt”.
Kula Prasad K.C. alias Sonam, the Unified Maoists Central Committee member and the YCL Central in charge, made this grand disclosure while addressing a program in Tamghas of Gulmi district and stated that the Maoists’ Peoples’ Liberation Army was kept on high alert.
Mr. K.C. was inaugurating the YCL Gulmi First District Convention wherein he made this tantalizing disclosure.
He also told the Maoists’ cadres that the Party was preparing for revolt and that the new revolt will ensure rights of the people that is long overdue.
“The YCL should play a decisive role in the next revolt”, he added further.
Speaking on the occasion, the Unified Maoists Constituent Assembly member Mr. Chandra Bahadur Thapa urged his party cadres to attack the UML and the Nepali Congress cadres will full force.
“If they say that the Maoists are no of use then I urge you all to pounce upon them immediately”, he added
2009-08-18 08:57:39

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6071

[N3wday]

I met V.I. Lenin in Moscow: Nepal Maoist Chief Prachanda


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_138585108.jpg TGW
The Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party- Unified Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has pointed out that the five day trip of Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to New Delhi will turn out to be a disgraceful event for Nepal.
Completing a week long pleasure trip to Europe, talking to journalists at the Tribhuwan International Airport, August 18, 2009, the former Prime Minister of the country commenting on the goodwill trip of the PM to India said that the trip will be a disgraceful and pathetic drama ultimately for the Nepali nation and its people.
He also said that the Foreign Minister’s last minute cancellation of her trip to India accompanying the prime ministerial delegation was also a shameful event for the country on the diplomatic plane.
“Foreign Minister’s presence at the official trip was mandatory however her (Sujata Koirala) absence reveals the intensified feud among the government coalition partners”, Dahal speculated.
“The event is a proof of the fact that this government has no peoples’ mandate”, he declared.
The former rebel leader had participated in a cadre training program in London and rumor had it that he had participated in the meeting of the Revolutionary Left Wing- the global body for revolutionary communists.
After the London event Dahal along with his consort Sita and son Prakash had left for Moscow, Russia.
“I met Lenin in Moscow”, said Dahal.
“I was shown his body in a huge screen”, Prachanda said.
“A lot of people visit the Lenin mausoleum”, said an energized Dahal, “I was also informed that people visit the mausoleum in great numbers which continues to increase each year.”
2009-08-19 08:55:12

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6080&PHPSESSID=b37d55b35e6c62b77eb068f5c3761609

[N3wday]

Opinion: Mohan Vaidya Kiran, Unified Maoist Nepal


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1165816866.jpg Mohan Vaidya Pokhrel-Kiran
Senior Maoist Ideologue, Nepal
What are the conclusions of the freshly concluded Central Committee meeting? Could you throw some light on that?
Comrade Kiran: We are now a part of the ongoing peace process. Our prime objectives are the conclusion of the peace process with a positive note, to successfully accomplish the task of PLA-Nepal Army merger and drafting of the constitution on time.
In the process of accomplishing the tasks mentioned above, freshly our central committee meeting has decided to expose the moves of the reactionaries who are conspiring to derail the peace process and hinder the constitution drafting process. We will strongly come forward in our struggle to achieve the objectives above and in the process foil the conspiracies of the reactionaries.
Similarly, our Central Committee has passed the resolution to find remedies of our internal fallacies, to strengthen our grass root foundation and establish the Maoist party of Nepal as one of the strongest communist party in the country.
In order to accomplish the tasks above we are holding our Party General Assembly after six months (Magh-2066-January-February 2009).
Also, we amply discussed our working style and our day to day activities. We have passed 15 Points Code of Conduct to rectify our internal weaknesses and fallacies. Issues such as fiscal transparency in the party, corruption and involvement in illegal trade…such issues were also discussed at the CC meeting.
And, we have decided to take on the task to declare Ethnic or Regional Federal States, establish local state organs, and to achieve these targets we will bring in nationalists, republicans and forward-looking sections within the party, in the main leadership. We have also decided to wage another round of struggle for the complete freedom of the country.
What say you of the fresh remark of the party Chairman Dahal made in the context of growing differences in between the US, India and China and the threat of war in Asia and the ever increasing foreign interference in Nepal?
Comrade Kiran: Look, Comrade Dahal made those remarks while analyzing the present political situation of the country and the possibility of conspiracies being hatched by the foreign power centers in Nepal.
What he meant to say was the countrymen need to remain on high alert against the foreign conspiracies. The media had unnecessarily distorted his more or less straight remarks.
Comrade Dahal has already refuted the media report though a press statement.
How badly will the prolonged transitional period impact the peace process?
Comrade Kiran: In fact, the prolongation of the transitional period has already threatened independence of the country. There have cropped up problems in the Republication order itself. In this context our Central Committee has been successful to take decisions in favor of institutionalizing the republican order and unite the entire party foundations. Unity can only solve the impending crisis.
At a time when your party is favoring Ethnic and Regional Federal Model, the Nepali Congress President Girija Koirala has stood against the proposition? And in the mean time former King Gyanendra through national and international media has expressed resentment against the current disorder? What say you?
Comrade Kiran: Such comments are not uncommon as they are being made from the fascist and dictatorial quarters. Peoples’ revolt is not complete until complete national, ethnic, gender and regional freedom is achieved. such comments are against the current Lokatantrik order.
2009-08-19 06:31:07

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6078

[Saorsa]

Maoists' may form parallel government in Kathmandu


TGW
The Unified Maoists’ Party Led ‘United Revolutionary Front’ (URF) has vowed to further intensify its sadan and sadak (Street and parliament) centric protests aimed at restoring civilian supremacy and also form a parallel government.
Currently, Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, the Maoists’ Party vice president is heading the 175 member Revolutionary Front.
The Maoists party on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, formed a Sub-committee ‘Samyukta Rastriya Janaandolan Nepal’ to carry out its objectives.
Addressing the first convention of the said committee, said the Unified Maoist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal that the Front has set the objectives among others as restoring Civilian Supremacy, pressurize the president to reverse his earlier unconstitutional moves and holding discussions at the CA over the Resolution proposal submitted by the Maoists.
Dahal urged all nationalists, republicans and communist to join the front.
“If our demands are addressed properly, we will head towards the formation of a national government else we will be forming an alternative parallel government”, said Gun Raj Lohani, a member of the committee.
Lohani making a threatening statement added, “In case our demands are not met with on time, we will on our own constitute the local bodies, establish sovereign federal states and at the center form a parallel government.”

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.p...aab78f77a27f22 (http://www.anonym.to/?http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6087&PHPSESSID=a117ce32c063d70b93aab78f77a27f22)

[Saorsa]

Further on how the Maoists have not returned seized land to it's feudalist former occupiers, and instead reserve it for the use of the people.

Seized land yet to be returned

GANESH CHAUDHARY TIKAPUR, Aug 20 - Supporters of the UCPN (Maoist) are yet to return to the rightful owners the land and houses they seized in Kailali district during the decade-long insurgency, despite the Maoist leadership's oft-repeated commitment to the handover of the captured assets. Statistics of the District Administration Office, Kailali, show that Maoist activists captured land and houses of 430 individuals in the district during the insurgency.
Poor people and families of Maoist fighters killed during the insurgency have been making use of the assets.
The rightful owners say they have not been able to get back their land and houses because of district-level Maoist leaders.
An activists of the UCPN (Maoist) claims cadres are not defying the leadership's directives. "Poor families and kin of martyrs have been using the land and houses. The party leadership must offer the present occupants an alternative."


Posted on: 2009-08-19 23:27:01 (Server Time)

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=210449

[N3wday]

Maoists make public UNPM Declaration

Kantipur Report KATHMANDU, Aug 20 - The UCPN-Maoist on Thursday made public the Declaration of United National People's Movement (UNPM)—the newly formed party front to launch its fresh struggle programmes. The four-point declaration has demanded that the decisions made by the parallel people's power centers established during the people's war—the decade-long civil bloody war—should be given legitimacy. The UNPM was formed on August 3 under the leadership of Maoist Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai to lead the series of protests announced by the party earlier this month. As per the declaration, the recently formed Revolutionary Joint Front will work for the power as demanded by the situation though it will be the medium of struggle. The main opposition party, which dislodged from the government under its leadership after the president intervened into its attempt to sack the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), has also demanded for the formation of a joint national government under its leadership by dissolving the current government at the earliest. In the declaration made public through the personnel website of leader Baburam Bhattari, the chairman of UNPM, the Maoists have laid out various demands, among others, rubbish the President's move over CoAS row and guarantee the civilian supremacy by keeping the Nepal Army completely under the government elected through people's mandate. Likewise, the Maoists have called for deploying both the armies—Nepal Army (NA) and Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA)—in the development works and public service until the completion of integration process. It has also urged the government to provide all kinds of services and perks to the PLA men on a par with the NA personnel.

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=210562

[Saorsa]

Peoples’ Republic & State Capture, our agenda: Nepal Maoist Chief


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_360495093.jpg TGW
The Chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has made it clear that the main agenda of the party of the ex-rebels was to establish a Peoples’ Republican Order and the State Capture.
“Our priorities set at time of the revolt remains still intact, we have not retracted from our earlier objectives”, declared Prachanda.
Mr. Dahal was addressing a Maoists’ Party gathering in Dharan, Sunsari District, Thursday August 20, 2009.
“Peoples’ Liberation Army is the major force of the Maoists’ Party, the Party cadres should play significant role to further strength this indomitable force”, he declared.
“Our final objectives are to establish the peoples’ republican order and to capture the state”, he said adding, “I urge you all to keep these objectives in your mind and bring about a hurricane through the ongoing peoples’ uprising.”
“The major challenge before us to reach the objectives as mentioned are to defeat a faction of the UML (Oli) and the Nepali Congress”, he categorically said.
“Very soon we will grab power”, he said adding “There is no alternative to the Maoists’ led government in Nepal.”
The Maoists party vice president Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, Senior vice chairman Mohan Baidya Kiran, General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal and Secretary C. P. Gajurel were also present at the program.
2009-08-21 08:51:08

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6094&PHPSESSID=8e7a5298bbdb98cce2d55222b07cb159

[Saorsa]

Maoist Chief Whip talks about state capturing


Kantipur Report KATHMANDU, Aug 22 - A senior Maoist leader has threatened of capturing the state power if the national unity government under his party’s leadership is not formed. Chief Whip of the Unified CPN (Maoist) Post Bahadur Bogati on Saturday said that the Maoists take over the state power through “third people people's movement” if a national unity government under Maoist leadership is thwarted. He was speaking at a programme in the capital. Saying other parties earlier spread the rumour about his party preparing to capture the state, Bogati stated the 'state capture', however, could happen now. He accused other parties of conspiring to ostracise the Maoists. He went on to claim that there is no alternative to the Maoist-led unity government for the logical conclusion of peace process. The Maoist chief whip clarified that the struggle programme his party has launched aims at the logical conclusion of peace process, timely statute drafting and institutionlisation of federal democratic republic, rather than getting to the government.

Posted on: 2009-08-22 06:21:19 (Server Time)

http://www.ekantipur.com/kolnews.php?&nid=210913

[Saorsa]

Maoists want end to monopoly in media POST B BASNET

KATHMANDU, Aug 21: Maoists have warned they would struggle to end the "monopoly of state and some big households in the media” and enhance the access of commoners to this sector.

The Maoists made public their media policy through the manifesto of the Joint Mass Movement Nepal (JMMN), which is a Maoist front formed to launch an agitation in the streets and in the parliament for "civilian supremacy" and a Maoist-led national unity government.

The manifesto, made public on Thursday, also states that foreign investment in media sector should be ended, and the rights of the professional journalists protected. The JMMN, led by Maoist vice president Dr Baburam Bhattarai, had formed a 144-member central committee on Wednesday.

The state should be restructured on the basis of right to self determination of the oppressed ethnic groups and regions, the manifesto states. It has also demanded that the government legitimize the "institutionalized decisions" taken by Maoist-run parallel government during the insurgency.

The manifesto states that the JMMN would drive the country towards socialism and communism. The JMMN will attempt to develop a political system to institutionalize multi-party political competitiveness and ensure revolutionary proletariat leadership under a socialist system.

Putting forward a 45-point charter of demand, the manifesto also demands that all security agencies be restructured and the Nepal Army personnel and Maoist combatants be deployed for development works prior to their integration.

According to the manifesto, the local bodies should be formed on the basis of votes the political parties had garnered during the Constituent Assembly elections. Besides, the party has also demanded an effective regulation of the growing network of NGOs and INGOs in the country.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=8854

[N3wday]

PLA combatants arrested with weapons

The Armed Police Force (APF) has arrested nearly two dozen People's Liberation Army (PLA) combatants along with significant amount of weapons from Jeetpur of Kapilvastu district on Monday.

The Maoist combatants - reports say around 22 in number - were heading to east, probably to Butwal or Nawalparasi from Bhalubang of Dang when they were intercepted by APF personnel at a checking point.

A number of modern weapons including M-16 and INSAS rifles and few pistols were found in the possession of the former rebels, police later said.

The APF also took control of four vehicles the PLA personnel were traveling by.

Surya Bahadur Gharti, the Brigade Commander of the PLA's Ranibagiya temporary cantonment in Rupandehi, however, managed to avoid arrest as he fled the scene in another vehicle.

The peace treaty signed between the Girija Prasad Koirala led interim government and the erstwhile CPN (Maoist) bars PLA combatants from venturing out of their cantonments with weapons.

The arrested PLA combatants are currently being held at the District Police Office, Kapilvastu.

It was not immediately know for what purpose the PLA combatants were traveling in such a significant number.

An all-party meeting is underway at the District Administration Office to discuss the situation.

No details of the incident, including the cantonment the arrested PLA combatants belonged to, have been disclosed yet. Nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1076-pla-combatants-arrested-with-weapons.html

[Saorsa]

Thanks for the article about the PLA fighters arrested N3wday, that's incredibly significant. I posted an analysis of this on my blog (http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/pla-soldiers-arrested-outside-of-cantonments/).


There’s been (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/nepal-cadre-on-alert-for-revolt/) reports (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/nepal-pla-preparing-for-revolution/) over the past week or two that the People’s Liberation Army is on high alert, that “guerrilla warfare has dominated the regular exercise session inside the camp” and that according to a PLA Division Commander the Maoist army’s “battle-hardened combatants are prepared for another war for the sake of transformation.”


And now, in the midst of numerous references by Maoist leaders to an impending’People’s Revolt’, about 22 armed PLA fighters have been arrested by armed police while travelling east from their cantonment. The fighters had assault rifles and other ‘modern weaponry’ in their possession.


Under the peace treaty signed in 2006, the PLA fighters are not permitted to leave their cantonments. The only question remaining then is whether or not the Maoist party leadership knew of and ordered this. It’s possible they may deny it to save face, but considering the tight control the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has had over it’s armed wing in the past it seems unlikely this was an action by rogue elements.


Another point that makes that unlikely is the fact that the fighters had such an array of weaponry on them. Under the peace accords the PLA’s weapons are stored in safes inside the cantonments, the keys to which belong to the camps PLA commander. While there are also weapons not kept in the safe for use in training and sentry duty, it seems unlikely that these fighters could assemble a convoy of five vehicles, get together 22 people, stock up on weapons and leave without the Division Commander knowing about it. This must have been ordered from on high.


Nepalnews also reported that “Surya Bahadur Gharti, the Brigade Commander of the PLA’s Ranibagiya temporary cantonment in Rupandehi, however, managed to avoid arrest as he fled the scene in another vehicle.” Now I’m not an expert on hierarchy within the PLA, but this guy is obviously one of the top leaders of the soldiers in the cantonment, if not the top leader (I’ll have to check up on that). If he was personally there, the chances of this being a rogue action by the fighters concerned looks highly unlikely.


Maoist leaders are threatening revolt, and now it seems that at least some of the PLA are leaving the cantonments and heading off to other areas. These guys are the only ones to have been caught, but it’s entirely possible that this is happening elsewhere, perhaps all around the country. I’m not going to make any predictions – revolution’s never happen linearly and predictably, and the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. But rest assured, I’m keeping my eyes glued to Nepal!

[Saorsa]

Update on arrested PLA fighters (http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/update-on-arrested-pla-fighters/)

leave a comment » (http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/update-on-arrested-pla-fighters/#comments)
http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/pla_nepal_8.jpg?w=450&h=300



New details have emerged about the arrested group of PLA fighters caught by the police carrying weapons outside the cantonment. This report says nineteen were arrested (previous reports said twenty two), and has specified the number and type of weapons captured. A PLA officer from the cantonment the arrested fighters came from has come out and said that they had left the cantonment “to provide security to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal” and that they “were returning to the camp as per the directive of the party leadership”. He denied that this goes against the peace process in Nepal.

Meanwhile, a UCPN (M) leader called Barsaman Pun is claiming that the PLA fighters had permission from the United Nations Mission In Nepal (UNMIN), the UN body set up to oversee the peace process and monitor the situation on both sides. Frankly this seems pretty implausible to me. It’s doubtful the UNMIN would approve any such request, and even if they did it’s highly unlikely they would do so without informing the Nepali government and police forces! If the UNMINdid approve this, it’s going to make it even more unpopular amongst the reactionary forces in Nepal, who are already anoyed with what they see as it’s overly soft approach to the Maoists and the PLA.


It appears the PLA fighters were not captured as such – there was a standoff between them and armed police and they willingly chose to allow themselves to be arrested peacefully in order to avoid a gun battle which could well have totally derailed an already tenuous peace process.



This whole incident puts the UCPN (M) in a difficult position. It’s current line to the government is that it demands the issue of “civilian supremacy” (this flows from the refusal of the military to accept the dismissal of it’s commanding officer back when the Maoists were in government, a refusal which was then backed up by the President, a member of the Nepal Congress party, and the Supreme Court, which had also previously approved the Nepal Army’s recruitment of new soldiers in violation of the peace treaty while at the same time condemning a similar recruitment drive the Maoists carried out in response!) be debated in the Constituent Assembly. If the government continues to ignore it’s demands, it says it will have no choice but to launch a “People’s Revolt”.


So far the Maoists have professed their complete adherence to the peace process and have claimed that it is being undermined by other parties and the current government. This incident is likely to blow up into a much bigger political issue over the next few days.


We’ll have to wait for more details to emerge and for the Maoists to come out with a clearer and more official line on the matter. Things keep getting more and more interesting in Nepal…






Police net 19 armed PLA combatants

MANOJ POUDEL KAPILVASTU, Aug 25 – Police detained 19 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) combatants of the UCPN (Maoist) with sophisticated arms from Jitpur stretch of the East-West Highway, Kapilvastu district, on Monday. The PLA fighters, including an assistant brigade commander, were arrested while returning to the PLA fourth division cantonment at Jhyaltungdanda of Nawalparasi district from Nepalgunj. Of the 19 detainees, seven were in combat dress. Nine sophisticated weapons registered by United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) were seized from them, said Superintendent of Police Bikram Singh Thapa.
The police team confiscated three INSAS rifles (103519, 1013261 and 1001155), three SMGs (0026470, 1013200 and 10117309) and an M-16 (1004480), an SLR (10344268) and a pistol (0026174) from the PLA men in civvies.
Police also took under their control the four vehicles they were travelling in. Brigade Commander of Sainamaina camp in Rupandehi district, Surya Bahadur Gharti escaped from Saljhandi of Rupandehi district. Sources said there were some armed PLA fighters on the vehicle (Ba 5 Cha 8848) he was riding. Police attempted to detain them but they could not stop the vehicle which was in very high speed.
The PLA fighters fired some rounds in the air as they were about to enter the camp.
Fourth division assistant brigade commander Shakti Rokaya, who is among the 19 detained PLA men, said they had gone to Nepalgunj to provide security to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. “But we were returning to the camp as per the directive of the party leadership,” he said. He further claimed that their action was not against the peace process in the country.
The PLA men were brought to district headquarters Taulihawa at around 2 p.m. though they were held at 11 a.m.
The highway area remained tense for an hour as the detained Maoist fighters tried to flee. Locals left the place hurriedly fearing a possible battle between the police and PLA combatants.
“The policemen and combatants aimed their guns at one another for some time. We ran away when we saw them ready for battle,” said a local.
Chief District Officer Nagendra Jha said the PLA men, held with arms, would not be released unless the Home Ministry gave directives.
Meanwhile, Maoist leader Barsaman Pun claimed that the PLA fighters had come out of the camp after seeking permission from UNMIN.


Posted on: 2009-08-24 23:04:00 (Server Time)


http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=211289

[N3wday]

Note: This article should be viewed with care, it is rather vague (probably intentionally) so jumping to conclusions before further details are available would be imprudent...

***

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1103-200-complaints-against-maoist-leaders.html

200 complaints against Maoist leaders

A task force formed by the Unified CPN (Maoist) Central Committee to probe on the lifestyle and involvement in economic activities of its central leaders and heads of sister organisations has received over 200 complaints, five days before the deadline for submitting the complaints ends, Kantipur daily reported.

Maoist cadres and general public have filed complaints against central committee leaders on nepotism, involvement in economic activities, abuse of power, and their lifestyle, among others. Complaints have also been received against some senior leaders including chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

A task force member said, the task force will investigate the complaints and submit its report to the party headquarter within three months.

The task force coordinated by senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya includes standing committee member Netra Bikram Chand, politburo members Pampha Bhusal, Hit Raj Pande, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, central committee members Krishna Dev Singh and legal professional Ram Narayan Bidari.

Maoist central committee had issued a 15-point code-of-ethics for its leaders and formed the task force a month ago after growing complaints on the luxurious lifestyle of the Maoist leaders. nepalnews.com

[Saorsa]

http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/unmin-says-pla-breached-peace-accords-maoists-allege-conspiracy-against-peace/

It may seem selfish to post links to my own blog (and it totally is :lol:), but I've put together like half a dozen relevant links in that blog post so it saves you and me both time.

[cyu]

It may seem selfish to post links to my own blog
I don't mind at all - it's always good to see more sources of info =]


the UN Mssion in Nepal is denying (http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1098-pla-breached-peace-accord-unmin.html) it gave the PLA fighters permission to leave the cantonments, and has instead called them a breach of the peace accords. The Maoists have claimed and as far as I’m aware continue to claim they had the UNMIN’s permission to leave the cantonments

Seems to me like it's just a policy of distraction. If people are demanding an end to capitalism, you say, "Hey look over there! A celebrity has just died and our hot reporters are doing a story on it!" Instead of taking communists head-on in a battle over political and economic ideology, they try to distract their time and resources with random crap about movement, arms, and regulations.

[Saorsa]

Seems to me like it's just a policy of distraction. If people are demanding an end to capitalism, you say, "Hey look over there! A celebrity has just died and our hot reporters are doing a story on it!" Instead of taking communists head-on in a battle over political and economic ideology, they try to distract their time and resources with random crap about movement, arms, and regulations.

I think you're right, there's an element of that to it. But there's other stuff going on too. The issue of the PLA, the Nepal Army and the future of the two is the big political issue in Nepal atm, and all others could be argued to flow from it. There's an increasingly heated struggle taking place over these issues, with the army refusing to allow "politicised" PLA fighters to be integrated with it's soldiers. Things are heating up in Nepal atm, and you can see why it's useful for the reactionary forces to make a big deal of the PLA supposedly breaking the peace treaty - it would justify them making good on the threat of unleashing the Nepal Army on the Maoists.

In related news;

http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/nepal-army-general-army-integration-will-not-happen/

Well, surprise surprise, leading figures in the reactionary Nepal Army have come out with a clear statement (http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6137) saying they will not allow army integration to happen. A major part of the peace accords between the Nepali state and the Maoists was the integration of the People’s Liberation Army and the reactionary army. The Maoist’s intention with doing this is to “democratise” the Nepal Army, and “professionalise” the PLA. This is a bold proposal that carries both great dangers and great potential benefits – if the Nepal Army is flooded with passionate, commited revolutionary fighters it will at the very least make it extremely difficult for the military to move against the Maoist Party and could conceivably split the army or take it over entirely. History shows that the army of a reactionary state tends to split during a time of revolutionary crisis.

The state is a structure set up with one purpose – oppression. Whether covert or overt, the state’s role is to maintain, uphold and defend the power and privilige of the ruling class and keep the exploited classes from challenging this. The state is fundamentally made up of bodies of armed men - the military, the police, the courts, the prisons, the immigration services and so on. If the army, probably the key component of the state, is politicised or at least neutralised, this deals a serious blow to the security of the ruling class. This is why the commanders of the Nepal Army and the rich minority whose interests it serves are so strongly opposed to army integration.
Army-Militia Integration Impossible: Nepal Army Official

// TGW


One of the high ranking officers of the Nepal Army has said that the Maoists’ Militia integration into the Nepal Army was an impossible proposition.


Addressing a seminar in Kathmandu, Thursday August 27, 2009, Lt. General Pawan Jung Pandey, Chief of the Directorate of the Military Intelligence of the Nepal Army had made these remarks.


“The Nepal Army will not accept the South African model of Army Integration”, said General Pandey adding, “The image of the South African Army is at the lowest because of the integration with the rebels.”


Similarly, Retd Lt. General Chitra Bahadur Gurung told point blank that the Nepal Army even do not want to listen to the talk of integration with the maoist militias.
Gurung’s fiery remark came in reply to the idea raised by Barsa Man Pun alias Ananta, in-charge of the Maoists’ party Military wing, that Nepal should adopt the South African model to carry out the integration between the State and the rebel armies.
Said Gurung, the entire world was behind Nelson Mandela while the integration process was being carried out there whereas Nepali situation stands at an entirely different plane.


Revealed the Peace Minister, Rakam Chemjong, addressing the program that the government will soon oust the four thousand disqualified militias from the cantonments. Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat told that in case the integration takes place, the country will not get the constitution.


The seminar was organized by Nepal Policy Study Center.
2009-08-28 09:04:06
http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6137

[cyu]

Things are heating up in Nepal atm, and you can see why it's useful for the reactionary forces to make a big deal of the PLA supposedly breaking the peace treaty - it would justify them making good on the threat of unleashing the Nepal Army on the Maoists.

Right - the propaganda war always starts before the physical war.


If the army, probably the key component of the state, is politicised or at least neutralised, this deals a serious blow to the security of the ruling class. This is why the commanders of the Nepal Army and the rich minority whose interests it serves are so strongly opposed to army integration.


I think you've hit the nail right on the head.

Personally, I think everyone in society should be armed and considered "part of the army". An army can either be used to serve the people or oppress the people - it is an instrument of government. If they claim to be a government for everyone, then everyone should be part of the government.

[N3wday]

"Personally, I think everyone in society should be armed and considered "part of the army". An army can either be used to serve the people or oppress the people - it is an instrument of government. If they claim to be a government for everyone, then everyone should be part of the government."

Interestingly enough the UCPN has been advocating this, although, I think for practical reasons due to Nepal's geopolitical situation rather than inherently ideological ones.

[Saorsa]

Yeah, the Maoists have long advocated replacing the army with a system of people's militias. A big part of that is the fact that Nepal simply can't afford it's large army. The Nepal Army has 100,000 people in it, plus the country has to support about 20,000 PLA fighters in the cantonments, and as the poorest country in Asia it just can't do it. Nepal's starting to suffer food shortages atm, and if the money being put into maintaining it's huge army was put into supplying food to the people things could be very different.

[cyu]

Right, if everyone is going to be considered part of the army, then clearly you can't have everyone being full-time soldiers or nothing else would ever get done.

Instead, I'd imagine it would be everyone primarily doing other things and only getting the occasional refresher course on tactics or hardware that will keep them up to date with the latest developments in military technology.

[N3wday]

Right, if everyone is going to be considered part of the army, then clearly you can't have everyone being full-time soldiers or nothing else would ever get done.

Instead, I'd imagine it would be everyone primarily doing other things and only getting the occasional refresher course on tactics or hardware that will keep them up to date with the latest developments in military technology.

agreed.

[N3wday]

After defeat Nepal Maoist see difficulty in constitution drafting


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_802908790.jpg TGW
With the defeat of the Unified Maoists’ candidate in the election for the post of the chairman of the constitution drafting committee, the Maoists have begun suspecting the ill-motive of the ruling coalition parties to alienate the Maoists in the entire constitution drafting process.
“Election is the major constituent of a democratic process however, with the victory of the person who is against the federal system, and whose victory has come apparently as a move to distance the largest party in the Constituent Assembly, does hint that the drafting of the constitution will not be easy as is being given to understand,” said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the defeated Unified Maoists candidate.
The anger after embracing defeat is real.
“We accept the election results but it is certain that as it has come as a design to alienate our party in a calculated manner, the constitution drafting process may have to face several obstacles”, said Mr. Shrestha.
Mr. Shrestha was defeated by Nilambar Acharya, a former Soviet Union tilted Communist currently, the Nepali Congress nominated member of the Constituent Assembly.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6145&PHPSESSID=4a2d6f804e0ae41f9c42b313d5f1be03

[N3wday]

Joint National People's Movement Committee of the Unified CPN (Maoist) has decided to intensify the party's ongoing agitation for civil supremacy.

A meeting of the committee held Sunday decided to organise a comprehensive interaction in Kathmandu to bring clarity in the programmes of agitation and the effective ways of launching it.

The committee also decided to organise mass assemblies in various 18 places across the country from September 6 to 14 demanding for civil supremacy. It also decided the dates and the main speakers of the mass assemblies.

The Maoists have been agitating against the President's move to block the erstwhile government's decision to dismiss former army chief Rookmangud Katawal from his position and in favour of civil supremacy.

They have decided to boycott all functions attended by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal from Monday as part of the agitation.

Meanwhile, Maoists lawmakers have continued obstructing normal proceedings of the legislature parliament demanding the President's move be allowed to be discussed in the parliament. A meeting of the House called for Sunday was also adjourned without entering into formal business after the Maoist lawmakers chanted slogans and picketed rostrum.

Discussion on the budget for fiscal year 2009/2010 has been affected due to the House obstruction. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1187-maoists-decide-to-intensify-agitation.html

[Saorsa]

The exact details of this are not clear as of yet, but it now appears that once agin there are not just two armies in Nepal, but two governments as well. Big development!

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1191-maoists-form-parallel-govt-.html

Maoists form 'Shadow Cabinet'
Monday, 31 August 2009 09:59

The Unified CPN (Maoist) has formed 18 departments resembling the ministries of the government.

A meeting of the party’s Joint National People’s Movement Committee on Sunday formed the departments. Many of the departments are coordinated by party leaders who were ministers in related ministries in the Maoist-led government.

Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who was the finance minister in the previous government, is the coordinator of the Planning and Finance Department.

Likewise, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, the former health minister coordinates the health department and former tourism minister Hisila Yami coordinates the tourism, physical infrastructure and science department.

Along with the central departments, the Maoists have also decided to form local bodies.

Maoist leaders say, the departments and the local bodies will not function as a parallel government yet, but can be converted to one if such situation comes.

“It will not be parallel as of now, but the people can form their own local bodies if need be,” said Lokendra Bista, coordinator of the newly formed agriculture and cooperatives department.

Ground ripening for mass movement: Maoists REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Aug 31: The main opposition UCPN (Maoist) has concluded that ground is ripening for a mass movement as the ruling political parties have isolated the Maoists from the whole peace process. A standing committee meeting of the UCPN (Maoist) Monday had deliberated on the latest political development including the loss suffered by the UCPN (Maoist) in the election of the Constitutional Committee of the Constituent Assembly.

“The largest political party has been isolated from the whole process,” said a member of the standing committee. The party has reached the conclusion that it should intensify protest in the wake of the latest political development. The party has also concluded that the issue of Parmananda Jha, who is at the center of controversy after Supreme Court nullified his oath-taking in Hindi and he refused to retake oath in defiance of a court order, has put the government in trouble. “We hold the view that he should resign,” said Maoist Spokesperson Dinanath Sharma.

The party has also reached the conclusion that Nepali politics is getting complex by the day and that the party should step up protest in the streets and in the parliament to overcome it.

On Sunday, the Maoists announced a parallel government with party Vice President Dr Baburam Bhattarai as its coordinator and decided to intensify protest from the grassroots. The party had also decided to form local bodies to deliver justice and carry out development works at local levels. The standing committee meeting will continue for a couple of days and deliberate on the organizational and financial aspects of the party. The meeting will also hold discussions to find ways to implement the party´s code of conduct and carry out investigations based on the recommendations of the party´s disciplinary committee.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=9251

[Saorsa]

The exact details of this are not clear as of yet, but it now appears that once agin there are not just two armies in Nepal, but two governments as well. Big development!

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....lel-govt-.html (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1191-maoists-form-parallel-govt-.html)

Maoists form 'Shadow Cabinet'
Monday, 31 August 2009 09:59

The Unified CPN (Maoist) has formed 18 departments resembling the ministries of the government.

A meeting of the party’s Joint National People’s Movement Committee on Sunday formed the departments. Many of the departments are coordinated by party leaders who were ministers in related ministries in the Maoist-led government.

Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who was the finance minister in the previous government, is the coordinator of the Planning and Finance Department.

Likewise, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, the former health minister coordinates the health department and former tourism minister Hisila Yami coordinates the tourism, physical infrastructure and science department.

Along with the central departments, the Maoists have also decided to form local bodies.

Maoist leaders say, the departments and the local bodies will not function as a parallel government yet, but can be converted to one if such situation comes.

“It will not be parallel as of now, but the people can form their own local bodies if need be,” said Lokendra Bista, coordinator of the newly formed agriculture and cooperatives department.

Ground ripening for mass movement: Maoists REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Aug 31: The main opposition UCPN (Maoist) has concluded that ground is ripening for a mass movement as the ruling political parties have isolated the Maoists from the whole peace process. A standing committee meeting of the UCPN (Maoist) Monday had deliberated on the latest political development including the loss suffered by the UCPN (Maoist) in the election of the Constitutional Committee of the Constituent Assembly.

“The largest political party has been isolated from the whole process,” said a member of the standing committee. The party has reached the conclusion that it should intensify protest in the wake of the latest political development. The party has also concluded that the issue of Parmananda Jha, who is at the center of controversy after Supreme Court nullified his oath-taking in Hindi and he refused to retake oath in defiance of a court order, has put the government in trouble. “We hold the view that he should resign,” said Maoist Spokesperson Dinanath Sharma.

The party has also reached the conclusion that Nepali politics is getting complex by the day and that the party should step up protest in the streets and in the parliament to overcome it.

On Sunday, the Maoists announced a parallel government with party Vice President Dr Baburam Bhattarai as its coordinator and decided to intensify protest from the grassroots. The party had also decided to form local bodies to deliver justice and carry out development works at local levels. The standing committee meeting will continue for a couple of days and deliberate on the organizational and financial aspects of the party. The meeting will also hold discussions to find ways to implement the party´s code of conduct and carry out investigations based on the recommendations of the party´s disciplinary committee.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/in...s&news_id=9251 (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=9251)

[chegitz guevara]

Wait, don't the Maoists understand they are supposed to be betraying the people, not engaging in revolution?

:thumbup1:

[Revy]

Wait, don't the Maoists understand they are supposed to be betraying the people, not engaging in revolution?

:thumbup1:

http://i27.tinypic.com/ml1idv.jpg

[N3wday]

Nepal’s Binod: We Have to Accomplish Insurrection (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/nepals-binod/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/about/) on August 30, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/nepal_maoists.jpg?w=253&h=300 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/nepal_maoists.jpg)Members of World People’s Resistance Movement (http://www.britainwprm.org/wp/?p=713#more-713) from Britain and Ireland conducted this interview in Nepal.
“At this moment when there is no experience of revolution in the 21st century, when there is no advanced proletarian revolutionary movement in the world, when this country is encircled and governed by Indian expansionism, at this moment against imperialism and expansionism, we have come to the decision that we have to accomplish insurrection. This is the important outcome of this meeting.”
WPRM: Can you introduce yourself please?
Com. Binod: My name is Comrade Binod. I am a Central Committee member and secretary of the state council for Mahakali state, which comprises seven districts in the far west of Nepal.
WPRM: Can you tell us about the recent Central Committee meeting and its implications for the coming weeks and months?
Com. Binod: In the life of the party, this Central Committee meeting has been unusual from the point of view of ideology and debate. We have received an opportunity, and we are proud that this meeting has been very unusual because it has taken place amid the deep curiosity of the proletariat in Nepal as well as the world over. This curiosity is positive. At the same time, the imperialists and reactionaries also have an expectation. Amid this we have carried out a great meeting, and made decisions which have made us proud to talk about this meeting.
WPRM: And what are these decisions?
Com. Binod: At this moment when there is no experience of revolution in the 21st century, when there is no advanced proletarian revolutionary movement in the world, when this country is encircled and governed by Indian expansionism, at this moment against imperialism and expansionism, we have come to the decision that we have to accomplish insurrection. This is the important outcome of this meeting.
WPRM: So insurrection can be carried out in this situation?
Com. Binod: Certainly there is a negative situation; an unfavourable situation for revolutionaries. But there is no other mightier force than the people, and the Nepalese people are so mighty. Because of this, these people can bring us success. We have the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM) and we have a good and clear organisational setup, we have a team of leaders who want to fight, we have a class, a nation and a region which has been heavily suppressed. We have the commitment to win victory, the commitment to synthesise our understanding to a new height. Certainly there are serious obstacles put in front of the Nepali people by the Americans, but we have commitment, courage and the confidence to overcome those obstacles. What we see now within the UML, a revisionist party, is that their cadres have lost confidence with their leaders and their line. At the same time within Nepali Congress, a reactionary party, many cadres have also lost confidence with their leaders and their line. The monarchists have already lost their leadership and also the Terai nationalist forces have seen their leadership divided.
We have a glorious history. You are British, and we have a glorious history of Ghorkali forces that defeated the British Army in many places. As descendants of that, our people are equipped with the weapons of MLM and the blood that is flowing in Nepal is now working for the purpose of socialism and communism. When we initiated the People’s War we were only 70 or 75 people. Even at that time we had the courage and confidence that we could conquer the world, that the revolutionary forces, the proletariat, could conquer the world. We had some fear about whether our party was going to be destroyed, or whether, like UML, it would become a revisionist party, whether it would vacillate on the revolutionary path. But through the process of great debate we have come to a higher level of understanding and we see that the victory of the proletariat is inevitable. We have a deep feeling that today no-one can make this party a reactionary or vacillating party. We are not only capable and experienced in leading People’s War but also in leading line struggle and taking the party to a higher level of debate. That has been proved in this meeting.
WPRM: How does the UCPN(M) feel about the current UML led coalition government?
Com. Binod: Our senior leader Baburam Bhattarai said that the Nepali people have given the responsibility of being a driver to the Maoists, as a conductor to the Nepali Congress and as a caretaker to the UML. But now the caretaker has taken the place of the driver and the driver is in place of the caretaker. In Nepalese tradition there is a fable about Dakchyaprajapati, who has the body of a human being and the head of a goat, which is set in a wrong direction, pointing backwards. This government is like that. Objectively we understand this government like that, but politically this government is designed by Nepali Congress. In the objective reality of Nepal, this government has been constructed in order to destroy the Nepali revolution, the UCPN(M) and the aspirations of the Nepali people. But this government is like a scarecrow. In the beginning the birds think this might be a man. Then when the bird realises this is not a man then it sits on the head of the scarecrow. At the moment this government is like a scarecrow. The Nepali people understand that it is set up by Indian expansionism and they are not afraid of this. So it is not so important to talk about this government, but as far as MK Nepal (the PM) is concerned, he has time and again over the last few years prepared his trousers and his daura-suruwal (a type of Nepali dress). He has been prepared many times but had never before had this opportunity. Now he has got his opportunity. But this time there is a big possibility that his chair will fall down before his clothes get dirty.
WPRM: Now Prachanda is talking about a new government being formed, how will this come about?
Com. Binod: This new government will assure civilian supremacy and national sovereignty, giving immediate relief to the people and with the purpose of insurrection. We have carried out many preparations in order to convince the international community that it is necessary to have power, in order to convince Nepalese society this government will be formed. Certainly, this government will be formed to organise insurrection, having convinced the international community that we want a new society, and to convince the revolutionary forces that we want to make revolution, to convince the people that we are going towards a new society, to convince anti-imperialist and anti-expansionist forces that we are taking this society forwards.
WPRM: How exactly will this new government come into being?
Com. Binod: The main basis is the Nepalese people. It will come about through the struggle of the Nepalese people, through strong intervention against the parliament and the organisation of a United Front amongst the nationalist and democratic forces within parliament and involving all sections of people and civil society. We understand that one section of UML is not happy with this government. The main section of the leadership is also not happy with this government. The Madhesi party has split and the Madhesi people are also not happy with this government. Even the honest people within Nepali Congress believe that without the Maoists the new constitution cannot be written. The people who are in favour of civilian supremacy and national sovereignty are also not happy with this government. The majority within this parliament agrees on the question that the step of the president (to overrule then-PM Prachanda’s decision to sack General Katuwal) is unconstitutional and unjust. These parliamentary forces are afraid even to debate this issue, this motion on the step of the president. Therefore this government is defunct because the practice has been shown that the parties are split and the parliamentary members are protesting. This kind of government cannot be accepted for a long time. It is defunct and is losing morality, confidence and honesty. It is set up against the people and so cannot sustain itself for long time.
WPRM: The deadline for writing the constitution is in nine months, is it possible to write it in time and what will happen if it is not?
Com. Binod: The constitution would certainly have been written if there was no struggle between opposite classes. But this struggle is happening as a political struggle. The other classes would like to write a constitution according to their class interests, we would like to write a constitution according to our class interests. The possibility of the constitution being written is low. At that time there is the possibility that a new class situation might emerge. We are taking the issue very seriously in order to meet the challenges that might come up in those conditions. In this situation we are trying to organise the masses for rebellion, through insurrection of the masses. The reactionaries didn’t want Constituent Assembly elections, but on the backs of the masses they were obliged to hold them. They didn’t want a republic, but on the back of the people the republic was established. Those elements who once put a bounty on our heads and propagated that we are terrorists have now been forced to recognise us as a political party because of the force of the people, as has the US imperialist force who also called us terrorists.
No such event has before taken place in history, where ‘terrorists’ have been recognised like this. These kind of unimaginable things have happened on the back of the force of the masses. We believe that on the back of the force of the masses, the constitution can also be written, a constitution favourable to the masses, but the possibility of that kind of constitution being written is very low at the moment.
WPRM: Many Maoists around the world are concerned that the party has given up the armed struggle, the PLA are in cantonments and the party now has the plan to merge the two armies together, the PLA and the Nepali Army (NA). What is the role of the PLA now in the struggle for revolution in Nepal?
Com. Binod: The PLA is under the control of UNMIN and a special team, the Army Integration Committee. But practically the PLA is under the control of the Maoist party. Even though the weapons are in containers, the key of those containers is in our hands. We talked to the lower members of the NA and we found that the behaviour within their army is like from the 12th or 14th centuries, feudal behaviour is being carried out. The leadership of the NA is from a very backward class, from feudal leadership. If we do things carefully then there is a big possibility that the bitterness between officers and soldiers could be maximised. Obviously as long as the NA is around, insurrection or victory cannot be achieved. Hence, the question of integration is not that the PLA is being diluted into the NA. The NA should be diluted into the PLA. The meaning of the policy of army integration is not in the dissolution of the PLA but in the dissolution of the NA, to transform the NA and turn it into a PLA. That is why Nepali Congress and UML are always afraid of army integration.
WPRM: Mao said that after 1949 the dangers of sugar-coated bullets are more dangerous than the real bullets from the war before. How does the UCPN(M) understand this?
Com. Binod: Certainly this situation is grave, but it is not out of our hands and the situation can be made positive. Why has the situation developed in the world where millions of people worked to establish a socialist state and then again the same people came to power and later removed that state away. Why is that? Why do the same people who were once deeply respected reach the point of denouncing the state? There are still certain citizens who fought for Marxism who are now really afraid of Marxism. While we were talking to youth from Eastern Europe, youth working for human rights organisations, I talked to them and asked why there is no attraction towards Marxism among the masses of Eastern European countries.
Why do British people, where Marx said the first revolution would take place, still support the rejected parliamentary system? Why was the Chinese revolution demolished very easily after the death of Mao Zedong? We have to answer these crucial questions standing on the unprecedented history of the 21st century. We feel we can meet the many challenges put forward in the present world. We will continue developing our understanding, our theory, having in the present given answer to these questions; these crucial questions. Based on dialectical materialism and based on democratic centralism, based on safeguarding participation in state power and control over state power, we can accomplish and meet the challenges of state power and control. Communists believe that the stability of capitalism is in motion. We believe that those who are most scientific are Marxist-Leninist-Maoists. But to some they look dogmatic and unscientific. Those who are most reactionary are capitalist-imperialists, which to them looks more dynamic and more forward-moving. The crucial question is why it looks like that. We have to answer this question.
WPRM: The UCPN(M) has developed a theory of elections taking place after New Democratic Revolution and during the stage of socialism. Can you give us your thoughts about this?
Com. Binod: Based on the experiences of Soviet Russia and China, we have understood that the economic and social rights of the masses are not only important, but the political rights of the masses, the personal liberty of the individual, are also very important. With the participation of the masses in state power, state power can go autocratic; state power can become another type. Certainly the dictatorship of the proletariat has to be established and systematised. While we are systematising the dictatorship of the proletariat we should not be cut off from the relationship with the masses. So the dictatorship of the proletariat should be approved directly by the masses.
This does not include pro-feudal, pro-imperialist, pro-expansionist forces, or comprador bureaucrats. It does not include anti-feudal ideologies. Not from those kinds of people, but from people that are really oppressed, those who, if they lose state power, will lose everything. We understand that socialism is an exercise of political ability of the individual to safeguard the dictatorship of the proletariat. That kind of society is, we believe, socialist society. Leninist socialism as defined in the period of Stalin contained something wrong somewhere, so we believe and we hope that we can correct this practice. The control, the observation and the intervention of the masses against the state, has to be guaranteed. In one certain sphere, our correct leadership, our correct party line, cannot mean a direct corridor to revolution. The whole thing has to be tested time and again. Then the instrument of the state is the people, and the people must have the right to test it. That is our definition of socialism as we understand it.

[Saorsa]

Wait, don't the Maoists understand they are supposed to be betraying the people, not engaging in revolution?

I think it's part of their evil plot. By consistently doing revolutionary actions and putting forward revolutionary theory they lull us into a false sense of security and disguise their true treacherous nature. Very sneaky!

[N3wday]

Maoists propose dividing country into 13 states; UML, NC yet to table proposal

Friday, 04 September 2009 10:15

The largest party in the parliament UCPN (Maoist) has formally submitted its position on federalism to the State Restructuring Committee under the Constituent Assembly on Thursday proposing 13 states.

This is second expansion to the proposed states by the party – from nine to 11 during CA elections and with two more addition in the latest version.

The proposal submitted by Standing Committee member Dev Gurung mentions three-states based on regional division – Seti-Mahakali, Bheri-Karnali, and Madhes and the rest based on ethnicity – Tharuwan, Magarat, Tamuwan, Tamsaling, Newa, Kirat, Limbuwan, Kochila, Sherpa and Bhote/Lama.

During CA elections, the party had proposed 11 provinces after splitting Kochila from Limbuwan and Abadh from Bhojpura. This time, the party has added Bhote/Lama in the western and Sherpa in the eastern mountains. The proposal has merged Awadh, Bhojpura and Mithila regions to call it Madhes province.

The party has also proposed autonomous localities within the autonomous provinces based on ethnicity. Seti-Mahakali region will have two such localities, Bheri-Karnali two, Magarat three, Tamuwan nine, Tamsaling 12, Kirat five, Limbuwan eight, Kochila nine, Madhes four, and Tharuwan two.

