Lal Salam- Revolution in the Himalayas

Nepal update

2009-11-09T00:13:00.001+11:00

In defence of Civilian Supremacy over the military and the democratic “New Nepal” process the revolutionary movement of Nepal, led by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) has initiated a nation wide “Peoples Movement” to topple the government and anti-people forces.

This comes after a Maoist led government resigned in May after it was proven to have executive power after what was essentially an unconstitutional coup by foreign powers, the political opposition and the military.

The root cause of this conflict comes from the clash between the established elite and the majority of Nepal’s poor. After the overthrow of the despised King in 2006 a process of re-founding and recreating Nepal was initiated. However when it came to challenge the old state and try and create new, democratic and pro people state structures, status-quoist forces sought to derail this process so as to protect their own power and privilege.

This was most evidently shown when the main parties of “responsible civil society” (the elites), the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) and the Nepali Congress, chose to back the Royalist Military over the democratically elected Government in May. After the NC President Ram Baran Yadav unconstitutionally reinstated the head of the Military in contrary to the governments orders, the Maoists decided to resign from government rather then stay in a hollow office.

Dipak Sakota, Journalist with Janadisha Daily in Kathmandu told Green Left Weekly “Unified CPN (Maoist) has now started the People's Movement. And this is quite serious. This is not just a movement but it's a kind of decisive battle to decide who will hold the real power of Nepali state.

“…most of the central leaders of the UCPN-M including Chairman Prachanda are in the field leading the movement… the leadership of King had been removed but had not been filled by other force… The Maoists are trying to turn Nepali state in favor of the majority of the poor and oppressed Nepali People.”

After spending an extended period of reaching out to the community across the nation, the Maoists have now launched a new mass movement to protect the revolutionary process.

Within the assembly they have blocked the new budget, until such a time that civilian supremacy has been assured. The ministries have already now run out of funding and the state is crawling to a stop for lack of resources.

Outside of the assembly, people are pouring into the streets. Already there have been blockades and occupations of different local administration offices across the country. In some areas there are reports of alternative local administrations being established.

The protests will build over the coming days to climax with a blockade of Kathmandu and the seat of Government, Singha Durbar.

In an attempt to find a peaceful way out of this conflict of interests the United Nations proposed to Nepals government that it open itself for a government of National unity. This suggestion was slammed by the current government however, suggesting that the current government already is a government of national unity, despite it being founded via unconstituional means and excluding the party that won the elections.

Nepals elite, faced with the prospects of being forced to back down by the mass movement has put the Police, Armed Police and Military on high alert. A meeting of High Level government members on Nov 3 declared that the Maoist's protest program was in breach of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2006 and that it "bypasses the jurisdiction of the Constituent Assembly". Information and Communications Minister Shanker Pokarel told reporters ¨The government is determined to ensure law and order with the help of the police force".

These threats were denounced by Chairman Prachanda, the leader of the UCPN(Maoist). He warned the current government against making such threats, as that mimics the actions of the now dethrowned King Gyanendra. He added that while they have put the armed forces on high alert, even if they wanted too the current government could not suppress the movement as it has such small support amongst the people of Nepal.

At any rate a colossal clash of interests is unfolding in Nepal, and the outcome of these struggle will directly affect the future direction of the New himalayan republic.

Nepal- New Peoples Movement Imminent?

2009-10-28T12:44:00.002+11:00

If your one who's have paid allot of attention to Nepal in recent times, you may have noticed that the media isn't always, well, reliable in any way shape or form...

Between highly sensationalised non-events, out of context misquotes and an amazingly narrow Kathmandu centric view of the Himalayan Republic, its generally accepted that the Nepalese media (or at least the English language variety) is worth little more then the paper its written on.

However, today's top story from The Himalayan however hold more water then usual. *Maoist finalize 15-day protest programme, to go all out against govt from Nov 2.*

Admittedly, this is not the first time that the media has announced an impending Maoist uprising. To be fair, its not even the first time that the Maoists have announced an imminent peoples revolt but this time i think however there are allot more reasons to be taking this seriously.

