News from Nepal(continued)

Continued from here

Maoists ready to address NA's problems

KATHMANDU, Sept 14: Vice Chairman of the UCPN (Maoist) Narayankaji Shrestha on Tuesday clarified that the government and his party have reached a gentlemen´s agreement to address the problems faced by the national army through dialogues.

“If there are genuine problems of the Nepal Army, our party is ready to address them through discussions at political level,” said Shrestha.

The government had on Monday agreed to allow UNMIN to monitor the Nepal Army after September 15 till its extended term expires.

The Maoists have made it clear that they would be flexible in letting the army fill up technical posts and allow procurement of arms and ammunition meant for peace keeping purpose after holding dialogues at the political level.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23311

Agreement at last

The government and the UCPN (Maoist) have finally struck a deal about the future of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and have sent a joint letter to the United Nation’s Security Council (UNSC) to extend its term – for the last time – for four months. This was a deal, in a way forced by the UNSC that rejected separate letters sent by the government and the Maoists and asked them to form a common stance on the issue. Since the Security Council threatened the parties with a technical rollover of the Mission if they failed to reach an agreement, they had no choice but to comply. That we have reached a point where it seems no longer possible for us to use our common sense and reason to take decisions by ourselves is unfortunate.

The parties have also pledged to “take up the remaining tasks of the peace process from September 17 and complete them ‘basically’ by January 14, 2011.” This is the most important component of the 4-point deal between the government and the Maoists. There is, however, a caveat: Are the parties committed to and confident of ending the peace process in the next four months?

The wording of the agreement also leaves room for doubts. We urge all the parties to make use of the next four months to conclude the peace process and prepare a ground for writing a democratic constitution. Even as we ask all the parties to behave responsibly, there is no doubt in our mind that the Maoist party has to shoulder the major responsibility. As the party with its own army and the one that is yet to renounce violence, the onus for taking initiatives lie disproportionately on the Maoists.

But the Maoists still seem divided between concluding the peace process, writing a constitution, and becoming a part of a democratic mainstream and waging a revolt to capture state by force. Only on Wednesday, when Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was busy signing a deal in Baluwatar to conclude the peace process in the next four months, Maoist Senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya was telling the public that his party was preparing for the final revolt.

The peaceful protest programs, announced by the party for a month beginning September 17, according to Baidya, will prepare ground for the revolt. The Maoist party must once and for all decide which way it wants to go. So long as the party remains vertically split – half of its leaders committed to peace half-heartedly and the other half harping on war – the party is going to go nowhere. Our only hope is that, if and when the party takes a final decision, it will decide to side with peace and democracy and shun the radical elements in the party.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23303

Govt, Maoists send consensus letters to UN

KATHMANDU, Sept 14: The government and the UCPN (Maoist) on Tuesday sent separate consensus letters to the United Nations (UN) for renewal of the existing mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) by four more months.

Earlier, the government and the UCPN (Maoist) had sent separate and conflicting letters to the UN with regard to the renewal of UNMIN´s mandate after September 15, the deadline of the existing mandate of the UN political mission.

"The letter reflects the spirit of the agreement reached between the government and the UCPN (Maoist) on Monday," said a source close to the prime minister.

On Monday, both the government and the Maoists had agreed to complete the peace process in the next four months, among others.

The UCPN (Maoist), in the letter, has expressed its optimism that it will be possible to take the ongoing peace process to a fruitful conclusion within the next four months. The party sent the letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon through the UNMIN´s office in Kathmandu.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23313

Dahal says Maoists will trounce regressive forces
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 17:07

He, however, said he was concerned looking at the one after another round of election for a prime minister failing to bear results.

Dahal, who was speaking at a book launching programme in the capital on Wednesday, also described the deepening political problem as a direct result of the serious contention between progressive and regressive forces.

The Maoist chairman, however, said that the party will emerge victorious in its fight against regressive forces. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....ve-forces.html

Whoa! WTF?

RED DAVE

It's a concession that doesn't mean much in practice. The NA has secret arms caches, of course. While the peace accords have made it difficult for them to operate in the open in some ways, when the time comes their guns won't be without bullets. And if the UNMIN stopped monitoring them... they'd be able to very easily prepare to move against the Maoists. It would mean the abrupt end of the peace process.

All the Maoists have done is allow the NA to get the weapons and ammo it needs for overseas 'peacekeeping' missions. It's a very minor concession.

If Kiran's claims are true and the Maoists are preparing for revolt, they need time. With this concession they've gained four months. Let's hope it's enough.

Great lesson for revolutionaries all over the world ... help your local army.

Now all this can be rationalized as a delaying strategy, sort of like the nazi-Soviet pact. On the other hand, why embellish a strategic necessity with a series of lies that undermines Marxist political theory? Or is the Nepali army, like fascism according to Molotov, just a matter of taste?

RED DAVE

Maybe I'm giving the Maoists in Nepal too much of the benefit of the doubt -- maybe I'm too repelled by outside pessimists right now to give credence to their arguments -- but it seems that Shrestha's quote is a tactical response that fits with what is really a delaying tactic.

“If there are genuine problems of the Nepal Army, our party is ready to address them through discussions at political level,” said Shrestha. And exactly what would the Maoists say in those political discussions? It seems to me that, with the preparations for resuming armed struggle underway, whatever the Maoists might say about problems in the NA would be geared toward weakening their opponent and strengthening the position of the PLA (even though it may not appear on the surface to be such). That's just common sense, at this point.