Additionally, the party proposed for protected regions for tribal groups such as Raute and Kusunda.

Furthermore, the party proposed four geographical and administrative units. They are Ridhi, Tamakoshi, Narayani and Bijayapur. The proposal mentions that the provinces will be autonomous while the geographical and administrative units will be governed by the central government.

The Maoists have proposed to transform the existing 3,914 village development committees into 800 to 900 districts so that people will have easy access to the district headquarter.

The state restructuring committee had asked the parties to submit their concept papers on state restructuring by Thursday and has so far received papers from 11 political parties. The Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML are yet to present their proposal.

The committee has formed a five-member sub-committee led by Maoist lawmaker Hitman Shakya to draft integrated proposal on federalism incorporating ideas from all parties. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1262-maoists-propose-dividing-country-into-13-states-uml-nc-yet-to-propose.html

[Saorsa]

Fresh Nepal revolt may take toll of One Million: Prachanda (http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6212&PHPSESSID=1da8cd026600a65fcfc52bd1033edabb)


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_437889140.jpg TGW
The Constituent Assembly and the Peace Process are the offspring of the decade long revolt undertaken by the Maoists’ Party, said Pushpa Kamal Dahal-the Unified Maoists' Party Chairman adding, if the constitution drafting process and the peace process were blocked, there will be yet another fierce revolt.
“If there is another revolt at least one million people may lose their precious lives”, Dahal said.
“We need to be very careful at this juncture, to stop the casualties”, he opined.
Dahal was also of the opinion that people want peace not war however, there is the limit to everything, people go at war when their limit of tolerance is broken.
“When the people revolt they obliterate everything”, he added.
If the mandate of the CA election is further ridiculed we will declare war”, said Dahal concluding that “this time the war will be a peaceful one”.
Dahal was making such threatening remarks at a book launching ceremony in Kathmandu, September 5, 2009.
2009-09-06 08:38:30


(http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213334)Prachanda blames prez for ‘precarious situation’ (http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213334)

Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, Sept 5 - Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday charged that the President's Office is responsible for the precarious political situation in the country. Saying the whole country has been inflicted by the President's moves, Dahal who stepped down from the government following irrevocable differences with the former stressed on the need for ‘treating the injured country.' "A land mine from the President's office has already ambushed the constitution drafting and peace process," said he.

He was speaking at a book release programme in the capital. Saying Constituent Assembly election was possible only because of the Maoist people's war, the former rebel leader, who became the country’s prime minister later, claimed that none other than him can accomplish the new statute drafting and conclude the ongoing peace process.

He accused that the government of trying to invite a war. He said the incumbent UML-led alliance is trying to invite a mishap by overlooking the people’s mandate. Saying peace-seeking people will not tolerate any oppression, Dahal remarked that none can prevent people from revolting.



Posted on: 2009-09-05 10:07:01 (Server Time)

[scarletghoul]

Very interesting. I really hope it doesn't become that much of a bloodbath :(
"At least one million"
I can see it now, "Prachanda killed millions of people" "hitlerism-stalinism-maoism-prachanda path" and so on :lol:

[Saorsa]

I think everyone hopes that! I posted an analysis of the reports from Prachanda's speech on my blog (http://www.revleft.com/vb/www.comradealastair.wordpress.com), this bit dealt with the "million deaths" comment.


The TN article was entitled “Fresh Nepal revolt may take toll of One Million”, a rather suspect move on their part. They obviously lifted a single line from his speech (quoted in the article) in which he noted that a revolutionary seizure of power by the masses would result in many deaths. The way the title is worded implies that Prachanda is callously playing with the lives of people and indeed delights in their possible deaths, but his actual words tell a different story.



What he actually said was “If there is another revolt at least one million people may lose their precious lives”, and therefore “we need to be very careful at this juncture, to stop the casualties”. However, this should not be read as displaying an unwillingness to go ahead with a people’s revolt in the future – he went on to say, according to Telegraph Nepal, that “people want peace not war however, there is the limit to everything, people go at war when their limit of tolerance is broken… when the people revolt they obliterate everything” and that “if the mandate of the Constituent Assembly election is further ridiculed we will declare war”.


Interestingly, TN claims that he also said “this time the war will be a peaceful one.” A strange remark considering how he supposedly also mentioned that the revolt could easily result in a million deaths. Most likely this remark was made with the intention of stressing the Maoist’s commitment to the peace process, and trying to make it harder for the reactionary forces to make out that the UCPN (M) forced their hand if they move against the revolutionaries.

[Saorsa]

Nepal’s Maobadi stress commitment to LGBT liberation (http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/nepals-maobadi-stress-commitment-to-lgbt-liberation/)

leave a comment » (http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/nepals-maobadi-stress-commitment-to-lgbt-liberation/#comments)
http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/blue-diamond-society.jpg?w=300&h=300

This news is espescially positive since there have been reports in the past of some members of the UCPN (M), including leading ones, making homophobic remarks. That said the Maoists have since shown in practice that this is a thing of the past – when in government they enacted progressive legislation in support of LGBT rights.As I wrote in January this year in my article “Nepal – A Revolution in Progress (http://workersparty.org.nz/2008/12/02/nepal-%C2%AD-a-revolution-in-progress/)“;


Despite the endless deadlocks caused by the resistance of its coalition partners, the Maoist government has still managed to enact some progressive social change. It has abolished slavery, banning the Haliya system of bonded agricultural labour.

It has also given formal recognition to Third Gender people, with a 21 year old lesbian woman receiving the first identity card stating her gender as “Third” in early September. This is an extremely radical move considering how dominated Nepal is by its feudal culture, with all the backward ideas that entails. Nepal’s first openly gay MP has been elected to the Constituent Assembly, representing a minor communist party separate from the Maoists. Despite the fact that he is not in the CPN (M), the conditions for his election only exist because of the new, revolutionary culture the Maoists are trying to create.



The gay Constituent Assembly member, Sunil Babu Pant, whorepresents the Communist Party of Nepal (United), a much smaller left wing group, was later sent overseas by Prachanda (back when he was Prime Minister) to represent Nepal at the United Nations General Assembly, to support a statement recognising human rights violations on sexual orientation and gender identity. The speech he gave can be read here. (http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/sunil-b-pants-speech-at-un-18-dec-2008/)

(http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/sunil-b-pants-speech-at-un-18-dec-2008/)
The Maoists had also allocated money (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/nepal-maoists-to-stand-up-for-gay-rights-in-un_100129594.html) in their proposed budget to build community centres for homeless transgender people, but unfortunately the collapse of the government they led most likely means this never was accomplished.


It’s also kind of interesting (and came as a complete surprise to me!) that Georgina Beyer, who was the Labour Party MP for the Wairarapa, is in Nepal at the moment and was quoted in this article! I continue to seeth with jealousy ad frustration that non-communists are visiting a country going through revolutionary ferment while I’m stuck in little old New Zealand… *sighs*
[/URL]
(http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213465)
Kantipur Report
(http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213465)
[URL="http://kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213465"]
KATHMANDU, Sept 6 – Babu Ram Bhattarai, former finance minister and UCPN (Maoist) leader, has stated his party’s commitment to equal rights and opportunities for all in every respect regardless of gender and sexual orientation.


Speaking at a programme organised by the Blue Diamond Society on Friday, Dr. Bhattarai said that these rights are to be legalised explicitly in the new constitution of Nepal.


He went on to condemn the misconceptions and discrimination regarding these issues today. As Sangita Karki, a transsexual woman also present at the event, said “In any government job or educational/financial institution, we are not getting equal opportunities. We are deprived of citizenship with our own identity.”


Although the present constitution has acknowledged the rights of gender minorities, they continue to be marginalised in the real world.


Georgina Beyer – the world’s first openly transsexual Member of Parliament, and a a former MP in New Zealand - was optimistic of the future.


“At least Nepal has started a public discourse on the rights of sexual and gender minorities. It’s a positive sign of Nepal as a democratic country,” she said. Beyer is in Nepal as part of a goodwill visit and to give support to the other transsexuals to fight for their equal rights.


According to Ram Sharan Mahat, former finance minister and a leader of the Nepali Congress, the third gender in Nepali society has already made a lot of progress in gaining social recognition in a short period. He feels that society has now recognised the need for anti-discriminatory laws. “It is our commitment that in the upcoming constitution, no minority group should face discrimination,” Mahat added.


Posted on: 2009-09-05 22:55:53 (Server Time)

[Saorsa]

We are the State: Nepal-Maoists’ senior leader (http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6223)


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1931854279.jpg TGW
While partners of the ruling coalition government are alleging the Maoists’ so-called Street and Constituent Assembly Protest to restore Civilian Supremacy, as their move to grab power in Sing Durbar, one of the senior leaders of the Unified Maoists Party made it clear that “Indeed, the protests are intended at derailing the incumbent government”.


He said, “Yes, politics is done for power only.”
“There is nothing except Power in Politics, rest are fake.”


“The Maoists’ on its own are the State” said Bhattarai adding, “The government in Singh Durbar instead is a parallel one of the Maoists’ State.”



Dr. Bhattarai made these remarks talking to press-men in Sunsari District September 7, 2009.


Added Dr. Bhattarai, indeed, the current government is a copy of the Maoists’ State as it is run by those political parties that have hijacked the agenda the Maoists’ party announced almost a decade back.


“They are rather running a parallel government to us but not the otherwise”, Dr. Bhattarai said when asked if the Maoists’ party has begun re-energizing its parallel government of the past?


When asked by a journalist that the Maoists’ are also forming departments similar to those in Sing Durbar Dr. Bhattarai said, they are not new, we are only giving continuity to them.
2009-09-08 08:46:47

[Saorsa]

We are the State: Nepal-Maoists’ senior leader (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6223)


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1931854279.jpg TGW
While partners of the ruling coalition government are alleging the Maoists’ so-called Street and Constituent Assembly Protest to restore Civilian Supremacy, as their move to grab power in Sing Durbar, one of the senior leaders of the Unified Maoists Party made it clear that “Indeed, the protests are intended at derailing the incumbent government”.


He said, “Yes, politics is done for power only.”
“There is nothing except Power in Politics, rest are fake.”


“The Maoists’ on its own are the State” said Bhattarai adding, “The government in Singh Durbar instead is a parallel one of the Maoists’ State.”



Dr. Bhattarai made these remarks talking to press-men in Sunsari District September 7, 2009.


Added Dr. Bhattarai, indeed, the current government is a copy of the Maoists’ State as it is run by those political parties that have hijacked the agenda the Maoists’ party announced almost a decade back.


“They are rather running a parallel government to us but not the otherwise”, Dr. Bhattarai said when asked if the Maoists’ party has begun re-energizing its parallel government of the past?


When asked by a journalist that the Maoists’ are also forming departments similar to those in Sing Durbar Dr. Bhattarai said, they are not new, we are only giving continuity to them.
2009-09-08 08:46:47

[N3wday]

The paper once closely associated w/ the UCPN is now back online and available here - http://krishnasenonline.org/main/index.php?pubid=87

[Saorsa]

Way too much has happened over the past few days for me to post every news article, so instead I'll just post a link to a summary I did on my blog which contains all the links and a discussion of the interesting bits :-)

http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/nepal-ripe-for-revolt/

[Saorsa]

http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/at-paris-height-report-from-key-meeting-of-nepals-revolutionary-leaders/

2-Line Struggle At Paris Height: Report from Key Meeting of Nepal’s Revolutionary Leaders (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/at-paris-height-report-from-key-meeting-of-nepals-revolutionary-leaders/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/about/) on September 12, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nepal_maoist_women.jpg?w=350 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nepal_maoist_women.jpg)The following piece appeared on the re-opened Red Star (http://krishnasenonline.org/main/news.php?pname=Theredstar&id=17&cata_name=Opinion#) website.


“The central committee meeting was held in such a challenging situation in which the adoption of a correct ideological and political line would lead the Nepalese people to a victorious conclusion of new democratic revolution while an incorrect one would either entrap the whole party into reformism or defeat it for a long way ahead in the face of tightening encirclement of the enemy nationally and internationally. This situation had unsurprisingly made the entire central committee members serious in their responsibility… there was in this central committee meeting a vigorous ideological and political struggle against various wrong ideological trends, principally the right opportunism, which is the main danger in the contemporary communist movement.“

“….the tactic of democratic republic that was adopted from Chunwang meeting had already completed with the promulgation of federal democratic republic from the Constituent Assembly. When the tactical political objective had been achieved then the tactical unity expressed in the form of the 12-point understanding between seven parliamentarian parties and ours had also become obsolete. In spite of this, for a long one year and more our party remained hesitant to address it correctly but remained in the main groping in the dark with no comprehensive ideological and political line and correct tactical slogan to go forward to establishing people’s democratic republic under the leadership of the proletariat. Unless this situation was dealt with in a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist way the danger of democratic republic, the tactic adopted from the Chunwang Meeting, eating up the strategy of new democratic revolution was looming on the horizon. It was the main ideological question where the two-line struggle was focused on.”
The UCPN(M)’s Paris Height Meeting, a victory of the proletariat (http://krishnasenonline.org/main/news.php?pname=Theredstar&id=17&cata_name=Opinion#)



by Basanta, central committee member, Unified Communist Party Nepal (Maoist)

The Central Committee Meeting held at Paris Height, Kathmandu, of our party, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), has been concluded recently.
This meeting was organised when the Nepalese revolution was at a turning point. Therefore, the people of the whole world had kept their ears close to the outcome of this meeting. The imperialists, expansionists and all sorts of reactions the world over wanted our party, as a whole, to take up a reformist course and, if that did not take place, wanted it to undergo a split, at the least. Big media houses spent a lot of money to make their design happen. On the contrary, the international working class and the entire oppressed masses all over the world wanted our party to develop a correct ideological and political line and at the same time remain united stronger than before to fight imperialism and their lackeys. It was of course a big challenge before the central committee meeting, at Paris Height, of our party.


As had the international working class yearned for, it was not at all an easy task for this meeting to simultaneously build up a correct ideological and political line and maintain the party unity intact. It was of course an arduous task given the obvious differences in their way of thinking among the central committee members, in general, and the top leaders, in particular. Unlike before, most of the central committee members, including the top rank leaders, were skeptical of whether or not the party can build up a revolutionary line and the party remains united. Consequently, all of the central committee members in this meeting were down-weighed with two heavy responsibilities of firstly, building a correct line and secondly, developing party unity stronger than before.


The two-line struggle that surfaced at the Paris Height, first in the political bureau meeting and later in the central committee meeting as the continuity of the former, was in essence centred on how to comprehend the democratic republic in place and what steps to take up in order to realize the minimum strategic goal of new democratic revolution from the present stage of strategic offensive in Nepal. The central committee meeting was held in such a challenging situation in which the adoption of a correct ideological and political line would lead the Nepalese people to a victorious conclusion of new democratic revolution while an incorrect one would either entrap the whole party into reformism or defeat it for a long way ahead in the face of tightening encirclement of the enemy nationally and internationally. This situation had unsurprisingly made the entire central committee members serious in their responsibility.


However, it is not one’s seriousness and honesty that is decisive in formulating a revolutionary line. But it is his or her way of thinking that makes one able in applying dialectical materialism when analyzing the concrete condition and thereby developing a line to act upon it politically. Therefore, there was in this central committee meeting a vigorous ideological and political struggle against various wrong ideological trends, principally the right opportunism, which is the main danger in the contemporary communist movement.


The line struggle we engaged in is the obvious outcome of the present objective situation.


The tactic of democratic republic that the Central Committee Meeting in Chunwang, October 2005, had adopted was successfully over following the election of Constituent Assembly and proclamation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in June 29, 2007. No later than the republic was declared it was necessary on the part of our party to develop a next political tactic and sequence of class struggles to achieve it.
Although we adopted a new tactic, People’s Federal Democratic National Republic,in the Kharipati gathering, November 2008, and figured out the programmes of struggles, even then, apart from a number of pro-people programmes on the part of the government, the party could not in the main attain target in class struggles worked out from the meeting rather it engaged in day to day affairs for a long period until Paris Height meeting was held in July 2009.


In this situation, it was obvious to surface these questions sharply in the meeting because they were related with party’s overall ideological and political line.
Strategy and tactic are two basic aspects of a revolutionary line. Strategy is determined to resolve basic contradictions of the given society where as tactic is adopted to resolve the principal contradiction at a particular juncture. In short, sum of all tactics taken up as to resolve all of the fundamental contradictions makes a strategy. In this sense, strategy and tactic make a dialectical relation as do the whole and part of an entity. There must in no way be erected a Chinese wall in between these two. And, failure to grasp it and apply the interrelation between these two correctly has at times led to unjustified and avoidable splits within the revolutionary camp and sometimes to an unprincipled compromise among the classes which differ in their class interest.


As had been said earlier the tactic of democratic republic that was adopted from Chunwang meeting had already completed with the promulgation of federal democratic republic from the Constituent Assembly. When the tactical political objective had been achieved then the tactical unity expressed in the form of the 12-point understanding between seven parliamentarian parties and ours had also become obsolete. In spite of this, for a long one year and more our party remained hesitant to address it correctly but remained in the main groping in the dark with no comprehensive ideological and political line and correct tactical slogan to go forward to establishing people’s democratic republic under the leadership of the proletariat. Unless this situation was dealt with in a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist way the danger of democratic republic, the tactic adopted from the Chunwang Meeting, eating up the strategy of new democratic revolution was looming on the horizon. It was the main ideological question where the two-line struggle was focused on.


Like every entity, our party is also a unity and struggle of opposites in which unity is conditional, time-bound and relative while the struggle is absolute. None can escape from struggle; neither can there be any monolithic unity in a party. What happens is that people change their ideas in the course of struggle and thereby undergo relative transformation. Every line struggle strengthens unity to a higher level only when there is transformation. However, what we have achieved through this struggle is relative transformation and relative unity not the transformation and unity for ever. Had not we undergone transformation from our previous ideological positions no such unity was possible.


The thoroughgoing and sharp debate followed by relative transformation and unity not only made the central committee meeting of our party finally reach to a correct line but also made the party centralised and united strongly than before. The ideological unity we achieved in this way was the reason behind our success to unanimously develop an overall ideological and political line that ensures the way to go forward to accomplishing new democratic revolution and plan of action to agree with it.

[N3wday]

A Revolutionary School: Raising a New Generation for a New Nepal (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/raising-revolutionary-successors-a-maoist-school-in-nepal/)

Posted by Mike E (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1129785784&hiq=mike%2Cely&ref=search) on September 20, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/maoist_school_nepal1.jpg?w=200&h=173 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/maoist_school_nepal1.jpg)
In the U.S. there is a lot of debate reforming education — and a story like this cuts into that important discussion from a startling angle. It raises the possibility of a radically new society, and the role of education in THAT process. Not “preparing” kids better for “success” in this one — but making them conscious and critical actors in a great historic transformation.
The following is part of the series of reports made by members of the World Peoples Resistance Movement from Britain and Ireland currently who are visiting Nepal. The full series is available both here on Kasama (where we are posting articles as they arrive) and on the WPRM-Britain’s own site (http://www.britainwprm.org/wp/).

Educating Revolutionary Successors: A Maoist Model School in Jiri

Our journey started, as many do in Nepal, with a five hour bus trip where the only available free space was the roof. Although the journey was long it was only just over 100km, following narrow, windy mountain roads which were bumpy and at times treacherous. The roof however provided stunning views of the scenery and the opportunity to meet many local people, including a family of seven brothers and two sisters who found us a great source of amusement but were eager for us to visit their village and stay with their family. They were very friendly and not reserved at all, especially the girls unlike in many parts of Nepal and Asia in general, but we politely told them of our need to get to the town of Jiri in Dolakha district, east of Kathmandu.
Jiri is quite a remote town, of average size and the start of the popular trek to the Everest base camp. For this reason we were straight away accosted by hotel managers looking for business in the off-peak season. As with many tourist hotels in Nepal the managers are supporters of Nepali Congress and, indeed, the deposed royal family. In these areas images of the Dalia Lama are numerous. Our first port of call in Jiri was the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) office, a hive of activity compared to the cemetery stillness of the Nepali Congress office opposite. There we met the Area Secretary Comrade Kulbindra, various Young Communist League (YCL) activists and a teacher from the Sahid (Martyrs) Memorial Boarding School. After a brief chat over Nepali tea, we were asked whether we wanted to walk up the easy of the difficult route to the school, which was high up a mountain. Doubting that the school could be on the very top of the mountain we chose the difficult route, a choice that would soon come back to haunt us.
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/teachers_in_maoist_model_school_nepal.jpg?w=200&h=180 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/teachers_in_maoist_model_school_nepal.jpg)We set off eager about the people we were going to meet and the knowledge we were going to gain, but after ten minutes all we could think of was resting! Half way up the rain started. Being British we didn’t mind, but it gave us a good excuse for a rest. We stopped in the house of a peasant family who told us that they were a Maoist family and that during the People’s War (PW) they had fed and sheltered Maoist guerrillas on numerous occasions. They wouldn’t let us leave without a feed of boiled potatoes and eggs as well as a beaker of warm milk. We chatted until the rain stopped before continuing the walk in the dark up the slippery mountain path through the wet vegetation, the perfect ambush point for leeches. Reaching the school we realized it was at the top of the mountain and we were well within the clouds, within the altitude of leeches, but above the mosquito line and too high for Nepali Congress!
The model school was one of five Maoist schools for the children of martyrs set up this year, with funding from the Martyrs’ Association, a government-funded Maoist organisation. Covering the central district of Nepal, this school consists of three large two-storey buildings plus a washing block. There are 101 students here, all of whom had lost at least both parents as martyrs of the PW. With seven teachers, the students range from the age of 6 to 17, with more than 60% of the students male. There is a good sense of love and care between the teachers and students, rather than a simple sense of occupational interaction. Indeed, the teachers seem to act as the children’s new family. The students learn maths, science, Nepali, English and a general course on Maoism, a fully Maoist curriculum that differs from government and of course private schools. They learn about Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Prachanda. They also learn about Che Guevara, particularly his sacrifice and revolutionary spirit to change the world. They also study the background of the PW, about capitalism and communism and the need for Cultural Revolution, to destroy the old feudal culture and replace it with a new one. To a great extent they do this through the medium of art; music, dance and comedy.http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/rit_bahadur_in_maoist_model_school_nepal1.jpg?w=20 0&h=241 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/rit_bahadur_in_maoist_model_school_nepal1.jpg)
A programme of entertainment had been planned for that evening, including songs about fighting and sacrifice for the revolution, helping the children understand the necessity of struggle for a Maoist future and the cause for which their parents died. Three young girls started dancing and were soon joined enthusiastically by some of the teachers. We were introduced to one young boy who was famous in the school for his comedy routine which included impersonations of a dog and Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, but sadly we did not have time to hear this. At the end of the programme children came on to the stage to welcome us to the school and we were suddenly hit by the emotion of the sacrifice these children themselves had made. The head teacher Anil Bhattarai, who spent the performance sitting amongst the children, all eager to sit on his lap, also said a few words of welcome, and we were very impressed by his obvious affection for the children and the teachers. At night we were given a bed each in the guest room which we shared with one of the teachers and the area secretary.
We were woken at 5:30am to the sound of children already up and about. Over tea in the dining hall we had an opportunity to talk more with the teachers on subjects ranging from the political situation in Britain to the current policies of the UCPN(M). We also learned that the school was at the top of the mountain because high ground was relatively free of disease and there was good access to water and wood. The buildings had previously been home to a private school which had moved to the town and become a community school because of the pressure of Maoist-led strikes against “the supermarket of education”. We also saw in the light of the morning a large playing field and an area for volleyball and badminton. There was also a large field where the teachers and students together cultivated potatoes, cauliflowers and various other vegetables which were used for school meals. This reminded us of an important idea from the Cultural Revolution, that students and teachers should also play a role in production and strive for self-sufficiency. The students and teachers also ate together and were responsible for washing their own plates afterwards. The dormitories slept five children in each and looked comfortable. They were not over-crowded and seemed to breed the great sense of community in the school.
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/classrom_in_maoist_model_school_nepal1.jpg?w=200&h=164 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/classrom_in_maoist_model_school_nepal1.jpg)Leaving the school we began the slow descent back down to Jiri. We had said goodbye to all the teachers and the students, who gave us a ‘lal salam’ (red salute) to send us on our way. One teacher welcomed us back to the school again after the establishment of socialism in Nepal. This possibility seems still closer than before. As the UCPN(M) is still strategically involved mainly in the destruction of the old semi-feudal, semi-colonial state, there are however important examples in practice of the embryonic future Maoist state. This school is one of many such examples.

[Random Precision]

So, ah, what happened?

[Random Precision]

Red Cat, don't spam. You can consider this a verbal warning.

[Saorsa]

The situation is still fluid, but reports indicate the Maoists are consolidating a more open parallel state than what they've had set up for the past three years. They're talking of a revolt after the festival of Tihar.

[N3wday]

Nepal: Speak Insurrection (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/nepal-speak-insurrection/)

Posted by n3wday (http:///) on September 24, 2009
http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/dance.gif?w=350 (http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/dance.gif)This article was published by the Red Star (http://krishnasenonline.org/main/news.php?pname=Theredstar&id=12&cata_name=Feature). Thanks to Ka Frank for pointing it out.
“Speak insurrection, People have stood up” – Manoj GM

Voice heard like bomb blasting and gun firing. The period was of peace process. The place was of the central office of UCPN(Maoist), at Perishdanda, in the Capital city Kathmandu. Leaders of UCPN (Maoist) were sat in the row of the guests. The ‘blasting” voice made the Security forces alert !
The voice was the opening of the cultural programme organized to welcome the leaders of People’s rebellion. The blasting voice opened the programme to welcome the leaders and the participants.
It was the first cultural programme after the invention of the tactics of People’s Federal Republic, after a month long meeting of central committee.

The team of leadership came out from meeting hall after incessant discussion about the future policy and programmes for struggle. There were lots of cadres waiting enthusiastically to welcome the leaders. The local peoples, supports, well-wishers were there waiting in the same row. The cultural activists of ‘Samana Pariwar’ had been the centre of attraction. The people gathered there were expecting the programmes of recreation more delightful with its content of the insurrection. The cultural activists have their own aim to make the leaders, cadres and local people happier, more enthusiastic and more optimistic and get prepared for the coming people’s insurrection. Moreover, more than a half dozen cultural associations and the teams were there.
Yes, the cultural activists made all the participants laugh. They all participated joyfully during the programme. The cultural activ9issts were those who made a decade long People’s War very joyful and interesting through their transforming aand developing cultural programmes according to their maturity and the expertness.
The songs and the music were very revolutionary and they were closely touched with emotion and passion of the people who were very hurry to touch the series of the struggle and reach to its peak. The topic of a newly composed revolutionary song “Speak insurrection leaders!, People have stood up” created commotion in the hall. The participants clapped very loudly and the echo of clapping remained for a long time in the programme hall. Some of the leaders were laughing and some others were seemed very serious. However, all of them laughed although there was something satire in the very song. But, a bright rays of optimism could be easily seen on the appearances of the participant cadres and the people.
All the participant were in a happy mood because the leaders had concluded the CC meeting by announcing it as a historical unity of the party into a new height. Therefore, the cultural activists were trying to give something newness in their performances. There was not only art and passion in their presentation, but there was ideology, politics and some new types of practical problems and songs were full of questions whether there revolution or not.
The leaders were participating with the cultural team. At the same time, the activists made caricature of the leaders of the core-team of party committee. The leaders and all the participants felt their hesitation and mistakes to be exposed and it gave relief to themselves.
At last, the leaders danced with cultural activists. Party Chairman Com. Prachanda took initiative as the leader of dancing team, too. Cadres and people also participated co-operatively and the hall burst into a full pleasure and laugh. The cultural teams performing the programmes were from ‘Samana Pariwar, Sen-Chyang, Baikuntha-Chetnarayan, Tamsaling, All Nepal Folk Singer’s Association, All Nepal Cine Activists Association etc.

[N3wday]

WPRM: On Mobilizing Youth for Nepal’s New Democratic Revolution (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/wprm-on-mobilizing-youth-for-nepals-new-democratic-revolution/)

Posted by Mike E (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1129785784&hiq=mike%2Cely&ref=search) on September 21, 2009
http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/comrade_rasmi_nepal_maoist_yourth.jpg?w=200&h=240The following is part of the series of reports made by members of the World Peoples Resistance Movement from Britain and Ireland currently who are visiting Nepal. The full series is available both here on Kasama (where we are posting articles as they arrive) and on the WPRM-Britain’s own site (http://www.britainwprm.org/wp/).
Comrade Rashmi: Mobilising Youth for New Democratic Revolution

One evening in Kathmandu, we had the pleasure of meeting Ganesh Man Pun, Comrade Rashmi, which translates as ‘Moonlight’. Coming to our hotel, Rashmi arrived in the middle of one of the daily power cuts which occur every evening, making his name more apt for the occasion as we talked over the light of the moon coming through our third floor window and one small oil burning lamp. Rashmi is a Central Committee member of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as well as the Chairman of the Young Communist League (YCL).
He began our discussion by telling us his own background in the party.
Becoming involved in politics as a student, Rashmi was soon a whole-timer cadre for the All-Nepal National Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) before becoming a district member of the YCL. Rising through the ranks Rashmi led one of the four attacks that comprised the initiation of the People’s War on 13th February, 1996. As commander of one of the groups, Rashmi led the attack on a police post in Rukum district, capturing many weapons and explosives. He explained to us that “after capturing many policemen, we told them the reasons for our action. We told them they are our brothers, but we are fighting for New Democratic Revolution, against feudal and comprador rule in Nepal. We released them and told them not to fight against us in the future.” 29 days after this, Rashmi’s father, a local party and Peasant Association member, was martyred, being caught in his home by the police who had been summoned by a local feudalist. The police promptly led him outside into the yard and shot him. Rashmi spoke of this incident without bitterness, but with an intense pride in the martyrdom of his father, who, he said, died for the people.
Four months later, Rashmi became District Secretary of Rukum. He led a boycott of the local election, making sure that most VDCs in the district returned a vote of zero, with the others only returning partial results. In 1997 however, Rashmi was captured by the police in Nepalgunj on his way to a Central Committee convention. He was imprisoned under the Security Act and subjected to the norms of prison life, where beatings were commonplace. In 2001 he was suffering from appendicitis and was taken to hospital in Nepalgunj, from where he masterminded his own escape. With the help of sympathetic nurses and students, Rashmi managed to communicate with the party outside, and some days after the operation an urban guerrilla group successfully liberated him from the hospital. Rashmi spoke in his usual jovial style of his time inside, saying that “in prison, four years only felt like four days. But when I was rescued and I met my comrades and the people in my district again, I realised the People’s War had developed to such a height. Then I felt that four years had really been forty years.”
After his release, Comrade Rashmi was a Central Committee member and soon became a political commissar of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He was present at the Chunwang meeting, where the party decided to form a United Front with the bourgeois parliamentary parties against the monarchy. Rashmi then became a division commander of the PLA 4th Division, covering the Rapti region, but after the 2006 People’s Movement-2 he was transferred from the PLA, which was soon to be put in cantonments, to the YCL. According to Rashmi, “when the PLA were put in cantonments the reactionaries thought the Maoists would surrender. But we reorganised the YCL into a militant force to change society. Our organisation became famous throughout the whole country.” When the Maoists merged with another communist party, the CPN (Unity-Centre-Masal), the YCL also merged with its youth group, the Democratic Youth Association. While Rashmi’s life so far seems to be one of sacrifice and struggle, he married a comrade who is also a Central Committee member and they have one son, named Azad, the Nepali word for ‘liberation’.
Rashmi went on to describe to us the history of the YCL, which is seen as the continuation of the first communist youth organisation in Nepal set up in 1951. In the early 1980s this organisation, which had gone under various names, was led by Comrade Prachanda, before he became a Central Committee member. After the initiation of the People’s War, the YCL carried out mass work and public service under the slogan of Chairman Mao, ‘serve the people’, but only worked at the local level because of security difficulties. Rashmi described it as “the kindergarten of the party,” as many YCL members went on to join local militia and the PLA. In 2006, after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the YCL was reorganised and became known at the national and international level. At the national convention Rashmi was reelected as chairman and there was a 45 member Central Committee. Now the YCL is working under the slogan of “civilian supremacy and national sovereignty.” In the last three years they have been working in urban areas to widen roads, in sanitation and also planting trees. They have also been struggling with people, including corrupt people and policemen and also members of humanitarian organisations. In recent times, a national campaign to safeguard the border with India has come to prominence, especially in the eastern part where there have been encroachments by India. The YCL has held discussions with the Indian border security force, erected border stones and mobilised people against these encroachments. In this respect it seems that the YCL is carrying out many activities that the bourgeois state is unable or unwilling to carry out. The YCL has also benefited from the Maoist “1 in 3 policy,” which means that one third representation for youth in Maoist organisations is guaranteed. The YCL are campaigning to scrap the “feudal” minimum 45 years old age limit placed on some positions and also for lowering the voting age to 16, the age at which Nepali youth receive their citizenship certificate.
We then discussed the question of the portrayal of the YCL as a terrorist organisation. These days it seems not one day passes without an article in the Nepali bourgeois English-language press in condemnation of YCL violence. Rashmi however explained that “as the imperialists and expansionists propagate the YCL as a terrorist organization, so this is a sign of their imminent defeat. They want to diffuse and defeat our organisation, but we are not terrorists. The people of Nepal know this, not only the peasants and workers but also intellectuals and humanitarian workers. They all expect the YCL to do good work and struggle against corrupt people, against imperialist and comprador forces.
We asked Rashmi for his opinion on the shift in the struggle, from one of People’s War in rural areas, to one of legal open struggle centred mainly on urban areas in general and Kathmandu in particular. He emphasised that the struggle now has to be fought in a different way and that the struggle is very complicated. He went on, “now we are in urban areas, like Kathmandu. As the revolution is still unfinished at this time, there are some problems with our links to the countryside. But we are struggling to open some local bodies and our organisation is there continuing the revolution and the class struggle in the villages, carrying out development work in infrastructure and transportation.” Of interest to us is the news story from this morning’s Himalayan Times (18/09/2009), about the reestablishment of people’s governments in Jajarkot. Rashmi continued, “the reactionary forces wanted us to become reformist. They wanted us to become the third party of Nepal, like another UML [the revisionist party currently leading the government]. But with the force of the people and the force of the strategy and tactics of our party, we have not become reformist. We took up the leadership of the government and the reactionary forces accepted us because they wanted to make us become another UML. However, we have not become another UML. We are fighting for civilian supremacy against the actions of General Katawal. This question was a crucial question, a borderline question over whether our party was revolutionary or reformist. If we had surrendered on this issue, we would have become a reformist party. But we proved that we are still revolutionary. We left the government and because of this we have united with many revolutionary and nationalist forces since then, many writers and people in the public domain.” Indeed, the affair over the general has been made into a somewhat unimportant affair by the bourgeois media here, an example for them of Maoist contempt for coalition politics. But for the Maoists it has become a focal point showing the continued domination of Nepal by foreign powers, principally India, and the role of the Nepali Army leadership in preventing the development of the country and the consolidation of the victories gained through the People’s War and the People’s Movement-2 of 2006.
The topic of conversation soon turned to the increasing level of talk amongst the Maoists and in the papers of the People’s Movement-3 and popular insurrection. Rashmi emphasized that the role of the YCL was essential in this, that they would mobilise the people and make the struggle militant. The situation now is centred on the writing of the new constitution. As is popularly known, both the Maoists, who are in favour of a People’s Republic of Nepali characteristics, and the other forces, who are in favour of institutionalising a bourgeois parliamentary system, lack the strength in the Constituent Assembly to write the constitution, which requires two-thirds votes to ratify each component part. Rashmi explained however that “the mass movement as well as the PLA in the cantonments will be a massive pressure on the opposition forces. The recently convened United National People’s Movement, a united front organisation under the leadership of Baburam Bhattarai, will also pressure them and lay the basis for a successful people’s movement and New Democratic Revolution. It will also warn US imperialism and Indian expansionism against intervening in our revolution.” He also stressed that while the PLA are in cantonments there is still the possibility of armed struggle in the future. However, in the current situation, the most important thing is to create a peaceful mass movement for New Democracy.
As we walked out into the street to wave a ‘red salute’ in goodbye, Rashmi shook us warmly by the hand. He had skipped his dinner for this meeting but seemed full of vigour as he walked away. Again we have been impressed by the way in which the leaders of the Nepali revolution have interacted with us, clear and confident in their goals and down-to-earth and friendly in their personality, inspiring in us a great level of confidence in the future course of the revolution.

[Saorsa]

After a massive nationwide campaign of protests and disruption, the Maoists have conducted a series of talks with the Nepal Congress and UML parties over the past few days to discuss the possiblity of tabling a join resolution motion in parliament to end the political deadlock. However, the Maoists have refused to compromise on their fundamental position that the action by President Yadav (a NC member) in blocking the Maoist-led govt's move to fire the head of the army was unconstitutional and against 'civilian supremacy'. They have demanded that any resolution motion denounce this move and open up a debate in the Constituent Assembly on the issue of civilian supremacy, a debate the NC and UML are refusing to allow to take place. As a result the talks appear to have failed, with no joint resolution motion being agreed upon by the 'big three' parties. In this context, Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai has come out with these statements.

Revolt if no consensus: Dr Bhattarai REPUBLICA

CHITWAN, Oct 3: Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the vice-chairman of the UCPN-Maoist, on Saturday said that his party will capture state power through revolt if no understanding is reached among the major political parties.

Stating that although discussions are underway among the parties, he indicated that the chance of formulating any mutual conclusion is less. He threatened to assume the power through revolt.

Speaking at an interaction with the party activists at Parasi in Nawalparasi, Bhattarai said that if no solution emerges by Tihar, the party will revolt.

"Due to the difference and respective stands taken by the parties, the possibility of consensus is very low,” he said.

He clarified that unless the demand for civilian supremacy is duly addressed, no understanding can emerge.

He claimed that there is no basis to any understanding unless it is made clear whether the Army is brought under the President or the parliament through an amendment in the Interim Constitution.

Stating that his party is committed to the past agreements, Bhattarai requested all parties to move ahead with consensus and understanding
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=10375

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoists disapprove of Nobel for German author

9 Oct 2009, 1559 hrs IST, IANS

Print (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5105945.cms?prtpage=1) EMail (javascript:openWindowmail1('/mail/5105945.cms',465,475);) Discuss Share (javascript:void(0)) Save (javascript:showdivlayer(5105945,'topdiv');) Comment (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Nepal-Maoists-disapprove-of-Nobel-for-German-author/articleshow/5105945.cms#write) Text:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/3549042.cms

KATHMANDU: Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas have denounced the award of the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature to German author Herta Mueller by the
Swedish Academy Thursday, saying it reflected the institution's growing bias towards the communists.

The 56-year-old ethnic Romanian writer experienced persecution and censorship under the repressive Nicolae Caeusescu regime in Romania and her writing focuses on living in a dictatorship steeped in corruption and intolerance.

"An anti-communist gets the Nobel Literature Award," Maoist mouthpiece Janadisha daily said Friday commenting on the award.

"In the past too, Nobel prizes were awarded to people who are against the communist philosophy and movement," the daily said.

"Some people have rejected the Nobel prize in condemnation of the Swedish Academy's anti-communist bias."

The Swedish Academy's decision Friday to nominate US President Barack Obama for the 2009 Nobel Peace prize would also sting the former guerrillas.

Even though the Maoists ended their insurgency three years ago and led the government for eight months after winning an election, the Obama government has still kept them on its watch list of terror organisations.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Nepal-Maoists-disapprove-of-Nobel-for-German-author/articleshow/5105945.cms

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoist Revolt Not Ended Yet: Dr. Bhattarai


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_168898432.jpg TGW
The Maoists party vice chairman Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai who is “unfortunately” not included in the Maoists’ Party high powered delegation visiting China on Sunday, after completing trip to Western Part of the country landed in Kathmandu on Thursday, October 8, 2009.
Dr. Bhattarai later during the day addressing a gathering organized by NCP-Maoist Kathmandu Election Constituency no 1 Chapter in Kalikasthan appealed the Maoists cadres to make yet another sacrifice in order to change the current Feudal Republican Order into the Republic of the Proletariat.
“Our revolt has not ended yet, we have the duty to make the republican order as a people oriented one”, Bhattarai said adding, “We will defeat the current anti-people government through our protest programs.”
He also said that unless the Maoists’ Party as the largest party in the CA, takes over charge of the national government, the constitution drafting process and the conclusion of the peace process was impossible.
Analysts remain askance as to why Dr. Bhattarai is not included in the maoist led delegation to China?
This apparently too has some meaning which remains to be investigated by sharp media men.
2009-10-09 09:14:00

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6411

[Saorsa]

Communists don't celebrate Dasain
Interview with Ninu Chapagain, in-charge, Cultural Division, UCPN (Maoists), in Samayabodh, Oct-Nov, 2009

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http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/imgbank/article/2009/nt1936.jpgAs in-charge of the Maoist Cultural Division, how do you view the festivals that people celebrate in Nepal?

Nepal is a multi-cultural nation. The different ethnic and language groups here have their own cultures. But instead of considering all these Nepali culture, there is a bad tendency here to think of the culture of those ethnicities and classes in power as Nepali culture. This needs to be corrected.



Nepal's festivals are generally based on Hinduism. Are there any scientific aspects to these religious festivals?

Religion and science are opposed to each other. To believe in god is to deny man agency and to accept external control of oneself. This is not culture, but a lack of it. If it lacks humanity, intellect and independent agency, it cannot be considered culture.

UCPN (Maoist) has been speaking out against religious festivals but hasn't hesitated to indulge in religious inaugurations of hospitals and schools it is involved in. Isn't this double standards?

The wrong idea that it is acceptable to use any means to collect funds continues to hamper our revolutionary progress. That is why we have seen communist party members engaging in cultural traditions such as deusi and bhailo that actually extend the reach of the Hindu cultural hegemons in Nepal. Our cultural revolution lags behind our political revolution.


Chairman Prachanda announced at a religious program recently that the Maoists aren't atheists. What do you say?

I am ignorant of the context in which these remarks were made, so it's better not to dwell on them. But if by religion we understand a system that works to trap people who live off their labour into believing in the supremacy of an external agency, that prevents them from realising their full potential and from changing society through struggle and class awareness, then we don't believe in it, we are atheists.


How do communists celebrate Dasain?

Dasain has become a dasha (ill omen) for the mass of the people in recent times. It is a financial burden for most people. Noone who is concerned for the welfare of the people will insist that everyone should celebrate Dasain. The only good thing about Dasain is in strengthening social ties. If poor people feel compelled to mark Dasain by spending money on special food and new clothes, to the extent of incurring debts, then the festival has no meaning. There is no reason for it to be spread over 10 days either, with attendant public holidays so people can indulge in drinking, gambling and fighting.


If communists want to celebrate Dasain then they should limit themselves to renewing social ties with their families and local communities, and spend time speaking out against the social evils of this festival and promoting other local festivals.


What is the people's culture that the Maoists want to replace our old cultural traditions with?

A people's culture is one that first involves giving up exploitative customs in order to move towards a new culture in favour of those who live by their labour. This means a culture based on science, nationalism and a people's or democratic set-up. A new people's culture is a scientific culture that works for the liberation of Dalits, farmers, workers, indigenous peoples and women. A revolution cannot only be based on political change, to be sustained it has to be accompanied by cultural change, a cultural revolution.



They say culture represents a country to the world. If we rid ourselves of our culture then don't we risk losing our identity?

Opposing a backward culture does not mean opposing culture itself. Communists are in support of a progressive culture for all.


http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2009/10/15/FromtheNepaliPress/16365

[N3wday]

http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/5-nepal-posters-share-print-post/

5 Nepal Posters: Share, Print, Post (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/5-nepal-posters-share-print-post/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 17, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal_revolution_posters.png?w=350 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal_revolution_posters.png)The FIRE Collective (http://thefirecollective.org/) in Houston has produced a series of five posters supporting the revolution in Nepal. Here they are in pdf format. The posters are easy to print — 8×11 paper in black-and-white.
One version with blank space for local contact information (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal_revolution_posters.pdf)(for events, local phone etc.)
One version without blank space (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/Nepal_revolution_posters_nocontactform.pdf)(but with Kasama URLs)
The FIRE collective has recently written:
“Today, seemingly a world away, the population of a small, oppressed nation is engaged in an ongoing revolution that is straining and maneuvering for a decisive victory. Rather than pursuing a rigid path in a sterile and dogmatic way, these revolutionaries have employed a diversity of tactics… Their thinking is fresh, and they’ve wedded creative innovation with a movement committed to socialism and worldwide liberation from capitalism and imperialism. They deserve our active political work. We need to help break through the mainstream media whiteout…”

[N3wday]

WPRM: Nepal’s Gaurav speaks on Democracy & Cultural Revolution (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/wprm-nepals-gaurav-speaks-on-democracy-cultural-revolution/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 12, 2009
http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/npl_gaurav.jpg?w=200&h=150 (http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/npl_gaurav.jpg)This article was published on the WPRM Britain website (http://www.wprmbritain.org/?p=878).
Question: Do you envision a role for Nepali Congress and CPN (United Marxist-Leninists) after the New Democratic Revolution?
Answer: If they don’t change their ideological-political line, we don’t envision that they will be able to take part in those elections. The New Democratic system will not allow this if they don’t change their ideological-political line and behaviour.
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Nepal: Comrade Gaurav speaks on Democracy and Cultural Revolution


Gaurav has recently been made one of the secretaries in the new Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN[M]) leadership structure. Activists with the World Peoples Resistance Movement met him at the party office in Paris Dand, Kathmandu, where we tried to get deeper into the issue of democracy, specifically the UCPN(M) concept of 21st century democracy, of holding elections under New Democracy, and how this relates to the theory and practice of Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China.
WPRM: In the current situation when the UCPN(M) has its sights set on New Democratic Revolution, it seems more important than ever to understand the party’s idea of 21st century democracy, competitive elections under New Democracy and socialism, can you explain this concept to us?

