Maoist blockade in Nepal

[Hiero]

I have notice alot of talk about the Venezuelan revolution, but i see none of the real revolution happening in Nepal. Five days ago the Maoist formed a blockade around major roads to the capital Kathmandu. The have on the fith day increased the blockade to the Tibet entrance. The blockade isnt physical and some trucks still make it through, but many havent not attempted to out of fear.

[Louis Pio]

I think there's a difference between the maoist concept of "people's war" and then revolution. Especially considering how it always drags on in the endless.
A interesting article on the subject can be found here
The impasse facing the Nepalese Communists (http://www.marxist.com/Asia/nepal_0804.html)

[fernando]

Was Nepal the country which still had slavery? or was it Tibet?

[Hiero]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2004, 12:45 PM
I think there's a difference between the maoist concept of "people's war" and then revolution. Especially considering how it always drags on in the endless.
A interesting article on the subject can be found here
The impasse facing the Nepalese Communists (http://www.marxist.com/Asia/nepal_0804.html)
Since 1996, that isnt very long for a peoples war.

[Louis Pio]

No of course not, but still 8 years of bloodsheed without a quvalitative change is not the way I would go. And just look at the experience from the rest of the world, especially Colombia or Peru. (not that FARC is maoist, it is however kind of the same tactic).
The communist movement in Nepal is divided to a very large degree, the one party who have support among the workers have now joined a coalition and the maoists continue their war based on sections of the peasants.

[fernando]

Compare it to Peru...werent Sendero Luminoso Maoists?

[Louis Pio]

Yeah and they are almost totally gone now. Their leades in jail and whatever support they had gone because they were a little to triggerhappy against peasants.

[Saint-Just]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2004, 12:47 PM
Was Nepal the country which still had slavery? or was it Tibet?
Nepal has landowners and feudal-type lords. Tibet did have slavery before the Maoist revolution.

[lord_darg]

Just as a random thought on the whole thing, <sarcasm>Im just amazed at how MUCH the maoists have achieved in their time as a political party in nepal</sarcasm>... <_< ... It is quite possibly the slowest movement, and certainly the rallies they throw every now and then around the city are more of a nuisance than anything else. And one simply ends up asking what the point of blocking the city off is. They will certainly not win true support from any of the cities inhabitants. If anything, Kathmadu will merely be cowed into submission for a short while. The only real solution for this problem is decisive action from either side, which will most probably not happen. I had some point to make but i forgot it. Basically, it had something to do with the uselesness of the maoist party as it currently stands in Nepal. Something to that effect.

[Saint-Just]

The Maoists are close to creating a socialist revolution having started a geurrilla war about 8 years ago. The point of blockading the city is to force the government and the royal family into accepting their demands. The government will find it very difficult to govern Nepal with Kathmandu blockaded. As such they will have to accept defeat.

[Louis Pio]

The Maoists are close to creating a socialist revolution having started a geurrilla war about 8 years ago. The point of blockading the city is to force the government and the royal family into accepting their demands. The government will find it very difficult to govern Nepal with Kathmandu blockaded. As such they will have to accept defeat.

Why the fuck was the blokade lifted then? Some clever scheme?

[socialistfuture]

tibet did not have a revolution it had an invasion and now has an occuapation.

[mundoqueganar]

No of course not, but still 8 years of bloodsheed without a quvalitative change is not the way I would go.

No qualitative change? That&#39;s a completely untrue statement. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has extensive base areas--in some estimates up to 75% of the countryside has been liberated and alternative structures have been or are being set up. Members of oppressed nationalities and castes have risen up in arms to overturn hundreds of years of "tradition" and run out the upper-caste landlords (read "Tharu Autonomy: When the Slaves Rise Up on the Nepal Plains" from the Revolutionary Worker at http://rwor.org/a/1240/tharu.htm)

Women too have challenged literally thousands of years of traditions, and are leading women&#39;s militias and hold commander posts in the People&#39;s Liberation Army. Women have the right to divorce, in some areas for the first time ever, and rape, which concentrates women&#39;s oppression in the utmost, is firmly dealt with in Maoist controlled areas. (Check out "Taking It Higher: Women&#39;s Liberation in Nepal" at http://rwor.org/a/1231/nepalwomen.htm)

The most exciting thing is that people who for centuries were the object of political and economic maneuvering by the ruling classes of Nepal are wielding the revolutionary science of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism for their own liberation. This is happening broadly throughout the country, especially in liberated areas. It&#39;s stunning to think about--people are right at this moment shattering centuries old chains of oppression and engaging in politics in ways that would have been impossible to conceive in the old society.