There is also another point to consider here. Attempting to address problems in a military through "political dialogue" is a painfully long and protracted process, in the eyes of the military itself. Consider what the "political dialogue" on the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy has done to the U.S. military in recent years. It has been demoralizing for the officer corps, taxing on personnel in general and seemingly a dead-end exercise. Everyone connected to the process, from politicians to the brass hats to the media pundits and bobbleheads is already frustrated by what has been happening. Some see it going too slow; some see it going too fast. What everyone agrees on is that consensus is impossible.

Now, consider such a dynamic in a "political dialogue" around the Nepali Army. It is going to push a lot of tensions to the surface. From the Maoist perspective, if they have any semblance of brains about this, they can use the entire experience as a "teaching moment". If the NC and UML stall on the "dialogue", the Maoists can rightly accuse them of violating the peace accord and UNMIN mandate. If the officer corps tries to revolt, it can offer an opportunity to present the PLA as the "defenders of peace and democracy". If the media tries to interrupt the "dialogue", the Maoists can use the opportunity to shift public opinion in favor of a Maoist-led government. Personally, I suspect all three will happen, to one degree or another. As a bonus, each of these, and the combinations thereof, can be used as a reason to re-launch armed struggle and enact a revolution. With the NA weakened through demoralization, the officer corps set against the Constituent Assembly (and, very likely, itself as well), the bourgeois parties looking like they are appeasing potential coup plotters, and the media frothing at the mouth over an agreed-to process of "political dialogue", the Maoists and PLA will find themselves in the best possible position to make the final push for power. Their opponents will be divided against themselves in ways not seen before, while they will be relatively unified and prepared for action.

(NB: The chief spoiler in this scenario would be Bhattarai, who will inevitably play a role akin to Zinoviev in October 1917. The real question is how much he can damage the UCPN[M] by doing so. I have a hunch it might backfire badly if he overplays his hand, though.)

On the one hand, it is a truism that the State, with the armed forces at its core is an expression of the dictatorship of one class over another.

On the other hand, the Russian revolution never would have popped off without the Tsar's soldiers switching sides. Likewise in the Chinese revolution, there was more than one instance of the KMT switching over to the Communists en bloc.

UCPN(M) is playing an interesting game here. Whether they win or lose, this is shaping up to be what is sure a massive lesson for Marxists everywhere.

Its a bit like watching a car wreck happen, really. The only question is, will it end up like Funniest Home Videos or Red Asphalt? Only time will tell.

I agree with your analysis and your post was excellent. I want to question this a bit though - it's not particularly Marxist, imho, to say that Bhattarai playing a Zinovievist role is 'inevitable'. We don't know the content of the debates. We don't know what he's saying behind closed doors. We know he's arguing for things to be slowed down and fought out legally and peacefully for a while longer, but his argument could revolve around slowing it down for only a few more months than Kiran is arguing for. We just don't know and I think it's dangerous to publicly label Bhattarai a counter-revolutionary this early in the game. He's one of the party's most senior leaders and is very highly respected in Nepal - he's also a genius, literally. An incredibly smart man. We shouldn't just dismiss him.

Lol isn't a car wreck guaranteed to end badly?

It may be completely jumping the shark to say what I said about Bhattarai. I can accept that criticism. I guess that, more than anything else, he strikes me as someone that has difficulty accepting party discipline, and even more difficulty when those efforts at enforcing discipline come from other party members he sees as being of lesser intelligence. Maybe I'm wrong -- I sorta hope I am. But I do have a bad feeling about him. But, yes, it's all speculation, so I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment on the analysis. Much appreciated.

Just to go completely off topic... jumping the shark? Lolwut? Here in NZ you hear the phrase 'jumping the gun' every so often, which makes sense as a phrase. People starting to run in a race before the starter gun goes off, makes total sense.

But jumping the shark? wtf? :lol:

What I think is crucial in this process, and which I don't see up for discussion, is the relationship of the party to the working class. In my arrogant opinion, the general strike was a disaster. The most powerful weapon that the working class has short of armed insurrections was used – to accelerate the constitutional process, which is already an act of class collaboration by the Maoists.

Someone, above, argued that the Maoists are in a much more powerful position than ever. I don't see this at all. They entered, and took over the prime ministership of, a bourgeois government and got their asses kicked politically. They have sowed illusions about the constitutional process. They have used the working class to manipulate a bourgeois constitutional political process that had nothing to do with working class power (but might have something to do with Maoist power, hence Bhattarai). All this has opened fissures in their leadership which are apparent halfway around the world.

The Maoists now are discussing restarting their armed struggle, which didn't work the last time because they had failed to establish connections with the urban working class in Katmandu. Maoist propaganda and photos of the general strike notwithstanding, it is not at all clear that those connections have been made, which virtually guarantees, at best, a victory without the working class coming to power and one more round of state capitalism.

I don't mean to be cynical, comrades. But I see the Maoists having come from the wrong direction in the first place politically, and going down the China, Vietnam and soon Cuba and North Korean route: state capitalism to private capitalism.

RED DAVE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

"Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful enterprise. The phrase was originally used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd storylines or unlikely characterizations. These changes were often the result of efforts to revive interest in a show whose audience had begun to decline, usually through the employment of different actors, writers or producers."

They're discussing a revolt. There cannot be a return to the jungles - the urban masses, the trade unions and student unions and womens organisations and ethnic organisations etc etc are the new 'magic weapons' of the party.

Some people will never be convinced. All evidence will be dismissed as 'Maoist propaganda', all anti-Maoist slander will be accepted as evidence. Are you honestly saying that the Maoists don't have mass support amongst the people of Kathmandu?

It's pretty much inevitable unless some European country has a revolution and comes to the rescue of these backward savages amiright?

And so the most dangerous part of the peace process since the very beginning begins... let's hope it pays off.

