Saorsa
28th November 2010, 22:09
Take all the quotes in these articles with a grain of salt - journalists were barely allowed into the plenum, and they're a pack of liars anyway. This is what we know:
1: The debate was not finished. Three seperate documents were presented by Kiran, Prachanda and Bhattarai, and none were passed. Prachanda wrote and presented a synthesised document supposedly uniting all three positions, but both Bhattarai and Kiran (who stand diametrically opposed over the path forward) refused to support it.
2: The party could not agree on who the principal enemy is - Indian expansionism, domestic reactionaries or a combination of the two. Bhattarai is arguing the party should focus on attacking domestic feudalism and de-prioritise targeting India for the time being, whereas Prachanda and Kiran are arguing Indian expansionism and domestic feudalism are inextricably linked together and must be fought as one.
3: The debates will be taken to the Central Committee, which has been authorised by the plenum to settle the dispute. We will see the results of this before too long.
4: The party has stated that if the new deadline for a constitution, May 28th 2011, is not met, there will be a revolt. It has committed to making concrete preparations for this. We don't know what's going to happen - the deadline was extended last time. But the rhetoric is sharpening and the pro-revolt forces in the party are becoming much stronger and more vocal.
Palungtar plenum
REPUBLICA
The Palungtar plenum of the UCPN (Maoist) has ended, as expected, with an ambiguous and somewhat contradictory call for peace, constitution and revolt. If Maoists were confused about their future political course before the plenum, that confusion and contradiction only seems to have deepened after it. At the plenum, the Maoist leaders alternatively talked about peace and revolt as if those two words meant the same thing.
Addressing the inaugural session of the plenum seven days ago, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had said that India and mainstream parties were conspiring against peace and constitution and there was no option but to wage a revolt to defeat these forces. His political paper presented at the plenum was as forceful: "Compradors, foreign stooges, domestic feudalism
[which, according to the Maoists, are represented by parliamentary parties] and Indian expansionism have become our principal enemy today. We should be ready for a people´s revolt... to fight against possible foreign intervention."
However, addressing the press conference at Paluntgar Saturday, Dahal said the party would now hold serious talks with other major parties in parliament to conclude the peace process and to write a new constitution. He defended this contradiction arguing that his party would opt for a revolt if constitution- writing and peace process were obstructed. But none of the slogans sanctioned by the party high command and chanted at the conclusion of the plenum talked about peace and constitution. Instead, one of the slogans called for a steady preparation of a revolt.
The internal rifts in the Maoist party have reached a point from where it´s virtually impossible to address these contradictions. The faction led by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya which has a strong grip in the party organization, doesn´t believe in the peace process at all and wants to abandon it altogether to push for an immediate revolt. Dahal is much closer with another Vice- chairman Dr Babauram Bhattarai´s political line that peace and constitution should be party´s immediate political goal, but has a major personality clash with him as he sees Bhattarai as a major threat to his leadership in the long run. Dahal and Bhattarai also have serious differences on how they view India.
Dahal´s political line to simultaneously push for peace, constitution and revolt is a result of an unnatural fusion between Bhattarai and Baidya´s political lines. This fusion, as contradictory it is, is unlikely to take the party anywhere. The Maoist party must decide once and for all whether it wants to be a part of a plural polity and accept competitive politics. If it does, there is no room for a revolt or even blackmail as all the differences are either settled through dialogues or through ballots, as per the wish of the people. And the Maoists will do well to realize that they joined the peace process after war terribly failed them.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25630
Maoists to push for peace, constitution
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Nov 27: Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has threatened a revolt if its dialogues with the political parties failed to ensure new constitution and conclusion of the peace process.
Speaking at a press conference organized at Palungtar, Gorkha, after the conclusion of the party´s plenum, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the party has decided to initiate serious dialogues with political parties to conclude the peace process and to write the new constitution.
But he also warned that his party will mobilize people and go for a revolt if peace process and constitution writing were obstructed.
“We will make serious efforts for peace and the new constitution after we depart from here,” said Dahal. “We will intensify efforts from our side to end the current political deadlock.”