Comrade Gaurav: Yes we are now in the stage of completing the New Democratic Revolution.The New Democratic system is not a socialist system. It is a bourgeois democratic system. The difference is that the revolution is made under the leadership of the proletariat.
http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gifThe old type of bourgeois democratic revolution took place under the leadership of the bourgeoisie, but the New Democratic Revolution will take place under the leadership of the proletariat. When it is led by the proletariat it will lead towards socialism and communism. On the other hand, if the bourgeois democratic revolution is being led by the capitalist class, it will either consolidate capitalism or, if it develops at all, it will develop towards imperialism. That is the difference. So New Democratic Revolution in this sense is not a socialist revolution, it is a bourgeois democratic revolution but it is led by the proletariat. And, when the proletariat leads this revolution and the revolution is completed, then immediately it will move towards socialism. It will not consolidate bourgeois democracy, it will move towards socialism.
This debate was seriously carried out during 1956 in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). People like Deng Xiaoping said that since it is a bourgeois democratic revolution, it is the time to consolidate capitalism. But, Mao said that it should not be consolidated, it should go forward to socialism. This is the basic division between New Democracy and socialism. And, the question of which class is leading is the fundamental question.http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif
So far as elections are concerned, under a New Democratic system there will be a broad anti-feudal and anti-imperialist alliance. This will be the class character of New Democratic Revolution. It is certainly true that not all anti-feudal and anti-imperialist forces are communists.
But there should be a broad alliance of the UCPN(M) with different political forces who are anti-feudal and anti-imperialist. We have to recognise the existence of these other political forces, because they are the ally of the proletariat during New Democratic Revolution. Therefore, we have to guarantee their political freedom, and the political freedom of those parties has already been carried out in China also.
In China, except for the CCP there were nine other political parties, all of which were anti-feudal and anti-imperialist. They competed and participated in elections with the CCP and some of them became ministers in the government. In our case also we have to recognise those forces. They are not communists but they are the allies of anti-feudal and anti-imperialist forces, and they should be guaranteed political freedom.
When our party talks about multiparty competition or democracy, we are talking about our concept of ‘21st Century Democracy’.
The difference here however is that in China there was a condition, all anti-feudal and anti-imperialist forces had to cooperate with the CCP. This was the precondition. But now our party is talking about allowing those political parties to compete even with the UCPN(M).
In China there was a precondition, they were not allowed to compete but had to cooperate. In elections they made some sort of compromise or negotiation and they fixed candidates by consensus. In some constituencies the other parties put forward their candidate and the CCP did not. And in most other seats they did not have a candidate but supported the candidate of the CCP.
But here in Nepal today we are talking about competition. All those political parties will be allowed to compete with the UCPN(M). We can have direct elections with those parties and the Maoists. That is the difference. We are formulating this kind of thing because the imperialists and the capitalists, who are the enemies of socialism and communism, accuse communist parties of not allowing other parties to compete. They say there is no competition, there is no democracy. And in fact, in the old way there was scope for those political parties to confuse the masses. For example, there is an election but there is only one candidate, and if everybody has to vote for the same candidate what is the meaning of this? It is something like selection. But we will make it clear that people can vote for their own candidates and that there will be more than two candidates for people to choose between.
Furthermore, we should give the people the right of recall. If the candidate elected by them is not competent, or is taking an anti-people road, the people’s right of recall will be assured.
This is the type of thing we have to introduce in an electoral system. Only then can we assure the masses that they can vote for the candidate they like and it is a real election where there are many candidates. The election will have a definite meaning. If there is only one candidate then voting is meaningless.
This is what we mean by ‘21st Century Democracy’.
WPRM: How will this democracy and use of elections develop as New Democratic Revolution develops into the stage of socialism. Will there be more than one communist party at this time?
Comrade Gaurav: We don’t envision more than one Communist Party because every political party has a class character. The proletariat should have their own party.
In the long run, ultimately, there will not be different political parties. When we achieve socialism in that case, we think there will be no necessity for other political parties, because the society will have undergone a big change. There will be no other classes at that time.
WPRM: Do you envision a role for Nepali Congress and CPN (United Marxist-Leninists) after the New Democratic Revolution?

Comrade Gaurav: If they don’t change their ideological-political line, we don’t envision that they will be able to take part in those elections. The New Democratic system will not allow this if they don’t change their ideological-political line and behaviour.
WPRM: Comrade Basanta in Worker #12 has recently written that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China is the pinnacle of application so far in practice of dialectical materialism, the science of revolution. Can you sum up for us the lessons of the Cultural Revolution as formulated by the UCPN(M)?
Comrade Gaurav: We think the Cultural Revolution is the pinnacle of the development of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Because Marxism-Leninism-Maoism is a science in the process of development, it is not something static. It is in the process of development and this development is interlinked with revolutionary practice. From this practice comes our ideology. And from revolutionary practice, the experiences of the Russian and Chinese revolutions, and from the examples of counter-revolution in those countries, Mao synthesised the whole thing and developed the theory of Cultural Revolution.
What Mao developed in his life, was more than that which Lenin did in his time, because for Lenin it was not possible to carry out Cultural Revolution or theorise Cultural Revolution. During his life, in the period of revolution and after that he was trying to develop the whole revolution. He formulated so many ideas and theories regarding revolution. But in the case of Mao, during that time China was not a capitalist country, it was a semi-feudal semi-colonial country.
So the responsibility of the CCP was to carry on to accomplish the bourgeois democratic revolution and also to carry on the socialist revolution. It was a historical necessity for the CCP to carry out both these tasks. The CCP, under the capable leadership of Comrade Mao, led these two revolutions and in the process of developing socialism, learned the lessons that Mao took from the capitalist restoration in the USSR and many attempts to reverse the revolution within China itself. These were the materials for Comrade Mao Zedong to develop Cultural Revolution. With all these materials Mao developed our ideology to a qualitatively higher level. And we think the Cultural Revolution is the pinnacle, it solves the problem of revolution in that it can prevent counter-revolution. Many people say that the Cultural Revolution was a Chinese phenomenon,
it was done in China, whether right or wrong, so it is a Chinese question.
But we think it is not a Chinese question, it is a question of theory and it is a question of ideology. So it is a universal theory. And we uphold Cultural Revolution as the universal theory of communism. It holds good for China, and it holds good for Nepal also.
WPRM: Indeed, Mao said the bourgeoisie is not just outside the party but right within it. How will elections help to uncover the bourgeoisie within the party?
Comrade Gaurav: Elections will not help with this. Through elections you cannot root out the bourgeoisie within the party.
To root out the bourgeoisie within the party you have to carry out Cultural Revolution, to find out who are the capitalist roaders within the party. The process of elections will not determine all these things. The process of elections relates to the time when there are other political parties who are the allies of the proletariat.
We will compete with those parties only, not with the puppets of feudalism and imperialism. There is no point competing with reactionaries. Competition means to compete with allies, friendly competition only. So dictatorship will still be applied against reactionary political parties, pro-feudal and pro-imperialist parties.
So far as capitalist roaders within the Communist Party are concerned, this question will not be resolved through elections. That is different. Elections are concerned with forming the government and some matters of state.
But the party of the proletariat should resolve the contradictions within the party in a different manner. In that case we have to apply Cultural Revolution. Cultural Revolution means the party should be interlinked with the masses. The masses will be given full rights to expose the leaders of the Communist Party. If they are really capitalist-roaders, they have to be exposed. This is the mass line as formulated by Mao. He made the slogan ‘bombard the headquarters’. Headquarters means your own headquarters, not the headquarters of other parties, but the headquarters of the Communist Party. Because in the headquarters there are many capitalist roaders, so people have every right to bombard that headquarters. People should be mobilised to expose the capitalist roaders. Only through Cultural Revolution can we root out capitalist-roaders.
WPRM: The Cultural Revolution involved many examples of the practice of democracy, such as the right to bombard the headquarters, the four great freedoms, big-character posters, the formation of Red Guards, the 3-in-1 committees, and even the Shanghai commune, not to mention the reorientation of health care, education and development towards rural areas. Why do you think elections under New Democracy can best provide democracy to the people?
Comrade Gaurav: Democracy as defined by the capitalists or imperialists is, according to their own definition, only political freedom, or competing in elections.
But for us this is not the only characteristic of democracy. Democracy means the rights of the people for food, healthcare, education, all the economic requirements. These are fundamental things for our democracy. So we prefer a different definition of democracy.
What Mao put forward in the Cultural Revolution, these are definitely things of democracy. We uphold all these things. But despite all of these requirements, we think elections are also necessary. In the nature of electing the representatives we prefer competition, but only during the stage of New Democracy. When the society changes totally to socialism, then elections will maybe not be necessary. We are talking about New Democracy. When the society has been changed to socialism, the situation will be different.
We cannot claim now that the same method of elections will be applied during socialism. When there are various different political parties during the stage of New Democracy then there is competition between the political parties. But in socialism the class character of society will have changed, fundamentally changed. In that case there will be no need for various different political parties. And clearly the existence of political parties will be actually not necessary. They will not exist. In that case elections will not be needed.
WPRM: How will the practice of Cultural Revolution and the holding of elections prevent capitalist restoration? Which will be decisive?
Comrade Gaurav: As I have said, we cannot predict the form of elections under socialism. But the method of elections will definitely not be decisive to prevent capitalist restoration. Only Cultural Revolution can do that.
WPRM: According to Mao, not one but many Cultural Revolutions will be needed during the stage of socialism, which will last for many generations.

Comrade Gaurav: Yes, we very much agree with this principle that the Cultural Revolution should continue.
When the Cultural Revolution was terminated in China, the result was capitalist restoration.
This history is there for everyone to see. After the death of Mao, the revisionists said the Cultural Revolution was not necessary. They called those ten years a decade of catastrophe, the revisionists, that was their summation. But during the time of Mao the Cultural Revolution was not always directly carried out. Mao was almost bedridden, and immediately after his death it was reversed. If the Cultural Revolution had been carried out further, definitely it would have prevented the restoration of capitalism. So from the practice of China, we can realise that to prevent capitalist restoration we have to continue the Cultural Revolution. In China, the Cultural Revolution was carried out for ten years, but that was not enough. It was only enough for that period. We must directly carry out a continuous process of Cultural Revolution.
WPRM: Elections in imperialist countries at present are a bureaucratic procedure that hide the dictatorial nature of capitalist society. How will elections under New Democracy provide a mechanism for the continuous revolutionisation of the masses as well as mobilisation against the danger of capitalist restoration?
Comrade Gaurav: We think that on the issue of what type of election and how the election will be carried out, there is one fundamental question: who is leading the state? Which class is leading the state?
Now the election to the Constituent Assembly was only possible because the state was in some sort of transition. But we are not always in the period of transition. It is a temporary period.
In this period the state is not so powerful. It was possible for our party to take advantage of this because of the revolutionary intervention of the masses, during the People’s War and the 2006 People’s Movement. It was possible for our party to win, to be victorious in the elections. But the same situation will not continue for a long time. The state will consolidate itself and its own class character. In that case it cannot be in transition. So it all depends on which class is in power. That is the fundamental question.
This will be defined by the constitution, so now our struggle is concentrated on the question of constitution. What type of constitution will there be? Basically there are two positions: whether it will be a People’s Federal Republic, in short a People’s Republic like that in China but taking into account some particularities of Nepal, or a bourgeois republic, a capitalist republic.
Our struggle is concentrated on this point, the major point of struggle in our country at this time. Our party is for a People’s Republic, the other parties are for a bourgeois republic. If a People’s Republic wins, then that means the proletariat will have won, they will be in power and they will hold their elections under those conditions. And since they will already be in power there will be freedom for the people to vote according to their choice. But if the proletariat is defeated, if there is a bourgeois republic in power, then the capitalist class will have won, and definitely they will use the same method that the capitalists of the world use during elections. We are in the transitional period and the constitution will define what type of system there will be in Nepal and which class will be in power. The type of electoral system will also depend on the outcome of this fight or struggle for a new constitution.
WPRM: Now that there is increasing talk of the third People’s Movement and the coming insurrection, can you explain how the UCPN(M) envisions the New Democratic Revolution taking place? Is it possible to do this through elections?
Comrade Gaurav: When we talk about Jana Andolan (People’s Movement) 3 we are talking about mobilising the masses. In the mobilisation of the masses, there are a few things that we have to take into account.
In the revolution in Nepal at this present moment, talking about a People’s Republic is not an illegal matter, an illegal political question for accomplishing the revolution. It is a legitimate question. The other political parties can fight for their republic, why can the Maoist party not fight for a People’s Republic?
We have every right to fight for the achievement of the people’s revolution.
People’s Republic means New Democracy, because when New Democratic Revolution was accomplished in China the state was called a New Democratic Republic. New Democratic Revolution and People’s Republic are the same. There is a chance that through the constitution-making process we can write a new constitution of People’s Republic. But that cannot be achieved without mass upsurge.
This is because in the given situation, the Maoist party is in favour of a People’s Republic, but we do not have enough support in the Constituent Assembly to write our type of new constitution. On the other hand, all the other political parties except for the Maoists also don’t have enough support to write their type of republic into the constitution.
In this specific situation in Nepal, only Jana Andolan 3 can resolve the problem of writing a constitution. The new constitution cannot be written only in the Constituent Assembly. This is neither possible for us nor for them.
When we have to write the new constitution, only Jana Andolan, a people’s upsurge, can put pressure on and create the situation whereby all the other forces excluding the reactionary forces would support the Maoist proposal. There is thus some possibility of a People’s Republic. But in all cases only the people’s upsurge, or people’s movement, will complete the revolution. And our party is in favour of Jana Andolan 3.
Now we call it people’s insurrection, or people’s revolt. But only a people’s revolution can play the decisive role in making New Democratic Revolution.
WPRM: What role do you think Maoists and anti-imperialists around the world can play on these questions of democracy and the construction of socialism, and the successful completion of New Democratic Revolution in Nepal? How can we raise the debate on these questions in the international arena to a higher level ?
Comrade Gaurav: At the present stage we are not going to carry out socialist construction. The present task of the revolution is to accomplish New Democratic Revolution. Only then can we carry out socialist transformation. Now we are in the stage of New Democratic Revolution.
And the international proletariat should support the Maoist movement in Nepal to accomplish the New Democratic Revolution. We think that a revolution cannot be replicated, only developed. It cannot be a photocopy of other revolutions. It will not be a stereotype of revolution. The Nepali revolution is based on certain fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, but it will have its specific character.
In the case of China, Mao called this the ‘Sinification of Marxism’. We have to accomplish the revolution, based not on exactly what has happened with any other revolution of the world, which took place in history under the leadership of a Communist Party. Although the basic and fundamental guiding principles remain the same, there are many different aspects, including the security of that country, the international situation and other developments in the last decades.
Our party thinks that in the given situation the present line of the party can lead to the completion of New Democratic Revolution. So our class internationally should support the forms put forward by our party to accomplish the revolution. They can make suggestions. But we are formulating tactics on how to achieve the revolution and this does not exactly correspond to other revolutions. Our comrades are in different countries. They read the newspapers and the documents and all the other things, and they find the weaknesses and start to say that we are no longer communists, that we are revisionists.
From outside analysis they will find differences. But what is the reality? The reality of the situation is quite different. And in the present reality we have to accomplish the revolution. That is the major task of the UCPN(M).
We have formulated our line based on the concrete reality of Nepal, the present national and international situation. We think other comrades can make suggestions, because there is danger. When we are in a new experience there is also risk, there is also danger, of deviating towards the right.
Our comrades should give their sincere suggestions, which we will accept. But they should not condemn the revolution. If this revolution will be condemned or will not be cooperated with by our class internationally, it is hard for us to succeed. And we feel that communists will not help on these questions by doing that.
In fact we expect from our comrades internationally that they should give suggestions, they should express their political concerns about whether the party or line has been deviated. But it is their responsibility to always support us. Condemning the revolution as a whole, or not making any positive contribution to the revolution, that is not a good thing. That is not proletarian internationalism.
And if we succeed then communists around the world should welcome our revolution, and our comrades should celebrate. But more important is to think of what is your own contribution? Making revolution, that is your contribution. Communists have to continue accomplishing their own revolution. And we very humbly request this from the comrades of the world.
We are doing our duty to accomplish the revolution in Nepal. We have no other objectives than to accomplish the revolution. We are struggling for that, and we believe we will be successful in making revolution in Nepal. We are confident.

[N3wday]

Discharge of PLA members disqualified by UN begins (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/discharge-of-pla-members-disqualified-by-un-begins/)

Posted by Ka Frank on October 12, 2009
Rehabilitation of disqualified combatants starts

Sunday, 11 October 2009 nepalnews.com
The discharging of disqualified Maoist combatants has started from a People’s Liberation Army cantonment in Dudhauli, Sindhuli district, on Sunday.
A team comprising the representatives of the government, People’s Liberation Army and UNMIN arrived in Dudhauli to oversee the start the discharging process.
There are 4000-odd disqualified combatants who will be separated from the cantonments and kept in rehabilitation camps before being integrated into the society.
Speaking to reporters in Dudhauli, peace minister Rakam Chemjong said the rehabilitation of disqualified combatants would be completed by mid-December. Considerable number of combatants being rehabilitated are minors.
UNMIN chief Karen Landgren and PLA deputy commander Chandra Khanal ‘Baldev’ also arrived in Dudhauli today.
According to minister Chemjong, the disqualified would be formally informed about their separation from the camp life before they are shifted to rehabilitation camps. Then they will be integrated with their communities.
The discharging process had stalled after the Maoist side wanted it stopped in the wake of widening rift with the government.

[N3wday]

Bhattarai floats three options for ending deadlock Sunday, 18 October 2009 18:19

Maoist vice chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai has said that his party is ready to end the obstruction in the parliament if the Nepali Congress and UML agree on any of the three options his party has floated.

Speaking during a Deusi programme organised by a group of journalists Sunday, Bhattarai said the deadlock would end quickly if the parties
agreed for a parliamentary debate on civilian supremacy or signed a joint resolution on the president's move. The third option, according to him, would be an apology from the President for his move in the army chief row.

Bhattarai also said the Maoist party would launch fresh protest movement if the two ruling parties, NC and UML, rejected these options.

To recall, the Maoist party had put similar conditions for resolving the current crisis during the three-party meetings, but the NC dismissed all of them.

However, the three parties formed a three-member committee to prepare a draft of consensus. The committee will get down to work immediately after Tihar festival. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1971-bhattarai-floats-three-options-for-ending-deadlock.html

[N3wday]

New Pamphlet: A Revolution at the Brink – Stand With Nepal (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/new-pamphlet-a-revolution-at-the-brink-stand-with-nepal/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 18, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/a_revolution_at_the_brink_stand_with_nepal1.png?w= 300 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/a_revolution_at_the_brink_stand_with_nepal1.png)Th e FIRE Collective (http://thefirecollective.org/) has produced a pamphlet the revolution in Nepal — describing its emergence and importance.
Printable Pamphlet (http://thefirecollective.org/nepal-pamphlet.pdf) and Online PDF (http://thefirecollective.org/nepal-online.pdf)
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A Revolution at the Brink: Stand With Nepal

by the FIRE Collective
Today, seemingly a world away, the population of a small, oppressed nation is engaged in an ongoing revolution that is straining and maneuvering for a decisive victory. Rather than pursuing a rigid path in a sterile and dogmatic way, these revolutionaries have employed a diversity of tactics — from a people’s war to political negotiation to mass protests — aimed at freeing the country’s people. Their thinking is fresh, and they’ve wedded creative innovation with a movement committed to socialism and worldwide liberation from capitalism and imperialism.
They deserve our active political work. We need to help break through the mainstream media whiteout — so more people here in the U.S. can see the ways this revolution is radically changing society, and so we can stop the U.S. government from intervening in Nepal while falsely branding revolutionaries there as terrorists.
Nepal: Toppling Kings and Castes
Nepal is a small country bordered on three sides by India and by China on its fourth frontier. The country is predominantly rural. Exploited peasants of many ethnicities and cultures represent 90 percent of the total population.
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/fire_collective1.png?w=255&h=307 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/fire_collective1.png)FIRE Collective

Nepal’s monarchy emerged in 1768 to unify the country as a kingdom. This autocratic and theocratic royal family and military force ruled the largely feudal society until revolution arose to oppose it. Through compromises the monarchy made in the face of first the British colonialists, and later the Indian state, the country functioned as a semi-feudal, semi-colonial system in which most Nepalis suffered the worst indignities and crushing poverty. The country was an absolute monarchy until 1990, and even then, the poverty and oppression of the feudal system and the monarchy remained through the slightly varied form of a parliament subordinate to both the king and Indian expansionist interests.
On February 13, 1996, guided by its leader Prachanda, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched a planned countrywide military insurrection. The Maobadi, as they are called in Nepal, started their revolution with thousands of initial actions, liberating Rolpa and Rukum, two extremely impoverished neighboring districts in Nepal that are home to the Kham Magar nationality. Nepal’s ruling class, royals and the police responded with repression against peasant populations.
As the revolution continued to advance through this repression, deep divisions within the monarchy and between political parties emerged. King Birendra did not send the royal army against the Maobadi, and resisted those in his own family who (with Indian backing) demanded intervention. And then he (and most of the royal family) died in a palace massacre in 2001 that brought his brother, Gyanendrah, to the throne. Kings in Nepal have historically made claims of divine right, but this new king claimed to be the re-incarnated Hindu god, Vishnu, with an openness that was shocking and extremely anti-democratic. The king sent in the Royal Nepal Army (RNA), terrorizing the people in ways that had not been seen.
Over ten years, the people’s war won many victories, liberating 80 percent of the country’s land, developing new forms of people’s power, people’s courts, new forms of cooperation like the people’s communes, and much more. They formed new autonomous people’s governments in the countryside with deep roots among the poor farmers. In response, the monarchy, police and military burned peasant villages, committed mass rape, censored the press, dissolved the toothless parliament, and, at times, disconnected mobile phones and the Internet — and carried out numerous other repressive measures.
Through an intense struggle over how to confront this situation, the Maobadi decided they had a unique possible opening to unite with broad new forces entering the struggle. They helped turn the revolt against this particularly hated king into a revolutionary challenge to the ideas and institutions of the monarchy itself. The Maobadi called for a ceasefire, and they went into the cities to organize the people there who had previously been kept away from their revolution. They negotiated temporary alliances with parliamentary forces who had opposed the revolution, but who had since come under attack by the monarchy.
And shortly after, in April 2006, people hit the streets demanding an end to the monarchy, even while the king issued orders for protesters to be shot on sight. That movement shook the entire country, and forced Gyanendrah to restore the parliament he had previously dissolved and step down from power. Nepal became the world’s youngest republic. The monarchy was toppled by a combination of the ten-year people’s war and a loose and diverse alliance of progressive people in the urban areas.
The Maobadi launched a process (since 2006) where the struggle has focused on what the new Nepal would be — a parliamentary republic integrated in a corrupt Indian-style parliamentary system subordinate to the world capitalist system, or a people’s democratic republic on the socialist road with an electoral system. This struggle has been waged through sharp political offensives and contestation, but without armed struggle, while the whole process has rested on the existence of a People’s Liberation Army, representing a fundamental challenge to the military and the reactionary plans for the future. The effort has also forwarded the very radical concept of a Constituent Assembly — a historic gathering of elected representatives to envision and create a New Nepal, to fight through which future would replace the monarchist past — as a special and temporary and potentially revolutionary institution for debating and choosing between bourgeois democracy and people’s democracy.
Elections to this Constituent Assembly were held, and the Maobadi took part in these as a tactical step, winning a plurality in the elections. People celebrated in the streets.
The elections and the Constituent Assembly were part of solving the ongoing Nepali crisis by pushing forward the revolutionary process under new conditions. However, the army remains, and forms the basis for the current state (and for the current government in Kathmandu). Although the monarchy is now abolished, the army refuses to bow to civilian control. The current (inevitable and foreseeable) stalemate has not been mainly “a failure” of that process, but the way people would learn, through living experience, who stood for what. The Royal Nepal Army (now renamed the Nepal Army) has contested fundamental change in feudal relations and it has continued to repress the people. And Barack Obama and the U.S. have supported the army’s defiance of legitimate civilian control, encouraged a military/royalist coup, labeled the Maobadi “terrorists,” sent trainers for commando units and the officer corps, and most likely conducted other intrigues that have not yet been exposed, despite the fact it is clear the Maobadi are leading a major struggle against injustice with the support of millions of people, and are not terrorists at all.
The Resistance, The Revolution
Nepal’s revolutionaries say they are applying the Maoist strategy of New Democratic Revolution and they say they innovate in tactics. They have broken with orthodoxy, but not their radicalism. They have created a sub-stage within the larger strategy — alternating the armed offensive with political offensive. They were able to quickly move from a countrywide insurrection to revolutionary people’s war, and then to mass political mobilizations, quickly shifting their tactics while openly debating their strategy of New Democratic Revolution.
Around the country, the Maobadi advocate for women’s equality in Nepal, including reproductive freedom and property rights, condemning the sex trade, and an end to arranged child marriages that were happening. The revolution is challenging the ways traditional society has oppressed young people through arranged marriages, harsh discrimination by caste and forbidding of inter-caste marriages. Taking to heart’s Lenin’s idea that “the measure of any revolution is the degree to which it liberates women,” and saying “without the participation of women, no revolutionary movement in this world has succeeded nor will succeed in the future,” the Maobadi organize campaigns against domestic violence and educational programs intended to orient women to see themselves as full participants in society and struggles. In addition, a new generation is demanding a right to have love matches (to choose its own marriage partners). Such revolutionary changes to the culture, as well as breaking down the caste system, have won wide support for the Maobadi. Here we have a society where it has historically been illegal for women in some areas to eat before their husbands, where women were legally the property of their husbands, and where women are now playing leading roles in the revolution and its party.
The Maobadi were a critical part of the diverse 2006 People’s Movement or Jana Andolan, a broad coalition movement that ended monarchic rule. The effort also put into place a peace accord and the ascension of Maobadi to Nepal’s Constituent Assembly. However, while they were in the assembly, the Maobadi have been kept out of control over the actual state apparatus because a hostile feudal army existed undefeated. Nepal will remain oppressed by imperialism until the Maobadi and the people end this army’s power.
The people’s war and the emergence of the People’s Liberation Army made possible the mass movement that toppled the monarchy in 2006. However even as elected representatives of the people debated how to form a New Nepal – it has become clearer the still-undefeated Nepal Army remains a key obstacle to radical change. That army high command has refused to accept civilian control. And while the Maobadi were for a while heading the elected government — they were acutely aware they did not yet dominate the state (or control the army forming the key remaining institution of that old state.)
From the essay “No Revolution Can Be Replicated, But Developed,” Basanta of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [new name of the CPN(M)] explained the organization believes, while there are general truths governing revolution, each revolutionary struggle also has its own character and needs.
Basanta wrote:
“Comrade Mao has taught us that ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’ It is a general truth for any revolution and a revolutionary party. In due course, gun is decisive to make a revolution victorious. But it is possible only when the party of the proletariat fights ideologically and politically in all fronts and crushes all the strategies that the imperialism and domestic reaction enforce to prevent revolution in the given country. In the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution, the enemy strategy has been to make use of various measures that can prevent the development of revolutionary consciousness among the masses. To abort revolution in its embryo, the measures that the imperialist system has been making use of are psychological warfare, cultural war, enemy infiltration to carry out destructive activities in the party of the proletariat, economic and political reforms to confuse the revolutionary masses, network of NGOs and INGOs to entrap petty bourgeois circle in the reformist mirage, foreign employment, religious superstition etc. Armed suppression and genocide is its final resort after the revolution is born. In short, the enemy fights a total war. Unless one can revolutionize masses by waging ideological war to crush such measures, no people’s war, even if initiated, can attain its goal.” [NGOs are non-governmental organizations that perform social services and develop political networks with international funding.]
The Maobadi resigned from the national government in May, 2009 (i.e. from government posts heading key ministries and the post of prime minister) when the army refused to obey their commands to reorganize its high command. The Maobadi wanted to help make it clear to the people that government office, without control over the army, would be a farce or worse, and would be courting a coup. And the UCPN(M) openly started to organize new mass protests and talk about preparing a communist insurrection.
From the beginning of the 2006 peace process, the Maobadi organized their ongoing struggle at two levels (from the streets and villages, and from within their elected posts in the assembly and government) while the People’s Liberation Army awaits and trains in camps scattered throughout the country. In this complex and rapidly developing position, which has all along had elements of highly contested “dual power,” the Maobadi have been fighting to create the conditions for a successful seizure of overall power – so the revolution can press through, and the uprooting of ancient oppressions can take place. This is necessarily taking the form of preparing the people (and the People’s Liberation Army fighters) for new storms, and in particular new uprisings focused on overall countrywide victory and state power.
Why Nepal Matters
The Maobadi have put forward a vision in which a new socialist Nepal could be the catalyst for world revolution and a struggle uniting South Asia.
This is a time when far too many progressive people have lost hope over the very idea of a radically new society. The Nepali revolution speaks to and leads millions. It confirms a real-but-radical revolutionary mass movement is possible.
Through the revolution, the Maobadi are challenging unequal power relations in South Asia, in ways destined to impact imperialism and capital worldwide. Western powers sense the revolution’s popular power, and have supported pro-monarchy and pro-U.S. forces with weapons and aid to India. Will Nepal be the next victim of U.S.-supported destabilization? Support for the revolution is important to defending this remarkable movement.
What You Can Do
Stay informed. Nepal’s revolution is still in process, and is threatened by forces opposed to the liberation of Nepal’s people. Websites like Revolution in South Asia are sharing news as it happens.
Share this material. Pass the word about the revolution in Nepal by sharing this information with others.
Educate yourself & others. As revolutionary organizer from the Kasama Project, Mike Ely, writes,
“Here it is: A little-known revolution in Nepal. Who will we tell about it? What will we learn from it? What will we do about it?”
There need to be teach-ins and solidarity campaigns that go up against the media white-out surrounding this struggle. Our collective wants to be part of organizing that, and encourages others to take up new solidarity work as well.
Defend this revolution. As the U.S. calls these revolutionaries terrorists, politically conscious people should be here to defeat those lies. When more repression comes down on the revolutionaries of Nepal, there should be mass mobilization in the country orchestrating it. Let’s unapologetically stand with the struggle of the Nepali people.
Revolutionaries are Not Terrorists! Take Nepal’s Maobadi off the U.S. Terrorist Lists!
Victory to Nepal’s Communist Revolution! All Power to the People!

[Saorsa]

A Maoist Agricultural Center in Nepal (http://blog.com.np/united-we-blog/2009/10/18/a-maoist-agricultural-center-in-nepal/)

Posted on October 18th, 2009 by UWB
By Neil Horning (http://neilsnepal.wordpress.com/)
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/Neilhorning/Maoistblog/Nammuna%20Agricultural%20Center/dsc02068.jpg (http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/Neilhorning/Maoistblog/Nammuna%20Agricultural%20Center/dsc02068.jpg)
On the way to Chorkate, Gorkha, about a 3 hour bus ride from the district headquarters, a conspicuous facility covered with red flags is noticeable by the roadside.
Nammuna Agricultural Center is run by the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as an agricultural cooperative, intended to teach agricultural skills and collective farming to locals and serve as a model for similar facilities nation wide. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai’s childhood village overlooks the center.
The cooperative raises buffalo and pigs, farms fish and grows rice and vegetables. According to members, Sarmila Bagle and Hari Khanal, 20-30 Maoist cadres work in the center, with locals (paid 100-400 Rupees or about $1.50 to $6.00 a day) comprising an additional half of the workforce. Gender balance rests at 50%. Cooking is done on a rotational basis involving both men and women, and decisions are made through semi-regular meetings of the members.
Agricultural cooperatives are the first step in a Maoist development strategy known as collectivization, in where the manpower from individual plots is pooled to increase efficiency of production. In China, first land titles were distributed to peasants as part of a land reform process. Next, peasants with individual plots were encouraged to voluntarily join agricultural cooperatives which were later combined into massive communes. The initial stages of this plan met with measured success, while the later stages during the great leap forward have been blamed for massive famines and are the subject of much controversy.
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Waiting for the bus in Chorkate. The Maoists have built a bus shelter dedicated to local martyrs here.
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A viewpoint overlooking the cooperative
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The beautiful valley surrounding the facility.
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A closer view from above
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The main hall.
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Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao oversee whatever is broadcast from the speaker, left. For the record, Mao rated Stalin at 70%.
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Member, Hari Khanal, presents the wall of martyrs.
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Maoist development plans.
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Member, Sarmila Bagle, presented with an opportunity to add to the report. Neither Hari nor Sarmila were interested in giving their personal stories, but Sarmila was a student known to one of the local teachers. A rough translation of her writing:
- Our party is the one true communist party in Nepal
- We follow the people who have the ideas to develop Nepal
- We have plans to give food, clothing, shelter, health care, and employment to everyone.
- All the people are our followers, and we need to do everything for the people.
- By developing a small piece of land we want to develop the whole country.
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The buffalo stay here for the night.
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Following Hari through the fields.
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The fish farm. This was divided into ponds with minnows, small, medium and large size fish.
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Dr. Baburam Bhattarai’s childhood village is somewhere up on this hill.
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The pigs here don’t seem anymore equal that usual.
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Fish eat the pig excrement, which flows out of pipes in the pens.
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Local cooperative members on their way to work
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Local villagers working in the fields
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The kitchen. Cooking duties are rotated and shared between men and women. This is a sharp departure from tradition in South Asia
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Benches outside the facility. A circular communal eating center is visible, right.
(http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/Neilhorning/Maoistblog/Nammuna%20Agricultural%20Center/dsc02111Modified.jpg)

[Saorsa]

Another struggle soon: Nepal-Maoist leader


TGW
Mr. Chandra Prasad Khanal alias Baldev, the United Maoists’ Party Politburo member and the spokesperson of the Peoples’ Liberation Army, has said that the party will declare another round of struggle immediately after the Tihar Festival.
Mr. Baldev declared that the party will provide some time to other parties after the arrival of Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal from China, to agree to the party’s demands.
However he said “if our demands were not met with, we will declare another round of struggle soon”.
“Constitution Drafting, Army-PLA integration and Federalism issues need consensus at the highest political level”, he opined.
“We will have no option than to declare a fresh struggle if consensus is not reached”, he added.
Mr. Baldev was making his views at an interaction program organized by Jan Sanchar Abhiyan in Kathmandu, October 17, 2009.
He called the remarks made by Defence Minister Mrs. Bidya Bhandari who had ridiculed the prospect of Militia-Army Integration yet demanded constitution amendment in favour of the Nepal Army were highly objectionable.
2009-10-18 09:04:14

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6473

[pranabjyoti]

From the pictures and information, it seems that they have made a structure, which can fit in the New Democratic model. But, what they lack is machinery which can modernize this collective farm and in future it can be converted into a very good productive state owned farm. I am curious to know how they are planning to improve the farm facility further with the help of mechanization and modernization.

[cyu]

what they lack is machinery which can modernize this collective farm and in future it can be converted into a very good productive state owned farm. I am curious to know how they are planning to improve the farm facility further with the help of mechanization and modernization.

Assuming the country has exports that other countries are willing to trade for, then they can either import the machines they need, or import the tools needed to build the machines they need.

If their exports are not enough, then once economic resources are no longer misallocated toward building palaces and shining shoes for the wealthy, those economic resources can be redirected to modernizing the production of goods and services for everyone else.

[Pogue]

According to members, Sarmila Bagle and Hari Khanal, 20-30 Maoist cadres work in the center, with locals (paid 100-400 Rupees or about $1.50 to $6.00 a day)


Who would pay them?

Also, does anyone know how the areas under Maoist control are run? I.e. is it a council republic or ...?

[Saorsa]

Who would pay them?

I'm not sure exactly how the funding system works, but the Maoists do a lot of fundraising amongst the masses. They're a big party and they've actually got quite a bit of money to throw around now. Just guessing here, but I'd say the cadres at this commune are paid either by the Maoist party from it's treasury, or out of the profits from the collective farm. Maybe some combination of the two. The short answer is I don't know :-)


Also, does anyone know how the areas under Maoist control are run? I.e. is it a council republic or ...?

The main thing to keep in mind is that technically, no part of Nepal is under Maoist control. They officially dissolved their base areas and allowed the other, feudalist political parties to return. There's been a number of reports that say they're officially reviving their parallel government and bringing back the local organs of government, and during the People's War they basically had a system of People's Committees. Every village would have a comittee which all the people would participate in. This village committe acted as the government of the village, and sent representatives to a greater regional committee, so on and so forth to a national level.

[N3wday]

The economic situation in Nepal is very difficult. Past socialist revolutions that have actually seized power (from the perspective that the USSR and China were socialist at some point) were large countries with vast natural resources. China, although incredibly poor had technical advisers and loans from Russia during the early stages of their development. Nepal is completely different. Its about the size of Arkansas, with very little exports. 76% of their population is employed through agriculture (mostly subsistence) and almost of their industry involves the processing food. They are by far one of the poorest countries in the world.

They do however, have some of the greatest potential for developing hydropower in the entire world (comparative to the size of the country), and have one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, which has great potential for tourism which could bring in immediate money without a lot of infrastructure.

However, the problem is they have no money to develop hydropower. They can't even produce their own cement (they have to import from India). So, to do this quickly would require loans from the international community. China, is fairly favorable in this regard but the relations are precarious because of India and its pro-US "i want a coup there ASAP" position.

Tourism has very little potential at this point because of the political crisis. Rich Europeans aren't going to go to areas like that when they can choose any one of a thousand beautiful places without two armies ready to go toe to toe.

Sex trade (something nepal was very known for before) is obviously out of the question. Migrant labor to India doesn't help.

***

All they can do as far as I can tell is develop labor intensive projects. They have been involved in doing things like building roads to remote villages, often connecting them to other parts of the country for the first time in Nepal's history. They have developed collective farms, model hospitals, schools, collectives for caring for the old, etc.

I want to emphasize they have no captured state power yet. They don't have the power to develop the terms for international loans they may recieve, those sorts of things. They creates a huge barrier to mechanization and industrialization.

[N3wday]

These positions were written in response to the FIRE collectives posters and pamphlets posted earlier in this thread.

***

Nepal: A Revolution at a Political Crossroads (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nepal-a-revolution-caught-in-indecision/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 19, 2009

http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal-cpnm.jpg?w=356&h=293 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal-cpnm.jpg)Was the Maoist turn in 2006 a serious error that they have not yet recovered from?

The FIRE Collective published a pamphlet “A Revolution at the Brink: Stand With Nepal (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/2009/10/18/a-revolution-at-the-brink-stand-with-nepal/)” — to build support for the revolution in Nepal. Ka Frank posted the following criticism of that pamphlet. In a separate post, Nando replies (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/) to Ka Frank’s assessments.
by Ka Frank
October 18, 2009 at 10:25 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/2009/10/18/a-revolution-at-the-brink-stand-with-nepal/#comment-18405) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nepal-a-revolution-caught-in-indecision/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18405)
This new pamphlet is a welcome addition to the literature on the revolution in Nepal. However, it is an idealized of the current situation in Nepal and within the UCPN (Maoist), which is reflected in the title of the pamphlet–”A Revolution at the Brink.” It is more accurate to characterize the revolution in Nepal as being at a crossroads.
What is missing is a recognition of the ongoing–and decisive– debate in the leadership and ranks of the UCPN (Maoist) about the road forward for the revolution.
At the National Convention of the party in November 2008, Chairman Prachanda’s views came under public criticism from a number of senior party leaders, including Kiran (Mohan Baidya), Guarav (CP Gajurel) and Biplap (Netra Bikram Chand). The main issue of political strategy was whether the party should go for a People’s Republic, completing the new democratic revolution through the seizure of state power, or Prachanda’s revisionist position that the party should consolidate the present bourgeois republic and limit itself to a process of state restructuring. (See Bastola’s “Historic National Convention: Milestone of Revolution,” in the December 1-15, 2008 Red Star, and CP Gajurel’s “The Role of Major Tactical Line in Developing a New Constitution” in the January 16-31, 2009 Red Star.)
The Conference united around a compromise that merged the two positions. This resolution delivered a partial blow that has restrained the revisionist strategy that had been dominant, and has given more freedom of action to the revolutionary forces in the party. Since the leadership of neither side was defeated, the line struggle has not ended but has moved out of public view in recent months.
The new formulation of waging struggle from the government, the parliament and the streets points to such a shift to the Left. (The revolutionary forces in the party have been stressing the struggle from the streets.) The efforts of the Maoist-led government to sack the army chief of staff, which has brought the Maoist mass base out into the streets in a way not seen since the April 2006 uprising against the monarchy, also points in this direction. Just the fact that Basanta could publicly state that “the Nepalese oppressed class has now arrived at a very glorious but more challenging juncture of seizing central power through a process of people’s rebellion of the Nepalese specifically under the leadership of our party the Unified CPN (Maoist)” is another sign of this shift. (Red Star, March 16-31, 2009).
Without saying so explicitly, this pamphlet, and prior Kasama writings on Nepal, promote the view that a revolutionary line has been in command of the party and has been implemented since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2006, in the face of substantial evidence to the contrary.
In Nepal, the revolution, and the UCPN (Maoist) are at a political crossroads that will determine whether the bulk of the Maoist forces will get further submerged in administering a bourgeois/ feudal state and trying to push it to the left–which will represent a serious setback to the revolutionary process–or a new wave of Maoist-led revolutionary struggle will lead to the seizure of power and the victory of the new democratic revolution as a transition to socialism in Nepal.
For a more developed discussion of this issue, see “Revolution and State Power in Nepal” and “More on Revolution and State Power in Nepal” on the website of the MLM Revolutionary Study Group. http://www.mlmrsg.com (http://www.mlmrsg.com/)



***

Does Nepal’s Revolution Deserve Support or Ambivalence? (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 19, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal_maoist_women.jpg?w=350 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nepal_maoist_women.jpg)Armed communist guerrilla fighters waiting

Ka Frank posted a criticism (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nepal-a-revolution-caught-in-indecision/) of the new FIRE Collective pamphlet “A Revolution at the Brink: Stand With Nepal (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/a-revolution-at-the-brink-stand-with-nepal/).” Here Nando replies to that criticism. We urge you to read Ka Frank’s remarks in detail.
* * * * * *
From Nando:
We agree on many things here. But let me for a moment focus on some disagreements:
I like the FIRE Collective’s headline “A Revolution at the Brink: Stand with Nepal.”
I think it corresponds with the approach we should take to building internationalist support, and (more to the point here) it represents a correct and dialectical appraisal about what is going on. (And it is not surprising that a short terse headline brings out disputes about what to say and promote.)
They are at the brink of a seizure of power. That doesn’t mean that they will go for it, or that they will win. But it does mean that (for the first time in decades) communist movement has brought the people within reach of countrywide power. It is a great accomplishment, and needs to be forcefully brought to everyone’s attention.
You write by contrast:
“It is more accurate to characterize the revolution in Nepal as being at a crossroads.”
I think this represents a misread of the situation. It takes a secondary aspect of the situation (the very real two-line struggle in the Nepali Maoist party) and treats it as the principal aspect. (I feel like you don’t think they do anything but fidget nervously and indecisively at this crossroads, much to your disapproval.)
Let’s put it another way: It is October 1917, and our pamphlet can read “Bolsheviks prepare a Communist Insurrection” or “Party Debates Power Grab Amid Deep Disagreements.” Aren’t they both accurate?
In fact, yes, the Nepali party is at a crossroads — which is inherent in every great revolutionary moment.
In fact, can’t you write that same headline about “crossroads” at any moment in their struggle? It actually doesn’t capture the SPECIFICITY of this moment or of their achievement. (This is not just ANY crossroad — it is the one at the brink of countrywide seizure of power… and of preparing all the difficult materials needed to launch and win such an attempt.)
Seeing Revisionist Default, Then Startled at Each New Move Toward the Revolution
Here is the essence of this:
You seem to feel that this Nepali Maoist party is deep in revisionism, with only occasional sputters of revolutionary impulse. Then when they again start talking in public about insurrection and new armed struggle you get excited and write:
“The new formulation of waging struggle from the government, the parliament and the streets points to such a shift to the Left.”
It is as if you have a negative pessimistic view of their intentions most of the time, as if you think their main leadership core is on the wrong road but under pressure. And then (over and over) when they don’t dissolve their army, or when they leave the government, or when they start talking about new upsurge of militant struggle…. whenever signs of revolutionary advance become visible you excitedly think this is “such a shift to the left.” (i.e. it is a shift from the revisionist default that you seem to see.)
And you have an elaborate analysis that Prachanda had the revisionist plan (of not going for Peoples Democracy) but (under pressure) reached (yet another) compromise. And so on.
Speaking for myself, I have read the same articles, and don’t pretend to know the full picture of what Prachanda thinks (in private). A party leader (as I know from experience in the RCP) is both a point-person for a line, and also a unifying figure. They often can’t (and don’t) say what they are actually fighting for at each point of the inner party struggle –while they unleash those forces who do fight sharply for a particular program. There are wings in this party, and I imagine that Prachanda is a unifying figure in many ways. But I don’t assume that their compromises are all “foul compromises.”
There is a climate among some communists that assumes that all compromises are inherently evidence of lack of clarity on principles. With that approach, we will never organize anything with anybody. Politics is not the simple application of simple self-evident principles (from which compromise can only mean a departure). Politics requires the creation of allignments and programs in a dynamic matrix of events.
Look at what this party has done:
They launched a peoples war, they waged it successfully, they agreed to enter a political offensive (from 2006 til now), they won over remarkable political support, they have deeply “compared and contrasted” the three opposing roads (monarchism, bourgeois democracy and peoples democracy) before the eyes of millions of awakening people, they have withdrawn from the government, and they are now preparing to launch a new test of mass strength through open struggles (perhaps in preparation for insurrection.)
Why do you keep portraying them as lost and aimless in the same old crossroads?
Don’t you see all the progress through VARIOUS crossroads?
I think they might seize power and embark on their idiosyncratic version of socialism, and some would STILL be grumbling that they are still stuck at that crossroads, and haven’t yet made things clear the metaphysical way some think they must be made clear.
Approaching a Real Seizure of Power: Timing, Forces, Conjuncture, Unity, Tactics & the Element of Surprise

To win a revolution, the Nepali communists need to seize overall power. I believe that, you believe that, and I assume they believe that.
But there are sharp materialist questions of assessment. As a negative example, the RCP’s Bob Avakian implies that the Nepalis have suffered a loss of “strategic will.” i.e. he sums up that the core problem here is that they have lost their nerve in the face of the dangers. Well, that’s easy for him to say.
But in fact there are material problems: they face a very real army, that they can either defeat or not. They tried it, and pulled back in 2006 based on their assessments then. They also now face mobilizing the population, specifically for a great revolutionary effort and for all the sacrifice that follows — which diverse sections of the population will either embrace or not.
And there are issues of program: seize power for what? What is the state, government and military situation that defines the victory?
A thought: There are forces in the Nepali party who argue that the transitional period should last a while longer. Why do they do that? Is it simply that they don’t appreciate or desire Peoples Democracy? Is it possible that their assessment is that a move from the current unstable bourgeois democracy (coexisting uneasily with a monarchist army) can’t be replaced by peoples democracy (at this particular moment)? There may be some forces who think it is unlikely that a poor landlocked country like Nepal can aspire to a socialist road for the forseeable future. And it is also possible that other forces think the socialist road is possible, but the insurrection is not yet ripe. These are questions to consider when trying to evaluate “the crossroads” of this party.
In other words, revolutionary timing is not just a matter of will or desire.
To make an actual insurrection you need to count noses, you need (as Lenin said) to launch from a high tide of popular indignation and effort. You need your core social base prepared and eager to take on this new challenge (which they aren’t always prepared or eager for!) And you need a programmatic plan that applies in this particular situation, the will of the revolutionary people, and also serves as a bridge onwards to socialism.
You can’t just pick a day and go — without specific prerequisites in place. I suggest people study the experiences of the German attempts of 1923 etc. which were treated precisely as just matters of will. In Germany the Comintern ordered the KPD to pick a day and launch an uprising. Their advanced forces went into motion, but without mass support. And they were crushed. History is full of shattered movements that thought they could just run on will.
And (of course) the objective difficulties also do fuel backward, capitulationist lines (that tend to exaggerate the desirability and stability of bourgeois democracy.)
But in Nepal, it is not a matter of “better insurrection now than later, better tomorrow than next week.” It may very well be that the Maoists objectively can’t seize power right now… and need to buy time and gain forces (”hasten and await”). It’s not like we can say “they postponed insurrection, that’s a bad sign” or “They are rushing the insurrection, they must now have a better line.” It may be that postponing an insurrection is correct, for very real material reasons — or they may be able to launch and win one soon. I don’t know, and I don’t know how you can know from afar. This is no game.
In Weimar Germany (1919-1933) the German Communist Party never GOT the prerequisites for an insurrection. They had millions of supporters, they had an intense economic and political crisis. But the elements never came together. Perhaps they could have done some things better, perhaps that might have created an opening. But the fact is that it is not a given that you CAN launch an insurrection when you want one. It is not even a given that you will have one next year. And being impatient, assuming that caution is evidence of betrayal, is really often infantile. Again: go read about 1923. It is sobering.
But again: The Nepali Maoists are farther along than anyone would have expected. They have an army (which the KPD DIDN’T have), they now have experience in local and national power, they have had two years to train their military and political cadre in the skills of government, they have won over new sections of the people… So maybe they will get a chance! The fact that this is possible makes our internationalist work urgent.
I think the plan of the Nepali party was all along was to gather necessary forces, carry out countrywide seizure of power and establish a peoples democracy as a basis for the socialist road. I think the 2006 negotiations were a substage toward that (not a confused flirtation with capitulation). Unlike some people I don’t think they ever gave up the road of armed revolution, or intended to dissolve their army, or abandon New Democracy and Socialism. AND i think the evidence has (so far!) confirmed that view (and that is perhaps one of the areas of disagreement, and an area for further exploration).
There were forces inside their party urging caution and going slow (as there inevitably are). I think there have been rightist winds in their party (as there often are in serious parties). I think new people entering their party and some of their leading people flirted with extending the “transition” indefinitely (in a way that would have meant embracing bourgeois democracy instead of peoples democracy).
But in fact, the existence of bourgeois headquarters was inherent in leading a revolution at a countrywide level. And it was persistent through the preparation, the carrying out, the victory and the aftermath of that revolution. It’s no like the Maoists were ever NOT at a crossroads, or that they had to resolve their two line struggle in some metaphysical way (purges? no compromises?) to make any possible advance. No, that assumption would be dogmatic orthodoxy (similar to Hoxha’s some of views) not Maoism.
The revolution does need to advance… and it does need to do that amid great debates and ongoing internal struggles — that will reach temporary resolution over specific decisions and plans, but which will continue for the life of the party.
What Are We Trying to do From Here?
It is not like our main task (internationally) is constantly to announce and publicize about the existence of this two line struggle. Should our pamphlets and teach-ins sound like some news wire of micro-debates in Nepal — all presented in a fretful air of distrust and disappointment?
Yes two line-struggle exists. Yes its outcome will determine whether this revolution passes OVER THE BRINK to an actual seizure of countrywide power. Yes our audiences need to know about the substantive issues a revolution faces, and the ways THIS revolution has chosen to debate and resolve them.
Put another way: The phrase “Revolution at the Brink” views the main contradiction as being between the revolution and the old society. The slogan “Revolution at the crossroads” presents the main contradiction as being between revolution and capitulation within the party. Both of those contradictions are very real. They are intensely intertwined.
But our approach to these matters is shaped by our task here: which is building support for a LIVING revolution. What people need to know (especially in a popular pamphlet) is that this revolutionary force has been built, that it has creatively made its way to this point, that it has a vision for the future, that it deserves our active political support, that people need to break the media whiteout, that the Maobadi are not “terrorists” etc. We should not hide the fact that revolutions have internal debates, of course. We should mention it, and we should (when appropriate and possible) help our audiences know what the lines are.
But the task of internationalists is not to produce a day-by-day press service about the health of revisionism in the Nepali communist movement, and that frets daily over whether we think “the good guys” are gaining ground in their debates.
The task of internationalists is to build real support and excitement over this revolution AND train new forces in a scientific view of what a revolution is (including an understanding of the inevitability and decisiveness of line struggle). We should bring out the controversies (and we have on Kasama from the beginning). The key thing here is to actively build support for this revolution’s very real accomplishments and real potential. We should not be naive “cheer-leaders” training others in self-deception and mythic triumphalism. But we should build some much-deserved support and display some much deserved enthusiasm.