Mao's PLA took the red stars off their caps when they joined with the GMD forces to fight the Japanese. There's historical precedents here.

PLA now under Special Committee

KIRAN CHAPAGAIN

KATHMANDU, Sept 17: In a significant development, the UCPN (Maoist) has agreed in principle to disassociate the PLA from the party and place it under the Special Committee formed for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of the former combatants.

“The combatants have come under the command and control of the Special Committee from today,” Maoist representative on the Committee Barsha Man Pun told journalists after a meeting on Thursday evening.

“It is an important step toward integration and rehabilitation of (the Maoist) army.”

Pun, who is also the in-charge of his party´s combatants integration bureau, informed that the combatants will formally come under the command and control of the Special Committee once a proposed secretariat gets final shape. He said that a special function will be organized soon to announce the PLA´s formal disassociation from the party.

Four more members will be added to the technical committee formed under the Special Committee and it will function as the secretariat to oversee the combatants, according to Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, who is also spokesperson of the Committee.

One member each from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the People´s Liberation Army will be added to the technical commitee. One of the 12 members will be appointed as the coordinator.

This is a significant development in the peace process which has remained practically stalled for so long. The government and the Maoists had agreed on Monday to conclude the peace process ´basically´ by January 14, 2011 and had sent a letter to the UN Security Council informing it about this.

Once the secretariat becomes functional, it will cut the link of the 19,602 combatants with the Maoist party through its command, control and direction.

A meeting of the Special Committee headed by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Thursday evening finalized two key documents relating to directives for command and control of the combatants and a code of conduct for the ex-Maoist army personnel.

The code of conduct requires the combatants to severe all their ties with the party. They will be prohibited from carrying out political activities, using pictures of communist leaders in their barracks, singing of communist songs and painting communist slogans, among other things, according to Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong, who is an invitee member on the committee. They will also have to stop greeting their leaders and fellow combatants in the way communist cadres do.

The code of conduct also bars Maoist leaders from making political speeches inside the cantonments where the combatants have been living under UN-monitoring.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/in...&news_id=23379

Prachanda has withdrawn from the PM race.

Maoist leader withdraws from race to be Nepal PM

(AFP) – 58 minutes ago

KATHMANDU — The head of Nepal's opposition Maoists withdrew Friday from the race to become prime minister to pave the way for fresh talks on forming a national consensus government, his party said.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former warlord who still goes by his nom de guerre, Prachanda ("the fierce one"), was the front-runner in the two-way contest, but had failed to win the cross-party support he needed to form a new coalition government.

The Maoists, who fought a decade-long civil war against the state before transforming themselves into a political party and winning 2008 elections, hold the largest number of seats in parliament, but not enough to govern alone.

"The country has been held hostage by the indecision of its politicians," the party's vice chairman Baburam Bhattarai told AFP.

"We have decided to pull out of the race so that we can make a fresh attempt at reaching consensus between the parties for a national unity government."

Nepal has been without a government since June 30, when former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stood down under intense pressure from the Maoists.

Since then, the parties have been unable to agree on the shape of the new administration and a series of votes in the 601-member parliament have proved inconclusive, with none of the candidates securing an overall majority.

The next vote was due to be held on September 26, but is likely to be cancelled after the Maoists' move.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...i43R_W3ZIKFarA

Prachanda warns for new struggle

Added At: 2010-09-16 10:01 PM Last Updated At: 2010-09-16 10:01 PM


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/inc...=196&w=296&c=1

Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'
RSS

KATHMANDU: Chairman of the UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has warned of a national struggle if the party was not given a chance to lead the government through the constitutional ways.

Speaking at an interaction entitled 'Bhimdutta: National Independence and Nepali Revolution', organised by Sem Ahwan monthly magazine in the capital today, he claimed the national struggle will be different from the People's War and it will be waged under the leadership of all Nepalis.

He said the national struggle will be waged openly as the People's War was waged by publicly declaring from the Open Theatre (Khula Munch) and from the rostrum of the parliament.

Prachanda warned the people's patience and tolerance might cross the limit and it might take violent outlet saying that the Maoists and the 30 million people were overwhelmed with pain and suffering by fighting for national pride, independence and social justice.

He claimed the entire population will follow the path shown by the late Bhimdutta if the Maoists were sidelined under different pretensions.



Claiming that use of the 'remote control' has been seen in the current prime ministerial election, he reiterated that Nepalis should get a chance to elect the prime minister on their own.

He expressed his satisfaction towards the role of some media that are backing the issues of nationality.

Whip of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Abhishek Pratap Shah committed to sacrifice for the sake of nationality as did the late martyr Bhimdutta.

Professor Phanindra Nepal, cartographer Buddhi Narayan Shrestha and artiste Yubaraj Lama urged the Maoists to take a strong stance on nationality.

Bhimdutta Pant was born in a farmer family in 1983BS in Doti district was murdered in 2010BS Sawan 10.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ful...&NewsID=258008

Nepal Maoist further complicate Peace Process, demand integration en masse

Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, Vice chairman Unified Maoists’ Party responded modestly when asked by journalists whether he was the candidate for the prime ministerial post, “I do not have personal ambition to become the prime minister. It would be better if Comrade Prachanda leads the country as he is also leading the party.”

Whether Dr. Bhattarai was speaking his inner mind or something different could be a matter of debate in that while Bhattarai was clarifying his “ambitions”, his party chairman was listening to the remarks of his ‘rival’ with his head down.

The Unified Maoists’ Party organized a media interaction program on Saturday, June 26, 2010 after the completion of its ten day long (June 15-25, 2010) party politburo meeting held at the party headquarters in Parisdanda, Kathmandu wherein Dr. Bhattarai made these remarks.