Firstly, the long and tedious attempts to find a common ground with the illegitimate government have been thoroughly exhausted. It is obvious to all, even the most wavering liberal minded Nepali, that the illegitimate and unconstitutional government coup government that was set up on the back of the (royal) military and the Indian and American embassy's has no intention of making any compromise. The illegitimate government refuses to even debate the unconstitutional coup in the constituent Assembly. In the eyes of the everyone, legitimate channels have obviously failed, which opens up the way for more drastic measures.

The Maoists have now announced an extensive protest program- which is not just an idle threat, but have announced their intention to blockade the seats of government. How success full this new Jana Andolan (Peoples Movement) will be is yet to be seen, but it seems that the revolutionaries are going to roll the dice.

Secondly, the monsoon is now over. This means that not only is it a better time to strike politically, as people are now no longer hard at work cultivating fields, the transport system is in better running order, which makes a mass co-ordinated movement more logistically possible.

Thirdly, the actions and movements of the Maoists point towards this time. They have sent allot of organisers out into rural areas in the recent months to rebuild and strengthen their rural networks, which were a little bit neglected in some areas. They have had a massive propaganda push across the country (and internationally) to sure up support. They are now moving their cadre into building this movement. Conferences and other events have been cancelled or postponed to free up resources.

The word I'm getting back from contacts on the ground is that the party will throw its weight into this movement. Where will it go? How successful will it be? these are things that are impossible to answer in advance, and is purely in the hands of the Nepali people but at any rate this is going to be a significant movement, and the Maoists will be pulling out all stops to bring about some real changes in the political situation.

Nepal: Maoists prepare for new upsurge

2009-10-20T14:41:00.000+11:00

From Green Left Weekly (www.greenleft.org.au)

10 October 2009

The government formed in the aftermath of an elite-backed de facto coup against the Maoist-led government in May continues in power — although without moral or popular support.

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), with mass support among the poor majority and the largest number of seats in parliament, are insisting the government resign.

UCPN-M head and former prime minister Prachanda has given the government until the Nepali festival of Tihar in mid-October to stand aside and allow a new pro-people government led by the UCPN-M to be formed again. He said if not, the Maoists would launch a new people’s movement to restore democracy.

The UCPN-M has been preparing for an upsurge by strengthening its organisation, links and dialogue with the poor communities.

The current government, a coalition of diverse parties united only by their opposition to the Maoists, came to power after the elected government led by the UCPN-M resigned.

The Maoist-led government had sacked the head of the military, General Katawal, after he refused to accept the government’s authority. However, the president, from the right-wing Nepali Congress (NC), ordered Katawal’s reinstatement.

Abandoned over the Katawal issue by its coalition partners, which it needed to form a majority government, the UCPN-M resigned from the government rather than accept military supremacy.

Nepal was shaken by ongoing demonstrations across the country in support of the Maoists, but the right-wing forces held on and a new coalition government, minus the Maoists, was cobbled together.

At stake in the battle to sack Katawal was the peace process that ended a decade of civil war between the Maoist-led People’s Liberation Army and the feudal monarchy. Katawal, a royalist, refused to implement key parts of the peace agreement that ended the monarchy and allowed Nepal to become a republic last year.

In the lead up to this soft coup, the Indian and US embassies played key roles in bringing together opposition forces against the legitimate government. Along with the Nepali elite, the US and India viewed the Maoists’ pro-poor policies as a threat to their interests.

As well as organising street protests, the UCPN-M disrupted sittings of the constituent assembly demanding that civilian supremacy over the military and foreign powers be restored. The NC and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified-Marxist-Leninist, which heads the new government, refused to even discuss the topic in the assembly.

Since then, a series of by-elections have increased the Maoist vote. The UCPN-M has used the time to open broad discussions among its activists on how to go forward in its struggle to build a “New Nepal”.

The UCPN-M has sent more activists into rural areas to strengthen its rural support networks. The party plans to use these discussions as the basis of a party congress early next year.

Other progressive mass organisations are also using this period for discussion. National peasant, women, youth and student conferences are all expected in the coming months.

To spearhead the campaign to restore civilian supremacy, the UCPN-M has launched the United National People’s Movement, led by Maoist leader and ex-finance minister Baburam Bahttarai, to coordinate the democratic and anti-imperialist movement.

In the absence of a legitimate government, the Maoist-led Revolutionary Joint Front has been setting up local administrations to help meet the needs of communities.

The UCPN-M has set up regional departments as the basis of an alternative government. These are providing services and development works where resources allow.