Asked what kind of proposal his party had to end the currnt political deadlock, Dahal said, “We have discussed the proposal in detail. We will first put this matter before the political parties,” he said. “We won´t disclose it to you first as this could fail our strategy.”
Top Maoist leaders had publicly said that they would come up with a new proposal to end the deadlock the current political deadlock after the party plenum.
Dahal said the plenum has decided to simultaneously hold dialogue with political parties and organize street protests for the cause of nationality, people´s rule and issues related to livelihood. “We will take people to the streets in order to make them (people) aware of the problems that may surface in the course of drafting the new constitution,” he said.
“On the one hand, we will try to bring positive results through Constituent Assembly and dialogues with the political parties while on the other hand we have decided to bring people to the streets if peace process is not concluded and the new constitution not written as per their desires and aspirations,” said Dahal.
Dahal said the plenum has decided launch a revolt if conspiracies are hatched to derail the ongoing peace process and promulgate the new constitution against the desires of the people.
Chairman Dahal and Vice-chairmen Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya had presented three separate political papers in the plenum as the top leaders could not arrive at consensus on the party´s work plan related to peace and the new constitution.
The plenum has authorized the party´s central committee to settle ideological differences as Vice- chairmen Vaidya and Dr Bhattarai could not be convinced over the integrated political paper that Dahal presented in the plenum after incorporating their views.
“The deliberation on the papers has created grounds for unity in the party. The plenum has entrusted the party´s central committee to settle ideological issues both within and outside the party,” Dahal said. The CC will also chalk out the party´s future course of action for peace and constitution.
Top three leaders told media persons that there was consensus among them on issues related to the party´s immediate action plan on peace and the new constitution. They also said the central committee will now disucss the remaining differences among them and based on it Dahal will prepare an integrated paper.
The Maoist plenum could not decide who the principal enemy of the party was as plenum stood divided on it. “We have discussed about it in the plenum. We will hold further discussion in the party´s central committee to finalize it,” Dahal said.
Dahal in his political paper had argued that India was the principal enemy of the party. Bhattrai had opposed Dahal´s idea and had argued that identifying India as the principal enemy would harm the party.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25620
Plenum fails to bridge differences
POST BAHADUR BASNET
PALUNGTAR, Nov 28: The ideological differences among the top three Maoist leaders appeared so wide that the week-long plenum could not resolve them.
The sixth plenum, held in Gorkha, decided to hold a Central Committee (CC) meeting even to formulate the party´s immediate working policy and leave the broad ideological differences to a general convention or a national conclave for settlement.
"Despite serious efforts, we could not pass one single political document. So let´s take them up in the CC meeting," a participant quoted Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as saying at the end of the plenum Saturday.
The ideological differences among party chairman Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai were so sharp that the top three leaders had presented separate political documents at the plenum, and the attempt by Dahal to pass his synthesized document failed after the two vice-chairmen disagreed.
Baidya and Dahal not only put forward their differences with Dahal, but also attacked his leadership and accused him of misusing power and authority to keep his hold in the party.
"The chairman has misused power, authority and finances even during the plenum to continue his grip in the party," a participant quoted Baidya as saying during the meeting Saturday. Baidya looked aggressive on Dahal while giving clarifications on the issues raised by the participants during the meeting.
He also accused Dahal of using the Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA) to threaten others not to hold dissenting opinion. "With the misuse of his authority, the chairman has maintained a majority in the PLA," a leader quoted Baidya as saying.
Baidya argued that Dahal says one thing in theory and does quite the opposite in practice. He was angry with Dahal for not implementing the party line passed during the Kharipati national conclave. The Kharipati meeting had adopted the policy to launch a people´s revolt to establish a "People´s Federal Democratic Republic" in Nepal.
Despite similarity on some issues, Baidya said that he would agree with Dahal´s synthesized document only after modifications.
Baidya also challenged Dahal´s leadership. "It is said that I cannot lead the party. But it is wrong. If I have ideology and can present a separate document, why can´t I Iead the party? In fact I am ready to take over any time," a leader quoted Baidya as saying. He said the party is deviating from communist ideology and would soon indulge in the dirty waters of parliamentary politics if the present trend continues.