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Replies from people under this thread on kasama, not made into posts...




Ka Frank said


October 19, 2009 at 3:21 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18429) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18429) I welcome Nando’s very substantive reply to my criticism of the FIRE Collective’s pamphlet on Nepal. It focuses on an important difference between us, which might at first appear to be simply different emphases, on the importance of the two-line struggle in the Unified CPN (Maoist).
Nando writes: “The phrase “Revolution at the Brink” views the main contradiction as being between the revolution and the old society. The slogan “Revolution at the crossroads” presents the main contradiction as being between revolution and capitulation within the party. Both of those contradictions are very real. They are intensely intertwined.”
Yes, there are two different, intertwined contradictions at work. But it is essential to grasp the actual relationship between them. One of them is principal at this particular political moment. It is essential to grasp that the two-line struggle between revolutionary and revisionist lines in the party is principal at this time, and why this is so. The correct resolution of this contradiction will enable the people’s revolution to defeat reaction in Nepal; the continuing dominance of the revisionist line will make it impossible for the revolution to advance.
Since 2006, Prachanda’s revisionist line–which he put forward in straightforward terms at the November 2008 UCP(N) (Maoist) National Convention–has been the dominant line in the UCPN (Maoist). It sees the “transitional stage” of restructuring a bourgeois republic with Maoist leadership as a new stage of struggle that puts the new democratic revolution off into an undefined future.
The efforts of revolutionary forces in the party to defeat this line are DECISIVE as to whether the mass struggle will be able to pass over to a revolutionary struggle for power when the objective conditions ripen. I agree with Nando that the party is not in a position to undertake a struggle for power at present. The real question is whether the party will conduct its mass work with this as its principal political goal, or will continue be bogged down in efforts to cobble together a new Maoist-led government within the framework of a bourgeois/feudal republic.
There is another area where we appear to disagree. Nando writes the following about what the CPN (Maoist), and now the UCPN (Maoist), has done since 1996:
“They launched a peoples war, they waged it successfully, they agreed to enter a political offensive (from 2006 til now), they won over remarkable political support, they have deeply “compared and contrasted” the three opposing roads (monarchism, bourgeois democracy and peoples democracy) before the eyes of millions of awakening people, they have withdrawn from the government, and they are now preparing to launch a new test of mass strength through open struggles (perhaps in preparation for insurrection.)”
This is a idealized, one-sided assessment of the situation. In return for legality and political access to the urban areas, the party dismantled its organs of popular power in the countryside, allowing the reactionary parties back in to these previously liberated areas. The party ended the armed struggle and moved the PLA into camps under UN monitors, where the PLA has been largely isolated from their mass base for 3 years.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the CPN (Maoist) in 2006 calls for integrating the PLA into the much larger, reactionary Nepalese Army, which would retain its present command structure. Though there has undoubtedly been sharp struggle within the party and the PLA over whether to carry through with this process, attempting to do so would be the disintegration of the PLA as an effective political force. The view of some that this would allow the PLA to disintegrate the NA from within is dangerously wishful thinking. Again, the resolution of the two-line struggle in the party (in this between revolution and capitulation) is critical as to whether the PLA will remain as an independent political and military force.
It is correct to stand with and support the people’s revolution in Nepal.
At the same time, I believe it is necessary to criticize the revisionist line in the party, which is the principal obstacle at this point to the advance of the revolution. Since this line–which in actuality opposes the line of protracted people’s war–is being aggressively promoted in some circles of the international communist movement, we have an internationalist obligation to oppose it.
(This is my understanding of the approach being taken by the CPI (Maoist) in its Open Letter to the UCPN (Maoist) in July 2009.)
Obviously it is not productive to make an obligatory reference to the specifics of the two-line struggle in the party–and to support the revolutionary line in opposition to the revisionist line– in every news item about developments in Nepal. However, it is critical to do so in major pieces about the revolution such as this new FIRE pamphlet.
Finally, it is incumbent on us as internationalists to expose and oppose Indian and U.S. imperialist intervention in Nepal.

http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/0f98d9be12229c13a099f2de49e50671?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Alastair Reith (http://www.comradealastair.wordpress.com/) said


October 19, 2009 at 7:26 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18438) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18438) //This is a idealised, one-sided assessment of the situation. In return for legality and political access to the urban areas, the party dismantled its organs of popular power in the countryside, allowing the reactionary parties back in to these previously liberated areas.//
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/1191-maoists-form-parallel-govt-.html
http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6223
The Vietnamese did this plenty of times. The CCP did it too, and actually held back peasant struggles against the landlords in order to help the war effort. revolutionary strategies do not proceeed in a straight line. Seriously man, these points have been adressed and proven wrong soooo many times.
//The party ended the armed struggle and moved the PLA into camps under UN monitors, where the PLA has been largely isolated from their mass base for 3 years.//
They can be battle ready in a matter of minutes, and I don’t believe they’ve been isolated from their mass base. There are plenty of reports, including ones here on Kasama, that the cantonments have been turned into revlutionary schools for the PLA fighters, raising their theoretical and practical understanding of communism. And also, the Maoists in many cases picked areas where they had not much of a mass base to put their cantonments, and have used the cantonments to spread their influence. Some cantonments provide free healthcare to people nearby, and so on. The Maoists are an undefeated party and the PLA are an undefeated army, and they’re continuing to move forward. The basic fact of the matter is that the Maoists are in a much stronger position now than they were in 2006. They’ve strengthened their mass base, shown the masses IN PRACTICE that it the old state structure and the old reactionary forces will not allow peaceful change, they’ve spread their influence into the cities (the organisation they now have with the trade unions and the student unions is a good example of how succesful this has been) and they’re generally in a very, very strong position.
“The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the CPN (Maoist) in 2006 calls for integrating the PLA into the much larger, reactionary Nepalese Army, which would retain its present command structure. Though there has undoubtedly been sharp struggle within the party and the PLA over whether to carry through with this process, attempting to do so would be the effective disintegration of the PLA as a coherent political force. The view that this would allow the PLA to disintegrate the NA from within is dangerously wishful thinking. Again, the resolution of the two-line struggle in the party (in this between revolution and capitulation) is critical as to whether the PLA will remain as an independent political and military force.”
Think about this for a second. How can the military function if its ranks have suddenly been filled with passionate, dedicate communist revolutionaries? If this was just a case of the PLA dissolving into the NA in an act of surrender, why would the leaders of the Nepal Congress, much of the UML and of course the army be so bitterly opposed to it happening? Why does it scare them so much? The army chiefs are constantly coming out with statements opposing “indoctrinated” Maoist fighters into their ranks. Integration scares them! It’s a risk, it’s a gamble, all that’s true. But the Maoists haven’t gotten to where they are now by following the methods of the past, they’ve advanced through creativity and trying new things. Integration should at the very least make it very difficult for a coup to take place and for the army to operate, and it could result in the revolutinary soldiers winning over sections of the former Nepal Army.
That said, I don’t think army integration is likely to happen. There’s none of the ‘consensus’ so beloved of Nepali political leaders around it, everyone can see it for what it is – an attempt by the Maoists to take over the state, and all the army and political leaders are bitterly opposed to it. We’ll see what happens, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/9d0907ed7570fbfd5f0c4f00d72da677?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Ben Peterson (http://maobadiwatch.blogspot.com/) said


October 19, 2009 at 9:30 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18440) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18440) Ka Frank there are 2 key points where you are factually wrong.
a) That the events of 2006 was brought about by and saw a change in the line of the CPN(M). This is false. The Jana Andolan was the culmination of the parties line (the Prachanda Path) from 2001 that actively sought to exploit the divisions within Nepalś ruling classes and the state. (a line so revisionist that its result was a peoples movement of epic proportions that fataly wounded the monarchy, feudalism and the legitimacy of the incumbent state)
b) That since 2006 the PLA has been isolated from its mass base. The involvement of the PLA in the community, of its setting up hospitals and of recent reports ofarmed PLA being arrested in parts of the country says otherwise.
This is without even touching on the idea that the debate in the party is on a *two line struggle* style with clearly and easily defined revolutionary and revisionist camps. Thats a childish view- the debate is FAR more complex then that.

http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/8f1eac3aee1e3180147e9ebc6f2c63fc?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Green Red said


October 19, 2009 at 10:43 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18442) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18442) Earl (Owen) Gilman – a revolutionary – had a saying that although then i did not comprehend and it took long to understand but – i need to bring out here.
Pessimism is a luxury.
Is there anything wrong with seeing a party taking people’s heart and mind in a non violent manner? Is it wrong to create a sometimes military but sometimes with patience and debates and, letting the people make their choices, as appose to take the political power and say we are the people, is it bad?
Katmandu’s unions that are strongly influenced by Maoitst today. if the achievements that bit by bit the Maoists are working on and, at any moment they could stand up with arms when necessitated, if those achievements were taken through hard core armed struggle in the city, how would the people feel about Maoitsts, would they love them or sometimes fear them?
Perhaps blood river of the reactionary is desire of some Maoist orthodox but, i personaly believe:
Having more than one line in the party and, still be friend is too complex for the old fashion Maoists to understand; as if only after the revolution such matters can be brought up but, why cannot some think that, a party, with having more than one saying, has already cleaned up the pure cult of personality matter and not make it my voice only style. Kiran by the way, the supposedly radical one recently traveled to China along Prachanda. Aren’t they still comrades? Blood pools are not the best ways to liberate nations.
And i salute the so called revisionist line of the unified party since, by doing such HUMANE things, not rushing, practicing democracy and so forth, by doing these they are attaining more respect and drawing a much better image of Maoism to the billions in India subcontinent where 75 percent of them are still in the countryside (thanks for providing data about them Ka Frank)
The more one desires seeing bloodshed to see justice, further s/he might be from a communist heart.

http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1d24f4e3c2c2a129dc37173167d08c06?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Ka Frank said


October 19, 2009 at 11:56 pm (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18443) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18443) Alistair Reith claims that the Communist Party of China gave up its base areas during its struggle for liberation. This is misleading and factually wrong. At one point (I think it was 1941), in exchange for GMD concessions, the CCP withdrew some of its forces from southern China, which were in an exposed position. In the face of pressure from the Soviet Union and Comintern representatives in the party, Mao and the CCP refused to disband its main bases in the north and the PLA was never demobilized and integrated with GMD armies. Mao maneuvered politically at time, including in the form of proposals to form a coalition with the GMD and other parties, but he refused to give up its independent political and military role. This enabled the CCP to isolate the GMD among middle forces and prepare for a final showdown with the reactionaries.
In contrast, the CPN (Maoist) ended the armed struggle in 2006, placed the PLA in a extremely disadvantageous position, and gave up the liberated areas. This is a fait accompli, and the revolutionary forces in the UCPN (Maoist) are now faced with a more difficult situation than they faced in 2006.
On the situation with the PLA: There is no doubt that the PLA has had continuing contacts with the masses in the areas close to their cantonments. But what they have lost is their organic connection with millions of peasants in the once liberated areas, which can only be maintained and deepened by continuing people’s war.
Reith claims that the “PLA can be battle ready in a matter of minutes.” While they can get their guns out of storage quickly, the PLA will not be battle ready in any meaningful sense of the term. It will take them time to return to their original positions and to renew their ties with the masses. In the meantime the PLA will be dangerously vulnerable to attack by the much larger and better armed Nepalese Army (it has helicopter gunships). Thus, the UCPN (Maoist) is in a much weaker position militarily now, and is further from the conquest of power than it was three years ago.
Reith’s argument is that integrating the PLA with the Nepalese Army must be good if it is opposed by the army high command. Actually, the NA generals support the vetting and integration of the PLA as individuals; they have drawn the line at unit integration as potentially destabilizing. These are their calculations.
However, from the standpoint of advancing the people’s revolutionary struggle, even integration of PLA units into the much larger NA would be a major setback. There are 90,000 plus in the NA vs. 19,000 in the PLA, and that number is declining as underage PLA members are removed from the cantonments. In addition, PLA units integrated into the NA would be under the command of reactionary officers. The efforts of former PLA soldiers to work among the rank and file of the NA would face many obstacles under these conditions.
In exchange for the illusory promise of “disintegrating” the Nepalese Army from within, the PLA itself would be dismantled as a revolutionary political-military force. Nevertheless, Prachanda and others in the leadership of the UCPN (Maoist) continue to advocate integrating the PLA into the NA. This is part and parcel of a profound revisionist misunderstanding of the reactionary role and essence of the bourgeois state–concentrated in its armed forces– that must be rejected if the revolution in Nepal is to advance to victory. The Nepalese Army must be destroyed by the people, not reformed by the addition of several thousand former PLA members.
In an October 2009 interview posted on http://www.southasianrev.com (http://www.southasianrev.com/), Prachanda put out his position that when the PLA is integrated into the Nepalese Army, the new army will be “completely the army of the people.”
Q: If the integration of the army takes place and if a unified National Army is constituted as the result of the merger of the Nepali army and the PLA, in that case are you conscious of the impending dangers? What I want to say cannot that army be used against you once you are out of power? The reason for this is what is the guarantee that the army constituting of the revolutionary cadres of the PLA and regular armymen nursing feudal would stand in the favour of people?
A; That danger is there, but we have faith in people. I have faith in integration of the army. If the integration of the army takes place then it should be viewed as the victory of the situation created through the peoples struggle. Obviously the entire army will stand in favour of the people. The army will stand in favour of the nation. And under the leadership of the party we could lead the country in a better way. This is my belief.
Just some time back you wanted to know why the Indian ambassador, Mr Rakesh Sood and Mr Girija Prasad Koirala of Nepali Congress has been opposed to integration of army. Do you think they would have opposed this if the reactionary forces have visualized that the integrated army would stand in favour of reactionary forces?
Once the integration takes place this army would ceased to be theirs. This would be completely the army of the people. Which is why they are speaking against it and trying to create hurdles. One should realize that the integration of army is not against Maoists. This is not against the people. This is in favour of people. This is the reason that the reactionary forces outside the country and also inside quite active against it. One should understand this.

http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/9d0907ed7570fbfd5f0c4f00d72da677?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Ben Peterson (http://maobadiwatch.blogspot.com/) said


October 20, 2009 at 12:44 am (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18444) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18444) Ka Frank.
There are 21 seperate camps in the 7 cantonments across the country. They are in a range of different areas, but roughly correspond to the areas that each of the divisions where operating in at the time of the ceasefire. So they have not been tottally removed from the people for one. For two, the mass work that builds that link between the party (including its millitary wing the PLA) and the populance has continued. It is simply not true to say the PLA has been tottally removed from the people, or that the parties political influence has deminished (election results- CA and bi-elections show this).
Further- PLA was able to punch well above its weight millitarily against the Royal Army because of the strength of its politics. Why dont you have faith in the strength of those politics if the PLA was be merged into a New NAtional Army?
You also failed to even attempt to defend your accusations regarding the line struggles within the party.
http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/0f98d9be12229c13a099f2de49e50671?s=32&d=identicon&r=G Alastair Reith (http://www.workersparty.org.nz/) said


October 20, 2009 at 5:48 am (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18448) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18448) The key point Ka Frank is that Mao and the CCP were flexible in their tactics, and changed them according to the needs of the situation at the time. During the Northern Expedition the GMD and the CCP were integrated to a much greater degree than the Nepali comrades are advocating. During the war against the Japanese the red army operate under the command of the GMD, although you’re right that at that time full blown integration didn’t take place.
I also think it’s false to imagine that the Maoists have given up their base areas. All reports indicate that they maintain political hegemony over these areas and retain mass support, and I note you didn’t engage with the links I provided to news reports about the Maoists officially reconvening their parallel government and announcing that they will be forming local government bodies themselves.
http://comradealastair.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/confirmed-maoist-parallel-government-has-been-revived/
Why do you assume that because Maoist leaders SAY they will dissolve the base areas and the parallel state they will? Do you expect them to lay out their plans for revolution in minute detail for all to see? While transparency and popular involvement are great, it doesn’t really work like that.
You are overemphasising the military aspect of the struggle and downplaying the political. Yes, the PLA would not be able to return to the exact positions it held in the early 2000s overnight. But the fact of the matter is the PLA did not have the strength to take Kathmandu in 2006. Their attacks on fortified military bases were failures. They did not have the favourable situation of a world war like Lenin and Mao both did, and could rely only on what was possible in Nepal at that time. Revolution is not about a military conquest of power by the PLA – it’s about a seizure of power by the toiling masses, driven forward and made possible by the armed struggle of the PLA and the political leadership of the UCPN (M). And since 2006, the UCPN (M) had not grown any weaker and I would argue has grown quite a bit stronger in this regard. They were not able to operate effectively in the urban areas during the PW. Now they can, and they’ve made very good use of it. The leadership of the UCPN (M) are not gods, they’re men and they are both fallible and complex. There are differences of opinion on a whole range of issues, and two line struggles do take place. But I think it’s false to claim from afar that Prachanda and co are revisionists when there’s really not a lot to support that claim.
Finally, one very major way the changes in the nature of the struggle since 2006 have strengthened the Maoists is how it has strengthened internal democracy. The Maoists have a very, almost surprisingly democratic internal culture. It is possible for Maoist leaders to publish articles that accuse Prachanda, the party leader, of supporting a revisionist path. Their party has carried out a number of debates and struggles in a thoroughly democratic and comradely way that did not result in a split (which is good practice and a nice departure from the past) and instead took party unity forward. The grassroots cadre of the party are able to control it and keep it on a revolutionary path, and it’s easier to have this kind of internal debate in such a free and open manner now than it was before the CPA. During a time of war, military discipline is needed, and the leadership tends to keep very tight control over things. Now it’s possible to have a more open internal culture. Compare for example the demotion of Bhattarai, Hisila Yami and some others before the peace accords to the way Kiran and others are able to challenge aspects of Prachanda’s political line now.
This is not to say the Maoists were undemocratic before the CPA – far from it. But the fact that military discipline and near absolute secrecy is no longer required means that it is possible to allow more space for internal debate and it’s easier to carry it out in a way that involves the party grassroots.
//Reith’s argument is that integrating the PLA with the Nepalese Army must be good if it is opposed by the army high command. Actually, the NA generals support the vetting and integration of the PLA as individuals; they have drawn the line at unit integration as potentially destabilizing. These are their calculations.//
My argument is a bit less simple than that. My point was that the generals would not be so bitterly opposed to integration AS THE MAOISTS WANT IT if they saw it as a surrender, and I don’t believe the NA generals are stupid enough to not be able to tell if the PLA is surrendering. The Maoists have refused so far to allow integration on an individual basis, and are refusing to even allow the “child” soldiers to be discharged unless economic packages are provided for them, which the government has refused. Everything to do with the PLA and all discussions around it end up in a stalemate – the very existence of the PLA has created a crisis in Nepal that will not go away. The state can’t accept two armies continuing to exist, it can’t destroy the PLA but knows the PLA can’t militarily destroy it. The Maoists so far have been very clever in how they’ve used this to their advantage.
Some communists have a gut tendency to condemn overseas revolutions for not following the exact path they think they should. Others see it as their duty to extend internationalist support to the revolutionary forces without pretending that we know enough about the facts on the ground to make assumptions about the situation we really shouldn’t be making. I think the latter kind of communist has the correct approach and it’s the one I try to follow.

[N3wday]

n3wday said

October 20, 2009 at 8:19 am (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/nando-how-to-speak-about-nepals-revolution/#comment-18449) e (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=18449) Ka Frank says,
“In return for legality and political access to the urban areas, the party dismantled its organs of popular power in the countryside, allowing the reactionary parties back in to these previously liberated areas.”
Point 1: I think there is a gross underestimation of how important this political access has been. Later Ka Frank mentions things like gun helicopters and the PLAs position in the camps. Well, lets look at this. What happened during the uprising of 2006 when the army was ordered to fire upon the maoists in the midst of a huge demonstration? The rank and file of the RNA refused and the uprising toppled the monarchy. Now, lets think about the significance of the UCPN now having hundreds of thousands of explicit supporters and cadre all throughout the cities. What would happen if the NA took their gun helicopters to the camps? How many do they have (one, two, three)? I can’t think of a single thing that would better pave the way for insurrection. How much of the PLA is in the camps anyway, how many of the YCL used to be fighters and are now in the cities prepared for such an event?
Point 2: The parallel governments are not fully dismantled. Allastair pointed to this. They don’t always operate explicitly but they are still there and have been revived at a moments notice more than a couple of times. Why—since they have been accused of this multiple times before and every time there has been a political crisis the parallel government reemerged—is there still lack of clarity here?
Point 3: The UCPN has always allowed the reactionary parties into their base areas. During the revolution they had elections and allowed the UML and NC to run. They did this to test their strength and influence among the people in order to find out what areas they needed to step up their political work.
***
I’m not going to say everything is perfect. I often wonder about what the fate of Nepal will be if things never reach a critical mass, and stagnate at the point they are now without being able to move forward. But, I do think that a lot of the things people criticize them for are moot points.
The integration situation is complex. I don’t have time to comment on it now, but I will attempt to later.

[cyu]

great potential for tourism which could bring in immediate money without a lot of infrastructure.


I wouldn't say tourism should be any economy's primary source of income, because it is inherently risky. It puts your economy at the mercy of outside forces: not only because you depend on foreign visitors for money, but in also means you can only trade that money for goods produced by foreign countries if all you have locally is a tourist industry. The only tourist industry I'd advocate would be one primarily targeted at the local residents.


They can't even produce their own cement (they have to import from India).

If they can import stuff, then that implies they can also export something in exchange for the imports. In any case, it would be better (in the long run) to import the means of production rather than products themselves. If the product is cement, then the means of production would be the machinery used to produce cement.

[Louis Pio]

It's quite interesting that the nepali maoists have started looking beyond the confines of Stalin and Mao.

Communist Party of Nepal recognises role of Leon Trotsky (http://www.revleft.com/communist-party-nepal-recognises-role-of-trotsky.htm)

Written by Pablo Sanchez and Kamred Hulaki Tuesday, 20 October 2009
http://www.revleft.com/templates/imt/images/printButton.png (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#)
[/URL]This summer The Red Spark [Rato Jhilko - see photo], a journal of the Communist Party of Nepal published an article by Baburam Bhattarai, which stated that, “Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat”. This is the result of concrete historical experience that has revealed the real essence of Stalinism and vindicated the ideas of Leon Trotsky, in the case of Nepal in particular of the theory of the Permanent Revolution.

http://www.revleft.com/images/thumbs/200x307-images-stories-nepal-red_spark.jpg
(http://www.revleft.com/images/stories/nepal/red_spark.jpg)In The Red Spark [Rato Jhilko - see photo], a journal of the Communist Party of Nepal, one of the leading theoreticians of the party, Baburam Bhattarai, recently wrote an article that has not gone unnoticed within the Communist movement, both in Nepal and internationally. Bhattarai, 55, is a politburo member of the main Maoist organization in Nepal. He was Minister of Finance in August 2008 during the participation of the Maoists in the coalition government that they later abandoned. While the Communist Party of Nepal has long advocated the ideas of Mao and Stalin, this is what he wrote:

“Today, the globalization of imperialist capitalism has increased many-fold as compared to the period of the October Revolution. The development of information technology has converted the world into a global village. However, due to the unequal and extreme development inherent in capitalist imperialism this has created inequality between different nations. In this context, there is still (some) possibility of revolution in a single country similar to the October revolution; however, in order to sustain the revolution, we definitely need a global or at least a regional wave of revolution in a couple of countries. In this context, Marxist revolutionaries should recognize the fact that in the current context, Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat”. (The Red Spark, July 2009, Issue 1, Page-10, our translation from Nepali language).
Up till now, for the Nepalese Maoists the truth about the life and contribution of comrade Leon Trotsky had been hidden, and this also applies to their own cadres. Now that the road of Stalinism and Maoism is heading towards a dead end, and the party cadres are demanding an explanation from their Leaders, the latter have been forced to speak the truth about the Bolshevik Revolution in general and about Leon Trotsky in particular. This recognition is also an indication of the fact that the Maoists are trying to draw a balance sheet of their decades-long campaign.
One of the major differences between Stalin and Trotsky was the issue of "socialism in one country". By 1904, Trotsky had developed the idea that the Russian revolution against the Tsarist regime, would not stop at the immediate tasks of the "bourgeois-democratic" revolution (agrarian reform, parliamentary democracy, rights of national minorities, etc.). In other words, the Russian Revolution would not stop at the establishment of a bourgeois democratic regime. Indeed, Trotsky explained that due to the weakness of the Russian bourgeoisie and its dependence on the Tsar, the leading role in the revolution would necessarily fall to the working class. The underdevelopment of the Russian economy would not prevent the working class from seizing power and then initiating a socialist transformation of society. But at the same time, Trotsky explained that it would be impossible to establish a viable socialist regime without the extension of the revolution to several other countries in a relatively short period of time. This perspective entered into the history of Marxism as the "theory of the Permanent Revolution".
After Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin and other leaders of the Bolshevik Party attacked the theory of the Permanent Revolution, to which they opposed the theory of "socialism in one country". According to this theory, it was possible to build socialism in Russia, regardless of the international context. The prospect of a "world revolution" was thus abandoned. This theory reflected the nationalist, bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet regime, due to the prolonged isolation of the Russian revolution and the economic and cultural backwardness of the country.
Bhattarai is, however, mistaken on one point. In 1917, neither Lenin, nor Trotsky, nor any other leader of the Bolshevik party (not even Stalin himself) considered that the revolution could be confined to one country. Nobody even mentioned this idea before it became the motto of Stalin from 1924 onwards. But despite this factual error of Bhattarai, the fact that a senior leader of a traditionally "Stalinist" party recognizes the validity of the ideas of Trotsky is a very significant development. This will stimulate a very useful discussion within the Communist movement on the historical roots of Stalinism and the ideas of genuine Marxism.
Now in Nepal there is a growing interest in the theory of the Permanent Revolution. The fact that a Maoist leader has recognised that “in the current context of globalised capitalist domination, Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism” is an extremely interesting development. With this debate there is also a clear step towards building links with other movements and organisations that challenge capitalism globally. It is in fact the duty of Marxists everywhere to debate and discuss the correct tactics and strategy for the revolution internationally. In that sense we welcome Bhattarai’s article and wish to contribute to the discussions among Nepalese communists. The struggle for socialism is an international struggle, and a victory for the Nepalese communists would be a victory for the workers of the whole of the South Asian subcontinent, and indeed of the world.
[URL]http://www.marxist.com/communist-party-nepal-recognises-role-of-trotsky.htm

[N3wday]

"I wouldn't say tourism should be any economy's primary source of income, because it is inherently risky. It puts your economy at the mercy of outside forces: not only because you depend on foreign visitors for money, but in also means you can only trade that money for goods produced by foreign countries if all you have locally is a tourist industry."

Oh totally! I wasn't suggesting that tourism is a viable long term plan for developing their economy. The point is, that its something that could be used immediately to bring in money without requiring large loans and what not.

"If they can import stuff, then that implies they can also export something in exchange for the imports. In any case, it would be better (in the long run) to import the means of production rather than products themselves."

Again, I don't think we actually disagree here. But, its a question of magnitude and resources available. Agricultural exports (the mainstay of their economy) isn't necessarily going to allow them to import of incredibly expensive developmental projects.

Hydropower projects are means of production, and its something that's been talked about for sometime. The problem is that they can neither process the required material themselves nor afford to purchase them. That is the countries greatest resource and the one that holds the greatest potential for modernizing (economically) their country.

So, I'm thinking they're more concerned with developing that type of technology than other things like the ability to produce cement—since hydropower would bring in much greater amounts of money than other options. Which of course then lays the basis for developing less economically profitable projects.

There's also some urgency. I'm not sure what the situation is now but some months ago there was an energy crisis, the country was experiencing 12-16 hour black outs.

***

"It's quite interesting that the nepali maoists have started looking beyond the confines of Stalin and Mao."

If you think this is the first time they've looked outside the classic Maoist cannon then you simply haven't been paying attention. They've mentioned Rosa Luxemburg favorably in their theoretical documents dating back many years ago.

Also, I wouldn't over generalize the views of the entire party based on the statements of Bhattarai. They practice "freedom of opinion, unity of action". In other words, leading party members can say how they feel but when a party decision in made they act in unison. So, that article isn't necessarily representative of the party. Perhaps its a line Bhattarai is fighting for the party to adopt.

[Saorsa]

Mike Ely has written some good points about Bhattarai's Trotsky quote.

Some cautionary points:

If you dig into the actual remarks attributed to Bhattarai... there is nothing particularly controversial in them EXCEPT ONE SENTENCE... the one you quoted prominently. And this is a sentence whose translation is not from Bhattarai's people (but from a source I have not heard of before).

Such a statement by Bhattarai would have potential implications for the relationship of his movement to allied forces India. Which makes me a bit cautious about believing this claim.

This claim may not be true. And it may even be a minor mistranslation intended to spread some confusion. (Or it may, of course, be true since Bhattarai and his party has bee given to icon-breaking statements -- including in his known references to Rosa Luxemburg.

Also, the fact that Bhattarai makes such a statement does not mean that " Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) recognises role of Leon Trotsky" -- for several reasons. A) Their party leaders make many statements that don't directly speak for their party, and their party (as such) has certainly not made such an assessment, (b) even the quote you give is not about "role of Trotsky" in some large sense, but a very specific point on socialism in one country.

.....................................

Also note: The people claiming this quote is accurate, don't even get the name of the UCPN(M) correct in the headline or text of their report... something no one with any knowledge would do. (There are many many groups called "Communist Party of Nepal" and no one actively watching nepali politics can miss that fact. And in fact the name of the Maoist party has been changed even more recently.)

Again: some caution and precision is called for here.

..................................................

I'm commenting on this on several lists... so this ends up being a bit redundant....

But here are three points i want to raise:

a) There is a strange view of ideology that assumes "XXX is mentioning YYY, he must be a closet YYY-ist." It is understandable of course, given that the history of communist movement is that defenders of stalin don't MENTION Trotsky (exept in the most demonized terms) and vice versa.

But surely we are past this. Bhattarai casually mentions Luxemburg and Trotsky in his talks... But to understand what that means for HIS ideology you have to actually do the work of understanding the discourse.

It is well known that among Maoists, the Nepalis are among the most anti-stalin, the Indians still talk aobut "the great Stalin" in their documents, and the RCP is somewhere in between (critical of stalin, but cautious). I see it as: the Indians have Stalins view of Stalin, the RCP has Mao's public view of Stalin, the Nepalis are closer to Mao's more private view of stalin.

b) ... clearly Bhattarai is not a trotskyist (in any way that matters). Even in his very (uh) fluid interpretation of mao, he IS someone who led a Maoist peoples war for new democracy. There is nothing in his politics close to "permanent revolution."

In fact, he is closer to forces NOT wanting a seamless transition to
socialism in Nepal. (I.e. Bhattarai seems to have been in the camp of those who want to draw out the bourgeois democratic transition period.)

In other words, bhattarai is on the more conservative and "prolonging" side of the theory of "two stage revolution" -- (what Maoists criticized in the GPCR as trying to consolidate the transition) while others in his party want to go much more immediately from this moment to a form of the dictatorship of the proletariat (i.e. New Democracy and its Peoples Democracy state).

The Bhattarai quote about Trotsky fits into THIS debate:

He is arguing that the current world situation is too unfavorable to rush rapidly to socialism, and that the old Stalin idea that you could develop "socialism in one country" (any country? any time?) is outdated. But Bhattarai is NOT making a Trotskyist argument for going quickly from revolution to socialism in a third world country. On the contrary, he is arguing for postponing the transition to socialism, while awaiting a more favorable itnernational situation.

Here is the main political point: This quote is a comment of the problems of Nepal "going it alone" as a socialist country in the current world situation (and is part of an argument about possibly POSTPONING the transition to socialism). So he is mentioning Trotsky, but arguing for a very non-Trotskyist position.

The only thing in common between Bhattarai's remark and Trotskyism is a kind of pessimism about taking the socialist road under adverse international conditions.

* * * * * * *

And all that is only true IF this quote is accurate -- which is far from clear to me.

I think that there is often a rush to accept any quotes tumbling out of the internet mill (and the bourgeois media) around Nepal.

In this particular case, I have only seen a translation from unknown forces. Not from Bhattarai's own part (or even from the bourgeois press).

The article that is being circulated is clearly hyped: It misreads the politics of Bhattarai's quote in a sensationalized way. And it doesn't even get the name of his party right (in either the headline or the text).

I really don't know for a fact that this quote isn't a fabrication. It may be, it may not be.

I just think in such cases (especially with living revolutions, swirling with very active disinformation campaigns) we should be cautious and precise.

Just a point on this: What is the main impact of a Nepali Maoist quoting Trotsky favorably? (Clue: It is not the quivering of trotskyist circles internationally) It is the negative impact that such a remark would have among Indian Maoists (who are among the Nepalis main potential allies, with whom they have a complex and touchy relationship). Would Bhattarai knowingly provoke them this way? I'm not sure. I suspect his party-as-party would not.

[N3wday]

On Rumors of Nepali Maoists, Trotskyism and Socialism in One Country (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/on-rumors-of-nepali-maoists-trotskyism-and-socialism-in-one-country/)

Posted on October 22, 2009

http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/marx_lenin_stalin_mao_prachanda_in_nepal.jpg?w=350 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/marx_lenin_stalin_mao_prachanda_in_nepal.jpg)Let's not lose a sense of the actual ideology of Nepali Maoists

By Nando Sims

A bit of a strange speculation has rippled through the online world of Trotskyism. It was triggered by the circulation of an article entitled “Communist Party of Nepal Recognises Role of Leon Trotsky (http://www.marxist.com/communist-party-nepal-recognises-role-of-trotsky.htm).” Its authors are listed as Pablo Sanchez and Kamred Hulaki.
In breathless tones, this piece claims that the world’s most prominent Maoist party has announced that Trotsky was right, and Stalin was wrong. The article’s opening paragraph reads:
“This summer The Red Spark [Rato Jhilko ...], a journal of the Communist Party of Nepal published an article by Baburam Bhattarai, which stated that, ‘Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat’. This is the result of concrete historical experience that has revealed the real essence of Stalinism and vindicated the ideas of Leon Trotsky, in the case of Nepal in particular of the theory of the Permanent Revolution.” (from In Defense of Marxism, IDOM)
When we first received these claims (weeks ago) here at Kasama, we didn’t feel the need to post them or comment — since on the surface the various claims were hyped, false and even silly. But now this article from IDOM is apparently being taken seriously by some, so some comment is in order.
Just for starters: This piece does not even manage to get the name of the Maoist party right anywhere, including in its headline. There is no “Communist Party of Nepal” — as anyone familiar with Nepal knows. There are many parties with the word “Communist” in their name. The Maoist party is called the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) — a fact apparently unfamiliar to the folks behind this IDOM article.
Such a error is not fatal in its own right — but it highlights that these authors are either remarkably unfamiliar with Nepali politics or else have a real indifference to the most basic facts. This ignorance marks the rest of the piece in less obvious ways.
Here is the heart of the matter:

The claims of this IDOM piece are based on a quote they have translated from an article written by Baburam Bhattarai, one of the most prominent leaders of the UCPN(M).

“Today, the globalization of imperialist capitalism has increased many-fold as compared to the period of the October Revolution. The development of information technology has converted the world into a global village. However, due to the unequal and extreme development inherent in capitalist imperialism this has created inequality between different nations. In this context, there is still (some) possibility of revolution in a single country similar to the October revolution; however, in order to sustain the revolution, we definitely need a global or at least a regional wave of revolution in a couple of countries. In this context, Marxist revolutionaries should recognize the fact that in the current context, Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat”. (The Red Spark, July 2009, Issue 1, Page-10, our translation from Nepali language).
For starters, let us just say that we have no reason yet to accept this translation is accurate. It has emerged from marginal forces with an ax to grind — and their piece suggests (as i said) a militant indifference to facts.
The whole chatter pivots on one sentence above. Bhattarai may have said this, or he may not. He may have said something similar to this, but subtly different. We just don’t now at this point because we have no independent verification from the original Nepali. So we will discuss the quote — but note that both the citation and the translation needs to be confirmed (or modified) by much more reliable forces.
Look At the Context
If you read closely what Bhattarai is alleged to have said, you can see that the IDOM distorts this in some extreme ways. And it does so by ignoring what is actually being discussed and debated.
Here is that context:
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries. It is landlocked. It has virtually no industry. And it is surrounded by two of the world’s largest countries (India and China). It is vulnerable to blockades. Its main natural resource (hydroelectric power) requires massive capital investment to exploit or export in any major way. And its lowland agricultural regions are very vulnerable to military occupation from India.
In that context, there is a debate within the Maoist party of Nepal over whether they can take a road of socialism in the current international climate (where there are no socialist countries and not yet a clear prospect of revolutionary victory within India over the short term).
They are debating whether to soon seize power, establish a peoples democracy, and take the socialist road. Or to postpone it, operate within a bourgeois democratic framework of post-monarchical Nepal, and solicit international investment in hyroelectric projects — and then, when a more favorable context develops internationally, to seize power and take the socialist road. One argument says it would be reckless and premature to go it alone in this context, the other says that waiting may mean the chance of revolution will slip away — and that the painstakingly gathered currently-existing revolutionary forces will be demoralized, dissipated, disappointed or even crushed.
The debate (in short) is over whether to draw out the current “transition” period — or to cut it short by preparing a seizure of power.
In that context, Bhattarai is associated with the line of extending the transition period — in hopes of having a more regional revolutionary process. He was also a major author of the whole 206 substage of “transition period” and the proposal for the 2006 negotiated ceasefire and political offensive.
So to be clear: what he is arguing for is the opposite of Permanent Revolution. And he is not making an argument that Trotsky was right in 1920 — but rather that major changes in the last decades mean that the old communist verdict (in favor of socialism in one country) may not apply today in some universal or mechanical way, and so Nepal’s situation should be thought through in light of current concrete conditions.
The Trotskyist theory of Permanent Revolution holds that one stage socialist revolution is the universal necessary model for overthrowing capitalism — including in poor agricultural third world countries. This theory of permanent revolution exists in sharp and direct opposition to the Maoist theory of New Democracy (two stage socialist revolution) in third world countries.
Bhattarai seems to arguing for drawing out the stages — and perhaps making some form of bourgeois democracy into its own extended indeterminate stage (preceding the transition to socialism). His argument is the opposite of Trotskyism.
So why would he quote Trotsky?
Bhattarai is raising the question of “socialism in one country” for fresh consideration.
In the Soviet Union, in the mid 1920s there was a debate over whether it was possible to take the socialist road in the former Russian empire. Trotsky said you could not, and instead needed the support of forces in the more advanced countries, and that you could not build socialism in one country. The Stalin-Bukharin forces argued that such support was not coming. The revolution in Germany had been defeated repeatedly. And so the Stalin-Bukharin forces argued that the Soviet Union had no choice but to proceed on the socialist road alone, if necessary, pending some new wave of world revolution in the future.
China and the Soviet Union were (after all) two of the very largest countries on earth — with large populations and many diverse resources for developing complex economies and for conducting credible military defense against reactionaries.
This previous has always begged the question: Is it possible to build “socialism in one country” universally? In all countries? What about very small, poor and isolated ones? Can one build socialism in just El Salvador? Or in Zimbabwe? Or Nepal? The previous answer was that they could integrate themselves into an existing socialist camp. But there is no such camp now. Is it the case that smaller countries now need regional revolutions to lay a sufficient basis for socialist transformation and economics?
And, in addition, there have been changes (as Bhattarai is arguing) in the world economy — as the circuits of production and exchange have internationalized in highly unprecedented ways. Is it possible to conceive of a socialist country today with the kind of the semi-isolated economy that was attempted in Russia and China?
In Nepal, there is for example the acute reality that they have one major national resource (hydroelectric power) and some potential for tourism — neither of which will develop if Nepal is cut off from neighbors and the world market. If Nepal take a socialist road that assumes a form of autarchy (isolation), what does that mean for its chances of advancing, and what does that mean for its internal political conditions. Is it possible to imagine a lively open society of debate if economically the whole is confined to subsistence agriculture by embargo? Or is it possible for the seizure of power in Nepal to be a kind of manifesto that draws forward positive conditions — and perhaps accelerates radical movements and changes in India?
So, in that difficult debate, Bhattarai is saying (in a provocative way) that it would be wrong to take Stalin’s 1920s position as some kind of universal verdict that applies in all places and all times. And that (ironically) he believes that some of the arguments made against socialism in one country (in the Soviet Union) may apply today to Nepal.
This is not (as the IDOM implies) some vindication of Trotsky’s historic role or core positions, but a consciously provocative way of arguing against dogmatism and mechanical thinking.
It is unusual for supporters of Mao to cite Trotsky in this way. But it is certainly not the case that if “XXX is mentioning YYY, he must be a closet YYY-ist.” Similarly when Chavez mentions Trotsky, (as he occasionally does) some of these same international Trotskyist forces chatter — thinking, in their dogmatic style, that this must mean Chavez too is a closet Trotskyist. The simple-mindedness of this speaks for itself.
In fact, some in the UCPN(M) have argued to debating these matters without clouding the issue by injecting Trotsky’s name. One Central Committee member Kushal Pradhan is quoted saying:
“If a simultaneous wave of revolution is necessary to sustain the revolution in each country and if such a position is in line with the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought, then there is no point in dragging Trotsky into this debate. Secondly, the idea of revolution in a single country belongs to Lenin; and Stalin created the structure of the first socialist state. Stalin might have made some mistakes, but he was a great Marxist and Leninist practitioner and his contribution should not be underestimated.” (The Red Guard, September 2009, cited by IDOM) (http://www.marxist.com/nepal-maoists-looking-for-new-strategic-direction.htm)
And it is true that thinking in terms of regional revolution is quite compatable with Maoism and does not require some reference to Trotsky. (Just one historical example: In the 1970s, Mao urged the people of Indochina to view their revolutionary process as linked.)
This quote from Kushal Pradhan also confirms that the IDOM (and its headline) is simply wrong in implying that Bhattarai is somehow speaking for the“Communist Party of Nepal” in all this. He is speaking as part of a debate within the UCPN(M) — and his views on this (and certainly any quip about Trotsky-Stalin) is not some reversal of views by his party-as-a-party.
It is well known that among the Maoists, the Nepali party has had the most harshly critical stand on Stalin — in particular in their willingness to move away from assumptions of a Soviet-style one-party state. But there is no indication (zero) that they have any inclination toward the core concepts of Trotskyism. .
* * * * * * * *
At the risk of stating the obvious:
There has been a flurry (in some corners) of accepting the IDOM report at face value. And for some it seems like wishful thinking: I.e. some trotskyists see this as a vindinciation of their own defense of Trotsky’s 1920s arguments. Other political forces (who have sought to merge Trotskyism and Maoism in various ways) have seen this as a vindication of their politics. And so on.
It needs to be pointed out that people should not be so gullible or superficial. Should we really ourselves descend to the mindless world of 10-second soundbites — flung around without thought or context?
Bhattarai’s remarks were taken out of the context of an intense real-world debate (a debate in which Trotskyism and Permanent Revolution are NOT one of the significant poles).
More to the point: Revolutions produce clouds of disinformation and false claims. And too many people seem willing to pick this or that claim from the bourgeois press or other sources (in this case IDOM) — and spin a chatter of superficial speculation. Is that wise? Is it helpful? Does it help anyone understand what is actually going on?

[Saorsa]

Maoists will take to the streets from November 1st

Maoists extend ultimatum

News in a glance


Give nine more days for consensus



News statistics
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SANJEEV SATGAINYA



KATHMANDU, OCT 24 - The UCPN (Maoist) on Friday extended the ultimatum until Nov. 1 for the three major parties to forge consensus before it launches nationwide protests.

“In view of the ongoing talks aimed at finding a way out of the political impasse, we have decided to give nine more days before we take to the streets,” said Maoist Spokesman Dina Nath Sharma after a standing committee meeting here.