The party also decided to convene the extended plenum of the central committee to point-out party’s prime contradictions.

The meeting has been scheduled for the month of September 2010.

“With the abolishment of autocratic and feudal monarchy and the unfolding political events thereafter make it clear that the party’s prime contradiction has also taken a new shape…we have concluded that our external and internal contradictions have been fused together”, reads the party’s statement distributed at the press conference.

The party senior vice chairman Mr. Mohan Baidya Kiran has already made it public that with the end of Nepali monarchy, his party’s prime contradiction was with the Indian Expansionism.

The Party statement also reads: “As per the Inter-state ideology of the proletariat, we will encourage interactions with the Communist revolutionaries across the world and develop proactive relations with them and have also decided to raise voices against the repression of the people across the world, including India.

Nevertheless, an energized looking Comrade Pushpa Kamal Dahal told journalists at the press meet adding more complexity to the stalled peace process that all UNMIN qualified Militias should undergo the integration process and that too en masse.

He said that the 19,000 UNMIN verified Militias are all qualified to undergo integration.

“We will not accept the modality for integration on individual basis, instead we favor a separate security force to be formed for the Peoples’ Liberation Army”, he continued.

He made it clear to his political rivals in the UML and Nepali Congress camps that nowhere in the Broader Peace Agreement has there been mentioned pin-pointing the number of PLA combatants that would undergo the integration process.

Thus, Dahal said, it would be against the peace agreement to pressurize us to provide the number of PLA men at this juncture.

Dahal at the press meet was flanked by his party deputies, vice chairmen Dr. Bhattarai, Mohan Baidya Kiran and Narayan Kaji Prakash.

“We have come to the conclusion that the likelihood of formation of consensus government has become almost impossible”, noted Prachanda and added, “Yet we have kept both option open, consensus and majority government, both.”

“I urge you journalists not to understand more than what we have said, we have said that consensus government should be formed under our leadership and the leadership means party’s chairman”, said Dahal and left the venue.

The Highlights of Party decision follows:
· Struggle from Three Fronts: Sadak, Sadan and Sarkar (Street, Parliament and Government).
· Unified Front at the local level to provide security, control price hike and provide other basic services to the common people.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=7877

Stop micro-managing Nepal
DINKAR NEPAL

When things go out of control in a neighboring country with which you are culturally, historically and geo-politically linked, your diplomats posted to handle the situation there create a mess, the politicians who you believed would listen to you start behaving strangely and the people of that country start hating you; what does the doctor prescribe?

Fly envoys. If that fails, fly special envoys in frenzy. And what’s the news? Sorry doc, it’s got worse.

India is known to be a decisive influence in Nepal’s internal political affairs since the time it is known to be India. The untold promise for the Ranas in the closing years of the British Raj for protection against democratic winds; sheltering of King Tribhuvan and hence the monarchy in 1951; privileges, protection and facilities the political leaders got during the Panchayat era; the 1989-90 economic embargo; or, more recently facilitating of the 12-point agreement are all stark examples of this.

By and large, these efforts have helped positive outcomes for both Nepal and India except for the last time when the calculations went grossly wrong and the Maoists won a majority in the Constituent Assembly elections. And the problems started there.

In all the examples stated above, it was clear to India as to who matters most. The Ranas were the only people who had a say in Nepal at that time, hence there was no dilemma. Later, when the political environment became bad for the Ranas, the king was the best bet.

King Mahendra, clear on his alignments, gave little choice for India but to support the democratic movements and parties. This support continued till 1990 when the multi-party system was established. In 2006, after analyzing the merits and demerits, India helped the political parties unite against the king and created grounds for the Maoists for a soft landing into the mainstream.

But India’s calculation and the ‘democratic’ parties’ confidence was proved drastically wrong by the elections and now, the so-called Nepal experts (read ex-ambassadors, royal relatives and paper pundits) are losing their nerves.

The mother of all the problems for Lainchaur today is: Who should it deal with?

The king is almost ousted from the capital and the political arena. The Madhesis are not in a powerful majority though they are significant in number. The traditional elites or the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML have been made a political minority by the Maoists. And, with the Maoists, they are not very comfortable.

The result is this mess. Micromanagement is exposed. Threatening phone calls by intelligence operatives to legally elected lawmakers make headlines. And what is worse, the threat is over education prospects of the daughter who studies in a school!

The geo-political juxtaposition and economic reality makes it impossible for a government in Kathmandu to be indifferent toward New Delhi. Whatever be the ideological cart that pushes them to power, once the day-to-day nuances of governance, budget, finance and economy starts taking a toll on them; no political party can run away from this reality.

The moment Pushpa Kamal Dahal came to power, the ‘scrapping of the 1950 treaty’ mellowed down to both sides ‘reviewing the relationships with an open mind’. The rhetoric of recruitment of Nepali citizens in foreign army became a ‘sensitive and delicate issue’ that should be consulted with all parties. (When one of the diplomats derisively told me in a brief encounter that Dahal had himself called up the ambassador not to stop the recruitments in Nepal, I was ashamed to the hilt.)
Surprisingly, this realization has not made them confident in the right manner. It’s in the long-term interest of the relationship that India stops reacting in frenzy to each and every event in Nepal. In short, stop micro-managing Nepal.

Recently, an op-ed piece in a national newspaper of India carried an opinion of the sense that the diplomats are not there in Kathmandu to win a beauty contest. This shows that not only the policymakers but also the pundits are neglecting the most important factor in the relationship – the people. It’s high time someone gives a lecture on the importance of soft power and public opinion to the originators of such pontifications.