Prateek, a UCPN-M activist working in western districts of Nepal and Kathmandu, told Green Left Weekly: “At the moment we are spreading our message to the masses. The current government has to fall to protect civilian supremacy and the people.

“If not we will have a new massive Janan Andolan (“Peoples Movement”) and take control ourselves!”

On the Nepal Debate.

2009-06-25T15:30:00.001+10:00

A sorta extended response to some of the common misconceptions about Nepal for the debate internationally.

The revolution in Nepal has been nothing if not controversial, and naturally as it has evolved and found its own way to progress in response to the conditions it faced then there has been an increasing amount of debate, and confusion, about this process. In this debate there are a number of people who have, most probably unintentionally, come to incorrect conclusions, based on certain myths and misunderstandings that surround the situation in Nepal.

A revolution is and will always be the organic expression of the oppressed classes within a given situation. For revolutionaries on the outside of a revolution looking in, to see the revolution we need to look at the concrete situation it is in, look at the forces in play, find overall trajectories and only then make an analysis based on this. Revolutions look different in different situations. Russia, China, Cuba and Vietnam all had very different paths to power, but they were all revolutions, and we know this because of the class forces being mobilized, the nature of the leadership and the final outcomes of these struggles.

We know these were revolutions, thus they have certain similarities. In looking at new revolutions, we look for these similarities, we do not denounce them because of the naturally occurring differences which will always out of them facing different situations.

Which brings us to Nepal. There is allot of confusion about the process that is unfolding there. There is agreement that in 1996 the Communist Party Nepal (Maoist) left the parliament an launched a peoples war, this was able to gain significant momentum. Within a few years hundreds of thousands, if not millions of the rural poor joined the Maoist movement and they were able to control the vast majority of the country, inflicting many defeats on the army an the police. In 2005 they made alliances with the now illegal mainstream parties against the monarchy, and after a massive peoples uprising in 2006 joined a peace process. Here there are some common misunderstandings.

Incorrect analysis of Nepal states that the leadership has embraced reformist politics by abandoning "Red Power" in 80% of the country to be allowed into a petit bourgeois electoral system. It clearly goes against the traditional Maoist strategy of surrounding the cities with the Peoples army and then invading. Thus, the revolutionary leadership in Nepal have betrayed the peoples sacrifices made in the Peoples War to be integrated into the bureaucracy and for personal gain of the leadership at the expense of the revolution.

This analysis is based largely on myths and has to totally ignore the reality of the situation. It is incompatible with the actual balance of forces and in total contradiction to the processes at play. Further it totally ignores the actions and policies of the party leadership.

The first myth that this is based on is that by 2005 the Maoists and their People's Liberation Army had complete control over 80% of Nepal. This is not true. By 2005 the PLA had De Facto control over 80% of the country. The difference is seemingly small, but significant. The Maoists did control a new pro people local administration, they did set up peoples councils, they did have the peoples courts ect. However all of these things needed to exist at very least semi underground. The central Royalist state was still superior. While it wasn't strong enough to be able to continue raising taxes or maintain its apparatus on a permanent basis in most of the country, it was still in control. It controlled the major urban centers, and the majority of the transportation system, and therefore, controlled the economy. The situation was therefore not one of two separate and relatively equal states struggling against each other, but rather, there was a new state emerging, but it was in every way except politically inferior to its counterpart. There was no fully permanent alternative state.

This state was still weak and not fully mature. They were unable to make significant development projects, the political leadership of the peoples state had to lived underground was was in constant danger of being murdered at the hands of the army/police. Even the communes had been burned down at different times. The revolutionaries needed to find a way to move forward, to strengthen their forces and overcome the royalist state.

In no way should the Peoples State in Nepal be dismissed, it was a highly significant part of the peoples war, and was able to make significant gains for women, people of low caste, ethnic nationalities and local governance, however this state simply was not strong enough to be able to stand on its own against the central Kathmandu government. In time, it may have been able to develop into such a state, however this would have been a long and bloody process, and events transpired which fast tracked the revolution and brought urban areas and across the country. This was conquest of one state over the other but it was political and not physical or military.