On Thursday, the Maoists had said they would hit the streets if the parties failed to reach agreement by Friday.

Leaders of the three major parties--the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML--are trying to find common ground for consensus.

The Maoists are seeking to censure President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav for his move reinstating the then Army chief Rookmangud Katawal. The Maoists call the president’s move ‘unconstitutional’ and want a House debate on it, but the NC and UML disagree.

A three-member panel was formed to sort out differences on the joint proposal that was drafted to find a middle path to resolve the political deadlock. But the parties are at loggerheads over the language and wordings of the joint proposal.

“Our demand for civilian supremacy must be addressed,” said Sharma on Friday.

During Friday’s meeting, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal proposed that the government be given until Nov. 1 to create an amicable environment for agreement, which the standing committee members approved unanimously.

The first phase of Maoist protests will comprise sit-ins, encircling of government offices and civil disobedience.

The Maoists have laid siege to parliament and have not allowed it to conduct regular business for the last four months.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2035-ucpn-m-gives-10-day-ultimatum-to-govt.html

UCPN-M gives 10-day ultimatum to govt Friday, 23 October 2009 19:44

The Unified CPN (Maoist) on Friday gave 9-day ultimatum to the government to address the demands raised by the party regarding the President's move.

A meeting of the Maoist standing committee held at the party headquarters Paris Danda gave November 1 deadline to the government to come up with an understanding on issues raised by the party vis-à-vis the President's move against the erstwhile government's decision to sack the then army chief Rookmangud Katawal.

According to Maoist spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma, the standing committee also decided to launch a strong protest movement if the ongoing dialogue with the ruling parties proved futile in restoring civilian supremacy and rectifying the President's 'unconstitutional' move.

The protest programmes will include picketing of government offices, dharna (sit-in) and non-cooperation with government programmes, Sharma informed.

Sharma added that the party was ready to end the obstruction in the parliament within a minute if the main ruling parties agreed for a parliamentary debate on the President's move.

"The ruling parties will be blamed if the budget is not passed as they have not created an environment to end the deadlock," he argued. nepalnews.com


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6504&PHPSESSID=b9999d97d1851fa9262bdd5d2d592d10
Nepal Parties fail to acquire consensus, Maoist’s Stir Likely


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_2115956225.jpg TGW
The Maoists’ Party is all set to declare fresh stir with an aim to bag consensus to end the current political dispute, however, arriving at a consensus as demanded by the Maoists’ is becoming remote if not impossible.
The Chairman of the Unified Maoist party Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal has ordered his deputies and the party cadres to prepare themselves for the upcoming protest programs at a prorgram organzied by Revolutionry Students’ Organization.
Mr. Dahal stressing the need for the stir said that further struggle was needed in order to restore civilian supremacy, formation of a National Government under the Maoists command and to gurantee Nationalism.
Similarly, the Unified Maoists’ Party Steering Committee meeting held at the Party Headquarters in Parisdanda, Koteshwor, Kathmandu came to the conclusion that if consensus is not reached well within October 23, 2009, morning, the party will declare yet another stir.
“We have already decided over the modalities of our protest programs”, reports quote Maoists’ sources as saying.
“The first phase of protest programs will only pressurize the governent to yield to our demands, we will maintain strong posture thereafter”, reports further reveal quoting Maoists party sources.
“The protest programs will mainly focus on disobeying the entire activities of the government”, reports add.
It is also revealed that the modalities of the protests have been outlined by the Maoists’ Party Vice President Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai-the ideologue of the party.
Dr. Bhattarai is heading the Unified Struggle Committee of the Maoists’ Party.
The protest programs are yet to be verified by the Steering Committee.
Reports also says that the the Steering Committee meeting scheduled for today, October 23, 2009, is expected to verify the protest programs.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Nov+1%3AMaoists%27+new+stir+ deadline+&NewsID=41321

Nov 1:Maoists' new stir deadline


Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: The two-day standing committee meeting of the UCPN-Maoist today gave a new ultimatum to the ruling CPN-UML and Nepali Congress to end the House deadlock. It will announce its agitation programme on November 1 if the major parties failed to reach a consensus.
The Maoists have decided to wage the second phase of agitation if no agreement is reached among the parties regarding the President's move to reinstate the then army chief Rookmangud Katawal. The Joint People's Movement Coordination Committee, headed by Maoist vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, has been entrusted with the task to work out the stir plan. “The panel will meet on Sunday and Monday to chalk out the next course of action,” said Dinanath Sharma, spokesperson, UCPN-M.
The meeting also unanimously endorsed the proposals tabled by chairman Prachanda regarding the ultimatum as well as consensus.
Sharma claimed that the next phase of agitation would prepare ground for restoring civilian supremacy, bringing the peace process to a logical end, drafting the new constitution on time and forming a national unity government under the Maoists’ leadership.

[Saorsa]

Maoists adamant, Demand Correction for Nepal Prez May 3, 2009, Move


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_87801566.jpg TGW
Talking to a vernacular daily, the Maoist Party Vice Chairman, Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai has said that the rumor that our party will become flexible and allow the budget to get approved from the parliament is just absurd.
“Yes! We will exhibit our flexibility if our demands are duly addressed with”, said Dr. Bhattarai-the party’s ideologue- hinting that until the President’s May 3, 2009, steps were taken by the major parties as an unconstitutional one, his party will not budge an inch from its declared stance.
However, the finance minister, Surendra Pandey, talking to one vernacular weekly dated October 23, 2009, has said that the Maoists will have to open the House in order to approve the Fiscal Budget which is in limbo because of the continued disruption of the House since five months or so.
“The Maoists militias, among others, will be the hard hit from such a disruption because we have no money to feed them who are now languishing in the cantonments”, said Pandey.
Dr. Bhattarai, the former finance minister, said that the consequences arising out from such a situation (non-approval of the FY budget) will have to be shouldered by the government and the government alone.
Dr. Bhattarai instead suggested that a government which is unable to sort out the dispute is hereby advised to resign.
“Until the President’s May 3, 2009, steps not get corrected, we will not yield to the government’s requests for the opening of the parliament come what may”, Dr. Bhattarai added.
The rumors have been spread deliberate by some quarters to undermine our party’s stance, claims Dr. Bhattarai
However, Finance Minister Pandey remains confident and hopes that the Maoists will allow the parliament to function for at least a day or two.
“During this slot, we will approve the budget”, expects Pandey-a close relative of Jhal Nath Khanal.
The financial crunch has begun hitting the government hard and other organs of the State.
The Blood Suckers-the CA parliamentarians-too have begun feeling the brunt of the non-approval of the budget due to the House disruption.
High placed sources opine that bids were in progress to seduce the Maoists.
2009-10-23 12:28:00

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6505

[Saorsa]

It should be obvious how significant this is. The Nepali state is unable to function and the country is on a massive collision course. The government has no budget! The Maoists have 40% of the parliament, and you need a 2/3 majority to pass the budget. Technically, legally, the government of Nepal is heading for bankruptcy. And from November 1st we'll see the first wave of the Maoist's protest programmes.

Another important point which I'm 100% sure the Maoists are conscious of is that if the budget is not passed, there is no money for the PLA. Currently PLA fighters are being supported by the state, which pays for their food, housing and general upkeep. If the budget isn't passed, this money won't keep coming in. That's not a situation that can exist for a long time! And while I'm sure the Maoists have contingency plans for the PLA and it's upkeep, it'd still make life difficult.

Things sure are getting interesting over there.

http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-43386420091023

Nepal ministers go unpaid as Maoists block budget

Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:05pm IST

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By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal said on Friday it had no money to pay its ministers because parliament had failed to pass a new budget amid protests by the former Maoist rebels who dominate the legislature.
Maoists have disrupted parliament since July, preventing it from discussing the impoverished nation's new budget after a dispute over the firing of the army chief.
The stand-off means the Himalayan nation could see its administration shut down with the government eventually unable to pay even civil servants.
Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said government departments could not spend more than one third of total annual expenditure allocated to them before the new budget was passed.
"That limit for the salary of ministers is already over. They cannot be paid any more unless the budget is passed," he told Reuters.
The dispute also underscores the mistrust between the government and the Maoists, who waged a decade-long civil war until joining the mainstream under a 2006 peace deal.
They scored a surprise victory in last year's election and formed the nascent Himalayan republic's first government after the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy.
But in May, Maoist chief Prachanda resigned as prime minister after President Ram Baran Yadav reversed a cabinet decision to sack army chief General Rookmangud Katawal on grounds that he had refused to take orders from the civilian government. Katawal has since retired.
Separately, ambassadors from U.N. Security Council member states urged Nepal to start discharging thousands of former Maoist fighters from camps to allow the United Nations mission in Nepal to complete its mandate in January.
In July, the U.N. Security Council met Nepal's request to extend the term of its mission called, UNMIN, until Jan 23, but asked Kathmandu to take measures to allow the mission to finish its job by then.
A mid-term discussion on the UNMIN mandate is scheduled on Nov 6 in the Security Council.
On Friday, envoys from China, France, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States made their first joint visit to a Maoist camp in east Nepal and the army weapons storage site in Kathmandu to oversee the progress in implementating the peace agreement.
(Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Ron Popeski)

[Saorsa]

This is interesting. A senior UML leader is confirming what supporters of the UCPN (M) have been saying all along - that the confinement of the PLA to the cantonments has not weakened it or reduced it to a fish out of water, but has instead allowed it to use the cantonments as what Oli refers to as "the Recruitment hub for the Maoists Party, later turned into the training centers and now... converted into barracks."

Obviously one man's statement is not final and conclusive proof of anything, but it is very interesting nonetheless.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6514&PHPSESSID=f71000503333d0ee26f8d3f2f80edbf9

How can fake Maoists Militias be integrated in Nepal Army? : Oli


TGW
One of the influential leaders of the ruling United Marxist Leninists’ Party has claimed that the Maoists’ cantonments spread across the length and breadth of the country has already turned into a “Maoists’ Barrack”.
Addressing an interaction program in Kathmandu, October 23, 2009, Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli also said that in the initial phase the Maoists’ Cantonments were the Recruitment hub for the Maoists Party, later turned into the training centers and now they have been converted into barracks.
Mr. Oli also revealed that the real Maoists’’ combatants who were involved in people’s war for a decade have turned into YCL cadres and stay out of the cantonments…those who have been recruited at the later stage are staying in the cantonments.
Oli asked “ can the integration of fake militias staying in the cantonments undergo integration with the Nepal Army”?
This is Oli Ko Goli against the Maoists.
2009-10-25 09:17:50

[Saorsa]

'Maoist’s Next Movement will be Entirely Different'


TGW
Hemanta Prakash Oli aka Sudarshan, the Polit Bureau member of the Unified Maoists while addressing a Revolutionary Journalist organization gathering in RUKUM, Yesterday, October 23, 2009, said that the Maoists’ impending movement will be somewhat different than the previous ones if the utmost flexibility being exhibited by his party in arriving at a consensus were ignored by the major parties.
Maoist’s threat loaded statements have begun appearing from different corners of the country!
“We exhibited maximum flexibility in order to arrive at a consensus, however, the regressive political parties have ignored our genuine demands and thus the would-be movement being waged by the Maoist party would be a different one than the previous ones”, declared Sudarshan hinting that the awaiting movement could be a violent one.
“We will manage the people’s supremacy to prevail come what may”, added Hemanta.
It is in this back ground that the Maoists party being the largest party in the incumbent parliament should be unconditionally allowed to form an all party government under its command, said the Maoist leader.
Hemanta also claimed that the current international situation too favored the Maoists.
“Chances are brighter that the other parties who differ with our stance, out of fear, may endorse our demands for the prevalence of people’s supremacy over military supremacy, Hemanta beamingly concluded.
2009-10-24 20:21:56

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6508

[N3wday]

Nepal: Interview with Comrade Basanta
Posted by Member-WPRM (Britain)


It was a situation that would eventually become quite familiar to the WPRM activists from Britain and Ireland as we met with members of the UCPN(M), but when we first met Comrade Basanta, together with Comrade Laxman Pant, on the edge of the Thamel area of Kathmandu, we were greatly impressed by their down to earth manner.
Both assured us, on learning of what we wanted to do in Nepal, that they would help us all they could, Comrade Basanta agreeing to do an interview with us. Having expected that we would have to travel to meet with him to conduct the interview, we all were surprised when it was announced that Comrade Basanta would come to where we ourselves were staying. It was a comradely act that was certainly appreciated.
Comrade Basanta, it would be fair to say, exudes an air of quiet dignity without being distant, taking great pains to accurately put across his points.

“Before us there is a big opportunity, but serious challenges also. If we take the correct steps there is a big possibility that we can accomplish New Democratic revolution. But if we make a mistake then the whole revolution can collapse.”
http://www.wprmbritain.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/nepal_bashanta.jpgWPRM: Can you explain the current situation in Nepal since the resignation of Prachanda from the government?
Basanta: First of all I would like to say something about the situation in which we had to enter into this process. When Gyanendra usurped the whole political power, the contradiction of the Nepalese people with monarchy became the principal political contradiction. It created a situation in which all the political forces that had a certain level of contradiction with the king could come tactically together to fight absolute rule of the monarchy. It was in the Chunwang meeting held in 2005 that we adopted a new tactic of democratic republic, which became a basis for 12-point understanding between our party and other 7 parliamentarian parties. Everyone in the world knows the result, the unprecedented mass uprising in April 2006. After that the king, relinquished his absolute power and reinstated the parliament. In the Constituent Assembly election, we emerged as the largest party and the king was removed and the country was declared Federal Democratic Republic from the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly. In fact, it was basically the end of the tactics adopted from the Chunwang meeting.
We were in the Constituent Assembly and at the same time, we were the largest party, so we had a responsibility to form government. The reactionaries the world over were expecting our party to disappear in the so-called political main stream. It was logical because in the history any party that had participated in the government before completing the revolution had never returned to revolution again. But we were consciously utilising this political tactic to make our revolution go forward. That was our understanding when we were in the government where we struggled to the extent possible in favour of revolution.
It had been a long-running practice in our history that whichever party comes into the government takes to the dictates of Indian expansionism and at the same time the US imperialism. The reactionaries expected the Maoists to act on this same basis, but we didn’t, we have a goal of making revolution and we cannot deviate from this. However, we have to follow a different course as the new contradictions emerge in the society.
When we were in the government, we tried to implement some political programs but did not follow dictates mainly from the Indian expansionism. The reactionaries clearly understood that Maoists were not abandoning revolution but familiarizing their programmes within the masses. They decided to topple the government. We had either to follow expansionist dictates or we had to go with the masses. We chose the later because we could not exchange government with revolution. The resignation has become a very big political attack upon the imperialist and expansionists. They wanted us to surrender, but we didn’t. Rather we exposed the conspiracy on how they were trying to make us surrender and how they are forcing us to cede our sovereignty. When we exposed this among the masses, it has influenced a large section of the masses in favour of our party and revolution. Now a situation has come where section of compradors, which are basically pro-India and pro-America and act as puppets, are getting united against our party but a broad masses are rallying around us.
Now the sovereignty is in a real danger. We, after resigning from the government, are taking up this issue. Also, the class oppression is still unresolved, because no revolution has been accomplished. The whole country is now going towards a new polarisation, the reactionaries, mainly comprador-bourgeoisie, bureaucrats and feudal and their allies is trying to take the country in their direction, but we are trying to take the country in our own direction. Without complete polarisation amongst the masses, no revolution can take place. That’s how the country is going towards a new polarisation after our resignation from the government.
WPRM: After the recent party conference what are the strategy and tactics of the UCPN(M)?
Basanta: As a communist our overall strategy is socialism and communism, but if we analyse the strategy then we can find that we have a maximum strategy and the minimum strategy. Because ours is a country that is semi-feudal and semi-colonial, and therefore the basic contradiction is the outcomes of this socio-economic condition. The contradictions we have in this country such as class contradiction, which is principal, and the gender, national, regional and many other contradictions, all these contradictions are the outcome of the semi-feudal and semi-colonial socio-economic condition. Our immediate strategy is to resolve this basic contradiction. That’s why our immediate strategy is to abolish feudalism and imperialist domination from our country and in so doing accomplish new democratic revolution.
In fact, it is the New Democratic Revolution that resolves the basic contradictions arisen out of semi-colonial and semi-feudal socio-economic condition. That’s why our immediate strategy is to move to New Democratic Revolution against semi-feudalism and semi-colonialism. But our overall strategy is socialism and communism. This is one thing. But to reach strategy we have to take up various tactics. That was why previously; we used the tactics of democratic republic, which we decided at the Chunwang Meeting. This tactic is now over because the monarchy has been abolished from Nepal. Now we have taken up a new tactic to reach our immediate strategic goal. The new tactic is the People’s Federal Democratic National Republic or People’s Republic in short. Now we will fight for a People’s Republic which will resolve the problems related with class, national, regional and gender oppression.
Now comes the question of civilian supremacy. This is a bourgeois question, no doubt. But never in the history has there been civilian supremacy in our country. In the past the military was never kept under civilian control it was under the control of king all the time. That’s why every time they have taken up their advantage and seized the government, as a coup, by sacking the government and dissolving the parliament. Twice in the history it happened so. First, it was in 1961, king Mahendra staged a political coup with the help of Nepali army and sacked the government and the parliament both. In the same manner in 2002 Gyanendra did the same. Therefore, to keep army under civilian control has been the minimum condition to protect the achievements of people’s war and the mass movement. That’s why to establish civilian supremacy has become an important issue among the masses.
Nepalese people want a new setup, a new society. People want peace and prosperity. It is people’s constitution that can lead Nepal to peace and prosperity by doing away with all kinds of oppression. The new constitution must be written in such a way that it brings feudalism to an end, does away with imperialist and expansionist oppression, brings about peace and prosperity, and defends national sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is the content of the People’s Republic, which will lead to the completion of new democratic revolution.
WPRM: We understand there are a number of tendencies within the party could you explain to us how these struggles are taking place?
Basanta: In class society the class struggle continues. As long as there are classes and class struggle in the society there exists two line struggle in the party of the proletariat. That’s why in the party there are always different kinds of ideas coming up from different leaders, because the leaders also come from the same society. They make up their ideas from the society and the class struggles. Their way of thinking is different and therefore different kinds of ideas penetrate in the party through different leaders. That’s why different kinds of trends and tendencies come within the party. And there is always struggle among these trends.
That’s why it is very obvious that in any party there is always line struggle between different trends, but the question is how we handle the line struggle in the party. In the communist movement we have seen two wrong tendencies. One is that in the name of maintaining unity in ideology, the organisation keeps on splitting and splitting, just like an amoeba. It is a purist thinking and does not grasp the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist understanding that party is a unity of opposites. It has very much weakened our communist movement. It is one wrong trend. There is another trend that encourages, in the name of maintaining unity, to go for a compromise all the time. This also is very much wrong because compromise with wrong trends will not help one reach to a correct line. And that party which is based on compromise cannot lead any revolution. That’s why in dealing with different wrong trends and tendencies in the party, we have to refrain from these two wrong trends: in the name of maintaining purity to go into split again and again and, in the name of maintaining unity to make a compromise.
WPRM: Can you tell us more about the two line struggle between Comrade Prachanda and Comrade Kiran?
Basanta: First of all I would like to say it was not a struggle between two individual leaders. Comrade Prachanda is our Chairman; he has been leading our party and revolution for a long time. Comrade Kiran is a senior leader, even senior to Comrade Prachanda. Sometimes in the outside world it is said that it is a struggle between Prachanda and Kiran, but this is a wrong way of looking at. Definitely lines come from certain comrades and in our case comrade Prachanda and comrade Kiran are such leaders who have stood as unity and struggle of opposites i.e. they have dialectical relationship.
The way this has been reported in the external media is wrong and is aimed at dividing our party. They projected that Comrade Prachanda was a soft-liner and Comrade Kiran was a hard-liner. This kind of projection was always there because the reactionaries do not want our party to remain united. They want to destroy it. The reality is that the principal aspect between them is unity. If they did not have unity how could they lead our party together for so long years? But because they are the products of our society they have different ways of thinking so the differences in certain issues arise.
WPRM: Can you explain the various aspects of this particular Line Struggle?
Basanta: The tactics we adopted from the Chunwang Central Committee meeting was Democratic Republic. When this Democratic Republic was established from the Constituent Assembly this tactic was over. Now the previous tactic we adopted was over and we had to adopt a new tactic. It demanded to have a thorough analysis of democratic republic, its class nature etc. We had to analysis class contradictions that existed in the society. We had to look at class relations to develop a united front. In that situation comrades did have different ways of thinking but not diagonally opposite. But once we had our sharp discussion we reached to the conclusion that the Democratic Republic in place is a bourgeois republic. The whole organs of the state power including the army is in the control of the reactionaries. To comprehend this system we had to have a deeper discussion, which demanded open and sharp debate in the central committee. Debate had occurred all through the party and many different opinions were expressed. We wanted to understand the current situation deeply, and we found that the common concern of every comrade was how to develop a revolutionary line and preserve party unity. Now we have developed a correct political line tactic and achieved unity, which is conditional and time-bound. Unity is always relative while struggle is absolute. Having unity now does not mean we will have unity forever.
WPRM: Now the UCPN(M) is in the Constituent Assembly, how is the party carrying out the mass line?
Basanta: Now we are in the Constituent Assembly, we have to make a constitution to resolve the problems of the country and people. Basically we have two problems: We are still a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country. We have to destroy feudalism and imperialism and establish New Democratic Republic to facilitate national capital to flourish. At the same time we have to defend our sovereignty. These are the basic things we are fighting for in the Constituent Assembly. But this is not like the parliament which we had in Nepal before, nor is it like any parliament in any country of the world. It works to draft a new constitution and open the way to resolve the contradictions of the country. That’s why CA members are fighting in the Constituent Assembly for the rights of all people and the whole party is mobilising masses in support of the people’s constitution, whether it be urban or rural areas, plains or hilly regions everywhere. We are mobilising not only the CA members but the whole people to make them write people’s constitution.
We are in the Constituent Assembly; we are raising the issues of the whole country, the whole masses of the people. It may seem that as we are in the Constituent Assembly we don’t have a relationship with the masses, but it is wrong. What we are raising in the Constituent Assembly are the issues from society. Our party is present all across the country, in every district, every village, we have party committees. In every Village Development Committee we have party committees, and those members are among the masses. They are raising the issues of the masses and they are leading the masses. It is true that a section of the leadership is working in the constituent assembly and they don’t have time to regularly visit the masses, but the whole party structure is working throughout the countryside and the cities, the Terai and the Himalayas.
For example in the Terai, the class aspect is the principal aspect because we are making new democratic revolution of which the axis is land to the tiller. But along with this there are other aspects for example nationality question for the Madhesi peoples. No doubt they there are oppressed classes in Madhesh, but the whole Madhesi people are also an oppressed nation. They have been devoid of their national identity, and we have to let them establish themselves as a nation. They want them to establish their own identity but they have been isolated from the central power. That’s why our party in Madhesh addresses their issues. Likewise, we raise gender issues and oppressed region issues apart from the class issues all across the country.
Now we are in a transitional period and we need to go for New Democratic Revolution. We have not reached New Democratic Revolution yet. We have a bourgeois democracy now, but we think we are very close to new democratic revolution. The objective situation is ripe for New Democratic Revolution. There is a wide polarisation among the people; and the people and the whole country is basically united for the cause of revolution. People know that if they want anything done it has to be done by the Maoists. Certainly, we have weaknesses and limitations, that is one thing; but people understand that there is no other force except the UCPN (Maoist) in this country that can take things forward for revolution.
The future is very bright but at the same time the challenges are very serious. For, imperialism, mainly the US imperialism does not want any communist power in the world to emerge. The way we traverse cannot be straight forward as we wish. Communists never find a straight road they have to go through twists and turns, and take different kinds of tactics before the completion of revolution.
WPRM: What role do India and the US play in Nepali politics at this time?
Basanta: The US and India want a state in Nepal that is favourable to them. But the people who are oppressed are supporting our revolution and our cause. Now the reactionaries are trying to unite their own sections and establish a puppet government in Nepal to suppress the revolutionaries. At the same time the working class and oppressed peoples want this revolution to go ahead. Both these ideas are contending in our country.
First of all, what should one understand is that Indian expansionism and the US imperialism are doing all they can to sabotage the revolution in Nepal. As regards the new democratic revolution in Nepal under the leadership of the proletariat they have unity, which is the principal aspect. But in their strategic interest they have some differences too. India wants to control the entire natural resources and market to fulfil their expansionist ambition. They want to expand their border up to Himalayas so that they can exploit resources in an unhindered way. However, the US wants to establish a base in Nepal so that it can control the entire South Asia and encircle China, the contending economic super power in the 21st century.
WPRM: How does the UCPN(M) view the CPN(UML) and Nepali Congress at the present time?
Basanta: We have to say that Nepali Congress principally represents the comprador bourgeoisie and secondarily feudalism in Nepal. They are a status quo party; they do not want revolution. Rather they want to maintain the status quo. The present state is a reactionary state. They do not want to go ahead of this, so they are reactionaries. UML is basically the same, there is no basic difference. But they call themselves communist, so they still have some influence among the revolutionary masses. But their line cannot lead the country to revolution because they basically represent the comprador bourgeoisie and feudalism. Also, as a class, the UML mainly represents the petit bourgeoisie. Both these parties are against the revolution.
But within the UML there is a section, the petit bourgeois, which is oppressed but cannot lead revolution on its own. This section has a tendency towards radicalism. UML is therefore basically divided. One section represents the comprador bourgeoisie, and one section the petit bourgeoisie. One section fully supports whatever the US and India dictates them to do. It is crystal clear that one of their leaders, Madhav Kumar Nepal, has become the Prime Minister of Nepal with the blessing of the US and India. At the same time the other section opposes to some extent the US and India as they have some patriotic aspirations.
In short Nepali Congress and UML are reactionary parties. Nepali Congress represents the comprador bourgeoisie and UML the petit bourgeoisie. UML is divided, that is why we cannot go forward with the whole party to make a New Democratic Revolution. They will obstruct this. But within these parties, mainly UML, there are revolutionary minded people, primarily in the lower strata, and some democratic people even in the upper strata. So in the days to come, there can be a kind of frontal unity with a section of the UML, but not with the party as a whole.
WPRM: We understand there have recently been defections from the UML to the Maoists, is this part of a wider trend?
Basanta: There is not yet any organisational defection. I just talked about the two trends in the UML, and now there is no political party in Nepal which is not divided in the present political issues. One trend is in support of the status quo and supports US imperialism and Indian expansionism and the other trend fights for independence and national sovereignty. Some months ago there was a vertical split in ‘Forum’ (a Terai party). The issue was the same, to surrender to US and Indian interests or take an independent stand. One section, the comprador bourgeoisie, supported US imperialism and Indian expansionism, the other section fought for patriotic issues and wanted to be closer to us. Some people have consequently quit their party and come to ours. In every party this kind of polarisation is going on. Also there is a continuous process of people with a revolutionary mind and democratic tendency leaving UML to join our party.
WPRM: Given the world-wide debate on the importance of the Nepali revolution, what message do you have for comrades around the world?
Basanta: Ever since the initiation of the People’s War there has been widespread propaganda about our revolution all across the world. As the People’s War developed, its influence spread all over the world. Now the whole world knows about Nepal and many people are concerned over the future of our revolution. These days there has been some sort of confusion and some misinterpretation about our revolution and also we have been unable to make the world people understand we are in now. That has been a shortcoming on our part. We have been mainly involved in the Nepali revolution, and have been lacking in spreading the world over what we are doing now. And different trends are interpreting it in their own ways. Some say the Maoists are taking a revisionist position.
The reactionaries are also interpreting our party this way. They say our party is divided between hardliners and soft-liners, between comrades Kiran and Prachanda. They have the intention to create confusion among the masses all over the world and divide the revolutionaries in the international level too. We should admit our weakness in propagating the reality of what is happening in Nepal. We could not publish our information bulletin or bring out The Worker regularly. We could not clear the confusion about our party and our line. But we are confident that we are moving ahead towards revolution.
Recently in our Central Committee meeting we concluded that we are at a serious crossroads of revolution and counterrevolution. Before us there is a big opportunity, but serious challenges also. If we take the correct steps there is a big possibility that we can accomplish New Democratic revolution. But if we make a mistake then the whole revolution can collapse. If we can apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism in the concrete conditions of Nepal and lead the whole nation and international working class, then we have a huge opportunity. People all over the whole world expect a new world to emerge from Nepal.
We are happy that you took an initiative to come to Nepal and try to clear the doubts. We are very happy to have the chance to speak to comrades from other part of the world. Some people think we have abandoned the revolution and will not go forward from this to New Democracy. No, this is absolutely wrong. We utilised Democratic Republic as a tactic. Whether that tactic was correct or wrong we can debate, and we can reach some conclusion, maybe after several years. We don’t claim everything we did or do is correct. We are also human beings and we can make mistakes. But we are establishing a strong base among the masses for a revolutionary change. In this Central Committee meeting we are confident we have developed the correct ideological-political line, and this line will lead the whole people in our country to make revolution.
But in the present globalised world we alone are not sufficient to sustain revolution in our country. We can make revolution in our country, but it will be very difficult to sustain if there is no outside international support. There are a few aspects to this. Comrade Lenin said that the first aspect is to give internationalist support to the revolution. The second aspect is to initiate People’s War or revolutionary struggles in those countries to support the revolutionaries. As you are here in support of our revolution, we want to extend this kind of message all over the world. And we want people all over the world to study Nepal and understand by themselves why we had to have different twists and turns in the course of revolution. What we did all was for the sake of making revolution a success. Now the world situation is getting favourable to make revolution. So we have to build international support for our revolution, we have to energise our comrades working all over the world. We have to launch activities against US imperialist and Indian expansionist intervention in Nepal, because we are approaching the successful conclusion of the revolution.
But for that we need a stronger level of solidarity of people to our revolution, a stronger solidarity of the working class people from Indian, US, UK and all over the world. If there is strong support from outside Nepal for our revolution we are confident we can make revolution in our country. The contradictions are sharpening, we think that within a few months some result has to come. All these contradictions are concentrated in the writing of the constitution. But it is a difficult challenge. We cannot write our constitution, the reactionaries will not support us. And the revolutionary class will not support a bourgeois and reactionaries constitution. This is the contradiction.
The constitution can only be written if there is major compromise. If the proletariat makes a compromise with the bourgeoisie what does it mean? It means the end of the revolution. We can be flexible in tactics but not with the interests of the party and revolution. If we compromise in the Constituent Assembly, that will mean the end of the revolution for a long time to come in Nepal. So the days coming in the next nine months will see a very tough contention on an issue of people’s constitution. This is the reflection of the overall class struggle. In this crucial situation we want revolutionary internationalist help from people all around the world.
The reactionaries the world over understand this contradiction. They want our party not to place people’s constitution in the constituent assembly and initiate debate because they understand that our constitution will polarise the entire oppressed section of the people around our party and isolate them. They cannot exclude our party from the task of writing constitution. But at the same time they don’t want us to be there. Therefore the reactionary conspiracy is heightening to dissolve the constituent assembly, impose presidential rule and initiate war against our party and the revolutionary masses in Nepal. The unconstitutional move of the president and their sticking to military supremacy is nothing other than a rehearsal towards that direction. So the days ahead are challenging. But we are confident that the correct grasp of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and the unity of the party based on it will be able to shatter the entire challenges imposed upon us and make the new democratic revolution in Nepal victorious in the beginning of the twenty first century.
Thank you!

[Saorsa]

Maoist-led govt, the bottom-line: Kiran

Last Updated : 2009-10-25 1:28 PM


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Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: Senior vice-chairman of Unified CPN-Maoist Mohan Baidhya 'Kiran' today said that mere correction of the President's move would not be sufficient to end the political impasse.

He said that formation of a joint national government under their leadership was added to his party's demand list now.

"We have been demanding correction of the President's move but now we cannot give in to agreement even if the move is corrected," he said, adding,
"This government should step down and national government should be formed under our leadership.

Speaking at a programme at the Reporters' Club here, he said that his party was, however, ready if the demands were fulfiled in a package.
He also informed that the meeting of his party's United National People's Movement would chalk out plan for further protest programme.

Baidhya also said that the objective of their stir was to bring the parties into consensus ensuring the drafting of the constitution, integration of the two armies and a logical conclusion to the peace process.

He, however, reiterated that there was no second option to politics of consensus at the moment. He also recalled that the Chinese leaders had also sought for consensus among parties.

"Speculations are rife that certain powers are preparing to impose either President's rule or state of emergency in the country. We need to unite to foil the attempt," he said.
According to him, other parties had no basis to lead the government and the peace process, but the Maoists.

Responding to a query he said that the Maoists were not the only party to be held accountable for the delay in passing the budget.

When asked about the reported accusations of Indian authorities that Naxalites in India have been receiving arms from Nepali Maoists, he dismissed saying it a mere rumour.

He, however, said that there were also rumours that India was supplying arms to Nepal, rather.


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Maoist-led+govt%2C+the+bottom-line%3A+Kiran&NewsID=41769

[Saorsa]

The significance of this should be obvious. To everyone who says the Comprehensive Peace Accords only weakened the PLA and strengthened the relative position of the NA... think again.

NA running out of ammunition Monday, 26 October 2009 11:59

Nepal Army (NA) is running out of bullets as it has not been able to procure raw materials to manufacture them for a long time due to the prolonged peace process, Kantipur daily reported.

NA has not procured any arms, ammunitions or raw materials since the royal take over on February 1, 2005. The international community had imposed an arms embargo to Nepal immediately after the assumption of direct authority by former King Gyanendra Shah.


After the downfall of the royal regime, the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed on November 21, 2006 has prevented the army from buying any arms, ammunitions and explosives.


The stock of bullets with NA has almost finished as a large number of bullets are required for regular trainings of army personnel, according to retired general Bala Nanda Sharma.


More than 3 million bullets are required for the army for a single training session alone. In five years, the army has used more than 15 million bullets for such trainings. The reducing stock of bullets has affected the trainings in recent days.


Meanwhile, the sayings of former Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal written on the walls of various barracks have been erased under the instructions of incumbent CoAS Chhatra Man Singh Gurung.


According to Annapurna daily, CoAS Gurung directed the barracks to erase Katawal's statements saying it would not be appropriate to display a general's sayings at a time when the sayings of monarchs had been erased. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2076-na-running-out-of-ammunition.html

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2082-maoist-chairman-asks-cadres-to-be-prepared-for-3rd-janaandolan.html

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/photo-gallery/gallery/340.html

Maoist chairman asks cadres to be prepared for '3rd Janaandolan' Monday, 26 October 2009 19:59

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has asked his party workers to be ready for a nationwide stir to be launched by the party soon.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/prachanda_-1/oct_26_09_Prachanda_a.jpg (http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/photo-gallery/gallery/340.html)(From left) Founder member of Nepal Communist Party Nar Bahadur...
Speaking at a tea reception organised by the Maoist-affiliated Newa State Council in the capital Monday afternoon, Dahal said the Maoist party is going to create a wave of protests which might well turn into third Janaandolan (people's movement), and party cadres to stay prepared for that.

Dahal maintained that there is a need for third Janaandolan to restore civilian supremacy, write the new constitution and bring the peace process to a logical end.

The Maoist strongman also claimed that some elements were conspiring to dissolve the Constituent Assembly and derail the peace process.

“Some people have already started talking about imposing President’s rule,” Dahal said, adding, “But, we are not going to run away from peace process nor are we going to let the CA dissolve.”

Whatever the provocations, the Maoists will not return to jungle, he added.

Dahal also said his party made a grave mistake by bringing current Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal into the CA and that the party was regretting the decision.

Earlier, addressing a gathering of senior Maoist cadres from Terai at the party headquarters Koteshwor Dahal said possibility of consensus among parties was getting weaker and that protests would be the next step.

Meanwhile, a prescheduled meeting of top leaders of the three major parties could not take place today due to Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala’s bad health.

Bilateral meetings of the three parties yesterday hit a snag after the Maoist side put forward a 'new proposal', seeking 'package agreement', which would include formation of a national unity government, among others. nepalnews.com

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoist leader Prachanda Fumes, Claims III Uprising Urgent


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1926656506.jpg TGW
The Chairman of the Unified Maoists’ Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has said that the objective of the third peoples’ uprising was to fulfill the “unfinished” wishes of the general people.
He also claimed that the new uprising will ensure completion of the Historic Revolt initiated by the Maoists’ Party.
“Final Revolt is necessary for securing Peace and Prosperity”, Dahal told his cadres.
Dahal was speaking at a Tea Party organized to celebrate Nepal Sambat 1130 in Kathmandu by the Maoists Party.
Dahal even claimed that bids were afoot to declare emergency and dissolve the Constituent Assembly.
He said “those who had awarded the Maoists’ Party with a Terrorist Tag and had put Price on the Head of the Maoists’ leadership have been conspiring once again to declare emergency and put price tag on the Maoists’ leadership once again”.
“They are once again preparing for mass repression and dissolve the constituent assembly as per the diktats of their foreign masters”, he claimed.
“The leaders who have been rejected by the people are pushing the country towards another civil war”, Dahal revealed.
He called the fresh remarks of the Defense Minister Mrs. Bidya Bhandari favoring amendment in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement as the signal of the lurking danger.
Minister Bhandari had favored amendment in the CPA to allow recruitment in the Nepal Army.
Prachanda was also of the opinion that the present government that houses those leaders even who were ministers in the King Gyanendra appointed Cabinet was not at all a people friendly government.
The Maoists’ leaders Barsaman Pun Ananta, Hisila Yami and some other senior leaders were also present at the Tea party reception.
Perhaps Prachanda means what he says. Symptoms of chaotic days ahead.
2009-10-27 10:06:00

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6530

[the-red-under-the-bed]

from Lal Salam Blog
http://maobadiwatch.blogspot.com/2009/10/nepal-new-peoples-movement-imminent.html

[Saorsa]

Maoists unveil protest plan
‘National unity govt not key agenda’

POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, OCT 28 - United National People’s Movement (UNPM) of the UCPN (Maoist) unveiled fresh protests on Tuesday, saying that the ongoing talks with Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML would not produce any result.

The UNPM Central Committee, formed in August to steer the nationwide protest, endorsed the protest programme aimed at pressing the government to fulfill its demands.

“We have run out of patience,” Maoist Vice-Chairman Baburam Bhattarai, who heads the UNPM, told reporters.

The Maoists on Friday had set a Nov.1 deadline stating it would hit the streets if the NC and UML, the main coalition partners in the government, failed to address the joint proposal the way they wanted.

The Maoists have been protesting from the streets and parliament since May, seeking to censure President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav’s move reinstating the then Army chief Rookmangud Katawal, to establish ‘civilian supremacy’.

“The government’s apathy towards our demand has necessitated protests,” said Bhattarai.

The protests will begin from Nov. 1 evening with torch rallies across the nation followed by a series of programmes including picketing of VDC offices and declaration of autonomous states. “We will lay siege to Singhdurbar on Nov. 13 for the whole day, which will mark the end of the second phase of our protests.” Maoists plan to resort to civil disobedience in the third phase.

Repeatedly terming the incumbent government a ‘puppet’, Bhattarai said the protests would be carried out peacefully. “But if the puppet government does not wake up, we will raise the bar,” warned Bhattarai.

Though pessimistic about the ongoing talks, Bhattarai was upbeat that the protests would definitely force the government to bow out. “The way the talks are going on, there is no hope for consensus. However, we are giving time till Nov. 1.”

When asked whether the UCPN (Maoist) was shuffling cards for its ascension to the government, as reported in the media, Bhattarai was quick to rule it out. “A national unity government is one of our agendas but not the main agenda. Political parties in the government are adept at conning people and they have tossed this issue to undermine us.”

The Maoists have set six agendas for the second round of protests: abiding by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), peace process and drafting of the statute, ‘civilian supremacy’, national sovereignty and national unity government.

http://www.ekantipur.com/tkp/news/news-detail.php?news_id=1423#at

[Saorsa]

From a reactionary perspective, but interesting nonetheless.

Violent hubris can be lethal DR THOMAS A MARKS

Again, the Maoists have announced their plans to bring Nepal to its knees. They don’t like the government. They don’t like parliamentary democracy or the market economy. They don’t like the army. They don’t like the flag. They don’t like their neighbors, except possibly China, which they naively think is going to support them in a face-off with New Delhi.

So, what are they going to do? Attack. This will come as no surprise.

The trials of normal life for the people are all to the Maoists’ liking since what they want is incapacitating chaos. This, they feel, will allow them to pick up the pieces and put them together as a new world.
Nepali Maoism is a particular brand of violent hubris which claims – in a country which has no resources save its people – that the failed dictatorial policies and redistributive policies of the Soviet era will somehow redeem the situation. A “triumph of the will” is all that is needed – the irony being, of course, that this is the very name of the great propaganda film glorifying Hitler and fascism.

Yet, the Maoists seem determined to recreate the mistakes and tragedies of the past.

WHAT THE MAOISTS WANT

What do they really want? Power. They have said so all along, they will continue to disrupt life until they have it. And then their misguided policies will disrupt life in ways only a horror show could imagine – or a film on the mob, the mafia.

International Crisis Group (ICG) recently claimed that it is absolutely wrong to state that the Maoists do not want to be a part of Nepali democracy. ICG claims that the Maoists have committed themselves to peaceful politics.

This is nonsense. The Maoists have simply moved their struggle from “the jungle” to “the streets.” They claim the right to engage in “civil resistance,” by which they mean the use of intimidation and violence short of “long arms” (pistols are acceptable) to get their way. In the parliament they disrupt; in the streets they attack.

They will continue to do this until the system surrenders. The heart of the problem is that the Maoists were convinced the system already had surrendered. Since it has proved uncooperative, the conquest must be carried through to conclusion.

Maoists are so opposed to parliamentary democracy, because they see it as a check upon structural reshaping: A “guided” economy; redistribution of land; a compliant press that is “responsible”; a Red Guards type national service militia which will both engage in “national development” projects and train to resist “Indian invasion.” There are even more odious plans that have been discussed but these are illustrative.

Their claim to support “civilian supremacy” is but a fig-leaf to cover the fact that they badly miscalculated in their ill-timed effort to bring Nepal Army (NA) to heel and thus were unceremoniously ousted. Yet, all systems have just such a figure as the president to serve as a referee of sorts. What the Maoists object to is that they were on the losing side of the decision.

Their frustration was made still greater by their lackluster record while governing, a reality they blamed on others but which stemmed directly from their immature political approach. Always aiming for the moon, they neglected to anchor their feet on the ground.

A PECULIAR VIEW OF POLITICS

For the Maoists, as with so many Nepalis, reality is a zero-sum game. They rigged the Constituent Assembly (CA) election, fair and square, goes their thinking, beating “the system” at its own game, so how dare the old-order continue its resistance?!

Only the likes of Jimmy Carter and his clueless associates – I will include United Nations Mission (UNMIN) in Nepal and certain European Union (EU) missions in this blanket term – could have missed what went on during the CA election. Long before the actual vote, copious evidence highlighted the degree to which the Maoists used violence to ensure that rival political party activists did not gain access to the population.

In this, to be sure, they were assisted by the lackluster, dysfunctional nature of Nepal’s previously majority parties. Nevertheless, in the areas of government control, those blanketed by publicity, the same rules did not obtain. There, something more akin to a real political contest was waged. No one who has seen machine politics at work should have been surprised by the results.

Subsequently, the move to neutralize then-Royal Nepal Army could only have worked with the likes of UNMIN and its monitors in charge. Not only did they fail to match weapons against known inventory, they had not even the most basic understanding of Maoist structure.

Thus, the camps were packed with manpower far beyond actual “military” strength. Then, with UNMIN/EU fiscal support, regularization and indoctrination took place, even as cadres were moved laterally into Young Communist League (by a different name, still the same thugs).

At this point, few thought the Maoists would prove as inept as they were. Any astute political party would have started with the small thing – such as dealing with Kathmandu’s horrible trash and polluted water problems – “made the trains run on time,” as would all good fascists, whether of the left or right.

Instead, the Maoists sought capitulation and used thuggery – and even murder – against those who stood in the way. No orders went out to stop the violence. In fact, under the surface, it was constant and ubiquitous.

The police, under orders not to intervene in “political” cases, normally stood by. To those pursued in Maoist vendettas, the police were next to useless. Flight abroad became the chosen course for many.

To its credit, the present CPN-UML coalition has acted responsibly given the bad hand it has been dealt (and helped create). What it cannot do is mobilize the growing disillusionment among the masses with Maoist misadventure, since its political activists simply cannot penetrate many areas due to the violent Maoist net that has been cast over them. For its part, Nepali Congress has slid into irrelevance due to the cowardice of individual members unwilling to challenge the nepotism of the ultimate leadership.

The trials of normal life for the people are all to the Maoists’ liking since what they want is incapacitating chaos. This, they feel, will allow them to pick up the pieces and put them together as a new world.

A WORLD TO WIN

Prachanda (he adopted the moniker; he should live with it) is often portrayed as a moderate of sorts balancing contending Maoist factions, hard- and soft-liners. This, as with so many judgments, is a fundamental misreading of the revolutionary project. The only differences between the insurgent factions are issues of tactics and timing, not strategy.

The strategy remains people’s war, the mobilization of a new Maoist world, a counter-state, to challenge the existing world, the state. The manner in which the strategy is operationally implemented is what remains an object of debate.

Prachanda and company, illustrated best by Dr and Mrs Bhattarai, give greater weight to the course they are now pursuing, which is to bring the old-order down “peacefully” – that is, with intimidation, sub-rosa attacks on individuals, and street violence (“peaceful protest,” as illustrated by the present “Black Flag” activities). Even now, the Maoists have engaged in intense planning and training sessions for their promised Nov 1 attack, they vow, will only end when the government agrees to “compromise” (by which the Maoists mean surrender power to them).

In contract, the hardliners demand outright assault and forceful restructuring of society. They have bought into their own myth-making and simply discard the potential of Indian intervention of blockade.

They are best compared to Hamas and its present position in Gaza. That the population of Gaza has become isolated and miserable is irrelevant to the Hamas revolutionary project.

One need only look at Gaza, too, to understand the dysfunctional role in Nepal of both UNMIN and various EU missions. In Gaza, the UN “humanitarian” support of an archipelago of “refugee camps” in reality supports centers of militancy and terror – which, ironically, claim to be inviolate whenever there is response to crimes launched from within their confines.

Similarly, European ideological miscue has long given the benefit of the doubt to any force, such as Hamas, claiming to be revolutionary, even as its hideous belief structure, complete with an anti-Semitism that goes beyond Hitler’s Mein Kampf, is not only ignored by EU politicians but increasingly given voice in their pronouncements and embrace of the classic human rights double standard.

This is Nepal. The limited Maoist main forces have now been augmented by foreign-sustained, regularized militancy in the ‘regroupment’ camps. The NA is not allowed to recruit but the recruitment for the People’s Liberation Army went on as the camps were filled!

Ideologically, Maoist dogma has long since alienated even the most slow-learning members of the Nepali chattering classes. Reading the pages of leading Nepali media makes clear there is little that is unknown tangibly.

What remains underestimated, though, is the consequences of Maoism for Nepal.

(Writer is a political risk consultant based in Honolulu, Hawaii and the author of several benchmark works on Maoist insurgency, to include Maoist People’s War in Post-Vietnam Asia (Bangkok, 2007) and Counterrevolution in China: Wang Sheng and the Kuomintang (London, 1998).

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11203

[RHIZOMES]

From a reactionary perspective, but interesting nonetheless.