An image makeover, in the eyes of the public, is what India needs most right now. With what Lainchaur is involved in, it may be able to keep one or the other kind of ruling elites of its liking in the seats of importance. But, till the time the dissention remains in general public against India, some or the other party will emerge to exploit it. India, I believe, needs no lessons on this that creating a common enemy is the best method for political mass mobilization, if it has learnt something from politics of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

So, here are the tips from an insider. Instead of losing their sleep to decide who they should deal with in Nepal, the wise men in Lainchaur should focus on people-centered programs, and let the political powers come to equilibrium on their own, without an external pressure. And be rest assured, whoever emerges stronger on its own, cannot and will not bypass India.

India should focus its power and energy in educating its own citizens about the sensitivities involved while dealing with the citizens of a sovereign neighboring country. Drawing a Laxman Rekha, which should not be crossed at any cost, is in the best interests of all. And till the time this realization hits the rulers in Delhi, no Hanuman can fly to the Himalayas and get a sanjivani for the dying relationship.

[email protected]

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23414

Dahal affirms Maoists are in peace process to build 'a new political mainstream'

UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced on Friday that he has quit the maddening race for the post of prime minister to free the country from being hostage to indecision and uncertainty. He said that there is no meaning in continuing to contest in the prime ministerial election when seven rounds have remained fruitless.

Addressing the 12th General Convention of Nepali Congress at Khulla Manch, Dahal said Maoists were not brought into the peace process, but that the Maoists together with Nepali Congress had started the peace process.

"It would be wrong to say that late Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala brought the Maoists into the peace process," he said, raising his voice against the hooting he received from the crowd of mostly NC activists and sympathizers. "I and Girija Prasad Koirala together started this peace process."

Braving the slight drizzle and dip in temperature on a mostly overcast day, the fiery Maoist speaker further said that the Maoists agreed to sign the 12-point deal that formed the basis for the peace process not to come into the mainstream of national politics, but to give the country "a new political mainstream".

"We are here to build a new political mainstream for the country, not to be part of the existing structure, and till the time you all don't realise this fact, the country is bound to suffer," he said.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....lla-manch.html

Poudel rules out withdrawal of PM candidacy
Monday, 20 September 2010 14:46

NC Leader Ram Chandra Poudel (File photo)
Nepali Congress vice president and the party's prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel has made it clear that he would not back out from the ongoing PM race in the parliament until an alternative to elect a new prime minister is decided by the major three parties.

"There is no point withdrawing my candidacy," Pouldel told media persons at the NC general convention venue, Brikutimandap, Monday morning, "Pulling out of the race will not end the deadlock until we get an alternative."

He further explained, "A political consensus must be forged to decide the new leadership if the CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) want me to refrain from contesting."

Responding to a query, Poudel who is also the NC parliamentary party leader, asked UML and Maoist leaders to be practical in order to make political consensus. "Their consensus lies in just public speeches, but nothing has been done in practice," he added.

However, the NC leader indirectly admitted that the nation will not get a new PM on September 26, stating that the meeting of the NC central working committee to be formed by the general convention meeting cannot take place before the election date. nepalnews.com

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....candidacy.html

Integration of Maoist combatants possible in four months: PM Nepal
Tuesday, 21 September 2010 16:25

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/images...ar%20nepal.jpg

Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has said integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants is possible within the next four months.

"If the Maoists sincerely adhere to the latest four-point agreement [between the government and the UCPN-Maoist], I believe integration and the rehabilitation of the combatants can start in the next one or one-and-half month and this process can be completed within four months," Prime Minister Nepal said while addressing a function organised in the capital to mark the International Day of Peace.

He also claimed that some achievements have been made in the peace process in the past one year such as the discharge of disqualified Maoist combatants, formulation of the regulations for the proposed commission on involuntarily disappeared people and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, clearance of the landmines, establishment of secretariats of the Peace Committee in 67 districts and the decision to bring the combatants under the control of the Special Committee.

He, however, admitted that there has not been much progress in implementing the Compressive Peace Agreement (CPA) and resolve the major issues concerning the constitution-building.

"For this, there is no alternative to consensus among the major political forces. Latest agreements reached within a short period have made me hopeful."

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....-pm-nepal.html

Bijukchhe asks parties to accept Maoist-led govt

Three days after he expressed that presidential rule could be a way out of the present political stalemate in the nation, chairman of Nepal Workers and Peasant Party Narayanman Bijukchhe said the Unified CPN-M should be given chance to lead the to-be-formed government.

Talking to media persons in Chitwan Monday morning, Bijukchhe opined that other political parties must accept Maoist leadership as it is the largest party in the Constituent Assembly.

"UCPN (Maoist) must be offered to form the new government under its leadership," he said, adding, “However, Maoist leaders must express their full commitment to take the peace process to conclusion before accepting government leadership."

Earlier on Saturday, Bijukchhe had said country will slide backward and the economy will fall apart if the present situation continues and that the presidential rule could avert such a situation.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....-led-govt.html

Dahal's claim: UCPN (M) will win 2/3rd majority in next election

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that his party will win 2/3rd majority in the next general election.


Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (File photo)
The Maoist strongman also insisted that other parties are conspiring against the UCPN (M) fearing the party sweeping the next general elections and that are trying to send the party back to armed war.

Dahal was speaking at a programme organised at the Maoist headquarters Peris Danda, Koteshwor, to welcome a group of leaders and cadres from Nawa Janawadi Morcha that joined the Maoist party.

Describing the recent 3-point agreement with the UML as a positive development, he informed that the UCPN (M) would start dialogue with the UML and the Nepali Congress to resolve the deadlock over the election for the Prime Minister.

According to him, talks with NC leaders would begin as soon as the ongoing general convention of the NC is over.