This all ties in with another myth, that the PLA was militarily equal to or greater then the Royal Nepalese Army. This is not the case. The PLA was politically and tactically far superior to the RNA, and this was the root of its success. The PLA was able to attack the RNA at its weakest points, or too pool its resources to overcome RNA bases or capture some large towns temporarily, but in set piece battles, or on permanent front lines, the PLA was inferior. Even by this late stage in the war, if they got together enough armed men, there was nowhere that the RNA could not go. Some places would be guaranteed to be expensive and for them to take heavy casualties, but there was not one inch of ground that was absolutely liberated. If the Peoples Army could have stormed Kathmandu, or been able to have done so in the foreseeable future, they would have done so.

In 2005 this was the situation. The revolutionary forces had defacto control of the nation. They were totally politically superior, and had the army well and truly on the defensive, a new peoples state was in existence. This said, there was still a long road to victory. The Central state was shaken but still stable. The end was not in sight.

Enter the Jana Andolan (Peoples Movement) in 2006. There are two particularly common misunderstandings relating to the Jana Adolan. First, that after the Jana Andolan the Maoists gave up aspirations of capturing Kathmandu. Secondly, that the Maoists did not display sufficient political leadership to this revolutionary situation and "sold out" at the expense of the people in the street.

Jana Andolan did in a way signal the end of the Peoples War, but this was not because the Maoists gave up on the war, the Jana Andolan was a direct result of the Peoples War- its most decisive and final battle. The people of Kathmandu stood up for a republic, for the end of the monarchy and corruption, and for a new Nepal- these are the demands of the Maoists. It is true that the Maoists didn't conquer Kathmandu by the might of its PLA, but this was the wave of the Revolution crashing into Kathmandu all the same. The revolution did conquer Kathmandu- not by might of arms, but through the might of revolutionary political ideas.

There has been some criticism of the revolutionary leadership during the Jana Andolan, and if they had been "more red" the Jana Andolan uprising could have completed the revolution then and there. At this stage public revolutionary consciousness was not yet high enough to complete a revolutionary process. People were united by a common hatred of the autocratic monarchy, but other then that the movement was very divided, liberals, soft monarchists, democrats and social-democrats all had considerable influence on the movement, as well as revolutionaries. The need to radically reorganize society, the economy and the state was not- and still is not quite yet, recognized by the mass of the population.

To reach this level of consciousness there needs to be a party-mass dynamic. The party provides revolutionary leadership, and is constantly in contact with its mass base, working with them, taking up their struggles and their suggestions. The mass- if convinced by the situation and the politics of the party- will follow it. The party ultimately aims to lead the mass, but can only ever go as far or as fast as the situation permits. In the end, the revolutionary leadership" must take its directions from the base. Any revolutionary party that tries to do otherwise immediately loses the support of the people, and its ability to influence the political situation evaporates.

During the Jana Andolan it meant that the Maoists pushed for- and got a constituent assembly. Without the revolutionary leadership it is likely that the "mainstream" political parties would have just amended the old constitution to limit the monarchs powers further, it was only the revolutionary leadership of the Maoists that pushed the other parties to ensuring that a new constitution was written by elected representatives. This increased popular support for the revolutionaries, which gives them a greater ability to push for bigger goals. The Maoists have taken a consistent revolutionary stand.

The Maoists entered into government not because they have abandoned revolutionary goals but in response to public opinion and to show the need for revolutionary goals. After winning the election, they had the right- by the logic of the bourgeois state- to form government and create legislation. As Marxists, we understand that the state has a class basis, however no-one is born with that knowledge. The Maoists time in government showed in practice that no matter what people vote for, a revolution can not be simply elected. More then any speeches the experience of a peoples government in a bourgeois state has shown the mass of people that radical change is necessary, where as previously many had illusions in the prospects of a peaceful gradual change. It has become apparent that imperialism is central to the state to the people of Nepal, not because the Maoists said so, but because of the role of the India and American governments in overthrowing the elected government. With only propaganda revolutionaries would have struggled to convince a majority of people, but but taking principled decisions, more and more people have been pushed into the revolutionary camp, and then become open to revolutionary ideas.

At this stage there has not been a revolution, and a revolutionary peoples state has not been created, but the party is still very clear that this is still its objective, and is currently in a lengthy process of discussion as to how best to achieve this aim.