Similarly, Bhattarai also came down heavily on Dahal. "By mixing the document, the chairman has done his best to prepare curry, but it cannot be eaten as he has mixed dung in it," a participant quoted Dahal as saying Saturday.
Bhattarai demanded that the party hold a general convention to resolve the ideological differences. He also complained for being labeled "revisionist". "If I don´t speak then you ask why I don´t speak and when I speak, you say I am a revisionist," a central leader quoted Bhattarai as saying.
He also objected to Dahal´s proposal that the party declare India as the principal enemy. "You cannot fight the foreign powers and their stooges at the same time," Bhattarai stated.
Though Dahal and Baidya had agreed that the party should declare India the principal enemy, Bhattarai had objected to it.
The two vice-chairmen termed the synthesized political document prepared by Dahal as an act of "eclecticism" and said it doesn´t lead the party anywhere.
Likewise, Baidya objected to Dahal´s view that the party should work to safeguard the political achievements made since the Chungwang plenum. Baidya argued that the party deviated from communist ideology since the Chungwang meeting, and it was wrong to declare an end to the "People´s War".
Baidya said he doesn´t believe that the current peace process would lead to the constitution of a "People´s Federal Democratic Republic" and demanded that the party prepare grounds for an immediate revolt to that end.
"We could not agree with the chairman´s document. We have so many differences," said Maoist leader Khadga Viswokarma, who is close to Baidya.
Similarly, Bhattarai is of the view that the party should safeguard the achievements made since Chungwang meeting, push for a constitution in favor of the people, work for economic development, and launch a revolt to capture state power after the international situation turns in favor of communism.
"The chairman´s synthesized document is confusing and doesn´t show any clear road," said Maoist leader Ram Karki, who is close to Bhattarai.
Despite differences on broad ideological issues among the top three leaders, the party has, however, decided to formulate a common work-plan on the immediate course the party should take in the current political situation.
"We will try to formulate a common work plan at the CC meeting," said Maoist leader Viswakarma.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25645
1: The debate was not finished. Three seperate documents were presented by Kiran, Prachanda and Bhattarai, and none were passed. Prachanda wrote and presented a synthesised document supposedly uniting all three positions, but both Bhattarai and Kiran (who stand diametrically opposed over the path forward) refused to support it.
2: The party could not agree on who the principal enemy is - Indian expansionism, domestic reactionaries or a combination of the two. Bhattarai is arguing the party should focus on attacking domestic feudalism and de-prioritise targeting India for the time being, whereas Prachanda and Kiran are arguing Indian expansionism and domestic feudalism are inextricably linked together and must be fought as one.
3: The debates will be taken to the Central Committee, which has been authorised by the plenum to settle the dispute. We will see the results of this before too long.
4: The party has stated that if the new deadline for a constitution, May 28th 2011, is not met, there will be a revolt. It has committed to making concrete preparations for this. We don't know what's going to happen - the deadline was extended last time. But the rhetoric is sharpening and the pro-revolt forces in the party are becoming much stronger and more vocal.
Palungtar plenum
REPUBLICA
The Palungtar plenum of the UCPN (Maoist) has ended, as expected, with an ambiguous and somewhat contradictory call for peace, constitution and revolt. If Maoists were confused about their future political course before the plenum, that confusion and contradiction only seems to have deepened after it. At the plenum, the Maoist leaders alternatively talked about peace and revolt as if those two words meant the same thing.
Addressing the inaugural session of the plenum seven days ago, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had said that India and mainstream parties were conspiring against peace and constitution and there was no option but to wage a revolt to defeat these forces. His political paper presented at the plenum was as forceful: "Compradors, foreign stooges, domestic feudalism
[which, according to the Maoists, are represented by parliamentary parties] and Indian expansionism have become our principal enemy today. We should be ready for a people´s revolt... to fight against possible foreign intervention."