Furthermore, saying that the term of the United Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) was extended thanks to Maoist initiative, Dahal described the extension as a step ahead in the peace process.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....-election.html

Maoists to hold talks with NC for consensus

KATHMANDU, Sept 21: The UCPN (Maoist) has decided to step up talks with the Nepali Congress (NC) for forming a consensus government.

The Maoist Standing Committee took a decision to this effect Tuesday. "We have decided to intensify talks with the NC as well as with the other small parties for a national consensus government for the sake of peace and constitution," said Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma.

The Maoist decision comes four days after the party inked a three-point deal with the CPN-UML and agreed to withdraw its candidacy for the sake of consensus.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and NC parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel are currently in the prime ministerial race. "We don´t think the NC will become a hindrance to the politics of consensus by sticking to the ongoing election process,´ said Sharma.

Sharma said that the UCPN (Maoist) as the largest political party in the parliament should lead the government, but added that the party is open about the government leadership.

The Maoist party has also decided to hold its party plenum from October 23 in Chitwan. The separate documents presented by top three leaders -- Dahal, Mohan Baidya and Dr Baburam Bhattarai -- have been sent to lower level committees for discussion.

Dahal will try to prepare a new document accommodating the views of both Baidya and Bhattarai for presentation in the plenum. But leaders close to Bhattarai and Baidya rule out such possibility. They claim that the differences are sharp between Baidya and Bhattarai, while Dahal doesn´t have any ideological ground. ´So it is difficult that Dahal will be able to synthesize the document," said a Maoist central leader.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23552

'Maoists to push for peace, constitution'

http://myrepublica.com/news_images/5276.jpg

KATHMANDU, Sept 20: UCPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Monday that his party would take initiatives to complete the peace process and the constitution-drafting.

“We will move ahead with a new responsibility for the completion of the peace process and constitution-drafting,” said Dahal while speaking at a function organized to welcome some two dozen leaders who defected to the UCPN (Maoist) from the Ramraja Prasad Singh-led Nawa Janabadi party.

The Maoist chairman claimed his party played a crucial role in the recent extension of UNMIN term and the latest decision of the Special Committee to integrate and rehabilitate the Maoist combatants.

Dahal also claimed that his party would garner a two-thirds majority if the new election is held, and argued that conspiracies are being hatched to contain the raising popularity of the Maoist party.

He also said that the country is witnessing growing polarization between status quoists and those for pushing for change and those pro-change will win.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23509

Maoists to gag leaders from anti-party policy remarks

KATHMANDU: KATHMANDU: The Standing Committee meeting of UCPN-Maoist on Tuesday imposed restriction on the party leaders to speak against the party policy, citing an ‘arbitrary freedom’ has invited problems.

Taking into account several instances of ‘disciplinary problems’, the Maoist Standing Committee concluded to form a powerful disciplinary department to curb such activities that remain at odds with the party line.

The meeting held at the party central office in Koteshwor this afternoon also decided to hold its extended Central Committee meeting slated for October 23 in Chitwan.

After the meeting, Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma told the media that the party endorsed the three-point agreement reached with the CPN-UML on September 17.

Also, the meeting endorsed the decision to extend the tenure of United Nations Mission in Nepal by four months.

Responding to a query regarding chances of withdrawal of Nepali Congress’ candidacy from the prime ministerial election, Sharma said the Maoists believe that the NC would not pose a hurdle in the process of consensus building. He further informed that today’s meeting decided to urge the NC to pull out of the race in order to pave the way for the consensus, and to hold consultations with other parties for the same.

When asked who would lead the next government, Sharma responded that being the largest party in the Parliament the Maoists would stake claim for the leadership but is ready for flexibility if needed.

He also dismissed the media reports that the next government would be led jointly by the CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist excluding the other parties. He added that the party is committed to form a national consensus government.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ful...&NewsID=258634

Prachanda seeks special session of parliament

KATHMANDU: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal today called on Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang and discussed the possibility of convening a special session of the parliament.

According to Article 51 (3) of the interim constitution, the President has to call a special session of the parliament if one-fourth of lawmakers lodge a petition in writing seeking the same. Such a session has to be called by the President within 15 days of the date of filing the petition.

A special session is convened to discuss a specific issue during the adjournment of regular session of the House, or when it is already prorogued. Dahal, after consulting his legal advisers, had held talks with Nembang about possibility of calling a special session ‘to amend the existing parliamentary regulations’.

However, the Speaker told the Maoist chairman that convening a special session of the parliament was not possible when the prime ministerial election was on.

“Without concluding the election process, a special session cannot be called to amend the parliamentary regulations, as the voting process is being carried out on the basis of existing regulations,” Nembang told Dahal. Dahal’s meeting with Nembang to discuss a special session comes two days after the former announced to withdraw his candidacy from the ongoing prime ministerial elections.

The Speaker asked Dahal to focus his party’s attention on constitution-drafting process, saying even the extended time was running out.

Meanwhile, 39 Constituent Assembly members of the CPN-UML today met Speaker Nembang and urged the latter to prioritise the constitution-drafting process. The CA members — led by Yamlal Kandel, Rabindra Adhikari and Binda Pandey — demanded that reports of seven thematic committees prepared by the 15-member study panel be immediately discussed at the full House of CA and sent to the Constitutional Committee.

The CA members also drew Nembang’s attention towards the President’s remarks on CA members in Dolakha a few days ago. Adhikari said the President saying ‘May God bless them (CA members) with wisdom’ was inappropriate, as the CA members were not personally responsible for the delay in constitution drafting.