Violent hubris can be lethal DR THOMAS A MARKS

Again, the Maoists have announced their plans to bring Nepal to its knees. They don’t like the government. They don’t like parliamentary democracy or the market economy. They don’t like the army. They don’t like the flag. They don’t like their neighbors, except possibly China, which they naively think is going to support them in a face-off with New Delhi.

So, what are they going to do? Attack. This will come as no surprise.

The trials of normal life for the people are all to the Maoists’ liking since what they want is incapacitating chaos. This, they feel, will allow them to pick up the pieces and put them together as a new world.
Nepali Maoism is a particular brand of violent hubris which claims – in a country which has no resources save its people – that the failed dictatorial policies and redistributive policies of the Soviet era will somehow redeem the situation. A “triumph of the will” is all that is needed – the irony being, of course, that this is the very name of the great propaganda film glorifying Hitler and fascism.

Yet, the Maoists seem determined to recreate the mistakes and tragedies of the past.

WHAT THE MAOISTS WANT

What do they really want? Power. They have said so all along, they will continue to disrupt life until they have it. And then their misguided policies will disrupt life in ways only a horror show could imagine – or a film on the mob, the mafia.

International Crisis Group (ICG) recently claimed that it is absolutely wrong to state that the Maoists do not want to be a part of Nepali democracy. ICG claims that the Maoists have committed themselves to peaceful politics.

This is nonsense. The Maoists have simply moved their struggle from “the jungle” to “the streets.” They claim the right to engage in “civil resistance,” by which they mean the use of intimidation and violence short of “long arms” (pistols are acceptable) to get their way. In the parliament they disrupt; in the streets they attack.

They will continue to do this until the system surrenders. The heart of the problem is that the Maoists were convinced the system already had surrendered. Since it has proved uncooperative, the conquest must be carried through to conclusion.

Maoists are so opposed to parliamentary democracy, because they see it as a check upon structural reshaping: A “guided” economy; redistribution of land; a compliant press that is “responsible”; a Red Guards type national service militia which will both engage in “national development” projects and train to resist “Indian invasion.” There are even more odious plans that have been discussed but these are illustrative.

Their claim to support “civilian supremacy” is but a fig-leaf to cover the fact that they badly miscalculated in their ill-timed effort to bring Nepal Army (NA) to heel and thus were unceremoniously ousted. Yet, all systems have just such a figure as the president to serve as a referee of sorts. What the Maoists object to is that they were on the losing side of the decision.

Their frustration was made still greater by their lackluster record while governing, a reality they blamed on others but which stemmed directly from their immature political approach. Always aiming for the moon, they neglected to anchor their feet on the ground.

A PECULIAR VIEW OF POLITICS

For the Maoists, as with so many Nepalis, reality is a zero-sum game. They rigged the Constituent Assembly (CA) election, fair and square, goes their thinking, beating “the system” at its own game, so how dare the old-order continue its resistance?!

Only the likes of Jimmy Carter and his clueless associates – I will include United Nations Mission (UNMIN) in Nepal and certain European Union (EU) missions in this blanket term – could have missed what went on during the CA election. Long before the actual vote, copious evidence highlighted the degree to which the Maoists used violence to ensure that rival political party activists did not gain access to the population.

In this, to be sure, they were assisted by the lackluster, dysfunctional nature of Nepal’s previously majority parties. Nevertheless, in the areas of government control, those blanketed by publicity, the same rules did not obtain. There, something more akin to a real political contest was waged. No one who has seen machine politics at work should have been surprised by the results.

Subsequently, the move to neutralize then-Royal Nepal Army could only have worked with the likes of UNMIN and its monitors in charge. Not only did they fail to match weapons against known inventory, they had not even the most basic understanding of Maoist structure.

Thus, the camps were packed with manpower far beyond actual “military” strength. Then, with UNMIN/EU fiscal support, regularization and indoctrination took place, even as cadres were moved laterally into Young Communist League (by a different name, still the same thugs).

At this point, few thought the Maoists would prove as inept as they were. Any astute political party would have started with the small thing – such as dealing with Kathmandu’s horrible trash and polluted water problems – “made the trains run on time,” as would all good fascists, whether of the left or right.

Instead, the Maoists sought capitulation and used thuggery – and even murder – against those who stood in the way. No orders went out to stop the violence. In fact, under the surface, it was constant and ubiquitous.

The police, under orders not to intervene in “political” cases, normally stood by. To those pursued in Maoist vendettas, the police were next to useless. Flight abroad became the chosen course for many.

To its credit, the present CPN-UML coalition has acted responsibly given the bad hand it has been dealt (and helped create). What it cannot do is mobilize the growing disillusionment among the masses with Maoist misadventure, since its political activists simply cannot penetrate many areas due to the violent Maoist net that has been cast over them. For its part, Nepali Congress has slid into irrelevance due to the cowardice of individual members unwilling to challenge the nepotism of the ultimate leadership.

The trials of normal life for the people are all to the Maoists’ liking since what they want is incapacitating chaos. This, they feel, will allow them to pick up the pieces and put them together as a new world.

A WORLD TO WIN

Prachanda (he adopted the moniker; he should live with it) is often portrayed as a moderate of sorts balancing contending Maoist factions, hard- and soft-liners. This, as with so many judgments, is a fundamental misreading of the revolutionary project. The only differences between the insurgent factions are issues of tactics and timing, not strategy.

The strategy remains people’s war, the mobilization of a new Maoist world, a counter-state, to challenge the existing world, the state. The manner in which the strategy is operationally implemented is what remains an object of debate.

Prachanda and company, illustrated best by Dr and Mrs Bhattarai, give greater weight to the course they are now pursuing, which is to bring the old-order down “peacefully” – that is, with intimidation, sub-rosa attacks on individuals, and street violence (“peaceful protest,” as illustrated by the present “Black Flag” activities). Even now, the Maoists have engaged in intense planning and training sessions for their promised Nov 1 attack, they vow, will only end when the government agrees to “compromise” (by which the Maoists mean surrender power to them).

In contract, the hardliners demand outright assault and forceful restructuring of society. They have bought into their own myth-making and simply discard the potential of Indian intervention of blockade.

They are best compared to Hamas and its present position in Gaza. That the population of Gaza has become isolated and miserable is irrelevant to the Hamas revolutionary project.

One need only look at Gaza, too, to understand the dysfunctional role in Nepal of both UNMIN and various EU missions. In Gaza, the UN “humanitarian” support of an archipelago of “refugee camps” in reality supports centers of militancy and terror – which, ironically, claim to be inviolate whenever there is response to crimes launched from within their confines.

Similarly, European ideological miscue has long given the benefit of the doubt to any force, such as Hamas, claiming to be revolutionary, even as its hideous belief structure, complete with an anti-Semitism that goes beyond Hitler’s Mein Kampf, is not only ignored by EU politicians but increasingly given voice in their pronouncements and embrace of the classic human rights double standard.

This is Nepal. The limited Maoist main forces have now been augmented by foreign-sustained, regularized militancy in the ‘regroupment’ camps. The NA is not allowed to recruit but the recruitment for the People’s Liberation Army went on as the camps were filled!

Ideologically, Maoist dogma has long since alienated even the most slow-learning members of the Nepali chattering classes. Reading the pages of leading Nepali media makes clear there is little that is unknown tangibly.

What remains underestimated, though, is the consequences of Maoism for Nepal.

(Writer is a political risk consultant based in Honolulu, Hawaii and the author of several benchmark works on Maoist insurgency, to include Maoist People’s War in Post-Vietnam Asia (Bangkok, 2007) and Counterrevolution in China: Wang Sheng and the Kuomintang (London, 1998).

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11203

Just shows what ideological forces the Nepal revolution is up against.

[Saorsa]

And on that note, I'm off to bed.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2127-ca-panel-proposes-31-fundamental-rights-in-the-new-constitution.html

CA panel proposes 31 fundamental rights in the new constitution Thursday, 29 October 2009 10:14

A sub-committee of the CA Committee on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the State has proposed 31 rights be mentioned as fundamental rights in the new constitution. The sub-committee led by Unified CPN (Maoist) CA member CP Gajurel tabled its final report at the meeting of the full committee, Wednesday. The proposal includes ten new rights in addition to those included in the Interim Constitution.


The newly proposed fundamental rights include right to food, right to housing, right to family, rights of Dalits, rights of crime affected, rights of consumers and right to live with dignity. The other fundamental rights proposed include right to freedom, right to equality, right to justice, right to property, right to information, right to religion, and right to privacy, among others.


Under the rights of employment, the sub-committee has proposed the state should provide allowance for unemployed persons.
However, the report includes as many as 26 notes of dissent from CA members representing various parties on some key issues.


The right to live with dignity proposes that no one shall be subjected to capital punishment. However, CA member Lila Neichyai, who represents Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, has filed a note of dissent saying capital punishment should be given to those committing serious crime.


Likewise, in the right to property-which stays mum on whether or not a ceiling can be imposed on land ownership- Nepali Congress CA member Ramesh Lekhak has filed a note of dissent saying, a clause ensuring no law will be made to impose ceiling on land ownership should be categorically mentioned in the constitution.


nepalnews.com

[red cat]

Is the PLA still recruiting?

[RHIZOMES]

The real ridiculousness is that reactionary article is how it's all like bawwwww the Maoists strategy is going to get them isolated.

No mention to the capitalist system on why it would fucking isolate a country that just had a revolution where the aims are equality.

[Louis Pio]

I do like how the western university maoists are rushing to tell Bhattarai what he really means. Secondly the clucthing of straws in regards to calling the maoists "the communist party" is even more funny. Considering the maoists are the biggest of the ones they are de facto "the communist party". A small search in previous articles would have revealed for even the most intelectually lazy that Pablo Sanches is well aware that there are several communist parties in Nepal.

Now the discussion of Trotsky's ideas vs the socialdemocratic idea of socialism in one country is nothing new, as it has been happening in maoist groups and parties in asia for along time as any person with just a slight political knowlegde of the left in those parts would know. It was just a matter of time before the discussion would pop up in Nepal considering the limitations of othodox maoism and stalinism.

[Saorsa]

I do like how the western university maoists are rushing to tell Bhattarai what he really means.

I love how a bunch of politically insane petit-bourgeois Trots are suddenly painting themselves as Bhattarai's defenders when they've extended no support to the life or death struggle he and his party have been waging for the past 15 years or so. I also love how completely uninformed about the revolution in Nepal you and your joke of an 'international' are.

Frankly I find it incredibly annoying that after either ignoring or condemning the struggle in Nepal for years, after ignoring or condemning the massive social transformations that have been taking place, you lot have become enthusiastic as can be about a single line in an article written by a Maoist leader, in which this leader mentioned the name of your currents founding father.

It's quite telling really. To you and people like you, communism is a cllection of quotes and passages of text you dogmatically memorise and find joy from inside your head. The UCPN (M) has been waging a struggle in the real world against massive odds to weaken their enemies and strengthen their own forces to the point that a revolutionary seizure of power by the oppressed becomes possible. This has required a whole host of tactics suited to the particular situation that has existed at various times. They have reached the point where in only a day or two a mass movement begins that will shut the country down, a mass movement Bhattarai has openly said is preparation for the smashing of the state and a succesful insurrection.

I doubt you even know this. I doubt you know fuck all about Nepal as a country, the Maoists as a party or the history of their struggle. Because to you, these kind of real world matters aren't important. No, to you the most significant thing to have come out of Nepal in the past twenty years is not the succesful People's War, not the radical transformations of Nepal's social structure, not the spread of radical communist ideology amongst the oppressed... not any of this. To you, the most significant thing to have come out of Nepal in this time is a Bhattarai quote where he says that Trotskyism is more relevant than Stalinism in the context of the discussion the Maobadi are having about how and when to topple the state. You don't get excited when millions of workers and peasants shout 'revolution!' - but you get a hardon when one Maoist leader says 'Trotsky'.

You're a joke.

[Saorsa]

For the next fortnight, it's all go in Nepal.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Maoists+all+set+for+nationwi de+stir&NewsID=43453

Maoists all set for nationwide stir

Last Updated : 2009-10-31 2:07 PM




Tika R Pradhan
KATHMANDU: Unified CPN-Maoist is all set for the second phase of their protest beginning tomorrow evening with a nationwide torch rally.
Addressing party cadres during today’s internal training at Khanna Garments in Gwarko, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ cited an Indian report that claimed the Maoists would win two-third majority if the parliamentary elections were held at this moment.

Prachanda, vice-presidents Mohan Baidhya ‘Kiran’, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha ‘Prakash and general secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ were present during the training session. Dr Bhattarai told mediapersons on Friday that at least two lakh people would picket Singha Durbar — the main administrative hub of the country on November 12 and 13, stalling all the activities of the government from early morning to evening. The workers’ front of the party, All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), alone has more than one lakh committed members within the valley, he said.
He said thousands of people would picket the domestic and international airports throughout the day on November 10. “We will inform all the airlines, hotels and tourist destinations to cancel flights on that day,” he said, adding that no flight — national or international — will be allowed on that day.

Speaking to mediapersons after the training at Khanna Garments, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said his party was ready to end the deadlock if the parties were ready to fulfil their demands.

The party is set to organise Ratna Park centred torch rallies from different parts of the valley. Rallies will begin at 5:45 pm from eight different places. According to Himal Sharma, general secretary of ANNISU-R, 40,000 people are expected to take part in the torch rallies forming circles throughout the Putalisadak, Ratnapark, Old Bus Park, Bir Hospital area, New Road gate, Bhotahity and Durbar Marg. “Prachanda will lead the rallies with other top Maoist leaders,” he said, adding similar rallies would be organised in Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur.

Top leaders told cadres that forming government was not their top-most priority, but civilian supremacy and national independence were. He added that they would turn their movement into a people’s movement if their demands were not met. He said they were even prepared to tackle the Nepali Army if it were mobilised against them. “We are ready to face any force if the government tries to suppress our peaceful movement,” he said.

According to Ram Dip Acharya, vice-president of the All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary, the student wing of the party, the union will organise an internal training for its valley cadres at 11 am on Sunday under the aegis of general secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’.
Security chiefs brief PM
Kathmandu: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today directed the chiefs of security agencies to remain on high alert considering the UCPN-Maoist movement that begins tomorrow.

The PM met the chiefs of Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department at his official residence today to review the law and order situation, security arrangements made for the period up to the Maoist movement and beyond, as well as to ensure better coordination among all the security agencies.Raghu Ji Pant, Political Advisor to the PM, told mediapersons that chiefs of the security agencies briefed the PM about the latest security situation in country. The PM asked the chiefs of security agencies about their they plan to maintain security in the nation during the Maoist movement.

Expressing satisfaction over the security arrangements made so far, the Prime Minister emphasised on strict vigilance to prevent any act of violence during the Maoist movement. According to sources, the PM directed the chiefs of security agencies to pay more attention on sensitive spots like airport, Singha Darbur and major administrative areas across the nation.

[Saorsa]

This is in my opinion the most significant interview with a Maoist leader to have come out since the peace accords were signed. Bhattarai's laying everything out. Their strategies since 2006, the reasons they've taken the lines they have, the aims of and strategies behind the current nationwisde stir that begins tonight... It's incredibly important and while it's long I can't stress enough how significant it is. Anyone even vaguely interested in the revolutionary struggle in Nepal needs to read this.

They fully intend to smash the state and lead an insurrection of the oppressed, and it doesn't sound like they plan on waiting too long.
It's quite long and I cbf going through and putting in paragraph spaces, so I urge you to follow the link and have a read. You don't need to be an enthusiastic supporter of the UCPN (M) to get a lot from this article.
Interview with Bhattarai: Fusing People’s War & Insurrection in Nepal (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/nepal-interview-with-bhattarai%e2%80%94fusing-peoples-war-and-insurrection/)



http://southasiarev.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/bhattarai2.jpg

What we have been doing since 2005 is the path of preparation for general insurrection through our work in the urban areas and our participation in the coalition government...

What we have done is suspended that part of the activity (the armed struggle - Alastair) for some time and focused more on the urban activities so that we could make a correct balance between the military and political aspects of struggle. After some time we will be able to combine both aspects of PPW and general insurrection to mount a final insurrection to capture state power. We would like to stress that we are still continuing in the path of revolution, but the main features we tried to introduce were to make a fusion between the theory of PPW and the tactic of general insurrection. After coming to the peaceful phase I think whatever confusion there was has been mitigated and people realise we are still on the revolutionary path...

... the basic orientation of our party is to complete the New Democratic Revolution in a new way in Nepal. By firmly sticking to that line we are practicing different tactical shifts. Accordingly, after we completed this task of elections of the Constituent Assembly and the establishment of democratic republic, now our next task is to organise a people’s movement and develop it into an insurrectionary upsurge and complete the New Democratic Revolution. Now we have entered that phase. During this phase we will focus more on organising and mobilising the masses and leading them towards a revolutionary upsurge. That means certain changes in the policy as had been practiced during the People’s War. During that time our focus was on the peasant masses, which was slightly different than the struggle in the urban areas which consists of basically the working class...

I could go on quoting but there's really too much stuff to quote in this incredibly important interview. The Maoists begin their nationwide stir with a series of torchlit rallies tonight. All we can do is wait and see what happens from here.

Lal salaam :)

[Saorsa]

Mike Ely just wrote this and put it up on Kasama. I think it conveys how important the events about to begin in Nepal are, and the potential historical significance they carry.


Events Quicken, Conflict Sharpens — Eyes On Nepal! (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/alert-events-quicken-eyes-on-nepal/)

Posted by Mike E (http://mikeely.wordpress.com/) on October 31, 2009
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/nepal-marchers-cp-3604508.jpg?w=220&h=262



A collision has been building for months — since the Nepali military refused to accept civilian supremacy and restructure along the lines ordered by the Maoist-dominated government. Since then the Maosts resigned from national office and regrouped in a series of strategic meetings. They have called for public actions — suggesting that this might build to the kind of storm that toppled the King a few years ago. The word insurrection has been mentioned.


And meanwhile the reactionary forces have braced themselves and grouped around the military high command. The chances of a military coup, or strike against the Maoists is very real. And there are reports of the Nepali military leaders meeting with the U.S. representatives and other reactionaries.
All of this has been reported here on Kasama or on our sister site Revolution in South Asia (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/). We urge our readers to back up and reread the interviews and analysis we have been publishing. In particular the recent interview with Baburam Bhattarai (http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/nepal-interview-with-bhattarai%E2%80%94fusing-peoples-war-and-insurrection/) is worth reading closely and soberly.


Now the talking, planning, and organizing have come to this: the Nepali Maoists have launched their wave of actions. And we should urge everyone to set their eyes onto Nepal, and prepare to speak out in defense of its people and revolutionary movement.


Here is an article shared with Kasama by Alastair Reith (from Telegraph Nepal (http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6537)):
Nepal Maoist Not Settling for Less, Declare Program of Fresh Action

Come November 12, 2009, the Nepal Maoists are to jolt the nation through their programmes of action that they have already declared, if by then, or prior to that fateful date, their demands are not addressed by the incumbent government.


The primary demands of the Maoists are the prevalence of People’s Supremacy which basically is to force the Nepal President to correct his May 3, 2009, steps wherein the President had reinstated the Maoist’s government sacked then Nepal Army Chief Mr. Katwal.


The Maoists programs of actions are not only hilarious but spine chilling as well.


Look what they have decided to act if the government failed to address their demands prior to November 1, 2009.


November 1, 2009 evening: Official declaration of the fresh movement and countrywide torch demonstration.
November 2, 2009: Gherao of the entire VDCs and Municipalities of the country for the whole day.
November 3, 2009: Mercifully they have no programs on this day.
November 4-5, 2009: Gherao of the entire District Administration Office whole day.
The population has been given three days gap.
November 9, 2009: Declaration of Autonomous Republic(s).
November 10, 2009: Blockade of the Kathmandu valley including the Airport. (Neither take off nor landing will be allowed).
November 11, has been left out.
November 12-13, 2009: Gherao of Government secretariat with millions of people.


Analysts opine that the process of building of a New Nepal is in progress or this fresh movement will further add speed to the ongoing process.
The other side of this movement is positive in that the ongoing dispute will come to an end and the population will take a sigh of relief.
2009-10-28 09:46:47



****************************************

Gherao is a word that means essentially to prevent some operation from functioning through protest. So in this context, sit-ins and so on are likely.

They're going to blockade Kathmandu like they did during the People's War. And gherao the airport. Looks like their strategy is going to be kind of similar to the (reactionary) Orange protesters in Thailand last year. Hippies and trampers unable to get into Shangri-La as the masses have blocked off the airport - that'll get some media attention. :lol:

It's also important to stress the responsibility that lies on us as revolutionaries in the First World. The government is threatening to use force and call out the army (in violation of the peace accords, but that's nothing new in Nepal these days...) on the masses, and the Maoists will be demonised and their aims and actions distorted in the corporate media. We have a duty to do whatever possible to challenge this.

[red cat]

Gherao in Nepali means "to surround".

[Saorsa]

I think the most significant part of this article is where Prachanda is quoted as saying that "It is just a preparation for the massive protests in the days to come." In Russia, the Bolsheviks tested their forces against those of the state several times before the final insurrection, most notably in the July Days. Succesful insurrections are like succesful theater - they require dress rehearsals. The protests we are about to see now are most likely just a dress rehearsal, but all dress rehearsals have one aim in mind - to prepare their participants for succesfully taking to the stage.

The workers and peasants of Nepal are rehearsing for their roles in the greatest show ever to take to the world's stage - communist revolution.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11307

Protest would be "publicity-oriented": Dahal REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 1: A day before launching protest programs for the restoration of “civilian supremacy”, the Maoist leadership told the party cadres that the protest would be mild and peaceful in nature, and is publicity-oriented.

“It is just a preparation for the massive protests in the days to come. The current programs are just publicity-oriented,” Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal told the party cadres. He also told the cadres that the government is unlikely to use force to suppress the Maoist protests.

On the eve of the protest programs, the Maoist Chairman had given an orientation to the party cadres of Newa State Committee that comprises Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts. The Maoists have announced a series of protests beginning Sunday -- the deadline issued by the Maoists for the ruling parties to address their demand.

During the program, Dahal briefed the cadres on why the current complex political situation had emerged, the necessity of launching the protests, the advantage the party is likely to get through the protests, and the party´s future strategy.

“The goal of the protest is to form a Maoist-led national unity government,” a Maoist source quoted Dahal as telling party cadres. According to him, the party has interpreted “civilian supremacy” as the right of the elected representatives to be at the helm of power.

The former rebel leader told the party cadres that Indian interference was behind the dissolution of the Maoist-led government. “India schemed to isolate the Maoists as it was getting successful in the country,” he said, adding, “India´s perception was that the success of the Maoists in Nepal will give a boost to the Maoist movement throughout South Asia.”

According to the party chairman, another reason behind the differences between India and Maoist party was that the latter adopted equidistant foreign policy with the two bordering neighbors and India did not like it. He said India wants a government that dances to the Indian tune.

Dahal, however, said that his party has good relationship with a few coalition partners in India, and stressed the need for improving relation with all the ruling parties there.

The former rebel leader also said that the communists cannot achieve their goal just through armed struggle and argued that Maoists in Nepal have adopted the best communist strategy suitable in the contemporary world.

Dahal stressed on the need to maintain good relations with the international community, while giving rationale behind his recent China visit.

Dahal said his party was in favor of federal democratic republic. He argued that there is no difference between a federal democratic republic and a people´s federal democratic republic. Party´s hard-line faction led by vice chair Mohan Baidya is at loggerheads with the party establishment, and has pushed for a people´s federal democratic republic.

During the two-week long protests beginning Sunday, the Maoists are scheduled to hold torch rallies, picket the government offices, and declare autonomous provinces. The Maoists have stated that they would put an embargo on Kathmandu Valley and encircle the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on November 10.

Similarly, the party has stated that it would picket Singha Durbar, the government secretariat on 12 and 13 of November, bringing all official works to a halt. On Sunday, the Maoists are scheduled to take out torch rallies in villages.

[Saorsa]

And just in case anyone was worrying about this...

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6558

Chinese Communist Party, a revisionist: Nepal Maoist Leader


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1871104118.jpg TGW
Mohan Baidya Pokharel alias Kiran, the Unified Maoist party’s senior vice chairman has maintained that the party he represents still considers the Communist Party of China as a revisionist one.
When asked if the Maoist party of Nepal still considered the Communist party of China as a revisionist force, Kiran while talking to the Rajdhani Daily dated November 1, 2009 stated that the party has not so far changed its consideration vis-à-vis the Communist party of China.
“We are closely studying the considerations what we have made as regards China”, says Kiran.
“China is in talks and is maintaining regular contacts with all political forces of Nepal, Nepali Congress, the UML and others…there is thus no point in arguing that China takes Maoists of Nepal as the only reliable force”, Kiran maintains.
“It all depends on the internal policy of China as to how it takes Nepal’s political forces on an individual basis”, he reveals.
He further mentions that the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party leaders wish to support Nepal’s ongoing peace process and Constitution Drafting process. Mr. Kiran was referring to the meeting with the Chinese leaders during their fresh trip to China.
However, in sharp contradiction to what the party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been uttering of late more so after his China visit, Mr. Kiran rules out Chinese support in the Maoists’ agitation that begins today, November 1, 2009.
Kiran also told the daily news paper that China is still committed to its policy of non-interference in Nepal.
“We are informed through various sources that India is supplying huge consignments of lethal weapons to Nepal”, Kiran says adding, “The allegation that the Maoists in Nepal are supplying weapons to the Indian Maoists is just the Indian ploy to divert the attention of the its own population.”
“At time of the signing of the 12-Points agreement, India had played the supporting role…but currently India is interfering in Nepal to exploit from the support it extended at time of the signing of the said agreement”, Mr. Kiran opines.
2009-11-01 09:03:17

[red cat]

And just in case anyone was worrying about this...

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6558

Chinese Communist Party, a revisionist: Nepal Maoist Leader


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1871104118.jpg TGW
Mohan Baidya Pokharel alias Kiran, the Unified Maoist party’s senior vice chairman has maintained that the party he represents still considers the Communist Party of China as a revisionist one.
When asked if the Maoist party of Nepal still considered the Communist party of China as a revisionist force, Kiran while talking to the Rajdhani Daily dated November 1, 2009 stated that the party has not so far changed its consideration vis-à-vis the Communist party of China.
“We are closely studying the considerations what we have made as regards China”, says Kiran.
“China is in talks and is maintaining regular contacts with all political forces of Nepal, Nepali Congress, the UML and others…there is thus no point in arguing that China takes Maoists of Nepal as the only reliable force”, Kiran maintains.
“It all depends on the internal policy of China as to how it takes Nepal’s political forces on an individual basis”, he reveals.
He further mentions that the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party leaders wish to support Nepal’s ongoing peace process and Constitution Drafting process. Mr. Kiran was referring to the meeting with the Chinese leaders during their fresh trip to China.
However, in sharp contradiction to what the party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been uttering of late more so after his China visit, Mr. Kiran rules out Chinese support in the Maoists’ agitation that begins today, November 1, 2009.
Kiran also told the daily news paper that China is still committed to its policy of non-interference in Nepal.
“We are informed through various sources that India is supplying huge consignments of lethal weapons to Nepal”, Kiran says adding, “The allegation that the Maoists in Nepal are supplying weapons to the Indian Maoists is just the Indian ploy to divert the attention of the its own population.”
“At time of the signing of the 12-Points agreement, India had played the supporting role…but currently India is interfering in Nepal to exploit from the support it extended at time of the signing of the said agreement”, Mr. Kiran opines.
2009-11-01 09:03:17

That is a very important aspect of their international line which is much of an evidence of clinging on to MLM.

[Saorsa]

Gherao in Nepali means "to surround".

Thanks RC, that makes a lot of sense actually. If people have seen footage of protests like this in India and Nepal the usual tactic does involved surrounding the place. But just like the phrase "sit-in" in English means more than to sit down, and has become associated with a method of protest, so I think gherao has come to mean more than just "surround" in the context of South Asian political activism. It's a fascinating bit of linguistics! :)

[Saorsa]

That is a very important aspect of their international line which is much of an evidence of clinging on to MLM.

I agree. I think there's been some dodgy lines on international matters in the past coming out of the UCPN (M) - notably the editorial in the Red Star that heavily praised the DPRK, and articles in the past that have come across as a bit soft on China. It's nice to see evidence their bedrock principles remain unchanged.

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalmonitor.com/2009/11/nepal_ca_faces_repea.html

Ban Ki-Moon's recent report on the situation in Nepal. Interesting and actually a fairly comprehensive (if surface level) summary.

[Saorsa]

PM consults home minister, security chiefs on preparedness to quell Maoist agitation Saturday, 31 October 2009 23:47

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has met with home minister Bhim Rawal and chiefs of security agencies Saturday afternoon and discussed the current security situation of the country.

PM Nepal met with the home minister and the security agencies' chiefs one day before the Unified CPN (Maoist) is launching its second round of protests against the President's move to overrule the erstwhile government's decision to sack the then Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal.

At the meeting, PM Nepal discussed various issues of security including the preparedness to foil Maoist agitation activities that could adversely affect the normal lives of people, the PM's press advisor Bishnu Rijal told Nepalnews.

The government is preparing to quell the Maoist agitation by imposing prohibitory orders in some areas. A meeting of the political parties supporting the government, on Friday, had suggested the government to counter Maoist agitation.

Meanwhile, addressing a different function organised by the Armed Police Force in Kathmandu Saturday, PM Nepal once again urged the Maoists to come to a consensus.

The government will ensure people will not have to suffer difficulties due to the agitation if the Maoists don't come to consensus, he added. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2167-pm-consults-home-minister-security-chiefs-on-preparedness-to-quell-maoist-agitation.html

[Saorsa]

This is interesting. The MJF are probaly the biggest of the Madhesi parties (the Madhesis are a historically oppressed ethnic group mainly found in the Terai, the plains of South Nepal near the Indian border), and their leader, Upendra Yadava, is a former Maoist leader who split as he felt that the Maoists emphasis on class meant they downplayed the significance of Madhesi oppression. They've declared protest programmes the dates of which coincide exactly with those of the Maoists, and are also calling on the PM to resign. There's been no official arrangement made between the parties and there certainly isn't an official alliance, but it'll be interesting to see how their relationship develops. Espescially since one of the main actions the Maoists take in the next week or two will be the declaration of 'Autonomous Republics' for the oppressed nationalities.

The MJF are a pretty dodge organisation with a cross-class analysis (Madhesis oppressed by non-Madhesis) of Nepali society and a history of using torture and rape against their political opponents (as opposed to the Maoists, who executed rapists). But I suppose if a temporary arrangement can be made with them, the Maoists might as well.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2178-mjf-sings-maoist-tunes-for-protests.html

MJF sings Maoist tunes for protests Sunday, 01 November 2009 13:31

Singing the tunes of the main opposition party Unified CPN (Maoist), the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) is all set to organise protests against the coalition government.

The party said it decided to go for street protests demanding implementation of the agreements reached between the Madhesi parties and the government some years back.

The party is likely to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today reminding him for implementing the past agreements.

Party leaders claim the entire Terai districts would be brought to a grinding halt if the government turns a deaf ear to their demands. The party has been demanding a national coalition government.

Maoists have already announced their second phase of the protests beginning today. The first day of protests will see torch rallies in three cities in Kathmandu valley. nepalnews.com

[red cat]

Thanks RC, that makes a lot of sense actually. If people have seen footage of protests like this in India and Nepal the usual tactic does involved surrounding the place. But just like the phrase "sit-in" in English means more than to sit down, and has become associated with a method of protest, so I think gherao has come to mean more than just "surround" in the context of South Asian political activism. It's a fascinating bit of linguistics! :)

True. Most extreme forms of this type of protests may include allowing no one or even nothing, not even food and drinks, to pass through the encirclement. Occasionally the individuals encircled might also be beaten up.

[Saorsa]

It wouldn't surprise me if the protests turn violent. Prachanda has ordered all Maoist cadres to maintain a peaceful approach, and the Prime minister has told the security forces to be restrained, but you know how these things are... It looks to me like neither side wants to be the one that 'hit first'. Both sides are fully capable of hitting.

[pranabjyoti]

"Gherao"! The form of protest actually started in the province of West Bengal in India. West Bengal, during the sixties and seventies had seen massive upheavals of working class and the peasantry. The "Gherao" form of movement was actually invented at that time. Workers often used it against management, that had taken some kind of anti-worker measure.

[red cat]

The wikipedia page says that Subodh Banarjee, a member of the Socialist Unity Centre of India, a revisionist party(which pays lip-service to Maoism!) introduced the gherao form of protest first. From what comrade pranabjyoti says, I will deduce that in the late sixties the naxals must have borrowed and improvised the method to conduct mass-movements.

[Saorsa]

A bit more info has just come out about the demands the MJF will be putting forward as part of their stir. The demand for recognition of Hindi as an official language is a contentious one. Hindi is widely spoken by Madhesis, the ethnic grouping the MJF claims to represent, and they feel that there is discrimination in Nepal against Hindi speakers. However it's also obviously the language of India, and there is a hell of a lot of anti-Indian sentiment in Nepal, whose people are fiercely nationalistic and resent India's domination of their country. So a lot of Nepali nationalists oppose granting that recognition to Hindi, as they see it as further Indian encroachment into Nepal. While Madhesis do appear to face discrimination and oppression, it's also the case that India uses the unrest in the Terai to interfere in Nepal, and it's often alleged that Indian agents stir up trouble amongst Madhesis, rightly or wrongly. It's all very complex.

As for the demand to reactivate the position of VP, again this ties back into the Hindi language question. The Vice-President earlier in the year, a Madhesi, tried to take his oath in Hindi, triggering an uproar amongst Nepali nationalists but recieving a fair bit of support amongst Madhesis. I can't remember the exact train of events but basically he resigned and the position was abolished to save all the trouble of holding a new election. It's a pretty meaningless position in general anyway.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=MJF+wants+to+activate+VP+pos t+&NewsID=43595
MJF wants to activate VP post

Last Updated : 2009-11-01 5:39 AM


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Jay Prakash Gupta





THT Online
KATHMANDU: A team led by chairman of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum Upendra Yadav submitted a nine-point memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at his official residence, Baluwatar on Sunday afternoon.

The memo includes activation of the defunct Vice President post and amendment in the constitution to recognise the Hindi language as the official language to carry out offical tasks among others. MJF has sought a clear view from the government on its special security plan and demanded the implementation of the past pacts between the government and MJF. According to joint chairman of MJF, Jaya Prakash Gupta, his party sees no alternative to the protest programmes if the government failed to address their demands. Responding to the memo the Prime Minister suggested that MJF quit the protest programmes and hold talks with the government.

[Saorsa]

I like his "fuck you" attitude :-)

Protest will go on: Gajurel

Last Updated : 2009-11-01 5:30 AM

THT Online

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist secretary CP Gajurel said on Sunday that they did not announce protests only to call them off.

Speaking to journalists in Simara Airport he said that the government had ignored their attempts to come to consensus through dialogue which compelled them to call the protest.

He is in Rautahat to inaugurate a programme.

He alleged that the government had threatened to take them to the International court but warned instead that they would make the government stand trial in the people’s court.

He further said that the Maoist protests will be peaceful but if the government tried to impose force on them, they would retaliate.


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Protest+will+go+on%3A+Gajure l+&NewsID=43587

[Saorsa]

Looks like violence is already starting. At least the first serious attack seems to have been carried out against the Maoists, not by them.

Two Maoists hurt in clash REPUBLICA

DHANKUTA, Nov 1: Two Maoists were injured in a clash between cadres of UCPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML in Jitpur of Dhankuta on Sunday. Those injured are Jit Bahadur Shrestha and Bhoj Bahadur Khadka, said Dhankuta in-charge of UCPN (Maoist) Nirmal Kirati.

Shrestha and Khadka have sustained severe head injuries and are being treated at the primary health center in Jitpur.

The clash ensued after the Youth Force cadres attacked a program of the Maoists in Jitpur, Kirati said. He demanded immediate action taken against those involved in the attack.

However, Dhankuta´s Youth Force coordinator Pravin Pokharel said that it was the villagers and not the UML cadres who attacked the Maoist program.

Jitpur bazaar remains tense following the incident, and locals are fearing another clash. Police are patroling the bazaar after the incident.

Meanwhile, the Maoists carried out torch rallies in Dhankuta bazaar and other parts of the district on Sunday evening.



Published on 2009-11-01 19:05:14

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11331

[Saorsa]

Ha, woke up and went to the toilet, and as I went to shut down my computer saw that the first media reports of the protests have come in, along with what I believe is the first photo. Very picturesque :-)

For the duration of the protests I'm going to post news reports and photos in this thread rather than in the main News from Nepal thread, in order to maximise exposure for the significant events taking place. A couple of Maoists have already been hospitalised in what appears to be the first violence of the stir, when a Maoist gathering was attacked by UML thugs. For historical record, the Maoists didn't hit first.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/torch_rall/large/nov_01_09_Masal_Julus_b.jpg
Unified CPN (Maoist) cadres staging a torch rally on the first day of the second round of protests against the President’s move to overrule the erstwhile government’s decision to sack the then army chief in Kathmandu, Sunday, Nov 01 09. nepalnews.com/rh

Maoists begin second round of protests against President's move Sunday, 01 November 2009 20:13

The Unified CPN (Maoist) has begun its second round of protests against the President's move to overrule the erstwhile government's decision to sack the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal from Sunday.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/nov_01_09_masal_julus_i.jpg (http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/photo-gallery/gallery/363.html)Unified CPN (Maoist) cadres staging a torch rally on the first day of the second round of protests against the President’s move to overrule the erstwhile government’s decision to sack the then army chief in Kathmandu, Sunday, Nov 01 09. nepalnews.com/rhAs part of their protest programmes, UCPN (Maoist) organised torch rallies from various places in Kathmandu including Ratnapark, Jamal, Durbarmarg, New Road, and Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, Sunday evening.

Central leaders and CA members of the party participated in the rallies along with the party cadres. UCPN (Maoist) had issued circulars instructing all leaders present in the valley to compulsorily participate in the torch rallies.

Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal led the rally in Ratnapark, politburo member Pampha Bhusal led the rally in Lalitpur and politburo member Shakti Bahadur Basnet led the rally in Bhaktapur.

The rally in Kathmandu converged in New Road. Security had been heightened in Kathmandu during the torch rally.

Traffic as well has movement of pedestrians was adversely affected due to the rallies.

The Maoists have announced various protest programmes including sit-in protests, demonstrations, picketing of government offices, declaration of autonomous federal units and embargo in Kathmandu valley for 15 days beginning today.

The Maoists started the agitation after several rounds of talks with ruling parties Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) failed to reach any consensus. The Maoists had demanded that the President's move be discussed at the parliament and be labeled 'wrong' in one or the other way.

However, NC and UML did not agree to the same saying the statutes and the Interim Constitution could be amended clarifying the jurisdiction of the President instead.

Maoist leaders have said they will continue efforts to resolve the dispute in a consensus through dialogues even during the agitation. Nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/1-top-story/2186-maoists-begin-second-round-of-protests-against-presidents-move.html

[Saorsa]

This is kinda funny. Seems I'm not the only one who thinks the interview Bhattarai did with the WPRM was significant!

Dr Bhattarai says Maoists' ultimate aim is state capture Sunday, 01 November 2009 17:40

As the Unified CPN (Maoist) prepare to go on an offensive against the current government by waging a full-fledged nationwide agitation, a senior leader of the party has said that the ultimate plan of the Maoists is to "smash" the state into pieces in order to replace it with a "new state" that will be led by a proletarian party, or the Maoists.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/baburam_bhattarai1.jpgUCPN (Maoist) vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai. (File photo)UCPN (Maoist) vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai further said that the Nepali Maoists have not broken away with the basic principle of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist (MLM) line which calls for eliminating the old state which is backed by the army by a new one through the "use of force".

In a lengthy interview - and very wordy, as expected from the communist leaders - with the World People's Resistance Movement (WPRM) of Britain a few days ago, Dr. Bhattarai said that by adhering to this basic principle [of MLM] the party waged armed Protracted People's War (PPW) from 1996 to 2006.

"But after 2006 we made a certain departure in our tactical line. Some people are confused about this and think we have abandoned PPW forever and adopted a peaceful path of social development," he told WPRM, which claims to work as a platform for internationalist support for Maoist movement around the world.

He said this confusion needs to be cleared.

"What we are saying is that People's War is a multifaceted war where both the armed and political form of struggle needs to be combined."

The Maoist ideologue said that the party made "certain compromises" in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as part of the party's tactical strategy to gang up with "bourgeois democrat parties" in order to abolish the monarchy and hold the Constituent Assembly elections.

He said the former rebel party wants to now carry on the struggle forward "to complete the New Democratic Revolution", and said that keeping this in view the party has made a tactical shift "by which the major fight would be
with the bourgeois democrat parties who are backed by imperialism and the expansionist forces."

"PLA is still with us, and the arms we collected during that war are still with us within the single-key system, monitored by the United Nations team, but basically the key is with us and the army is with us and we have never surrendered," Dr Bhattarai said.

Clearly alluding to the decision of the party to divide the country into various ethnic provinces after establishing ethnic fronts, Dr Bhattarai said the Maoists are "cutting up" the state part by part, "in fact we are devouring it part by part. Ultimately we will be able to smash it and then replace it with a new state."

"What we need to practice now is the idea that the revolution never stops until all the classes are abolished, the state is abolished, the property system is abolished and we enter a classless and stateless society, or a commune of the masses of people is created," he said in the interview.

"Until that stage is reached revolution never stops. This idea of Cultural Revolution needs to be firmly grasped and we are very serious on this issue." (link of interview) (http://www.wprmbritain.org/?p=926) nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2183-dr-bhattarai-says-maoists-ultimate-aim-is-state-capture.html

[pranabjyoti]

The wikipedia page says that Subodh Banarjee, a member of the Socialist Unity Centre of India, a revisionist party(which pays lip-service to Maoism!) introduced the gherao form of protest first. From what comrade pranabjyoti says, I will deduce that in the late sixties the naxals must have borrowed and improvised the method to conduct mass-movements.
The term "Gherao" wasn't invented by Subodh Banerjee, the Labor Minister in 1969 in Govt. of West Bengal, the United Front Govt. "Gherao" was much popular before, actually it has been invented by struggling workers and peasants and other fighting sections. Mr. Banerjee had done nothing but he said that "no police action will be taken against any "Gherao" anywhere, if it is part of a mass movement".

[Saorsa]

More photos just in.

http://thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette1.php?img=../newsImages/homeImg/THTC3112DAC_protest.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1An overhead view of torch rally organised by UCPN (Maoist) in protest against the government in Kathmandu on Sunday, November 01, 2009.

http://thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette1.php?img=../newsImages/homeImg/THT01338969_torch-rally.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1Maoist supporters and cadre participating in a torch rally in Kathmandu on Sunday, November 01, 2009.
http://thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette1.php?img=../newsImages/homeImg/THTFF7AEF55_Nov1HariLalThapaMagar.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1UCPN-Maoist CA lawmaker Hari Lal Thapa Magar sustains injuries during the Singha Durbar gherao protest programme in Kathmandu on Sunday, November 1, 2009.

*******************************************

The first photo in particular indicates the sheer size of the protests, and this is only the first day and night of action. A sea of torches as far as the eye can see.

Correction: Actually, despite my earlier claims, I can't find any links to show that the bleeding Maoist lawmaker used to be a PLA commander (although he looks familiar, I'm sure I saw him in a doco that mentioned it). Regardless, my earlier post missed the key points about that photo. Despite the govt claiming to take a 'hands-off' approach, they obviously attacked with quite a bit of ferocity a peaceful sit-in demonstration calling for aid for flood victims in Western Nepal. If this is a sign of things to come, these protests won't stay peaceful for long. Also, saying 'he's probably had worse' is a stupidly flippant comment to make given the seriousness of the situation and the long history of violence in Nepal.

Anyway, I'll keep posting pictures and media articles as they come in.

Lal salaam.

[Saorsa]

http://thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette.php?img=../newsImages/nepaliNews/THTCDD7AA27_Protest1.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1Police baton charged the protest the bleeding CA member above was at, here's another photo.

[Das war einmal]

I am curious if these events in Nepal and India will have a positive effect on China and if these events will spark an initial second Cultural Revolution, which is necessary for the revisionist communist party of China

[Saorsa]

I think a second revolution in China is a long way off. It's a goal for the future I suppose.

[red cat]

China is a capitalist country that has is just weakly imperialist. Considering the revolutionary history of China and the terrible oppression there, can't a socialist revolution be quite near?

[scarletghoul]

Fuck, this is so exciting. :lol:
The first great revolution of the 21st Century.

[scarletghoul]

China is a capitalist country that has is just weakly imperialist. Considering the revolutionary history of China and the terrible oppression there, can't a socialist revolution be quite near?
Certainly the Chinese People would be willing to do another revolution, but it doesn't seem like there's any powerful factions in the party that would support them. There's loads of "mass incidents", but no organisation it seems. There's been huge discontent and opression in China for a hundred years, but it only became revolutionary when there was an organised party coordinating and supporting them (from the 1925 all the way to the GPCR

[Saorsa]

Don't get too carried away... we have no idea exactly where this is going to lead or at what pace. But the theories there, the commitment on the part of the leadership is there, the mass base is there, and frankly the objective situation has never been better. Whether it happens tomorrow, in 6 months or in 6 years is completely unknown to us, but I truly believe that Nepal will be host to, as you said, the first great revolution of the 21st Century.

Prachand's been quite clear that these protests, however heated and confrontational they get, are only a dress rehearsal for what's to come.

[Saorsa]

Maoists set off protests REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 1: On the first day of their second phase of protests demanding restoration of “civilian supremacy”, Maoists held torch rallies across the country on Sunday evening. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Senior Vice Chair Mohan Baidya jointly inaugurated the protests by lighting a torch at Old Bus Park in Kathmandu.

The party stated that similar torch rallies were held in all 75 districts. “The first day of the protest was a grad success with the participation from tens of thousands of people,” said Tilak Pariyar, vice chairman of the Maoists´ United National Mass Movement Committee.

In Kathmandu, the party took out processions of torch-holding cadres from Old Bus Park, New Road, Bir Hospital, Jamal and Durbar Marg simultaneously. Similar rallies were held in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

Meanwhile, the heaps of charred sticks thrown by the Maoists after the torch rally caused a motorbike accident in front Nepal Airlines office near New Road, Kathmandu.

The biker, however, escaped any serious injury. Vehicular movement along the road was badly affected for an hour as there were two heaps of charred sticks in the middle of the road.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11337

[red cat]

Certainly the Chinese People would be willing to do another revolution, but it doesn't seem like there's any powerful factions in the party that would support them. There's loads of "mass incidents", but no organisation it seems. There's been huge discontent and opression in China for a hundred years, but it only became revolutionary when there was an organised party coordinating and supporting them (from the 1925 all the way to the GPCR

Remember the post by China-student showing photos of people mourning for Mao? Clearly there are revolutionary comrades inside the CPC itself. With a sort of party organization already, how long do you think will it take them to form a CPC(M)? And this time China will have direct socialist revolution consisting of quick city insurrections.

I just can't wait! Nepal followed by India, Bhutan and Bangladesh(yes, the CPB(MLM) is leading a movement in Bhutan and Bangladesh has got a PPW of its own)... and then China... that will be enough to start revolutions in Latin America and even Africa!