However, addressing the press conference at Paluntgar Saturday, Dahal said the party would now hold serious talks with other major parties in parliament to conclude the peace process and to write a new constitution. He defended this contradiction arguing that his party would opt for a revolt if constitution- writing and peace process were obstructed. But none of the slogans sanctioned by the party high command and chanted at the conclusion of the plenum talked about peace and constitution. Instead, one of the slogans called for a steady preparation of a revolt.
The internal rifts in the Maoist party have reached a point from where it´s virtually impossible to address these contradictions. The faction led by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya which has a strong grip in the party organization, doesn´t believe in the peace process at all and wants to abandon it altogether to push for an immediate revolt. Dahal is much closer with another Vice- chairman Dr Babauram Bhattarai´s political line that peace and constitution should be party´s immediate political goal, but has a major personality clash with him as he sees Bhattarai as a major threat to his leadership in the long run. Dahal and Bhattarai also have serious differences on how they view India.
Dahal´s political line to simultaneously push for peace, constitution and revolt is a result of an unnatural fusion between Bhattarai and Baidya´s political lines. This fusion, as contradictory it is, is unlikely to take the party anywhere. The Maoist party must decide once and for all whether it wants to be a part of a plural polity and accept competitive politics. If it does, there is no room for a revolt or even blackmail as all the differences are either settled through dialogues or through ballots, as per the wish of the people. And the Maoists will do well to realize that they joined the peace process after war terribly failed them.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25630
Maoists to push for peace, constitution
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Nov 27: Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has threatened a revolt if its dialogues with the political parties failed to ensure new constitution and conclusion of the peace process.
Speaking at a press conference organized at Palungtar, Gorkha, after the conclusion of the party´s plenum, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the party has decided to initiate serious dialogues with political parties to conclude the peace process and to write the new constitution.
But he also warned that his party will mobilize people and go for a revolt if peace process and constitution writing were obstructed.
“We will make serious efforts for peace and the new constitution after we depart from here,” said Dahal. “We will intensify efforts from our side to end the current political deadlock.”
Asked what kind of proposal his party had to end the currnt political deadlock, Dahal said, “We have discussed the proposal in detail. We will first put this matter before the political parties,” he said. “We won´t disclose it to you first as this could fail our strategy.”
Top Maoist leaders had publicly said that they would come up with a new proposal to end the deadlock the current political deadlock after the party plenum.
Dahal said the plenum has decided to simultaneously hold dialogue with political parties and organize street protests for the cause of nationality, people´s rule and issues related to livelihood. “We will take people to the streets in order to make them (people) aware of the problems that may surface in the course of drafting the new constitution,” he said.
“On the one hand, we will try to bring positive results through Constituent Assembly and dialogues with the political parties while on the other hand we have decided to bring people to the streets if peace process is not concluded and the new constitution not written as per their desires and aspirations,” said Dahal.
Dahal said the plenum has decided launch a revolt if conspiracies are hatched to derail the ongoing peace process and promulgate the new constitution against the desires of the people.
Chairman Dahal and Vice-chairmen Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya had presented three separate political papers in the plenum as the top leaders could not arrive at consensus on the party´s work plan related to peace and the new constitution.
The plenum has authorized the party´s central committee to settle ideological differences as Vice- chairmen Vaidya and Dr Bhattarai could not be convinced over the integrated political paper that Dahal presented in the plenum after incorporating their views.
“The deliberation on the papers has created grounds for unity in the party. The plenum has entrusted the party´s central committee to settle ideological issues both within and outside the party,” Dahal said. The CC will also chalk out the party´s future course of action for peace and constitution.
Top three leaders told media persons that there was consensus among them on issues related to the party´s immediate action plan on peace and the new constitution. They also said the central committee will now disucss the remaining differences among them and based on it Dahal will prepare an integrated paper.
The Maoist plenum could not decide who the principal enemy of the party was as plenum stood divided on it. “We have discussed about it in the plenum. We will hold further discussion in the party´s central committee to finalize it,” Dahal said.