To say that there has been no qualitiative change in the 8 years of the People&#39;s War is to take complete leave of reality.


The communist movement in Nepal is divided to a very large degree, the one party who have support among the workers have now joined a coalition and the maoists continue their war based on sections of the peasants.

Yes, the "movement" is divided between the real communists in the CPN(M) who have a real shot at winning state power (and soon&#33;) and the rotten revisionist "United Marxist-Leninist" party who collaborate with the monarchy and oppose the people&#39;s war for liberation. I know which side of that line I&#39;m on.

[Saint-Just]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2004, 11:16 AM

Why the fuck was the blokade lifted then? Some clever scheme?
Yes, thats right; a clever scheme. No one can fathom why they have postponed the blockade.

[Hiero]

Maoist control (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/upf.htm)

This has maps of the control of the Maoist.

[Louis Pio]

I will still say that there is no qualitative change because the maoists isn&#39;t closer to taking power as say for example 2 years ago. The situation seems to be looked as it is. Maoist control of the underdeveloped countryside and government control of the cities. How can this be a base for socialism? A underdeveloped country like Nepal would if the maoists succeded in taking power need to spread the revolution quickly 1. as a safeguard against intervention from powers such as India. 2. to have the material base for building socialism.


Yes, the "movement" is divided between the real communists in the CPN(M) who have a real shot at winning state power (and soon&#33;) and the rotten revisionist "United Marxist-Leninist" party who collaborate with the monarchy and oppose the people&#39;s war for liberation. I know which side of that line I&#39;m on.

Yes splitting the workers and peasants is surely the way to go...
Isn&#39;t it a problem that the left is so split in Nepal? I would say so, the maoists bombing and assasination campaign against the rest of the left hasn&#39;t helped this or helped drawing these people away from the rotten leadership.
That&#39;s the real tradegy of the present situation

[chebol]

There has been a qualitative change in nepal- but not a very marked one. The maoists have shown that they are a real force to be reckoned with- but they are not in anything like a position to lead a revolution- and they recognise this.
Firstly, the left is split, with the largely urban based CPN-UML engaging in electoral and collaborationist politics, and the maoists engaged in a guerrilla struggle. This would almost be a useful situation, if not for the fact that they find it almost impossible to work together (or even sit in the same room).
Secondly, the maoists are not arguing for revolution right now- they are fighting for the removal of the monarchy andthe implementation of a democratic republic, within which socialism can be won by argument, rather than by artillery. The real danger lies in the possible event of them getting it the wrong way round.

[Maksym]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3616712.stm

Nepal&#39;s prime minister has appealed for calm following violent protests in the capital against the killing of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq.
Sher Bahadur Deuba called for restraint in a nationwide address on state radio.

An indefinite curfew has been imposed in Kathmandu after angry mobs attacked a mosque and offices. Police say one protester has died in the violence.

Many in Nepal are blaming the government for not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages.

I call upon all citizens of Nepal to have patience - we made honest efforts to save them but the militants never spelt out their conditions

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba


Nepal shocked by murders
Anger in Nepal press

In his address, Mr Deuba said no community should be targeted over the killings of the Nepalis.

Opposition leaders have also appealed for calm, as has the king.

The authorities say three others were wounded in clashes with police after they defied the curfew order.

Reports say the situation in Kathmandu and surrounding districts remains tense.

Correspondents say it is the first time in living memory that the Muslim minority has been targeted in Nepal.

Mosque attacked

Nepal&#39;s government confirmed the deaths after images on a website showed one man being beheaded and 11 shot dead.

The news was received with anger and grief in Nepal, with one official describing it as "one of the worst days" in his country&#39;s history.

The government did not do enough to get their release

Sudarshan Khadka
Victim&#39;s brother


South Asia&#39;s &#39;agents of doom&#39;
Thousands of angry demonstrators took to the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the security forces struggling to control the situation.

Riot police used batons and teargas to push back an angry mob which attacked the Jama mosque in central Kathmandu.

"We want revenge," demonstrators shouted as they stormed the mosque, which was empty at the time.

"Demonstrators entered the mosque, threw stones and partially damaged it," the Reuters news agency quoted police official Binod Singh as saying.

Protesters stoned the labour department building in Kathmandu, shattering windows and damaging equipment.