Adhikari said they would launch sit-ins and, if need be, would go for relay hunger strikes to pressure their leadership to expedite the constitution-drafting process. He said CA was also missing its revised calendar of operation, according to which the first draft of the constitution should be ready by mid-November.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ful...&NewsID=258557

Maoists to psyche up PLA for rehab, integration

KATHMANDU, Sept 22: As the proposed management of Maoist combatants gets set in motion, the UCPN(Maoist) is initiating a drive at all the cantonments to mentally prepare its combatants to brace themselves for their soon-to-be-launched integration and rehabilitation.

According to People´s Liberation Army (PLA) Spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal aka Baldev, the PLA integration bureau is launching a program to make PLA members aware of the integration and rehabilitation and their recently-finalized code of conduct, and to prepare them accordingly.

The UCPN(Maoist) move follows a similar move by the government. On Sunday, the prime minister had directed all heads of security agencies to be prepared for integration of the combatants in their respective forces and plan accordingly.

"I am visiting the cantonments in the western region for this purpose," Maoist leader Janardan Sharma told Republica on Tuesday. "We want to prepared them [for integration and rehabilitation] so that they will not become confused [when management of the combatants finally takes place]."

Sharma, who left Kathmandu for the western region Tuesday afternoon, further said that they will instruct the PLA members why they are going to be integrated and rehabilitated.

Maoist leader Kul Bahadur KC, a member on the technical committee under the Special Committee - a government body formed to oversee combatants´ management - said Deputy Commanders Sharma, Barshaman Pun, Nanda Kishor Pun and Khanal are visiting all 28 cantonments in the coming days.

"They will also collect suggestions [from PLA members on integration and rehabilitation]," said KC.

This development follows a recent agreement between the government and the UCPN(Maoist) to accomplish the outstanding tasks of the peace process ´basically´ before January 14, 2011. The UCPN(Maoist) drive is an important development against the backdrop of the Special Committee´s decision in principle to dissociate the Maoist combatants from the UCPN(Maoist) starting last Thursday.

Integration and rehabilitation of the 19,602 Maoist combatants is the key issue in the ongoing peace process that the parties plan to complete ´basically´ before January 14, 2011. Though management of combatants should have been completed much earlier, the parties have put this issue in motion now, installing hope in the stalled peace process.

The UCPN(Maoist) has already agreed with the government to start the process of integrating and rehabilitating their combatants as soon as a proposed secretariat - which will oversee management of the combatants - gets full shape. The 12-member secretariat will be formed once the UCPN(Maoist) nominates its representative. Though the party is sending Deputy Commander Nanda Kishor Pun to the secretariat, it is yet to inform the Special Committee officially.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index....&news_id=23565

Maoists against hydropower projects under foreign investment

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoists have voiced their opposition to hydropower projects being developed in the country through foreign investment, including from India.

Unified CPN-Maoist's Standing Committee member and Energy Department chief Lila Mani Pokharel said the party would protest against any hydropower project that would be developed through foreign investment.

The Maoists have decided to oppose those projects which they thought would be against national interest, he told reporters here.

In a separate statement, Maoists demanded review of terms and conditions of water resources project that have not gone through parliamentary endorsement as per the interim Constitution.

Contracts and agreements reached with foreign multinationals -- including Indian companies -- should be presented in a transparent manner before Parliament for approval, Pokharel said.

The Maoists have demanded contracts and agreements on the West Seti, Upper Karnali, Aurn III Upper Karnali and Upper Marsyangdi among others should be presented for deliberations in Parliament's committee on Natural Resources.

These projects were being selected and developed through tender process at the initiative of Nepal Electricity Authority.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Nepal India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) have expressed serious concern over the Maoists' announcement to obstruct the operation of various hydropower projects.

FNCCI chairman Kush Kumar Joshi asked the Maoists to withdraw their decision.

Such things will discourage foreign investment in the hydropower sector at a time when the country is in the dire need of foreign capital and technology to fulfil the domestic resource gap, the NICCI said in a statement.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/6620088.cms

Camp visits will lessen disputes in party: Maoist

TEK NARAYAN BHATTARAI

PALPA, Sept 25: UCPN (Maoist) Central Committee member Top Bahadur Rayamajhi has said that their fresh program of visiting cantonments is aimed at disseminating party leaders´ three different reports to the party´s lower level and also make party cadres familiar with the reports

Talking to Republica, Rayamajhi, who is close to party vice chairman Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, claimed that their fresh campaign will help diminish the internal conflict the party has been confronting for long.



"Our main objective of visiting different cantonments is to support combatants to understand the gist of party leaders´ three different reports tabled in party meeting concluded recently," said Rayamajhi, adding, "Our campaign will also help them hold discussions and interaction on contemporary issues."

He admitted that there are numerous internal conflicts and contentious issues in the Maoist party. "We are the largest party in the CA. So, we have numerous conflicts and undecided issues in the party," he said, adding, "We want to settle such issues by collecting feedback from cadres."

"Our campaign will also help the party leadership reach the right conclusions on various contradicting issues," he said.

Rayamajhi also informed that party´s extended meeting to be held in October in Chitwan, will decide the party´s true line.

He further clarified that party´s future line could be of practical provided that the decisions are taken consulting cadres and party´s rank and file.

Rayamajhi admitted that the trend of protesting against India publicly but courting the southern neighbor through servile attitude exists in the Maoist party.

He reiterated that the new government should be formed under Maoist leadership. "All options are open for having a prime minister from our party," he claimed.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/in...&news_id=23671

After all, it worked so well last time.