Dahal in his political paper had argued that India was the principal enemy of the party. Bhattrai had opposed Dahal´s idea and had argued that identifying India as the principal enemy would harm the party.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25620
Plenum fails to bridge differences
POST BAHADUR BASNET
PALUNGTAR, Nov 28: The ideological differences among the top three Maoist leaders appeared so wide that the week-long plenum could not resolve them.
The sixth plenum, held in Gorkha, decided to hold a Central Committee (CC) meeting even to formulate the party´s immediate working policy and leave the broad ideological differences to a general convention or a national conclave for settlement.
"Despite serious efforts, we could not pass one single political document. So let´s take them up in the CC meeting," a participant quoted Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as saying at the end of the plenum Saturday.
The ideological differences among party chairman Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai were so sharp that the top three leaders had presented separate political documents at the plenum, and the attempt by Dahal to pass his synthesized document failed after the two vice-chairmen disagreed.
Baidya and Dahal not only put forward their differences with Dahal, but also attacked his leadership and accused him of misusing power and authority to keep his hold in the party.
"The chairman has misused power, authority and finances even during the plenum to continue his grip in the party," a participant quoted Baidya as saying during the meeting Saturday. Baidya looked aggressive on Dahal while giving clarifications on the issues raised by the participants during the meeting.
He also accused Dahal of using the Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA) to threaten others not to hold dissenting opinion. "With the misuse of his authority, the chairman has maintained a majority in the PLA," a leader quoted Baidya as saying.
Baidya argued that Dahal says one thing in theory and does quite the opposite in practice. He was angry with Dahal for not implementing the party line passed during the Kharipati national conclave. The Kharipati meeting had adopted the policy to launch a people´s revolt to establish a "People´s Federal Democratic Republic" in Nepal.
Despite similarity on some issues, Baidya said that he would agree with Dahal´s synthesized document only after modifications.
Baidya also challenged Dahal´s leadership. "It is said that I cannot lead the party. But it is wrong. If I have ideology and can present a separate document, why can´t I Iead the party? In fact I am ready to take over any time," a leader quoted Baidya as saying. He said the party is deviating from communist ideology and would soon indulge in the dirty waters of parliamentary politics if the present trend continues.
Similarly, Bhattarai also came down heavily on Dahal. "By mixing the document, the chairman has done his best to prepare curry, but it cannot be eaten as he has mixed dung in it," a participant quoted Dahal as saying Saturday.
Bhattarai demanded that the party hold a general convention to resolve the ideological differences. He also complained for being labeled "revisionist". "If I don´t speak then you ask why I don´t speak and when I speak, you say I am a revisionist," a central leader quoted Bhattarai as saying.
He also objected to Dahal´s proposal that the party declare India as the principal enemy. "You cannot fight the foreign powers and their stooges at the same time," Bhattarai stated.
Though Dahal and Baidya had agreed that the party should declare India the principal enemy, Bhattarai had objected to it.
The two vice-chairmen termed the synthesized political document prepared by Dahal as an act of "eclecticism" and said it doesn´t lead the party anywhere.
Likewise, Baidya objected to Dahal´s view that the party should work to safeguard the political achievements made since the Chungwang plenum. Baidya argued that the party deviated from communist ideology since the Chungwang meeting, and it was wrong to declare an end to the "People´s War".
Baidya said he doesn´t believe that the current peace process would lead to the constitution of a "People´s Federal Democratic Republic" and demanded that the party prepare grounds for an immediate revolt to that end.
"We could not agree with the chairman´s document. We have so many differences," said Maoist leader Khadga Viswokarma, who is close to Baidya.
Similarly, Bhattarai is of the view that the party should safeguard the achievements made since Chungwang meeting, push for a constitution in favor of the people, work for economic development, and launch a revolt to capture state power after the international situation turns in favor of communism.
"The chairman´s synthesized document is confusing and doesn´t show any clear road," said Maoist leader Ram Karki, who is close to Bhattarai.
Despite differences on broad ideological issues among the top three leaders, the party has, however, decided to formulate a common work-plan on the immediate course the party should take in the current political situation.
"We will try to formulate a common work plan at the CC meeting," said Maoist leader Viswakarma.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25645