So it is also important to talk about the Maoists stated goals for the post-revolutionary state. In some circles they have caused considerable controversy particularly, with their statements that the future peoples state and their belief that the new revolutionary state can be a multi-party state. This comes from the UCPN(M) coming to a new synthesis based on their own experience during their own revolution, and by analyzing the historic examples of socialism and their downfall.

The impetus for this came from their analysis of the collapse of the Soviet Union and China. In short, the party came to the agreement that both these revolutions, despite the active involvement of the oppressed working classes, these revolutions still succumbed to bureaucratic degeneration, and thus were eventually overthrown. Therefore, it becomes obvious that future revolutions need to find ways to prevent these kinds of outcomes from happening again. The idea of Multi party elections in a workers and peasants state is an attempt to allow room for working people to be able to have the space to overcome corruption and errors in the revolution and the revolutionary party, should they occur.

First it needs to be recognized that having multiple parties within a peoples state, is not an oxymoron, and in fact has historical precedent. At the beginning of the USSR after the October revolution, the Bolshevik party was initially in coalition with the left Socialist Revolutionaries, and certain factions of the mensheviks were tolerated as well. These separate parties were under no restrictions within the workers state initially and were only removed from it after they degenerated and started acting against the interests of the state itself. During the revolution in Cuba there was no a single revolutionary party, there were in fact three, the July 26th Movement, the Revolutionary Directorate and the Popular Socialist Party. There eventually merged into a single party, but the fact is that the idea that within each situation there is and will only ever be one party that is absolutely "correct", is not true.

The role of the revolutionary is to destroy the old state (of the bourgeois class) and replace it with state structures that represent the working class (proletariat). State structure include the laws and court systems, education systems ect. Once the state has been set up and secured, firmly in the hands of the proletariat, then the proletariat has every right to organise and be active within the boundaries of that state, especially around questions of the running that state. Exceptions can be foreseen, such as the situation in the civil war in Russia, or the current situation in Cuba, where external forces and pressure make this desirable situation impossible. There is no contradictions, historically or ideologically, that mean that the revolution at all times is a monoparty affair.

Within Nepal revolutionaries have already used this tactic within their parallel state structures during the peoples war. Elections were held, and what forces for the opposition parties were left in these areas were allowed to participate. It opened a way for the revolutionaries to get feedback from the grassroots. In some areas these opposition groups did quite well in these elections, and this showed the Maoist party in which areas they were not fulfilling their tasks well, in which areas there had developed a bureaucracy or an automatic way of doing things, and in which areas they needed to improve. In this way they were able to build more responsive party, with closer links to the masses.

Finally, there has been much speculation as too the role that a Nepalese revolution plays in the international situation.

When looking at Nepal and the international situation, the limitations of Nepal are immediately apparent. It is a landlocked nation, with an unbelievably underdeveloped economy, land lock and wedged between two superpowers, in a region with relatively weak socialist movements- and in a time where the socialist block is gone and Communist China exists only in name. The whole situation is pretty overwhelming for such a tiny Himalayan country.

So what are the responsibilities and possibilities for an revolutionary and internationalist force in Nepal.

By no means should we think the revolution is doomed. While USSR and China's support was very welcome, it also brought with it distortions of their own, and sometimes limited the creativity of organic revolutionary movements, so on one level it does free up the Nepali comrades politically- albeit to limitations economically. Further the emerging revolutions in Latin America can provide a potential source of diplomatic and economic support, however limited it may be as these are also largely impoverished countries.

They do have an enormous responsibility to international revolution. Revolutions spread. Revolutions give an example that give evidence to revolutionaries claims for what is possible, can give ideological and logistical support to their comrades overseas and challenge the status quo in one country, which entices people to challenge the elite in their own. Historically we can see this, the situations in Europe following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 (Germany in particular), The role China had in inspiring revolutionaries in Vietnam and the Naxalites in India. The international phenomenon of 1968. Things spread. It is no coincidence that Latin America is now a hotbed of revolution, as there has been a socialist state, existing and providing an alternative example for the last 5 decades. In this time Cuba providing diplomatic, economic, ideological and even military support for revolutions despite its own economic limitations.

Nepal's has an opportunity to take state power and create a peoples state. Its first responsibility to international revolutions is to do that, and create state systems that are more representative, and re gear the economy to focus on peoples needs rather then the needs of bureaucrats and monarchists. In doing so that provides an example- and proof to people, particularly in the subcontinent, that there is an alternative. The subcontinent has never had a revolutionary organization as successful as the Nepali Maoists. Even the Naxalite movement in its hey-day was nowhere near the level of challenging for state power. The power of example is enormous.