The bodies shown on an Islamic website
They also targeted agencies which recruited Nepalese workers for the Middle East, as well as two Arab airline offices.

Burning tyres have been placed at major intersections, blocking traffic.

Nepalese Muslim groups have condemned the killings, saying the "inhuman act is against Islam".

Government blamed

The government is being heavily criticised for doing little to free the hostages and there have been calls for the prime minister to step down.

The English language Kathmandu Post newspaper said the militants who had killed the hostages were simply "terrorists who have camouflaged themselves in the masks of Islam".

It said the government had failed to take concrete steps to secure the hostages&#39; release.

The government denies the criticism and has condemned the incident as a "barbarian act of terrorism".

It pressed the international community to hunt down the killers.


Grief-stricken relatives are trying to come to terms with their tragedy
The families of the 12 victims are grief-stricken and in shock.

"The government did not do enough to get their release," said Sudharshan Khadka, whose brother Ramesh was one of the victims.

The government said it would take action against agencies illegally sending people to Iraq.

Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, has banned its citizens from going to Iraq, despite the relatively well-paid jobs there.

The militants said the 12 Nepalis had been killed because they "came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians".

------------------------------
The government appears very weak and fragile. This might boost the moral of the Marxist rebels since it shows the urban population also has no faith in the government.

[redtrigger]

I think Tibet should be free, this religous center has no place in the hands of Atheist China. Free Tibet&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[mundoqueganar]

Originally posted by [email protected] 29 2004, 07:56 PM
Yes splitting the workers and peasants is surely the way to go...
Isn&#39;t it a problem that the left is so split in Nepal? I would say so, the maoists bombing and assasination campaign against the rest of the left hasn&#39;t helped this or helped drawing these people away from the rotten leadership.
That&#39;s the real tradegy of the present situation
I&#39;m posting this article which shows that the Maoists have a very strong base in the urban proletariat. Just because the revisionist UML has a base there too doesn&#39;t mean that they represent the interests of the working class.

daily times (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-9-2004_pg4_13)
Pro-Maoist union asks firms to close down

KATHMANDU: A Nepali labour union with links to Maoist rebels asked 35 firms across the embattled Himalayan kingdom on Tuesday to shut shop in a move aimed at bolstering the guerrilla campaign to overthrow the monarchy.

The new threat comes as Nepal returns to normal after violent riots over the killing of 12 Nepalis by an Islamic militant group in Iraq and is likely to again hit an impoverished economy that has already been hit by years of insurgency.

The call by the All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions comes three weeks after 12 businesses, including luxury hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza and leading tobacco firm Surya Nepal, decided to close down after four bomb blasts rocked the hotel.

Soaltee Crowne Plaza is managed by a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Britan’s InterContinental Group of hotels and Surya Nepal (P) Limited is a joint venture among Nepali investors, Indian Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco Company.

“Since the government and industrial enterprises have not fulfilled demands presented by our organisation so far, we announce indefinite closure of additional 35 industries from Sept. 10,” the All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions said. The group, which has close links with the rebels fighting to set up a communist state, did not spell out its demands but in the past it has insisted the government stop dubbing it a “terrorist” group.

The government urged firms to continue operations and said it was ready to provide them with security. “We cannot threaten the businesses to open but we have told them we will give them adequate security so that they can run their business,” cabinet spokesman Mohammed Mohsin told reporters.

The new list of businesses asked to close down includes Bhotekoshi Power Company, a US joint venture generating hydroelectric power, and Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in Chitaun in southern Nepal, a tourist attraction for jungle safaris. reuters

[Hiero]

Originally posted by [email protected] 4 2004, 01:46 AM
I think Tibet should be free, this religous center has no place in the hands of Atheist China. Free Tibet&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
And yoy have a picture of Marx in your avatar. Rather odd.

[Monty Cantsin]

Originally posted by comrade [email protected] 9 2004, 10:43 AM
And yoy have a picture of Marx in your avatar. Rather odd.
You don’t support a nation’s right to self-determination and you call yourself a Leninists?

[Louis Pio]

It&#39;s still rather odd how all pro-maoists overlook the fact that Nepal can&#39;t build socialism on it&#39;s own. Everything is reduced to the national struggle in Nepal, a undeveloped country. As I have said a thousand times, Nepla&#39;s future is closely lionked with the rest of the sub-continent, it&#39;s quite basic marxist analysis. Failing to realise that is what leads to a ongoing struggle, not bringing socialism closer but only resulting in more deaths.