RED DAVE

UCPN (M) finally suspends Kham; another CC member gets boot for financial misconduct

The Unified CPN (Maoist) has suspended central committee member and commander of the 5th Division of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Kali Bahadur Kham 'Bibidh' in view of the accusations of the murder of Ram Hari Shrestha of Koteshwor and the looting of Chinese traders a couple of months ago. Likewise, central member Ram Prasad Banjade has been suspended for financial irregularities.

According to Maoist spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma, Kham has been suspended "for some time" for investigation on the accusations against him.

Police had arrested Kham's aides with the Yarsagumba and cash looted from Chinese traders in Kathmandu. But he has been denying involvement in the looting.

Kham is the main accused in the Shrestha murder case and is in the wanted list of the Nepal Police.

Likewise, the Maoist party has suspended Banjade from the central committee for six months for his involvement in financial irregularities when he was Nawalparasi district in-charge of the party during the insurgency.

Before being appointed CC member, Banjade was a senior leader of the Maoist student wing, All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary).

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index....isconduct.html

It would be easy to take cheap shots, talk about incipient state capitalism, etc., but that's not my point.

The Nepalese Maoists have been playing footsie with the bourgeoisie ever since they agreed to enter into negotiations with bourgeois parties to form a bourgeois government.

This is the consequence of this "Prachandra Path." What's amazing is not that this has happened but that it has so far happened so seldom.

RED DAVE

Kham has not been handed over to the police. The Maoists are refusing to allow him to be put through the bourgeois legal system. Dual power allows the Maoists to protect their own. This is a concession to try and push negotiations forward.

As for the other guy, his actions took place during the People's War and have only just been investigated and dealt with. So neither of these examples have anything to do with the UCPN (M) 'playing footsie with the bourgeoisie ever since they agreed to enter into negotiations'.

PLA wants integration modality, assurance on statute

KIRAN CHAPAGAIN

KATHMANDU, Sept 30: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) commanders in the cantonments have sought from their leadership a clear-cut modality for integration and rehabilitation, and a credible assurance of the writing of a new constitution before they are formally brought under the command and control of the Special Committee, a government-formed body for supervising, integrating and rehabilitating Maoist combatants.

PLA commanders forwarded their conditions to their deputy commanders who have been touring different cantonments to prepare PLA members for the much-awaited process of integration and rehabilitation of over 19,000 ex-Maoist army personnel.



“They asked us about the modality of their integration and rehabilitation and sought credible assurances about the writing of a new constitution that will reflect their aspirations for change, including a guarantee on state restructuring,” Janardan Sharma, a member on the Special Committee who visited the cantonments to brief combatants about recent developments concerning management of ex-Maoist fighters, told Republica Tuesday.

All PLA deputy commanders have been touring major cantonments to brief commanders about the September 16 decision of the Special Committee to in principle dissociate the PLA from the Maoist party. PLA members have also been apprised of the code of conduct finalized for them by the Special Committee and feedback solicited on the proposed integration and rehabilitation.

The Technical Committee is currently discussing the modality of integration. But discussions are far from headed for consensus. Sharma said this question should be decided politically.

Sharma, a former peace and reconstruction minister, said the PLA are very concerned over the stalled constitution-drafting process and want to see the parties agree on key contentious issues.

“They told us it will not be acceptable for them to see the peace process completed by the agreed deadline [basically January 14] with constitution writing remaining unfinished. They want to see both processes progress side by side,” Sharma further said when asked about PLA concerns.

Sharma, sharing the PLA’s sentiments, said the peace process is likely to hit deadlock if PLA members are not assured of a new constitution getting drafted.

“If constitution drafting does not progress, neither will the peace process,” Sharma said about feedback from the PLA.

Asked whether this was the party strategy, he added, “Isn’t it a natural thing?”

On the rehabilitation package, Sharma said combatants are suspicious that the fate of disqualified combatants will be repeated and want to know about the package before their management commences. Disqualified combatants were returned home early this year despite their reservations over the rehabilitation packages. “Unless we satisfy their questions relating to such packages, it will create hurdles,” Sharma warned.

Asked about the kind of rehabilitation package his party preferred, Sharma said, “Such a package should honor the contribution of the PLA, besides guaranteeing their future.”
Sharma said his party is flexible over any of the three modalities of integration. The models include: forming a new army of an agreed size including members from the PLA; constituting a new force comprising equal numbers from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the PLA; and having a separate security force of PLA members.

“Any of the modalities will be acceptable to us,” said Sharma, who left Kathmandu to visit cantonments in Nawalparasi Wednesday.

To another question, Sharma said the proposed secretariat for overseeing integration and rehabilitate will get final shape when the Special Committee convenes on Friday. He said his party has claimed leadership of the secretariat and is nominating Nanda Kishor Pun as PLA representative for the purpose. He added that his party has differences with the government over the choice of head of the 12-member secretariat.

“If our choice is given to head the secretariat, it will help move the process smoothly since it is a matter related to the psychology of PLA members,” he said, justifying his party’s claim to the secretariat leadership.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/in...&news_id=23822

(emph. added)

What is the meaning of this in the context of continued attempts by the Maoists to form a bourgeous government on the one hand and discussions of renewal of the armed struggle on the other hand?

RED DAVE

There is no discussion of a return to the guerrilla war. The Maoists have no plans to go back in time as if the past five years never happened. When they talk of a people's revolt, they're talking about urban insurrections.

It means what it says it means really. The PLA is to be *officially* seperated from the UCPN (M) and put under the control of the Army Integration Special Committee. The PLA fighters will be banned from singing communsit songs, wearing communist insignia etc.

It's a tactical move to push forward army integration.

Futile election in Nepal adding fuel to deadlock
by Sweta Baniya

(emph added)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201...c_13546063.htm

Yep, that's what Marxists do: forge consensus in a bourgeois parliament.

RED DAVE