At any rate, the revolution is ongoing. It is by no means guaranteed success, the challenges are enormous, but the struggle has not yet come to its conclusion. Where it will go we do not know, but at this stage there is no reason to abandon hope for the direction of that struggle.

Nepal- Back to Business for the Elite, for Revolutionaries its Back on the Street.

2009-06-16T20:58:00.000+10:00

Photos of Recent Events to come.

Now that the Maoists have been removed from power- the elites of Nepal have collectively let out a sigh of relief. As they see it, they had a nasty scare, but now those pesky revolutionaries have been dealt with. Out of government- out of sight- out of mind. The elite feel they can go back to 'the good old days' of bureaucracy, corruption and petty political infighting and factional horsetrading in Nepal's power structures.

These conclusions however are somewhat premature. While the Maoists government has fallen, the Maoists power was not, is not and never will be based in a parliament or in governmental posts. The Maobadis (as they are locally known) are a movement of people, based in and coming from the popular classes in Nepal in response to the crushing poverty that plagues this tiny nation. The Maoists come from and represent those in Nepal who have historically been excluded from society on the basis of race, region, religion, caste or gender. Paradoxically this is the vast majority of the population.

The people of Nepal are now looking at the current "mainstream" political situation with a growing sense of disbelief and amazement. The new Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal and the new Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala were both beaten in the elections to the Constituent Assembly not once- but twice- in separate constituencies. These politicians come from the grand old parties of Nepal, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) and the Nepali Congress party.

Almost a month after this new government was created, it is still let to fill all the ministries. Coalition partners have already left, and all parties to the new government, especially the fourth biggest party the Madheshi Peoples Rights Forum, are sharply divided of have had splits.

While the old order is discrediting itself within the assembly with petty infighting, the Maoists are taking the opportunity to focus all their energies on the grassroots networks and organisation.

The Maoists and their front organisations have launched a series of strikes or 'Bandas' across the country through their front organisations to make sure that their demands for a New Federal State are not ignored, and so that the unconstitutional coup by the president, and the loss of civilian supremacy over the military is not forgotten.

It is clearly evident the strength of the Maoists grassroots support and organisation. On June 14th the Maoist youth organisation the Young Communist league called a Banda for the following day in the capitol Kathmandu in response to the murder of one of their leaders, allegedly by the rival "Youth Force" of the CPN(UML). Within just 12 hours, without the support of any of the media, the Maoists were able to completely shut down the capital. Contrary to media reports, the YCL are highly disciplined, and there was next to no violence against political opponents, the media, or essential services that were exempt from the banda.

This reflects the overwhelming support that the Maoists have. While the Maoists are in the communities working amongst the people, all the other parties are increasingly seen as unprincipled. Where as the Maoists formed government with clear political programs and plans, and then left when it became apparent that they could not complete them, the UML/NC government has no common platform, and especially after a month of ongoing political infighting- is perceived to be just a continuation of the old corrupt politics that Nepal had supposedly seen the end of due to the Peoples War and the Massive Peoples Movement in 2006.

At any rate the situation remains unsustainable. The rift between peoples aspirations and the reality of the current government, is enormous, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that no government is sustainable without the Maoists, the party that won the elections.. But the whole process is proving to the people of Nepal something else- the need for radical change. The Failure of peoples aspirations to be respected in a peaceful process of change is making it increasingly obvious to the people of Nepal that the entrenched oligarchic elites of Nepal will not simply give up their comfortable lifestyles in Kathmandu, but rather will fight tooth and nail to defend them, even going as far as to override the Constitution.

While the political elite has returned to their preferred way of doing things- the political situation as a whole has not returned to a state of "normalcy". The process in Nepal is ongoing, and while recent moves have added a hurdle to popular demands, they have not derailed them yet.

Interview With Student Leader

2009-06-11T15:41:00.003+10:00

Below is an Interview with Manushi Bhattarai. She is part of the Maoist Ticket that swept the student elections at Tribhuvan University- Nepals largest. She discusses the revolution, recent political developments, the international situation and the role of youth.