[scarletghoul]

Yeah, if all of South Asia goes Maoist that would be awesome, and especially if China joined them. I really don't know much about the internal politics of the CPC, and how much power the Maoists have though. But if it happened, a massive Asian Communist bloc would form, and could support the proletarian movements all over the world.. It's early days though, we don't even know if the Nepali maoists will succeed, let alone the Naxalites and the rest

[RHIZOMES]

Remember the post by China-student showing photos of people mourning for Mao? Clearly there are revolutionary comrades inside the CPC itself. With a sort of party organization already, how long do you think will it take them to form a CPC(M)? And this time China will have direct socialist revolution consisting of quick city insurrections.

What you must be aware of though is that alot of the support for Mao comes out of nationalist reasons, i.e. "founder of modern China" etc. But Maoist revolutions in the rest of Asia might spark of a bit of consciousness.

[Saorsa]

Maoist supporters chant "People's War continues" in the streets of Kathmandu. I like this :)

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?668738

Nepal Maoists Launch Protests to Stall Govt
Shirish B Pradhan/Kathmandu | Nov 01, 2009
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a { font-family:Arial; font-size:14px; color:#af0e25; text-decoration:none; } Nepal Maoists today launched their two-week long protest to dislodge the government in a dispute with the President over the reinstatement of the former army chief.

Supporters and activists of the Maoists staged a rally in the capital on the first day of their agitation in a bid to stall the 22-party coalition led by Madhav Kumar Nepal and to oppose President's earlier decision to reinstate former army chief in May on the ground that it was against "civilian supremacy".

Around 5,000 Maoist cadres carrying torch sticks marched through the heart of the capital shouting anti-government slogans and demanded the resignation of Nepal-led government as hundreds of riot policeman were mobilised to maintain security.

"Puppet government, quit the power," "people's war continues," "maintain civilian supremacy," and "down with foreign agents," were the slogans of the Maoist cadres as they marched througn the capital.

The demonstration was peaceful as hundreds of riot policeman were mobilized to maintain security.

The Maoists have been blocking Parliament for the past six months after President Ram Baran Yadav reinstated then army chief Rukmangad Katawal, who was sacked by then Prime Minister Prachanda. Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda quit after Yadav reinstated the dismissed army chief.

As part of a two-week long protest programme, the Maoists have vowed to picket government offices at village and district level and plan a blockade of the capital, shutting the country's only international airport and blocking all the highways to the capital on November 10.

The former rebels want to force the government to correct the President Yadav's controversial decision to reinstate General Rukmangad Katawal, who has now retired.

The Maoists had earlier demanded that the government build a consensus to discuss the dispute in Parliament.

Amid fears of violence Prime Minister Nepal today directed the chiefs of security agencies to remain on high alert.

Nepal met the chiefs of Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department at his official residence to review the law and order situation and security arrangements to face the Maoist protests.

The Maoists have rejected the call for dialogue, saying they will continue the stir until and unless "civilian supremacy" is established and the President apologises for his "wrongdoing".

Party leaders said they were prepared to tackle the Nepali Army if it were mobilised against them. "We are ready to face any force if the government tries to suppress our peaceful movement," a top Maoist leader said.

Prachanda has blamed the Gen Katawal for trying to resist the integration of former rebels into the military as stipulated under the 2006 peace agreement

Describing President Yadav's move to reinstate General Katawal as "unconstitutional and undemocratic", Prachanda has said he had fired the army chief to maintain "civilian supremacy" in the country.

[Saorsa]

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoisttorchrally.jpgMaoist supporters light up the night sky with the flames of revolt.

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoisttorchrally2.jpgRevolutionary leaders march with the people. Prachanda in centre and Kiran to his right.

Photos from MyRepublica (http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11337)

[Uncle Ho]

These are good steps forward, but I hope these people realize they're going to have a fight on their hands very soon if they have even the faintest desire for real change.

If they dominate the government, why don't they just eliminate the military altogether and form a new one? Or better yet, just get rid of it and declare the nation neutral.

[Saorsa]

Fascinating example of how the party leadership is kept under the control of the grassroots cadre and organisations.







Way to go in curbing Maoists’ lavish lifestyle

Last Updated : 2009-11-01 12:08 PM


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Tika R Pradhan
KATHMANDU: The code of conduct devised by the Unified CPN-Maoist following vehement criticism from the cadres and the public that the leaders have been practising lavish lifestyle is yet to be implemented.
Though the party leaders have been claiming that they would implement the code of conduct at any cost it will not be easy to do so.
The leaders claim that most of the central committee and politburo members have already handed over their vehicles to the party but they admitted very few of them have submitted their property details.
"Leaders have begun to submit their land ownership certificates," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha 'Prakash' the vice-chairman of the party. He also
claimed that the party would implement the code of conduct at any cost, as people have been criticising the lavish lifestyle of the leaders of the party.
Central committee member and secretary at the party headquarters Bikesh Shrestha said the code of conduct refrained the party leaders from admitting their children in private educational institutions or abroad but it will be difficult to implement the same from this academic year, as those studying abroad cannot return at once.
The Maoists' student wing, All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary, had submitted a memorandum to the central committee asking the party to clarify its stance on private education, as many of the leaders had admitted their children in top private boarding schools. The student wing, however, has been fighting against private education demanding that the state should take the responsibility of school education shutting all the private schools.
ANNISU-R president Lekhnath Neupane claimed that transferring the children studying in the top private boarding schools would be a tough job for the party.
Though deadline for the party leaders to return their vehicles has already passed, leaders still have a few days to submit their property details.
Sources claimed that the leaders joining the Maoists from CPN (Unity Centre Masal) have been opposing the idea of handing over all their property to the party, claiming that the CPN-Maoist leaders had registered their lands and other properties in the names of their relatives before unification.
"Most of the CPN-Maoist leaders do not possess any property as all their property is in the name of the party," claimed politburo member Narayan Sharma.
The decision of the 'purification' was taken in the Kharipati meeting of the party, as the gathering expressed strong concern about the widening rift between the lifestyles of cadres and the leaders. The party is well aware that implementing the code will not be easy. That's why it decided to form a high-level commission led by senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya Kiran to investigate into the complaints against the leaders and help implement the code of conduct.
Complaints have been lodged even against party chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' though the leaders refuse to admit that in public. The high-level probe commission will go through the complaints filed until October 1. It has three months to submit its report.
When asked about the progress of the Probe Commission Mohan Baidhya 'Kiran' refused to divulge the details.
One politburo member, Lokendra Bista, claimed that he submitted his vehicle to the party and his only daughter studies
in government school. He claimed that not all the leaders of the erstwhile CPN-Maoist
had submitted their properties to the party. He said the party
had decided to keep a vehicle each for the use of the state committees. Bista added that the party would devise a policy regarding the use of vehicles and the properties of the leaders.
The standing committee meeting held before Prachanda's China visit had decided to direct the leaders to hand over their vehicles and land ownership certificates as soon as possible.
Sharma claimed that the party was collecting the details of the properties belonging to the families of the party leaders to examine their authenticity. "The party will collect the property of the party leaders but not those belonging to their families," he said, adding that the party might use the property to invest in some useful schemes by selling them or could utilise the income generated by renting or leasing the property.
Sharma said earlier the party's mantra of purification that was raised in almost all meetings was mere waste of time but lately the party had made some meaningful headway in this regard but still there's a long way to go in implementing the code.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Way+to+go+in+curbing+Maoists %E2%80%99+lavish+lifestyle&NewsID=43719

[Saorsa]

The Maoist's siege of parliament is starting to hurt the state... Unable to pass the buget, the govt is running out of funds.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Budget+delay+to+ail+primary+ sectors&NewsID=43745
Budget delay to ail primary sectors

Last Updated : 2009-11-01 12:21 PM


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Yadav Raj Joshi
KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Surendra Pandey today rang the alarm bell in the face of renewed Unified-CPN Maoist agitation.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the delay in passing the budget would affect primary sectors like health and food.
“The Ministry of Finance (MoF) cannot release funds for hospital and food supply that are earmarked for remote districts,” he said. Major government health facilities like Bir Hospital, Kanti Children Hospital, Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital, Paropkar Maternity Hospital, National Health Laboratory and BP Koirala Institute of Medical Sciences will run out of funds if the budget is not passed by the first half of this month.
All health institutions have spent 33 per cent of their budget as per the financial law.
Pandey had presented Rs 285.9 3-billion budget for this fiscal 109 days ago. The budget set aside Rs 256.48 billion as treasury (reserved fund). The law stipulates that government can spend one third of the treasury — Rs 85.49 billion — as advance. Besides, the state is empowered to utilise Rs 29.45 billion as expenditure for constitutional bodies except legislature-parliament.
The minister expressed his concern for food supply programme, which is looked after by Nepal Food Corporation (NFC). “Funds crunch is preventing us from food supply in 22 remote districts. Of the Rs 106.2-billion that been allocated as transport cost from the advance budget, the NFC is left with only three per cent,” he explained. Bajhang, Bajura, Jajarkot, Achham along with far-flung districts in the Karnali Zone are completely dependant on the NFC.
The Cabinet and jailbirds also will be hit hard from November 16. As per record, both these offices have spent 32.58 cent and 25.90 per cent, respectively. However, the delay will not affect development programmes.
“We’ve adequate funds for the next four months. But if the budget is not passed by January 14, 2010, then all work will come to a halt,” added the minister.
Institutions face acute funds crunch
Budget (million) Expenditure (%)
Bir Hospital 250 33.20
Kanti Children Hospital 90.22 33.25
Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious
Diseases Hospital 36.11 33.33
Paropkar Maternity Hospital 92.5 33.30
BP Koirala Institute of Medical Sciences 30 33.33
National Health Lab 23.77 29.08
Nepal Food Corporation 354 30.00
Source: Ministry of Finance (as on October 24, 2009)

[Saorsa]

Critical institutions likely to be paralysed


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KATHMANDU, NOV 02 - The state’s critical institutions including the Cabinet, ministries, embassies, security organs and many other agencies are likely to be paralysed from this month on as the government has failed to get the budget for the current fiscal year endorsed by parliament. This is because of Maoists’ obstruction of parliamentary proceedings for the last three months.

The government has already stopped providing salaries to ministers although the Cabinet has spent almost 33 percent of the budget, according to the Finance Ministry. As per the Advance Expenditure Bill, no government agency can spend more than one third of the authorised budget.

The ministry said that state bodies such as the Constituent Assembly, Ministry of Law and Justice, Poverty Alleviation Fund, Nepali embassies, consul general’s offices abroad, Armed Police Force, Bir, Kanti and Shukraraj hospitals and B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences won’t be allowed any more funds for either daily operation or salaries.

As many as 14 institutions that get their budgets sanctioned by the District Treasury Controller Office, Kathmandu have already exceeded the 33 percent limit and 15 other institutions are also on the verge of crossing the limit. Several offices, whose budgets are sanctioned by other district treasury offices, will also not be getting funds from this month.

Finance Minster Surendra Pandey said on Sunday that the government would not be able to provide full salary to its employees this month if the budget is not passed immediately.

“The jail administration may not be able to provide food to jailbirds and hospital services may be affected,” he said at a press meet.

He said Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), which is close to crossing the expenditure limit will have to cease delivering food to remote food insecure districts.

Although Maoist combatants will not be deprived of their salary this month, their salaries could also stop from next month, said Rajan Khanal, joint secretary at the ministry.

Although only 5.61 percent of the development budget has been spent, Minister Pandey said the government was feeling the heat in this front too.

Pandey said he was holding dialogue with the Maoist leadership and expressed confidence that they would allow the budget to be passed from parliament. He rejected the idea of pa-ssing the budget through ordinance as well as transferring the budget to needy projects by crossing the limit fixed by law.

http://www.ekantipur.com/tkp/news/news-detail.php?news_id=1589

[RHIZOMES]

These are good steps forward, but I hope these people realize they're going to have a fight on their hands very soon if they have even the faintest desire for real change.

Uhhhhmmmm they know that.


If they dominate the government, why don't they just eliminate the military altogether and form a new one? Or better yet, just get rid of it and declare the nation neutral.

They left the government months ago when they tried merely firing the head of the army and the President unconstitutionally blocked them.

[Uncle Ho]

Well, perhaps they should try a different type of firing, then.

You know, the one that involves a blindfold and cigarette.

[spiltteeth]

Despite China being capitalist there is still a huge communist party with young people, and it takes 3 yrs of prep before being admitted, its not like you can just sign a piece of paper.
I really think people underestimate the revolutionary potential of China; in the past 15 yrs millions have been forced into poverty and crap work while seeing others gain huge wealth, and this has garnered plenty of bitterness and anger.

My dream - Nepal, India, then maybe China's youth will rise up again.

[pranabjyoti]

I am assuring others that if revolution will occur in India, we can show the world how to have sustained growth without harming environment. Which at the end can lead to real Socialism, in which the mankind can live in total harmony with nature without degrading lifestyle.

[Saorsa]

Ok lots of new stuff to report! The second day of protests has finished, today the Maoists and their many supporters gheraoed local government offices across the country. All day, local govt administration work across the country was shut down. I've found video footage of the protests, so I urge you all to watch that. Plus a fair few new pictures. The protests look pretty chillax, lots of singing and dancing.

However a fucking significant thing has taken place today, which I'm sure more reports about are going to be written. In the Dhankuta Municipality, the Maoists have seized power! MyRepublica reports that they "captured the keys of the office, evicted the government officials from the office and announced the formation of the [parallel govt] at municipal offices". The significance of this is just out of this world. Day two of the protests, and the Maoists have already mobilised tens of thousands of people and seized state power in at least one area! I'm posting the news reports I found about this, so read them carefully and appreciate how important this is.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2195-maoists-to-picket-municipalities-vdcs-on-second-day-of-protests-.html

Plus there's some new reports about how the govt's inability to pass the budget (due to Maoist CA members obstructing the parliament) is leading to a state financial crisis in Nepal. The govt is bankrupt. It will soon have no money for everything from prisons to hospitals, police to the upkeep of the PLA cantonments.

It's all very exciting and the brave people of Nepal need our solidarity and support. The reactionary army is still there and could still easily be called out. India will be keeping a close eye on the situation. The Nepali reactionaries could easily try and pull a Chile, or an Indonesia, on the Maoists and their supporters amongst the revolutionary workers and peasants of Nepal. It's up to us to do everything we can to oppose this, and keep informed about the situation (while also informing others!).

Anyway I'll throw up the articles now. Lal salaam.


This is the first video footage I've seen of the protests. Watch it and publicise it as much as possible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4jUmqhy48U&feature=player_embedded

Maoists picket local government offices Monday, 02 November 2009 11:01

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/nov_02_09_maoist_a.jpg Maoist leaders and cadres picket the Kathmandu Metropolitan City's office at Sundhara on the 2nd day of their new round of protest programme on Monday, Nov 02 09. nepalnews.com/ANAA day after torch-bearing Maoist leaders and cadres hailed the start of their second phase of nationwide protests, the main opposition party Unified CPN (Maoist) has picketed all offices of the local government across the country on Monday.

The party cadres had gathered at all VDC offices and municipalities from early morning restricting the government employees from carry out their work. The demonstrators are chanting slogans against the coalition government.

In Kathmandu, public transport has been disrupted in several places as Maoists gather in front of the municipalities and ward offices restricting employees from entering their offices.

According to party plans, the programmes to picket the government offices will continue till evening today.

The Maoists had on Oct 22 announced a two-week protest programme stating that the government and political parties were not serious about their demands which includes correcting the "unconstitutional" move of the President vis-à-vis the former Army chief and other civilian supremacy issues.

The former rebel party had given a nine-day deadline to the government and political parties to come to a consensus on those issues, which ended on Sunday.

Maoist spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma said that even though the second phase of protests have started, the party will not close the door for consensus as it will continue to hold talks with political parties.

Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had inaugurated the torch rally yesterday evening in Kathmandu participated by nearly 20,000 Maoist cadres.

The rally of torch-bearing Maoist leaders and cadres began from Old Bus Park and traversed through Bagbazaar, Putalisadak and Shahid Gate before congregating at Basantapur.

The capital's traffic was thrown out of gear for about an hour due to the Maoist torch rally.

Earlier in the day, the Maoist chairman had warned of a revolt if the government resorted to use of force to suppress their "peaceful protests".

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ramesh Chand Thakuri has directed police personnel deployed in the streets during the Maoist protests to exercise maximum restraint and not use unnecessary force to quell the demonstration. nepalnews.com

[Saorsa]

Maoists picket municipality, VDC offices as part of protests REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 2: As part of their protest program for the restoration of ‘civilian supremacy’, the Maoists are picketing VDC and municipality offices across the nation on Monday.

The party has begun picketing the offices of the local bodies across the country at 10 a.m., said Tilak Pariyar, vice chair of the Maoists’ United Mass Movement, Nepal.

http://myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistprotestktm.jpgRevolutionary supporters surround the Kathmandu city office. I think the woman with the mic is Hisila Yami, leader of the Maoist women's wing.

According to him, the protestors will not let anyone to go inside and come out of VDC and municipality offices till 5 p.m.

In Kathmandu, Maoists have been picketing the office of Kathmandu Metropolis.

In Pokhara, Maoists have picketed municipality and ward offices. In front of municipality office, Maoists cadres are protesting by singing songs against the President’s move.

http://myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistspokharamunicipality.jpgWalls of the state covered in revolutionary flags, surrounded by revolutionary people.

On the first day of their two-week second phase of protest, Maoists held torch rallies throughout the country Sunday evening.

“We have received reports from several places across the country that Maoists are picketing in front of VDC and municipality offices,” Jaya Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson of Home Ministry, said. “But no untoward incident has taken place so far.”



Published on 2009-11-02 12:08:59

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11361

[Saorsa]

We'll see how long this lasts.

Nepal government rules out imposing emergency, deploying army

November 2nd, 2009 - 4:57 pm ICT by IANS http://serv1.freetellafriend.com/button_black3.gif (http://www.freetellafriend.com/tell/?option=manual&u=4395) -
By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Nov 2 (IANS) As Nepal’s former Maoist guerrillas Monday stepped up their protests against the ruling alliance, asking for its dissolution, the government said it was not planning to deploy the army to crack down on the protesters or declare a state of emergency.
Thousands of Maoist supporters, led by their former ministers and lawmakers, began picketing village administration and municipal offices across all the 75 districts, preventing people from going in or coming out.
Waving the red star-spangled flag of the party with similar bandanas tied round their heads, young cadres turned the protest into a carnival in the capital, breaking out into jigs and shouting slogans lustily against President Ram Baran Yadav, who is the main target of the protests.
While the government beefed up the deployment of armed police forces in Kathmandu valley and near key government offices in the outer districts to prevent vandalisation, the protests remained peaceful even on the second day with the security personnel watching impassively.
“We respect peaceful protests,” Information and Communications Minister Shankar Pokhrel, who is also the spokesman of the 22-party government, told IANS in an exclusive interview.
“Though the home ministry has been instructed to deploy security agencies to pre-empt violence and destruction of public or state property, the army will not be deployed.”
The spokesman also ruled out imposing a state of emergency.
However, he said that the former insurgents would not be allowed to execute their threat to lay a blockade to Kathmandu valley and Nepal’s sole international airport Nov 10.
“The blockade goes against democratic norms and smacks of the tactics the Maoists used during the civil war,” the minister said.
“However, when they signed a comprehensive peace agreement in 2006 (and ended the insurgency), they agreed to end such un-democratic means.”
Pokhrel did not rule out the possibility of violence during the protests that will continue till Nov 13.
“If you look at the nature of past Maoist protests, they indicate a lapse into violence,” he said. “Even when they announced a programme of showing black flags to ministers, there were more brickbats than black flags.”
Close on the heels of Pokhrel’s statement, police said two Maoist cadres had been injured in a scuffle in Biratnagar city in eastern Nepal.
The skirmish occurred after Maoist cadres showed black flags to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who had gone there to inaugurate a polytechnic.
The Maoists are demanding an apology from the president for reinstating the chief of the army, whom they had sacked during their eight-month government.
The reinstatement caused the fall of the Maoist government with its allies withdrawing support.
Else, they are asking the government to allow a debate in parliament on the “unconstitutional” role played by the president, a proposal that has been rejected.
“An agreement can’t be one-sided,” Pokhrel said. “If the Maoists stick to their stand and don’t admit their mistakes, how can there be a consensus?”


Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/nepal-government-rules-out-imposing-emergency-deploying-army_100268933.html#ixzz0VigzybGv


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/nepal-government-rules-out-imposing-emergency-deploying-army_100268933.html

[Saorsa]

For half of Nepal's govt departments, any further spending is now illegal. Yikes.

Nepal govt says coffers empty, can't pay ministers
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
KATHMANDU — The Nepalese government has run out of money for essential services including hospitals and schools after the Maoist party blocked its new budget, the finance minister said Monday.
Surendra Pandey said the impoverished nation faced a "financial crisis" if parliament failed to pass the budget in the next two weeks, and had already been forced to stop paying ministers' salaries.
Maoist demonstrators have repeatedly prevented Nepal's parliament from sitting since the party's government fell in May, blocking the new administration's attempts to pass this year's budget.
"We are at a very critical stage," Pandey told AFP. "If the budget is not passed in the next two weeks, there will be a financial crisis in the country.
"We are in discussions with the Maoists to open parliament to pass the budget and we hope they will allow the resumption of house business."
Pandey said the crisis would affect thousands of patients in government-run hospitals as well as school pupils and prison inmates.
"We are now unable to release funds for essential services in major government hospitals, including paediatric and maternity hospitals, which will affect the treatment of thousands of patients," he said.
"We are also worried about the condition of prison inmates as we won't be able to release money for food."
Nepal's Maoist-led government fell in May after less than a year in power in a row over the future of the army.
The former guerrillas waged a decade-long war against the state before a UN-brokered peace agreement ended the conflict in 2006.
Nepalese law states that government departments can spend up to one third of their allocation before parliament approves the new budget, and Pandey said almost half had now reached that limit.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxa-qMDdxP_SiyAZqWeIXgNDTlpg

[Saorsa]

Day two of the protests and we're already seeing full blown insurrections in some areas. The Maoists have seized state power in this municipality. Will be interesting to see how things develop from here.

Maoists take over Dhankuta municipality Monday, 02 November 2009 19:54

Coinciding with their party's protest programme at the local bodies across the country, Maoist cadres on Monday captured the Dhankuta Municipality, 'appointing' the office-bearers of the municipality including the mayor and the deputy mayor.

According to reports, the Maoist party declared Ganesh Bista as the mayor the municpality and Kabita Rai as deputy mayor. They also appointed chairmen in 9 wards in the municipality.

The party declared that its team would look after the entire matters with the municipality.

This was probably the first major step as part of the UCPN-Maoist's plan to declar 'autonomous states' and revive the insurgency era 'people's governments' at the local level.

Maoist cadres picketed the offices of municipalities, disitrict development commitees and VDCs across the country today, preventing works in these bodies during the protest. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2202-maoists-take-over-dhankuta-municipality.html

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/maoist_pic/large/nov_02_09_maoist1_b.jpg
Maoist cadres and revolutionary citizens surround the Kathmandu government local administrative centre.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/maoist_pic/large/nov_02_09_maoist_b.jpgDefending the people - Young Communist League members form a barrier between the police and the protesters. This can be seen clearly in the video of the protest. The young activists in blue tracksuits are YCL members.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091102/capt.19c69d61645b45529dcc4690b2bf4b57.nepal_protes t_del133.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=chVWnMdcFXLRcaedVSxHbA--YCL barrier

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091102/capt.d8c2a30dab7e45e6808a1b318c54c783.nepal_protes t_del135.jpg?x=400&y=253&q=85&sig=MjHgFlO30PvSi5sXnGZ.MA--Revolutionary women take to the streets
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/photo-gallery/gallery/365.html

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Nepal/ss/events/wl/051005nepalgyanendra/im:/091102/481/d8c2a30dab7e45e6808a1b318c54c783

[Saorsa]

Maoists picket local bodies across the country
Take over Dhankuta Municipality office REPUBLICA

(Updated with details)

KATHMANDU, Nov 2: In their second day of protest program demanding ´civilian supremacy´, the Maoists picketed the VDC and Municipality offices throughout the country on Monday. They did not allow anyone to go inside and come out of municipal and VDC offices across the country from 9 am to 5 pm, bringing all the official work to a complete halt. No incident of violence was reported during the protest.

The Maoists have been demanding that President Dr Ram Baran Yadav´s move to reinstate then army chief Rookmangud Katawal be rectified and a Maoist-led national unity government formed as part of their demand concerning ´civilian supremacy´.

http://myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistpicketingktm.jpgProtesters face off with the police

In Kathmandu, the Maoists picketed the Metropolis office during the office hours, bringing all the official work to a halt. They also did not let any vehicle run along the road in front of the office. Maoist activists played drums (Madal) and danced to songs making fun of the government, which they say has been formed by those defeated during the elections.

Similar protests were held at Lalitpur sub-metropolis and Bhaktapur municipality offices in the Valley. Though the Maoists brought all the work to a complete halt, police did not resort to force.

http://myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistpicketingktm2.jpgThe Maoist flag is draped over the insignia of the state, and a black banner bearing revlutionary slogans is hung below it.

In Kaski, Maoists picketed the office of Pokhara sub-metropolis, Lekhanath municipality and VDC offices brining all the official work to a complete halt. They set up a black flag at the gates of the local bodies and began playing musical instruments and dancing. Maoist district in-charge Ramji Baral claimed that even the employees of the VDC and municipally offices supported the program. The protest was largely peaceful.

Maoists have announced a parallel local government in Dhankuta Municipality. The local government in the municipality will be under Limbuwan autonomous province, said Maoist assistant in-charge in the municipality Urmila Bishwakarma. The local government in the municipality is led by Ganesh Bista. The Maoists put vermilion powder and garland on the members of the announced officials. While announcing the local government, the Maoists captured the keys of the office, evicted the government officials from the office and announced the formation of the body at municipal offices. No official work as carried out during the protest. Likewise the Maoists picketed all 35 VDCs of Dhankuta district. The protest was however peaceful.

http://myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistpicketingktm3.jpgMaoist protesters dance in the streets

In its statement issued on Monday evening, the UCPN (Maoist) has stated that the protest was a grand success and appealed to the masses to participate in the protests. The party also stated that a torch rally held across the country Sunday morning was historic in that it was party´s first successful peaceful protest that saw the participation of “tens of thousands of people”.

Demanding the “restoration of democracy” and a Maoist-led national unity government, the Maoists launched a two-week protest program beginning Sunday. The Maoists are scheduled to picket the District Administration Offices throughout the country on Wednesday and Thursday.


Published on 2009-11-02 15:48:54

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11367

[chegitz guevara]

This is what revolution looks like. :thumbup:

[Saorsa]

http://online.wsj.com/media/1102pod12.jpgNice big photo of the torch rally from November 1st. Ain't it pretty :-)

[Saorsa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8QpsenFGLw&feature=player_embedded#at=72

DAY ONE: Thousands upon thousands of Maoist cadres and revolutionary citizens carry flaming torches through the streets of Nepal, shouting "down with the puppet government" and "People's War continues!"

The video above of one of the torch rallies shows Prachanda (and about 50 enthusiastic helpers :P) lighting the first torch to herald the beginning of the Third People's Movement, Janaandolan III!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBPAj34m5qA&feature=player_embedded

DAY TWO: Thousands upond thousands of Maoist cadres and revolutionary citizens surround and shut down local govt offices across Nepal. In Dhankuta, the Maoists seize control and declare their own govt!

[Saorsa]

Army will be mobilised if CPA breaks: Pokhrel


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KATHMANDU, NOV 03 - Information and Communication Minister Shanker Pokhrel warned on Monday that if the UCPN (Maoist) agitation violates the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the government would be compelled to mobilise Nepal Army to bring the situation under control.

“If the agitation respects the CPA, we will tolerate it. However, if the situation goes beyond control and the Maoists break the spirit of the CPA, then we will have to seek other options. This means the deployment of all security agencies,” he said at Reporters’ Club.

Announcement of a parallel government or a blockade seriously violates the CPA and all effort to restore peace will be imperilled, he said.

Pokhrel said such attempts would blunt the thrust of the CPA and derail the politics of consensus. “In such a situation, the government will take its course and move forward by resorting to all means and options,” he said.

He, however, said the government did not expect things to deteriorate so much that the Army would have to be deployed.

“In the face of protest and agitation, the government will not remain penniless. We are preparing some alternatives that will facilitate approval of the budget,” he said.

We need a parliamentary majority to approve the budget. For this, it is not necessary to get the support of any particular political party, he claimed.

“We are trying our best to get the budget approved by the House, but we have other options also.” He added that the government would not have to endure the worst if everything else failed to resume the House. Who says this is the people’s movement? He questioned, “It is the movement of cadre thrown out from the cantonments and YCL.”

The early days of the Maoist agitation have come up with fewer black flags and more brickbats and this has drawn the government’s serious attention, he said.

http://www.ekantipur.com/tkp/news/news-detail.php?news_id=1620

[Uncle Ho]

Now would be the perfect time to strike and cut the head off the military before it's inevitable attack.

That President should go, as well.

[Saorsa]

Uncle Ho, I know you mean well, but seriously this kind of ultra-rrrevolutionary rhetoric doesn't help anyone. Believe it or not, the Maoist leaders are the same people who led a People's War for a decade, they're not afraid of using violence if they have to. But revolution isn't as simple as just "rargh lets go kill all the reactionaries!". If it was, it would have been over in Nepal a long time ago.

Let's wait and see where the UCPN (M) goes in the coming weeks and months. Their strategies and tactics haven't failed yet, so I'm confident in their success.

You can't tell revolutionaries in the Third World what they should and shouldn't be doing from the comfort of your computer chair. Espescially not with the violent military strategy you seem so obsessed with...

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoists’ form Parallel Govt in Dhankuta


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1186751029.jpg TGW
The Second Day of the Maoists’ Second Round of Protest Programs, November 2, 2009, the Maoists’ party cadres padlocked some of the Municipality Secretariats across the country.
Similarly, the Maoists’ cadres Gherao the local administrative offices across the country and halted official work throughout the day.
The party cadres staged sit in protests in front of Municipality Offices, District Administration Offices and Village Development Committee Offices across the country blocking the government staffs to enter inside their offices.
The protest programs begun right prior to the beginning of the office hours.
The Maoists’ cadres had gathered at the front gate of the Kathmandu Municipality office located in front of the Nepal Army Headquarters, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu.
Similarly, the Unified Maoists Party cadres captured the Dhankuta Municipality and the surrounding VDCs and declared the names of the new Peoples’ Representatives including the Municipality chief.
The entire Maoists’ representatives were sworn in by the Dhankuta Maoists’ Party in charge Pushpa Dhungana.
Mrs. Urmila Biswakarma, the local deputy in-charge of the Maoists’ party, told reporters that the party has constituted new Maoists’ Local Government in Dhankuta Municipality and in the surrounding VDCs.
We have constituted the Maoists’ Government as per the decision of the party headquarters, Mrs. Biswakarma reveals.
To add, Mr. Dina Nath Sharma, the party spokesperson issuing a press statement has said that the two days of protest programs organized by the party has been a grand success.
2009-11-03 08:24:07

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6566

[Saorsa]

The peace process will soon be 'terminated'?

Nepal Maoists trying to terminate Peace Process: Minister


http://telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_132795794.jpg TGW
The Minister for Information and Communications Mr. Shankar Pokharel has made it clear to the Maoists’ Party that the government will take the Maoists’ move to form a Parallel Government, Declare Autonomous Federal Units and Kathmandu valley blockade as the termination of the entire peace process.
“We believe that the Maoists’ Party will not take this unfortunate decision in order to terminate the peace process once and for all”, the minister also said.
“If the Maoists continue with their declared protest programs, the government will also be forced to take its own course”, Pokharel added.
“The duty of the government is to protect the constitution and guarantee law and order, the government is ready to perform its duties responsibly.”
“We are ready to exhibit utmost flexibility and that we are still doing”, said Pokharel.
He however, urged the Maoists’ Party to immediately withdraw its protest programs and hold table talks with the government.
“If we analyze the mode of protests adopted by the Maoists Party closely, it becomes clear that they are trying to do away with the peace process”, Mr. Pokharel also said.
Minister Pokharel who is also the government’s spokesperson made these remarks talking to journalists in Kathmandu, November 2, 2009.
2009-11-03 08:26:00

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6567

[Lyev]

Thanks very much Alastair, great stuff. I have a few questions; is the main reasons these guys are Maoists- a) there proximity to China and b) Because of Nepal's large peasant population? (Maoism is the application of Marxism to the peasants, right? My other question is how can we show solidarity with our comrades in Nepal?

[Saorsa]

I have a few questions; is the main reasons these guys are Maoists- a) there proximity to China

While it's possible that has had some historical impact on Nepal's communist movement, China is a capitalist country and the UCPN (M) considers the CCP to be thoroughly revisionist. Maoist-led People's Wars have developed in countries as far from China as Peru, so I doubt that's a major factor.


b) Because of Nepal's large peasant population? (Maoism is the application of Marxism to the peasants, right?

That's closer to it I suspect. Maoism is more than just Marxist for peasants, it's a set of strategies and theoretical positions based around the theories of protracted people's war (surrounding the cities from the countryside), New Democratic revolution and so on. I'm a bit tired right now so I cbf writing a massive intro to Maism, but the fact that Nepal is a severely underdeveloped country with an overwhelmingly rural population must have had a big impact in the success of Maoist strategies there.


My other question is how can we show solidarity with our comrades in Nepal?

At this stage, most important thing is just spreading the word. There's a media blackout and when they are mentioned they're usually demonised and slandered, so it's our job to tell people about what's going on and how important it is.

Anyway, main update I'm posting here is that the seizure of power in Dhankuta was overenthusiastic local cadres getting ahead of themselves. The Maoists have declared a parallel state and will be declaring these across the country soon, but the forcible seizure of the local govt offices has not been endorsed by the party leadership. The area is under curfew now and UML cadres attacked the Maoist offices in retaliation for the protests.
The articles below are interesting in that they indicate the strength of support the Maoists have amongst the urban proletariat. The Chamber of Commerce, organ of the capitalist class, is concerned enough to issue a public plea to the Maoists not to use industrial labourers in their protests. FNCCI concerned

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette.php?img=../newsImages/nepaliNews/THT1DA20A9A_FNCCI-Building.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1

KATHMANDU: Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) voiced serious concern over the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist using labourers in its political protest on Tuesday. In a statement, the umbrella organization of Nepali entrepreneurs has requested political parties not to use industrial workers for political purposes. Political parties should think about the growing problems of industries, it said. FNCCI threatened to implement ‘no work, no pay’ system if the trend is not stopped.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=FNCCI+concerned+&NewsID=44231#

Resist using employees in protests: FNCCI tells parties Wednesday, 04 November 2009 09:57

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has appealed to the political parties not to coerce industry workers into joining their protest programmes.

The apex body of Nepali business community has also advised employees to report to their work regularly.

Issuing a statement, FNCCI has also warned it would be forced to adopt 'no work no pay' measure if workers took part in parties' protest.

The entrepreneurs will not be in position to pay salaries, revenue and bank interest if industries are closed due to workers' involvement in political parties' protests, stated FNCCI.

FNCCI's statement has come in the wake of UPCN (Maoist) asking the workers to join their ongoing nationwide protests. The agitating main opposition party has called tea estate workers in eastern Nepal to join their agitation.

The Maoists are said to have asked employees of multinational companies to join their stir. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/3-business-a-economy/2236-resist-using-employees-in-protests-fncci-tells-parties-.html

[Saorsa]

Govt braces for Maoists’ plan

Last Updated : 2009-11-03 1:09 PM


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Prakash Acharya
KATHMANDU: The UML-led coalition is bracing for the challenges posed by the Unified-CPN-Maoist’s ongoing second phase of agitation to restore ‘civilian supremacy’.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday convened an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, his Cabinet colleagues and security chiefs all surmised that the Maoists were flouting the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA).
The PM has instructed the security bodies to tackle all eventualities that might arise following the agitation.

Shankar Pokhrel, Minister for Information and Communications and also the
government spokesperson, categorically stated that the Nepali Army would not be mobilised as long as the CPA was in force.

“Nepal Police and Armed Police Force are sufficient to maintain law and order,” he said. Home Minister Bhim Rawal, however, said that all security bodies would be on high alert to tackle any untoward incident.

“Everybody has the right to peaceful protest. But if the Maoists’ movement takes a violent turn, then all state organs will be mobilised to maintain the rule of law and safeguard public property and people’s life,” he said.

Bishnu Rijal, press advisor to the PM, said that today’s meeting was significant.
“The meeting will boost the security personnel’s morale,” he said.

Minister Shankar Pokharel posed a relevant question: “What’s the importance of the Constituent Assembly and the CPA, if the Maoists announce autonomous republican states across the nation?”

He cited the recent Maoists’ activities like the establishment of ‘city government’ in Dhankuta Municipality and some VDCs in the district yesterday and proposed blockade to all entry and exit points in the Kathmandu Valley on November 10.

Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, too, condemned the Maoists’ agitation programmes.
Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said that the budget would be passed after consulting with Speaker Subas Nembang.

The budget was presented 111 days ago.


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Govt+braces+for+Maoists%E2%8 0%99+plan&NewsID=44305

[Saorsa]

Apparently after meeting with foreign envoys, the Maoists have decided to call off the blockade of Nepal's only international airport. However, afaik the plans to blockade Kathmandu Valley and unilaterally declare autonomous republics across the country still stand.

Ex-rebels call off TIA blockade

Last Updated : 2009-11-03 1:08 PM


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Tika R Pradhan
KATHMANDU: Under fire from the international community, the Unified CPN-Maoist has made a slight, yet significant, modification in its stir schedule for next Tuesday. The Maoists, who initiated the second phase of the agitation on Sunday to restore ‘civilian supremacy’, called off its proposed blockade of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on
November 10.
However, they are still sticking to their original plan of blocking all entry and exit points in the Kathmandu Valley on that day.
Shakti Bahadur Basnet, politburo member, UCPN-M said that a decision was taken following a meeting, attended by the senior leaders, this evening.
The leadership decided to accede to the requests made by the international community, who felt that the blockade at the TIA would cause great inconvenience to travellers during the peak tourist season.
Earlier, this afternoon ambassadors and representatives from the European Union, the United States, Russia, several European countries and international organisations met Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ at Hotel Annapurna.
Prachanda had convened the meeting to brief the foreign dignitaries about the Maoists’ protest programmes. The EU and Russian envoys and the US Charge d’ Affaire expressed concern about the ongoing agitation that might spiral into violence in the coming days.
The international community reasoned with the Maoist boss that the blockade to the TIA would tarnish Nepal’s reputation as a top-draw tourist attraction.
Subsequently, it would cause a great loss to the nation’s economy, which is heavily dependant on tourism. Incidentally, The Lonely Planet ‘Best in Travel 2010’ today listed Nepal among the top 10 tourist destinations.
Krishna Bahadur Mahara, standing committee member, UCPN-Maoist, who was present in the meeting, said that Prachanda assured the international community that their protest would be peaceful.
Mahara said that the party would issue an official statement tomorrow on the Maoists’ plan to revoke its decision to besiege TIA.


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Ex-rebels+call+off+TIA+blockade+&NewsID=44303

[Saorsa]

http://www.ekantipur.com/tkp/news/news-detail.php?news_id=1652
Commentary: Political battle lines drawn



KATHMANDU, NOV 04 - The deep polarisation between Maoists and non-Maoist parties has put the peace process in peril. There is now serious danger that the constitution making process will continue to remain on the backburner and the CA will fail to draft the new constitution by the May deadline.

This growing public perception—that the parties can’t work together and write the constitution—will further erode their legitimacy and may lead to crisis in governance, say analysts.

With the Maoists’ nationwide protests launched this week, the battle lines have been even more clearly drawn. On Monday, the Maoists in Dhankuta besieged the municipal office, where they “appointed” the mayor and deputy mayor. Pushpa Dhungana, the local Maoist leader who made the “appointments”, declared that the move was based on the “people’s constitution” under the Limbuwan Autonomous State.

A day later, a deeply alarmed Home Ministry convened an emergency meeting in Kathmandu atten-ded by heads of security agencies from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, National Investigation Department and Nepal Army. The government concluded that the Maoist action had breached the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and reiterated what its Spokesman and Minister for Information and Communications had said a day before: the government could go so far as to mobilise the Army if the situation so demanded. On Nov. 9, the Maoists are scheduled to announce autonomous regions, as part of their ongoing protest, which will be yet another breach of the CPA, according to non-Maoist parties.

If anything, both the Maoist move in Dhankuta and the government response thereafter in Kathmandu have only increased the levels of mutual suspicion.

The turn of events since the Maoists started their nationwide protests on Nov. 1 is, however, only the manifestation of the political leadership’s—both Maoists and non-Maoists—failure to find a common ground on some core issues without external coercion: On the fundamental principles for the new constitution (on models of federalism, for example); on issues of integration and rehabilitation of PLA combatants; and on the president’s move in May reinstating then-Army chief Rookmangud Katawal who was sacked by the Maoist government.

Increasingly, the political leadership continues to be seen by the public as having failed in its core responsibi-lity of drafting the constitution by May next year. The race to stay in office, much in display in the 1990s, has restarted. Increasingly, Nepalis are publicly expressing frustration over non-delivery by CA members, each of whom is paid a monthly salary of close to Rs. 50,000. There have been su-ggestions that the CA members should receive a revised paycheck each month depending on their attendance.

“All the parties have abandoned commitment to value-based politics,” says analyst Lokraj Baral. “Unless there is consensus on minimum issues, history will repeat itself.” He attributes Nepal’s failure since the 1950s to institutionalise democracy and relapse into renewed conflicts to political expediency.

[Saorsa]

Nepal places army on alert for Maoist protests
(AFP) – 16 hours ago


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5gE1tqzxj6iGBVo-sr_e24A5Z3RuA?size=l



KATHMANDU — Nepal's army and police have been placed on high alert, a government minister said Tuesday, after the opposition Maoist party announced plans to blockade the capital and shut down the main airport.


Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said the Maoists' plans were in breach of the 2006 peace agreement signed by the former guerrillas, who have held regular protests in Nepal since their government fell in May.


"The government has placed all the security agencies on high alert in view of the protests," said Pandey.


"The Maoists have violated the spirit of the comprehensive peace accord by announcing plans to blockade the Kathmandu Valley and shut down the airport. This is not a democratic way to press for their demands."


The Maoists, who fought a 10-year civil war against the state before winning landmark elections in 2008, last week announced a fortnight of nationwide protests aimed at destabilising the new coalition government.


They have vowed to bring Kathmandu to a standstill on November 10 by shutting the country's only international airport during the peak tourist season and blocking all roads into the capital.


They are calling for the president to apologise for blocking Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal's attempt to sack the head of the army, a move they say was unconstitutional.
Representatives from the United States, the European Union and Russia on Tuesday met Dahal and urged him to call off the protests, which they said could escalate tensions in Nepal and harm the economy.


Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma denied the protests were in breach of the peace agreement, which prohibits the "spread of social disharmony in any manner, including acts of incitement and instigation."


"We have the right to organise peaceful protests. We have been forced into this because the government is not listening to our demands," he told AFP.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZMnZi8_tQliXOITmJyUXTGsxvrw

[Saorsa]

‘Maoist stir breach of CPA’



The govt now officially states that the Maoist protest movement is in breach of the peace accords. The army is on high alert. Violence is increasing across the country. Nepal needs our solidarity.

KATHMANDU, NOV 04 - A high-level meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday concluded that the ongoing Maoist agitation breached the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and directed national security agencies to remain on high alert to maintain law and order across the country.

The government concluded thus at the end of a four-hour-long mee-ting chaired by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday, a day after UCPN (Maoist) took control of Dhankuta Municipality. The municipality seizure is against party policy, Dahal told reporters, but Baburam Bhattarai said the seizure was only symbolic.

All members of the Council of Ministers, Chiefs of Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, National Investigation Department and officials of the security cell of the Home Ministry participated in the meeting that assessed the Maoist agitation.

The government also decided to inform the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) that the ongoing Maoist protest violated the CPA.

“We have directed the heads of security agencies, including the Army, to remain alert to respond to the Maoist agitation and maintain law and order in the country,” go-vernment Spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Shanker Pokharel told reporters. The government is determined to ensure law and order with the help of the police force. The Army will not be mobilised unless the CPA is challenged and the protest turns violent, Pokharel said.

The meeting concluded that the Maoist move of capturing Dhankuta municipality and the protest programme related to blockade of Kathmandu Valley and Tribhuvan International Airport and re-establishment of parallel structures across the nation violates the CPA. It also concluded that the programme to declare autonomous provinces on Nov. 9 bypasses the “jurisdiction of the Constituent Assembly to decide on state restructuring.”

Home Minister Bhim Rawal said the government is committed to abide by the CPA and is capable of maintaining the law and order situation. “We will only think of alternative measures within the frame of the constitution and law, if the Maoists go against the CPA,” he added. In the meeting, Prime Minister Nepal is learnt to have instructed officials not to provoke demonstrating Maoists but take “strict” measures to prevent violation of law.

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2009/11/04/most-popular/Maoist-stir-breach-of-CPA/1650/index.html

[Saorsa]

Maoists will fight back if government oppression continues: Sharma Wednesday, 04 November 2009 10:38

A senior UCPN (Maoist) leader has accused the government of trying to suppress the nationwide agitation waged by the Maoists to uphold 'civilian supremacy', warning that if that continues, the Maoists will be forced to fight back.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/janardhan_sharma.jpgUCPN (Maoist) politburo member Janardhan Sharma (File photo)

UCPN (Maoist) politburo member Janardhan Sharma made the remark a day after the government put all the security agencies, including Nepal Army, in high alert concluding that the Maoists have breached the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by starting their nationwide protests from Sunday.

Speaking at a gathering of party activists in Khalanga of Salyan Wednesday, Sharma said that the Maoists would not be afraid of threats and forewarnings coming from the 'loser' government.

The Maoists call the current government of being formed by "losers", as Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala including other ministers in the cabinet had lost from their respective constituencies during the Constituent Assembly elections.

Sharma, who also served as Peace and Reconstruction Minister during the previous Maoist led government, further claimed that the Maoists have been organizing their "peaceful protests" by remaining under the CPA and have not violated it as the government is saying.

At the gathering, Sharma also directed the party activists to intensify the movement in the district so as to make it more effective.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has also been saying that the party will retaliate if the government tries to suppress their peaceful agitation. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2238-maoists-will-fight-back-if-government-oppression-continues-sharma.html

[Saorsa]

Maoists rename Birendranagar Municipality REPUBLICA

SURKHET, Nov 3: The CPN-Maoist has renamed Birendranagar Municipality as Surkhet Municipality. The municipality has been named under the party´s program to picket the local bodies.

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/birendranagarmunicipality.jpg

The municipality, on the other hand, has said that the Maoist announcement is illegal as the proposal to change its name is still under cabinet consideration.


Published on 2009-11-03 22:55:37

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11425

[Saorsa]

Strikes paralyse eastern districts Thursday, 29 October 2009 15:19

Normal life in eastern districts has been badly affected due to bandhs (shutdown strikes) called by the Unified CPN (Maoist) and other groups on Thursday.

The Unified CPN (Maoist) called indefinite shut down in Dhankuta, Taplegunj, Ilam, Panchthhar and Terhathum districts today demanding proper compensation to the families of its activists who were recently killed in Taplejung and action against those found involved in their murder. The former rebels also demanded that the two deceased activists be declared as martyrs.