Ben Peterson: Thanks allot for meeting with me. The All Nepal National Independent Student union (Revolutionary) (ANNISU(R))* won the student elections at Tribhuvan University. What did the campaign involve, and what are some of your policies as a revolutionary student union?
Manushi Bhattarai: The student union elections was a very historically important process for our organisation and for the Maoist party. there has been student elections for many years, but for some time the revolutionary student movement has not been able, or allowed to participate. We were banned. Also we did not look at these elections simply from the point of view as elections to the student representative bodies but as part of the whole ongoing political process in Nepal. So in those terms, we has a real breakthrough. we were not contesting for the offices as such, but linking the student struggles to the political process. While we were campaigning we always had this in mind. We campaigned around the issues on this campaign, but also around the entire education system across the country. And in these terms it all came back to the political issues that our party has been addressing for many years now. That was how we campaigned, and i think we were successful in spreading our message to the other students. We were coming back into open student politics after a long time. We were new faces, with a new agenda. People knew about our commitment and the gains our party have been able to make during the People's War. People can actually see the gains, we are now the Republic of Nepal.
BP: So the revolutionary students were very clear about putting the elections in the context of the wider political context, the revolution. Can you elaborate a little bit on this political process and the role of students within it?
MB: As you know, the People's War was initiated in 1996 and since its beginning students were at the forefront of the revolutionary process. Many thousands of students have sacrificed their education and their lives. They left their homes, their families to participate in the revolution. In those terms, weather it was withing the People's Army, or in our party organisation students have been playing key roles in all fields. In terms of the student organisation it has been in an interesting position. In the schools we were able to maintain our own committees and continued our organisational work. we took up agendas and fought for them, and on certain campuses we have been very successful. We especially try to work on the public institutions. In Nepal there is unequal education. Public institutions are in very bad condition, but this is where poor people, people from rural areas, or people from marginalised groups must go to study. These areas is where our student organisation is focusing. At a national level, we have been addressing how we should move towards ending the privatisation of education and empowering the public institutions. This is all linked up with the social economic reality of Nepal, and pulling Nepal away from feudalism. Uprooting the old system.
BP: In recent days the Maoist led government has been basically overthrown by the unconstitutional actions of the President, and a new government has been formed by Madhav Kumar Nepal from the UML. Has this disrupted the political process and your plans for education?
MB: Of course! This is disrupting everything. It needs to also be analyzed in the context of the political processes. The coming of Madhav Kumar Nepal, the people now understand this government exists as a puppet government only, backed by certain forces which do not want the Maoists to be successful in implementing revolutionary programs and policies. Since this is a puppet government, it is aimed at pushing back the Maoists, what they have achieved and trying to get them to go back to the peoples war in Nepal. There are those that would like Nepal to become like another Sri Lanka. It is all simply against our agenda, it is against making public institutions a better place, against having an equal education for all and in a way that people from all regions of Nepal can have a primary and secondary education in their own language, as they want and according to their own priorities and the necessities of Nepal, not in a way that is determined and dependant on private institutions. So eventually, a person like Madhav Kumar Nepal- or any other person, its not about a new person becoming Prime Minister- but anyone who comes to power in this way is bound to backtrack on our revolutionary policies. In the education sector it will mean re-empowering the private sector. The Maoist government had started to gain some control over the private education sector, through a new tax policy. The new government will backtrack on this.
BP: The new government is made up of 22 parties, and doesn't have the support of the party that won the elections- how long can it last?
MB: There is no basis for this government to exist for any significant time. The way it has been formed without any coherent agenda or program or common ground. For a government to be formed it should have some sort of common political ideal that is binding. For these parties it is like some invisible hand is holding them together. how long it will last, i don't know. In the Constituent Assembly when Koirala (of the Nepali congress) proposed M.K Nepal as the Prime Minister you could clearly see problems already. All the parties came forward to support the new government, but all of them had ifs, buts and maybes. All the parties came forward with their own baggage and agenda, which can be very different to what the UML stands for. So it is like some invisible hand is holding them together and it cant last long. There is no common agenda, policy, ideology- except for the one reason, which seems to be to "teach the Maoists a lesson". Time will tell how this all pans out.