The main market areas, factories, private offices and educational institutions have been closed in the affected districts and vehicles have opted to stay off the roads in the districts due to fear of reprisals from the protestors.

Transportation has also been direly affected in the Mechi-Koshi highway due to the strike with buses and vehicles stuck in a long queues and hundreds of passengers stranded not knowing when the strike will be lifted and they will be able to reach to their destination.

Meanwhile, Itahari remains closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday due to the general strike called by local residents demanding that the proposed Eastern Regional Stadium be built in the town.

The main Market areas, industries and educational institutions have remained closed since yesterday while transportation has come to a grinding halt.

Transportation along the East-West and Koshi highway around Itahari has also been halted.

On Wednesday, demonstrators obstructed traffic by placing hurdles like rocks, bamboo and timbers on the roads. They also played football and cricket on the roads. A clash between the police and the demonstrators ensued after police tried to remove the obstacles to open the highway. Almost a dozen demonstrators were injured in the clashes.

Residents of Dharan, Inaruwa and Jhumka have also demanded the stadium for eastern region be constructed in their towns. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2134-strikes-paralyse-eastern-districts.html

[Saorsa]

Violence is increasing. Unkown assailants attempt to murder a Maoist activist. The army's on high alert. Repression is visibly increasing.


Maoist shot at in Dang REPUBLICA

DANG, Nov 3: Gammar Chand Rokka “Prithvi”, a local Maoist in western Dang was shot in his house on Monday night.

Two unidentified men fired four rounds of bullets at Rokka after dragging him out of his house, the police said. He has been hit on his chest, hand and stomach.

Investigation into the incident is on, the police said.

Rokka is currently undergoing treatment at Nepalgunj hospital.



Published on 2009-11-03 22:57:00

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11426

[red cat]

A Tale of Two Parties

The UCPN(M) has expressed full support for the CPI(Maoist). They have also revealed that leaders from both the parties have interacted recently. Earlier they had denounced the repression of Indian Maoists.

http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6561&PHPSESSID=42966b4cd2a89c86bfee5134714a4ef9

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/nov/03/nepal-maoists-admit-links-with-indian-naxals.htm


The Indian bourgeois press had accused the UCPN(M) of sending material help to their Indian counterparts in late October. Seems like the accusations weren't baseless after all!:)

[Saorsa]

The Nepalis have denied that the meeting ever took place, of course. It's good to see some proof that the links are still there, but in reality the UCPN (M( never broke off ties with the Naxalites, it just had to be a bit more circumspect about its support for them.

[Saorsa]

News reports from day four are just trickling in atm.

Maoists picket DAOs across the country Wednesday, 04 November 2009 11:55

Main opposition Unified CPN (Maoist) has picketed the district administration offices (DAOs) across the country as part of its second phase protest programme on Wednesday.

Maoist cadres gathered in front of the DAOs of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu valley and elsewhere outside the capital from early morning, blocking the office gates to prevent the employees from entering inside. The party plans to halt all works in DAO for today and tomorrow.

The Maoists cadres gathered at the DAO gates amuse themselves with dances and songs. They also chanted anti-government slogans. The protests are scheduled to continue till office hours.

There was huge presence of security men at the Kathmandu DAO in Babarmahal in view of the possibility of untoward incidents during the protest.

However, there were no reports of violence during the protest until 11:45 am.

On Monday, the party had picketed the offices of village development committees and municipalities. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/1-top-story/2239-maoists-picket-daos-across-the-country.html

[Saorsa]

Maoists picket DAOs REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 4: Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) picketed the District Administration Offices across the nation on Wednesday.

As a part of the their protest program to establish ’civilian supremacy’, the Maoists did not allowed officials and citizens from entering the offices. The DAO disruption will continue until Thursday afternoon.

The Maoist cadres obstructed the Kathmandu DAO and disrupted traffic at Babaar Mahal.

In Nuwakot, the Maoists clashed with police and Radhika Tamang, the chair of the Joint People’s Movement Committee Nuwakot, was injured in the event. Police clashed with the protester at Bidur after the Maoists tried to enter the main entrance at 10 a.m.

Chief District Officer Govinda Mani Bhurtel and 17 government employees had entered the office at 8:15 a.m.

Likewise in Sunsari, the Maoist cadres and the police clashed in Inaruwa although early reports say that the security have not used force.


Published on 2009-11-04 11:59:42

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11447

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/_unified_c/large/nov_04_09_maoist_protest_b1.jpgUnified CPN (Maoist) Constituent Assembly member and valley in-charge of the Young Communist League Chandra Bahadur Thapa 'Sagar' dancing in front of the Kathmandu District Administration office during their sit in protest programme, Wednesday, Nov 04 09.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/_unified_c/large/nov_04_09_maoist_protest1_b.jpgMaoist CA members and revolutionary citizens gherao govt offices

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/_unified_c/large/nov_04_09_maoist_protest2_b.jpgPolice menace the protest, revolutionaries chant slogans

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5ivgQmTEi-fDsACAlOicb2WYhR51A?size=lNepali protests are AWESOME

[Saorsa]

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistlalitpurdao.jpgMaoist supporters picketing the District Administrative Offices on day 4

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/maoistbabarmahaldao.jpgRevolutionary flags loom over the police

[Saorsa]

The state forces are getting more violent against the protesting revolutionary workers. Spread the news of what's happening through Facebook, your group's website and wherever else possible.

Maoists call 2 day DAO gherao

Last Updated : 2009-11-04 1:31 AM


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THT Online
KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist have called a two-day gherao programme in the district administration offices throughout the nation on Wednesday.
According to a source the ghrerao programme is scheduled during office hours.
They have been staging sit in protests in front of the main gates of the offices and disrupting the daily programme of the offices.
According to UCPN-Maoist, central leaders and CA members are participating in the sit in protests.
Protesters have organised cultural programmes in front of the offices to stop the employees from entering.
The Kathmandu District Administration Office Singha Durbar has been gheraoed from the Babarmahal side and the Singha Durbar side by labourers and sister oganisations of UCPN-Maoist respectively.
Transportation in the areas has been affected due to the gherao programme.
On the very first day they had staged a torch rally on Sunday and on the second day they had organised a gherao programme in the VDCs and Metropolitan offices as a part of the protests on Monday.

Earlier Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had directed heads of the four security institutions - Nepal Army, Armed Police, Nepal Police and National Investigation Department to remain on high alert and to formulate a strategy on the Maoists protests in a meet on Tuesday.
The government has deployed heavy security in the sensitive areas of the agitations as a precaution to prevent violence.
Meanwhile, in Inaruwa, 18 Maoist workers were injured when the police attacked them while they were staging a protest. Four of them sustained injuries to the head while others were injured on their arms and legs.


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=+Maoists+call+2+day+DAO+gher ao&NewsID=44343

[Saorsa]

http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/images/119/NEPALMao_432_20091104.jpgMaoist supporters outside the Kathmandu DAO on day 4

[Saorsa]

NA to curb violent protests: DPM

Last Updated : 2009-11-04 6:05 AM


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http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/includes/vignette.php?img=../newsImages/nepaliNews/THT2CF95C91_bijay-kumar-gachhadar-1.jpg&h=196&w=296&c=1 (http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=NA+to+curb+violent+protests% 3A+DPM&NewsID=44413#)THT
Bijay Kumar Gachhadar





THT Online
KATHMANDU: The government would be compelled to mobilise the Nepal Army to curb the protest programmes of UCPN-Maoist if they turned violent, warned Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar in a programme in the capital on Wednesday. He claimed that the government had been cautioned about violent protest programmes of UCPN-Maoist through its reliable sources. He described the 12-point pact between the then government and Maoists as a job done in a rush as it lacked future strategies. He claimed that the present coalition government would complete the task of drafting the new constitution.



http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=NA+to+curb+violent+protests% 3A+DPM&NewsID=44413

[Saorsa]

Gachchhadar warns of army deployment Wednesday, 04 November 2009 17:22

Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar has warned that the government would mobilise the army to crush the Maoist protest if they turn violent.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/profile_bijay_kumar_gachhadar.jpgDeputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar (File photo)
Speaking at the Reporters Club on Wednesday, Gachchhadar claimed that government had received enough information that the Maoists were planning violent protests to pull down the current coalition government.

Informing that the government has asked all the security forces to stay alert, Gachchhadar said Nepal Army might be deployed to keep the situation under control.

He said the 12-point agreement between the Maoists and the then seven parties was signed in haste. Gachchhadar, who is chairman of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic) said statements such as army integration must be removed from the peace agreement.

He also claimed that efforts were being made to involve the Upendra Yadav-led Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, which has warned of a protest movement in Terai, in the current government. nepalnews.com


http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2245-gachchhadar-warns-of-army-deployment.html

[Saorsa]

Maoist chairman claims his party will in power soon Wednesday, 04 November 2009 19:39

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that his party will be in power very soon.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/prachanda1.jpgMaoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Daha (File photo)
Speaking to reporters at Bhandrapur airport in Jhapa Wednesday, Dahal said the Unified CPN (Maoist) was going to come to power either through dialogue or as the result of the ongoing protest movement.

The Maoist strongman further said the talks with the parties and the protest programmes would go simultaneously until a solution to the current stalemate comes out.

Saying that the protests for 'civilian supremacy' will be fully under the control of the party, Dahal accused the government of creating propaganda that the Maoist protests were going to be violent and that maximum force might be applied to contain them.

Dahal arrived in Jhapa on his way to Ilam to attend a programme there on Thursday. He is staying at a hotel in Bhadrapur with tight security, according to reports. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2250-maoist-chairman-claims-his-party-will-in-power-soon.html

[Saorsa]

Bhattarai: We want to write constitution from within CA REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: Senior Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai has clarified that a revolt is not his party´s agenda for now and it is committed to writing the constitution from within the Constituent Assembly.

He said taking up arms once again to force the Maoist agenda would only invite foreign intervention in Nepal and that would make this country another Afghanistan. "We are very aware of regional geopolitics and we will not let Nepal take the Afghan road," he said.



Revolt is not our agenda for now
If we take up arms again Nepal will become Afghanistan
Keeping Nepali Congress out of government after the election was a major mistake
India should be guided by enlightened interest so that we don´t go to war
We may unilaterally announce concessions


Talking to a group of editors from major media houses this afternoon, Dr Bhattarai said, "Let me tell you that there may be confusion about our intentions and we also may not have been able to clarify our positions in the past but our roadmap is to write the constitution from within the CA."

He said the confusion among the public about his party´s intentions has arisen due to conflicting views within the Maoist party and also because of the "dogmatic understanding of Marxism and revolution" among senior party leaders.

He said the party will "very soon" make its position clear on the issue and may also announce "unilateral steps" to end the current deadlock if they fail to strike a deal with other parties. "But we hope that all the parties will reach an agreement and we don´t have to move unilaterally." He, however, refused to divulge what that unilateral move would be and when will it come.

He was of the view that writing the constitution on time will need cooperation of all the parties and "that´s why we have been emphasizing the need to form a national government, and as a major party in the constituent assembly we have a legitimate claim to lead such a government." But he was also of the view that the issue of "civilian supremacy" will have to be addressed somehow for the formation of a national government. He hinted that the Maoists would be more flexible in finding a way out over this issue.

He said he was aware of the pressing deadline for writing the constitution but argued that if there was an agreement among the parties they could amend the constitution to give the CA another six months or a year for the task.

Leaving NC out of government was a mistake

Dr Bhattarai said his party has realized that leaving the Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the constituent assembly, out of the government after the CA election was the major mistake. "The political misunderstanding created after that has eventually led us to this mess."

India must be guided by enlightened self-interest

Dr Bhattarai expressed hope that India would eventually be guided by enlightened self-interest which is that Nepal´s Maoists don´t go to war. "With the Indian Maoists already fighting a war I don´t think India wants to open up another front in Nepal." Asked when his party chairman, Puspha Kamal Dahal, was visiting India, he said the date hasn´t been fixed yet.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11476

[Saorsa]

DAOs’ turn to face Maoists’ protest music

Last Updated : 2009-11-04 1:48 PM


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Himalayan News Service
ITAHARI/NUWAKOT: Sporadic clashes broke out between the agitating Unified-CPN-Maoist cadres and the police across the nation today. At least 28 people were hurt in Sunsari and Nuwakot districts in course of the Maoists’ day-long picketing at the District Administration Offices. On November 1, the Maoists launched their second phase of the agitation to restore ‘civilian supremacy’ in the country.
Inaruwa, the district headquarters of Sunsari, was the epicentre of a pitched battle. Trouble started when the Maoist cadres, who were picketing at the main gate of the DAO, tried to barge into the office. Nineteen Maoist supporters and five police personnel were injured in
intense brick batting.
The Maoists alleged that the police charged batons on them. Kedar Guragain ‘Ratna’, assistant in-charge, UCPN-M, Sunsari, and Dilip Neupane of APF were seriously injured. The duo is undergoing treatment in Dharan. Maoist lawmakers Kiran Rai and Bishwojit Tharu also sustained minor injuries. The area in and around the DAO remained tense for
better part of the day.
A similar incident was reported from Nuwakot. “Two persons were injured in the melee,” said Govinda Singh Thakuri, an inspector.



http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=DAOs%E2%80%99+turn+to+face+M aoists%E2%80%99+protest+music&NewsID=44617

[NaxalbariZindabad]

I've been following the situation in Nepal quite closely for a few years now. I think I have a good understanding of it, but I still can't figure what supporters of the UCPN(M) in distant countries can do to help.

When someone asked "what can we do?", Comrade Alastair answered:


At this stage, most important thing is just spreading the word. There's a media blackout and when they are mentioned they're usually demonised and slandered, so it's our job to tell people about what's going on and how important it is.Spreading the word? Yeah, I guess I could tell a few people about what's going on over there, tell them "how important it is" but how is this supposed to help? Even if there are more people in imperialist countries discussing the situation in Nepal, crossing their fingers or "praying" that the revolution succeeds, that doesn't affect the events in Nepal one tiny bit.

I'd like to find a way to help, but I just can't see how. :(
And "spreading the word" doesn't seem like a realistic answer.

---

@C. Alastair: Also, what do you mean by "at this stage"? What's the next stage? when the Maoists form a new govt? when the new constitution is written? or when they declare a people's republic? And what does these next stages mean for foreign cheerleaders like us? We move from "spreading the word" to.... what?

@C. Alastair: Sorry if my comments seem negative. I don't mean to be rude. By the way, thanks for the work you're doing of gathering news articles and stuff. It's well done and quite instructive.

[red cat]

I think that the best way to help the UCPN(M) is to prepare for revolutions in our own countries.

[chegitz guevara]

Are they betraying the revolution yet?

[red cat]

As much as India will crush the Naxalites. ;)

[Saorsa]

Nepal Maoists to rejoice victory of Indian Maoists: Gajurel


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_999741498.jpg TGW
Adding fuel to the fire, the Unified Maoists’ Party politburo member and the central Secretariat member Mr. C.P Gajurel has said that if the Indian Maoists bag success in their struggle in India, there is no point in not ‘rejoicing over their victory’.
Mr. C.P. Gajurel, taken as a hardliner, in an exclusive interview with one of the leading vernacular national dailies says, (sic), “If the Maoists in India are to succeed, not only in Nepal but the Maoists in the entire globe will rejoice their victory.”
“There is no question not to support the Maoists in India if they emerge with flying colors finally”, Mr. Gajurel spoke his mind.
Mr. Gajurel made these remarks replying to a question on the view-point of Maoists’ in Nepal over the ongoing struggle being carried out by the outlawed Maoists Party of India.
Mr. Gajurel nevertheless, mentions that their relations with the Indian Maoists are based on ideological grounds only.
Perhaps he hinted that REDS are REDS everywhere.
“The Indian government knows it well that our relations are based on ideological grounds only”, Gajurel says adding, “We are confident that India has the knowledge that no working relations exists between the two Maoists’ parties.”
2009-11-05 08:58:00

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6577

[Saorsa]

No Repression or else face Music, Prachanda to Nepal Govt


http://www.telegraphnepal.com/uploaded/news_images/news_1963450739.jpg TGW
The Unified Maoists’ Party Chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal has warned the government against the use of force in order to quell the peaceful Maoists’ ongoing protest programs.
He threatened, “If the Government resorts to repression, their fate will become similar to Gyanendra (the last King of Nepal)”.
Dahal made these remarks while addressing a gathering in Ilam district, November 5, 2009.
Mr. Dahal also said that the government was threatening to deploy Nepal Army to quell the Maoists’ protest programs.
However, Prachanda added, “It was not possible to deploy the Army”.
He told the Maoists’ Cadres present in thousands at the mass meet that the desire of the Nepali people to declare Sovereign States will become a reality soon.
Prachanda in the course of his speech also criticized Madhav Kumar Nepal for continuing to occupy the post of the PM even after facing defeats in the Constituent Assembly Elections and that too from two separate constituencies.
“Nowhere in the world does a election defeated leader occupies the post of the prime minister’, Dahal said.
Ajab Kashi, Gajab Nepal!
2009-11-06 09:39:47

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6586&PHPSESSID=238cf435ce42ca16adacab93ebe49497

[Saorsa]

Bhattarai assures Maoists will not take up arms again Thursday, 05 November 2009 10:27

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/baburam_bhattarai1.jpg Babu Ram Bhattarai Amid speculations in the political fraternity that the Unified CPN (Maoist) is preparing for a people's revolt to capture the state, a senior Maoist leader has clarified his party is committed to peace and not planning for any revolt.

Maoist vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai called editors of some major media oulets at a hotel in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, Wednesday afternoon, and answered the latter's questions on some burning issues related to the party.

Taking up arms again will only invite foreign intervention in Nepal and that will make this country another Afghanistan, said Bhattarai, adding that the Maoists are very aware of regional geopolitics and will not let Nepal take the Afghan road.

Bhattarai also said, leading the government was not his party's priority.

However, at another programme the same day, Maoist party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Maoists will be in power soon.

As the largest party in the parliament our demand to be allowed to lead the government is very much "legitimate", he explained.

Bhattarai further said the priority of this agitation was to make Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) agree on the fundamental issues of "civilian supremacy".

He also conceded it was a mistake not to include Nepali Congress in the Maoist-led government last year.

Had we included NC in the government then, the nation's politics would have moved with consensus and present crisis would have been averted, Bhattarai said.

Defending allegations that the Maoists had instigated ethnic and caste-based conflict, Bhattarai said his party's policy was wrongly explained and perceived by the public.

We have not said the federal units should be carved out based on ethnicity or caste, all we have said is the units should be named from the community dominant in a particular area, said Bhattarai, citing examples that the party had been calling for Magarat state, and not a Magar state or a Limbuwan state and not a Limbu state.

Bhattarai's initiative to clarify such issues at a posh hotel in Kathmandu comes a day after the dinner meeting at UML leader KP Oli's house in Balkot, Bhaktapur.

At the meeting, Bhattarai also explained that the take over of Dhankuta municipality by his party's cadres was not as per the party's central policy and that the party would probe the incident to identify the guilty and appropriate take action. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2258-maoist-leader-bhattarai-clarifies-his-party-is-committed-to-peace.html

[Saorsa]

Maoists issue eviction notice

Last Updated : 2009-11-05 12:46 PM


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Kishor Budhathoki
SANKHUWASABHA: The Unified CPN-Maoist cadres have ordered six families in Sabhapokhari and Barhabise VDCs to vacate their houses and immovable property at the earliest.
All the victims owe their allegiance to the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML.
The Maoists claimed that these families usurped the assets during the decade-long insurgency. To make matters worse, they allegedly did not seek the Maoists’ permission for the ‘seizure’.
The ex-rebels have sent eviction order to Til Bahadur Limbu, Kamal Limbu, Mani Limbu of Sabhapokhari VDC-4, Ganga Rai of Sabhapokhari VDC-7, Bhairab Kalakheti of Barhebise VDC-5 and Cheban Kumari Kharel of Barhabise VDC-4.
The cadres have also planted their party flags on the victims’ property.
The incident assumes significance since this is the first time the Maoists have issued eviction notices in the district since the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed three years ago.
RP Rai, secretary, Sankhuwasabha, UCPN-Maoist, admitted that his party was yet to return the seized property to their rightful claimants.
However, the Maoists, after coming to power last year, had all along been at the central level that return of seized property topped their agenda. Rai also refuted that flags had foisted on the property of these six families.
“But we’ll let them stake claim on their ‘assets’ after an agreement is signed,” he added.
District-based human rights activists have condemned the Maoists’ move.
Khadga Rai, coordinator, Sankhuwasabha, Human Rights Peace and Development Promotion Coordination Committee, urged the Maoists to shun violence and join the political mainstream.
‘Death threat’ to teachers
DAMAK: Teachers of Bhanu Secondary School at Dharampur in Jhapa have been forced to shut down the institution four days ago. The reason: They claimed that the UCPN-Maoist cadres were threatening to kill them. Representatives of the Nepal Teachers’ Union (NTU), Jhapa, alleged that the Maoists issued death threat to Yam Nath Chimariya, headmaster, Bhanu Secondary School, and two of his colleagues Radha Krishna Khanal and Badri Bhattarai. Narayan Prasad Gautam, president, Jhapa, NTU, said that the threat was issued during a meeting with the school authorities on Sunday. — HNS


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Maoists+issue+eviction+notic e+&NewsID=44855

[Saorsa]

Ruling parties oppose UN prescription for unity govt Thursday, 05 November 2009 20:31

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/nov_05_09_leaders_a.jpg Leaders of the ruling parties at a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Durbar Thursday, Nov 05 09. nepalnews.com/NPAA meeting of the parties on Thursday took up the recent report of the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Nepal's peace process, objecting to the UNSG's advice for a national unity government.

"It is not necessary for the United Nations to suggest what kind of government Nepal should have. The government of 22 parties is very much a national government," Nepali Congress parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel fumed as he spoke to reporters after the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Durbar.

Likewise, CPN (UML) leader Pradeep Gyawali, who was present at the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said, "It is the Nepali people who have the prerogative to suggest. The ruling parties have taken the UNSG's report seriously."

Likewise, issuing a press statement, PM Nepal's press advisor Raghuji Panta indirectly criticised the UNSG report saying the previous government led by the Maoists was also a majority government much like the current 22-party government.

In his report presented at the Security Council, UNSG Moon said "a government of national unity remains desirable for timely promulgation of the country's new constitution and for the successful integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel."

Meanwhile, today's meeting of the 22-party ruling coalition concluded that the Maoists violated the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the politics of consensus by launching a protest movement.

The ruling parties also pointed out the possibility of fresh conflict in the country and called upon the Unified CPN (Maoist) to stop the ongoing protests and show flexibility for consensus. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/1-top-story/2268-ruling-parties-oppose-un-prescription-for-unity-govt.html

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/maoist_sit-1/large/nov_05_09_maoists_sitin_b.jpg Maoist cadres and supporters staging dharna (sit-in) in front of the Kathmandu District Administration Office at Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Thursday, Nov 05 09.

[Saorsa]

Day five, protests continue.

Maoists continue dharna at DAOs Thursday, 05 November 2009 14:10

The Unified CPN (Maoist) staged dharna (sit-in) in front of the district administration offices (DAOs) across the country for the second day on Thursday.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/maoist_sit-1/nov_05_09_maoists_sitin_a.jpg (http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/igallery/maoist_sit-1/nov_05_09_maoists_sitin_a.jpg)Maoist cadres staging dharna (sit-in) in front of the Kathmandu District...In Kathmandu Valley, hundreds of Maoists gathered in front of the DAOs of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur from early morning, carrying flags and banners emblazoned with slogans for restoration of 'civilian supremacy' and against the President's move.

They also chanted slogans against the Prime Minister and the 22-party government. Maoist central leaders and Constituent Assembly members led the dharna programmes.

Works at the DAOs were completely halted because of the Maoist protest as officials were barred from entering their offices.

The Maoists also picketed the DAOs elsewhere around the country.

Minor clashes had occurred during yesterday's protest, but there were no reports of such incidents by afternoon today.nepalenws.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2263-maoists-continue-dharna-at-daos.html

[Saorsa]

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2267-maoist-chief-says-govt-will-suffer-gyanendras-fate-if-threats-repression-continue.html

Maoist chief says govt will suffer Gyanendra's fate if threats, repression continue Thursday, 05 November 2009 17:30

The Maoists will intensify their nationwide movement in such a manner it cannot be stopped by any power in the whole world, Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal proclaimed on Thursday.
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/prachanda1.jpgUnified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (File photo)
Addressing a mass gathering organized in the district headquarter of eastern hilly district Illam today, the Maoist chairman also warned the ministers of the current government not to use threats and intimidation tactics against them like the ministers during the rule of former king Gyanendra's time used to do or their fate would also be similar to them.

But in the same breath, he claimed that the current government doesn't have any standing in front of the people and therefore cannot suppress the Maoist nationwide agitation by using force even though it has put all the security agencies on high alert.

Dahal again reassured that the agitation waged by the Maoists will be "peaceful" and called on the party activists not to engage in vandalism and violence.

The Maoists were organizing the agitation not to get back in power but to uphold "civilian supremacy" by liberating the people, he claimed

Stating that the Maoists have the mandate of the people because it secured a majority in the election, he said the people's movement organized by the Maoists is gaining pace and the people will make the final decision on the government.

He also claimed that the people's participation in the Maoist agitation is growing by the day and urged the people gathered at the venue to also actively participate in it.

In another topic, he said Defense Minister Bidhyadevi Bhandari has been going around making controversial remarks against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), because of which the process of army integration has been much delayed. nepalnews.com

[Random Precision]

I seriously doubt that the Maoists will try to seize power. The whole rationale for abandoning the Civil War was that they could take much of the countryside but weren't strong enough to face the Army in the cities. From what I've been reading it doesn't sound like that's changed fundamentally. And they have been afraid of an Indian intervention if they seized power violently- the threat of that is still there AFAIK.

Furthermore their strategy since leaving the government has been basically saying "give us back power or we'll start shooting people", at a certain point CPN-UML and Nepali Congress must stop taking that threat seriously. It's a communist version of the boy who cried wolf basically

[mosfeld]

Maoist chairman claims his party will be in power soon

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pugAklByimc/SvHjK9uYhAI/AAAAAAAAC4w/TzbSQlQByqY/s400/herman_Nepal_Prachanda_file_210.jpg

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that his party will be in power very soon.

Speaking to reporters at Bhandrapur airport in Jhapa Wednesday, Dahal said the Unified CPN (Maoist) was going to come to power either through dialogue or as the result of the ongoing protest movement.

The Maoist strongman further said the talks with the parties and the protest programmes would go simultaneously until a solution to the current stalemate comes out.

Saying that the protests for 'civilian supremacy' will be fully under the control of the party, Dahal accused the government of creating propaganda that the Maoist protests were going to be violent and that maximum force might be applied to contain them.

Dahal arrived in Jhapa on his way to Ilam to attend a programme there on Thursday. He is staying at a hotel in Bhadrapur with tight security, according to reports.

[chegitz guevara]

India has its own problems at the moment.

[Saorsa]

I seriously doubt that the Maoists will try to seize power. The whole rationale for abandoning the Civil War was that they could take much of the countryside but weren't strong enough to face the Army in the cities.

There was more to it than that. The inability to quickly defeat the military in open battle was a large factor, as Maoist leader Gaurav said in 2008.

http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/gaurav-the-revolution-in-nepal/

Because we are in the concluding stage of strategic offensive, the task of the revolution is to seize central political power, a countrywide seizure of power. Hence, we had to capture Kathmandu, which is the capital of Nepal. We had to capture the capital and the major towns as well as some district headquarters. Our People’s Liberation Army is right at the gate of Kathmandu valley. If you have ever gone to Kathmandu, there is one place called Tangot, it is the main gate to enter Kathmandu. Here there was a big police station, in which we annihilated almost two dozen armed forces without any loss from our side, and so we captured Tangot. Right after that we entered into the process of this negotiation.


Many revolutionaries, many Maoists and our comrades have raised one question. You reached the gate of Kathmandu, why was it necessary to enter into the peace process? That is a big question.


War to the Gates — Why Then Change Tactics?

True, we had liberated 80% of the countryside and we had reached up to the gate of Kathmandu. But in order to seize countrywide power, for countrywide victory, our strength was not enough. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) was confined to their barracks, they could seldom come out. Whenever they were carrying out actions against our forces, they could just suddenly come out of their barracks, go 4-5 kilometres away from the barracks and encircle a village, and kill each and every person they found before returning. The next day they would propagate that they had killed a number of Maoists from the People’s Liberation Army.


Actually, they were not able to kill our force. They killed the common people. That was their practice for almost one year, since one year back. On the one hand, the RNA could not actually inflict any defeat on our People’s Liberation Army. On the other hand, we were not able to capture their big barracks. They were well fortified, especially with the help of US military experts. They used land mines to surround the barracks, and they used barbed wire. We tried many times but we failed to capture their barracks. That was the situation militarily. We were in a stagnant position militarily. We were trying to make a breakthrough but were not able to capture the barracks, because they were well fortified, and they had lots of modern weapons supplied by India and also helicopters. We were unable to achieve further military victory.


However, the main reasons were that the Maoists wanted to increase their support and weaken their enemies in the urban areas, while also building stronger links internationally and seeking to exploit contradictions between imperialist forces so as to prepare a favourable situation for revolution.


... so far as the political situation is concerned we enjoyed the support of the urban people, but it was not to the level that was required for general insurrection. The support was there, but finally to capture the city and the capital it was necessary to carry out insurrection, revolt. The support provided by the masses was not at a sufficient level in the cities including Kathmandu, because the masses were divided. Some supported Nepali Congress, other people supported other parties and the level of support of the masses was not enough that was required to achieve the final victory. So this was the political situation.

A Plan for Broadening Political Support

So in the midst of this situation we decided that in order to get further support from the masses our party should take some other initiatives to gather further strength. Otherwise the war would remain in a stagnant situation. Neither the enemy could defeat us, nor could we defeat the enemy. That was the situation. For how long could we continue this situation? War has its own dynamics, it cannot stay still for a long time, for example, if we cannot win victory, the enemy will eventually be able to defeat us. We had to take a new initiative. According to the dynamics of war you have to find a new way to maintain a dynamic situation, we should not be in a static situation in a war for long.


In those circumstances our party decided to take different steps, other political manoeuvres. Our party worked out alternative political tactics of going to the negotiations. Right from the beginning we explained People’s War as a total war. Sometimes there is a wrong notion among Maoists that People’s War is simply the war in which we confront the opposite army, the confrontation between two armies, but this is not true. People’s War is different. People’s War is a total war. We are confronting the enemy on all fronts, including the military front as well as the political front, economic front and also cultural front. On different fronts we have to fight the war, so it is a total war.



... we joined the government for specific reasons.

One of the reasons is that it was necessary for us to develop international relations, because we were totally isolated. As I explained, the government had declared us a terrorist organisation. Interpol issued arrest warrants for most of the leaders of our party in more than 120 countries. We had the support of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) and some Maoist parties, this is true, but from other international players we were totally isolated. So it was necessary, because we think at present Maoist forces are not very strong internationally compared with the forces of reactionaries. In terms of strength we are negligible, so depending on only RIM and Maoist forces the revolution cannot succeed.


Prerequisites for Maintaining Revolutionary Power


Secondly, we would not be able to sustain our revolution. If we were able to capture power on a certain day, it would be very difficult to sustain it for a long time. We are encircled by enemies, and the strength of the enemy is many times more than the strength of our Maoist forces. So we feel that we should develop relations. We should use the contradictions among different reactionary forces so that they will not be unified to attack our revolution. We also want to increase support from outside. The unity among the RIM forces is fundamental. The unity among Maoist forces that are not in the RIM is also very important. This is an ideological question. Ideologically it is a vital question for us.


In spite of this we should look for support from different circles, which are not Maoist but are progressive forces, who don’t want autocratic monarchy in Nepal, who maybe want bourgeois democracy, democratic rights, prosperity for Nepal. Secondly we should strive to get the support of anti-imperialist forces, because imperialism is the main enemy of the people in the world today. We should seek support from broad anti-imperialist forces, some democratic forces, social democratic forces who claim to be communist though clearly they are not, but at least they support the struggle against the monarchy.



And from the recent interview with Bhattarai: http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/nepal-interview-with-bhattarai%E2%80%94fusing-peoples-war-and-insurrection/


After 2005 we decided to shift our activity to the urban areas, because without mobilising the masses in urban areas we couldn’t complete our strategic offensive, capturing the state.


What we have been doing since 2005 is the path of preparation for general insurrection through our work in the urban areas and our participation in the coalition government.


In a few months when the contradiction will sharpen between the proletarian and bourgeois forces, maybe there will be some intervention from the imperialist and expansionist forces. During that time we may again be forced to have another round of armed clashes. Our party is already aware of that and we have decided to again focus on the basic masses of the people both in urban and rural areas. To strengthen those mass bases we have formed the United National People’s Movement, which will be preparing for both struggle in the urban areas and to strengthen our mass base in the countryside. In the decisive stage of confrontation with the reactionary forces we could again combine our bases in the rural areas and our support in the urban areas for a final assault against the enemy to complete the revolution.

I would like to say we have never abandoned PPW, the only thing is that there has been a tactical shift within the strategy. This is one point. The other point is that being a Maoist we believe in continuous revolution. Revolution never stops. Even when one stage is completed, immediately the new stage should be continued. Only that way can we reach socialism and communism. That is a basic tenet of Maoism. Being a Maoist, this reasoning of continuous revolution can never be abandoned. We are still in the course of PPW, though the tactics have shifted according to the nature of the time. But there is a confusion in the international community of proletarian forces, and we would like to clarify this, but I think this thing can be better done in practice than in words. Anyhow we are confident we can convince our comrades who have some doubts about our activities that we are still pursuing the path of revolution. We will complete the revolution in a new way and we have to show that revolution is possible even in the 21st century. And Nepal can be a model of revolution in the 21st century.



From what I've been reading it doesn't sound like that's changed fundamentally.

The peace accords confined the army to barracks and have prevented it from carrying out any new recruitment, buying any new weapons or even getting new ammunition, which has led to a situation where the NA now doesn't have enough ammunition to even carry out succesful training exercises, let alone crush the revolutionary forces. Now it wouldn't surprise me at all if the NA had secret weapon and ammo caches, and there have been reprts that India is sending Nepal weapons, but even so the CPA remains a heavy anchor on the Nepali military.

The PLA has been expanded since the CPA was signed. The Maoists tricked the UN into allowing them to have more people in the cantonments than they ever had as a standing army (this is not counting the village militias of course). They've spent the past few years using the cantonments as military, political and general educational facilities, and are creating a highly politicised, professional military force to defend the masses. The situation has swung in the Maoists favour across the country. Not without complications of course, that's just life, but their strategy so far appears to have worked.


And they have been afraid of an Indian intervention if they seized power violently- the threat of that is still there AFAIK.

Well of course. The power India has over Nepal is just absurd. All India has to do is close the border and Nepal starves. You can't fly food, petrol and so on over the Himalayas affordably! So this is a massive factor in the manouvering the UCPN (M) has been doing since 2005, and why they shouldn't just be dismissed as evil Stalinist counter-revolutionaries blah blah blah. They're facing a situation far, far more difficult than that of the Bolsheviks, the CCP or just about anyone else in the 20th century.


Furthermore their strategy since leaving the government has been basically saying "give us back power or we'll start shooting people", at a certain point CPN-UML and Nepali Congress must stop taking that threat seriously. It's a communist version of the boy who cried wolf basically

That's just ridiculous, your analysis here is that of a petulant child throwing insults, not a serious Marxist making a serious analysis. You make them sounds like Islamic terrorists who go around blowing up civilians to terrorise the population, a strategy Maoists have never employed. The basis of the Maoists strategy since leaving the govt has been to solidify and extend their support amongst the masses while building towards a confrontation with the state. You're embarassing yourself by making statements like this, you're usually much more intelligent RP.

[Saorsa]

Just to clarify as well. I don't believe the Maoists are likely to seize power during or following the current wave of protests. I think this recent post by Mike Ely summed up my own views on what is taking place right now;


I think there is an element of “dress rehearsal” here.


If someone is considering a new push for power (or an insurrection) — that can’t be done from a “cold start.” There have to be rehearsals.
For one thing, the revolution’s leadership needs to gauge whether large numbers of people will answer their call, whether their own forces are mobilized and confident, and what the mood of all kinds of other forces is (the police, the middle forces etc.)


And also the apparatus of an insurrection has to be tested — do the street level cadre understand where the key government and military centers are, can they navigate the (often strange) city with numbers of forces, etc.
And there is also a process of testing the unity of the party — which might be united in one period around one program, but reveal major cracks if there are new risks and shifts in tactic.


It has struck me how many of the YCL organizers are former PLA commanders — apparently shifted from the cantonments to the capital.


And one of the things that might be learned from a “dress rehearsal” is that the forces are ready (or not ready). It is part of the decision and timing process. In 1917 there were three waves of Bolshevik street actions — in April (right after Lenin returned), in July (when there was a major mood of insurrection among the advanced in Petrograd), and then in October (when the insurrection actually happened). The first two were not that successful. But in September the major Kornilov crisis (and the later polling for the Soviets) convinced Lenin that the middle forces were swinging his way, and a new opening for insurrection was coming.


There is a bit of naive voluntarism in how such things are sometimes looked at: as if insurrection is just a decision of the leadership, and they are either for it (and therefore planning it ASAP) or they are against it (and therefore stalling). But there are real material factors to be weighed, measured, and transformed. And it all interpenetrates with the inevitable line struggle that accompanies any life-or-death leap.


http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/nepal-the-tactic-of-general-insurrection/#comment-18766

[red cat]

Plus they will lose the element of surprise if they do it in an announced time-span for protests.

[Saorsa]

Well, yeah. It should be obvious to everyone that you can't judge a revolution by the public statements of it's leadership at various times. The Maoists can't just lay open their plans step by step for everyone to see. I was amazed Bhattarai was willing to be as hardcore as he was in the interview with the WPRM.

[chegitz guevara]

Plus they will lose the element of surprise if they do it in an announced time-span for protests.

If you do it right, it doesn't matter whether you have the element of surprise or not. The Bolsheviks didn't have the element of surprise. In fact, everyone sort of expected it sooner than it actually happened.

[red cat]

If you do it right, it doesn't matter whether you have the element of surprise or not. The Bolsheviks didn't have the element of surprise. In fact, everyone sort of expected it sooner than it actually happened.

But they did want to keep the plans secret. Kamenev and Zinoviev informed the bourgeois press about it. Lenin's reaction to this shows how important they had considered the element of surprise to be.

[Saorsa]

If you do it right, it doesn't matter whether you have the element of surprise or not. The Bolsheviks didn't have the element of surprise. In fact, everyone sort of expected it sooner than it actually happened.

That's true, but it's still probably best not to lay out an exact timeline for your revolution in advance, as it seems many expect the UCPN (M) to do.

[chegitz guevara]

But they did want to keep the plans secret. Kamenev and Zinoviev informed the bourgeois press about it. Lenin's reaction to this shows how important they had considered the element of surprise to be.

I'm re-reading John Reed's, Ten Days that Shook the World (actually should be in reading it to the wife right now), and it seems to have a different view. More then the element of surprise, they were trying to avoid giving the provisional government an excuse to try and arrest them. But hell, Lenin had been discussing openly since April taking power.

Of course the difference between Russia and Nepal is the provisional government had no teeth, where as the Nepal government can do some damage.

[mosfeld]

Bhattarai assures Maoists will not take up arms again Thursday, 05 November 2009 10:27

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images/stories/news_photo/baburam_bhattarai1.jpg Babu Ram Bhattarai Amid speculations in the political fraternity that the Unified CPN (Maoist) is preparing for a people's revolt to capture the state, a senior Maoist leader has clarified his party is committed to peace and not planning for any revolt.

Maoist vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai called editors of some major media oulets at a hotel in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, Wednesday afternoon, and answered the latter's questions on some burning issues related to the party.

Taking up arms again will only invite foreign intervention in Nepal and that will make this country another Afghanistan, said Bhattarai, adding that the Maoists are very aware of regional geopolitics and will not let Nepal take the Afghan road.

Bhattarai also said, leading the government was not his party's priority.

However, at another programme the same day, Maoist party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Maoists will be in power soon.

As the largest party in the parliament our demand to be allowed to lead the government is very much "legitimate", he explained.

Bhattarai further said the priority of this agitation was to make Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) agree on the fundamental issues of "civilian supremacy".

He also conceded it was a mistake not to include Nepali Congress in the Maoist-led government last year.

Had we included NC in the government then, the nation's politics would have moved with consensus and present crisis would have been averted, Bhattarai said.

Defending allegations that the Maoists had instigated ethnic and caste-based conflict, Bhattarai said his party's policy was wrongly explained and perceived by the public.

We have not said the federal units should be carved out based on ethnicity or caste, all we have said is the units should be named from the community dominant in a particular area, said Bhattarai, citing examples that the party had been calling for Magarat state, and not a Magar state or a Limbuwan state and not a Limbu state.

Bhattarai's initiative to clarify such issues at a posh hotel in Kathmandu comes a day after the dinner meeting at UML leader KP Oli's house in Balkot, Bhaktapur.

At the meeting, Bhattarai also explained that the take over of Dhankuta municipality by his party's cadres was not as per the party's central policy and that the party would probe the incident to identify the guilty and appropriate take action. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/2258-maoist-leader-bhattarai-clarifies-his-party-is-committed-to-peace.html


Is he bluffing or something? :confused:

[Saorsa]

They're saying different things to different people. My experience of union negotiations is kinda similar to what they seem to be doing... act soft for a few minutes, then switch to acting hard. It confuses the people your up against, I've seen it in action.

Give them time.

[Saorsa]

The Maoists have decided to postpone the declaration of the autonomous states for oppressed nationalities, as they felt it would in practice (at this juncture) be just a publicity stunt.

Maoists put off declaring autonomous regions RAJU ADHIKARI

(Updated with details)

JHAPA, Nov 6: The agitating UCPN (Maoist) on Friday withdrew its scheduled announcement of autonomous regions, saying that this program had ´created a problem´.

"We have withdrawn the program to announce autonomous states," Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal told media. "It seems that it would create a problem."

Chairman Dahal claimed that they withdrew the program to announce ´autonomous regions´ as it was just part of a ´publicity campaign´.

Issuing a press statement in Kathmandu, Coordinator of the United National People´s Movement Central Committee (UNPMCC) Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai said they will conduct the program to announce autonomous regions at an ´appropriate time´.

Earlier, the Maoists had decided announce 13 ´autonomous regions´ on November 9 as part of their ongoing second phase protests against the government.

The Maoist launched protests demanding correction of the ´unconstitutional´ move made by President Dr Ram Baran Yadav in reinstating then army chief Rookmangud Katawal. The Maoists have also lately put forth their demand for a national unity government under their leadership.

The Maoists have concluded that the theme of a program scheduled to be held in Biratnagar was misinterpreted.

"It was just a publicity program. The fundamentals of the program were also not publicized," said Dahal, who returned after addressing a mass meeting in Ilam. "But understanding of the program has been wrong. This has created a problem."

He, however, did not say what the ´wrong understanding´ and ´problem´ were.

The withdrawal of the autonomous states announcement comes in the wake of the ruling parties calling it a violation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and a breach of the jurisdiction of the Constituent Assembly.

The CA is currently working on federal structure of the country as is the only body authorized to take such a responsibility.

The Maoists said they have, however, not withdrawn their other scheduled protests programs. The UNPMCC press statement said they are sticking to their program to picket Singha Durbar, the principal government secretariat, on November 12 and 13 and impose a blockade on Kathmandu Valley on November 14.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Maoists had withdrawn their scheduled program of blocking the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu following a meeting between Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal with the diplomats based in Kathmandu.


Published on 2009-11-06 12:36:34

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11507

[Saorsa]

Dahal denies pressure behind stir put-off UPENDRA LAMICHHANE

BIRGUNJ, Nov 7: A day after the party put off the plan of declaring autonomous provinces under its ongoing pretests for ´civilian supremacy´, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Saturday that the Maoists withdrew the program due to the lack of adequate preparations, not because of pressure from others, for the program.

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/prachandabirgunj.jpg

“We put off our program of declaring autonomous federal provinces not because of pressure from others, but because of the lack of adequate preparations,” said Dahal, adding that his party will declare autonomous states and governments in such states if the government did not mend its ways. Dahal was addressing the national convention of Madhesi Rastriya Mukti Morcha (Revolutionary) in Birgunj on Saturday.

He also came down heavily on the government´s alleged plan to mobilize army to suppress the Maoist protests. He said the Maoists are ready to go back to the jungle to wage a new war if the situation requires so. “We are ready to go for struggle if the situation requires us to do so once again,” he said.

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/mrmmconventionbirgunj.jpg

Dahal alleged that some Madhes-based parties are enjoying power, sidelining the Maoist party that has been fighting for the rights of the Madhesi parties.

The Maoist chairman also argued that the government is again conspiring to split the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF). “Upendraji (MPRF chairman Upendra Yadav) has come under pressure to join the government, else face split of the party,” he said, “I feel that he will succumb to the pressure.” While arguing that the national and foreign powers were attempting to isolate the Maoists, he said, “They fear that Upendra Yadav may join hands with the Maoists if he is not taken to the government."

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/mrmmconventionbirgunj2.jpg

He also came down heavily on the government for decrying the UN prescription of a national unity government. He argued that the political parties keep mum when foreigners play political games to topple and form governments here, but decry the suggestions coming from the world body.


Published on 2009-11-07 20:25:00

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11555

[red cat]

They're saying different things to different people. My experience of union negotiations is kinda similar to what they seem to be doing... act soft for a few minutes, then switch to acting hard. It confuses the people your up against, I've seen it in action.

Give them time.

One little question; if we know their tactics of being soft and hard, then the bourgeoisie also knows it for sure. So why should they be confused? :D

In my opinion the formal adherence to peace is because they do not want to give imperialist powers a chance to invade Nepal on the pretext that they are terrorists, when they seize power. They will wait for the government to make some big mistake which will allow them to move to overthrow it violently, and yet justify the act by even bourgeois democratic standards.

[Saorsa]

I lold at this. Declaration of people's governments is just your everyday protest, y'know. Happens all the time

Besiege of local bodies normal: Dahal REPUBLICA

ILAM, Nov 5: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday said that the besiege of local bodies, formation of people´s governments and clashes are normal in course of protests.

Dahal´s remarks have come at a time when the Maoists have been criticized for violating the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) by besieging Dhankuta municipality.

http://www.myrepublica.com/Public/UserFiles/Image/prachandailam.jpg

He also warned the government not to crack down on the ongoing Maoist protests. "Our protests are peaceful," Dahal said addressing a program in Ilam. "It will be unfortunate if the government tries to suppress us."

Dahal also accused Nepali Congress and CPN-UML of trying to break the peace process.



Published on 2009-11-05 20:16:59

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11492

[Andrei Kuznetsov]

They're saying different things to different people. My experience of union negotiations is kinda similar to what they seem to be doing... act soft for a few minutes, then switch to acting hard. It confuses the people your up against, I've seen it in action.

Give them time.

This is very true. To quote Robert Greene's The 48 Laws of Power:

Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victims
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.

Law 17: Keeps Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability.
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

Law 21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker.
No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

Law 35: Master the Art of Timing.
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.


Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles.
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.


Law 48: Assume Formlessness.

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

-------------------

I think that the Maoists of Nepal may very well be thinking of such similar strategies. Politics is not something to play with; it is the art of deception, the art of the possible. Don't just read your Marx, don't just read your Mao, read your Machiavelli and your Bismarck. Prachanda & company may be onto something...