BP: So now there is this contradiction between the direction of the government and the aspirations of the people, as we saw in the Peoples War, the Jana Andolan and in the election results. How will this struggle between the revolution and the status-quo be played out?
MB:The whole thing is about contradictions, that's what justifies us, our party. That's why we waged the Peoples War, and we have not abandoned the Peoples War. There is a continuation of the same process and struggle we started more than 12 years ago with the Peoples War. We have made some achievements, and we need to sustain those. We need to always keep in mind the international situation, the national situation, we need Marxism Leninism Maoism and need to be thinking about what that means in the 21st century world. We need to keep all this in mind and we are faced with what is definitely a very challenging situation. We have all these radical agendas, and that's how we have been able to mobilise so many people, the whole country and now we have to do so once again. We have worked with forces that are status quoist, that still have an attachment to feudalism, still have a tendency to look to expansionists and imperialists. This was to do away with the monarchy in Nepal and make Nepal a Democratic Republic. That was what the process was about. Now Nepal is a republic, and this is a big thing. Some times people forget that Nepal is now a Republic and minimize the significance of it but this is a big achievement keeping in mind the history of Nepal. Having said that now we must move ahead. Just because the Monarchy is gone doesn't mean feudal elements have all been uprooted. That is the situation right now. We have removed the Monarchy, and to do that we had some kind of alliance with what are status quo forces, so i guess now there is a huge challenge for out party. Now what? Where do we go from here? For us it is still a fight to establish a Democratic Republic for establishing a socialist system in Nepal. We have to be oriented towards socialism, our party has said very clearly that we are oriented to socialism. For this we have wage the whole struggle for the sovereignty of the people of Nepal. The army issue was never about one general Katawal, it was all about the sovereignty of Nepal. For Nepal, right now, the challenge is to internally fight with the status quo forces and externally fight against expansionist and imperialist forces. As i said there are many fronts, there are many challenges, but challenges always come with possibilities. So we are confident. We have had many fronts, Peoples War was one front we fought on, this is just another.
BP: You mentioned the international situation. It is a very difficult situation for revolution, there is no more USSR and China has well and truly abandoned the revolution. So what do you make of the international situation, and in particular, are you looking to Latin America, where there are revolutions also happening?
MB: Our party, as far as, i know has some links with the parties and people there. Personally i have been following these situations like in Venezuela and Cuba. I would certainly like my party to have more serious links with Latin America. I think our party hasn't had as close links as we should have, but this is largely because there are so many differences between our situations. There are certainly similarities, in terms of our goals and our ideals and we are all waging an anti-imperialist struggle, but we are in a very specific situation. The geopolitics of Nepal is very specific and different to Latin America. Having deep links with Latin American revolutionaries is a longer term goal. We should have those links, ideologically. We should be having a discussion and learning from what they have been able to do, their policies and programs, but at a diplomatic level having strong links with Latin America doesn't make much sense because of our geopolitical situation. We are landlocked between India and China. Diplomatic links are important, but maybe in the longer term, but the policies, programs and leadership of Latin American revolutions we have allot we can learn from.
BP: In Nepal the youth are playing a very big role in the revolution, but at least within Kathmandu there are also many westernised youth who look more towards Europe, the US and India for their culture, and then also politics. Is there a cultural clash between westernised youths in Urban areas, and revolutionary youth?
MB:I wouldn't say there is a culture clash, but as you say there is a community of upper class pro western kids. I think its not their fault., its nobodies fault really, its just where they come from. They are more likely to look to the USA, the UK or India for their education. It all really starts with education, and then becomes cultural, so i think its more of an issue of class background. There isn't so much a cultural clash, but a clash of class interests. This is bound to happen as they tend to look to the west, and we the Maoists, look to ourselves and the lower classes. At some level there is bound to be a clash because they are in favour of more privatisation of schools and institutions where as we stand against that and for the betterment of public institutions. But i don't think... i think we are quite cabal e to talk to these youth and at least get them to listen to our agenda. There are some westernised youth on this campus, and thee people really just want stability and peace. They have everything else, money, cars. They have no problems, except for peace and stability. So if the Maoists can give them that, then for the time being there wont be such clashes. These youth are basically the product of the whole system, and we should try to avoid antagonism between our generation at this time given to political situation.
BP: There are allot of Nepalis who go internationally for education.Does the student union have international organisations and try and organise Nepali students abroad?
MB: Our student unions does have an international department which looks into this aspect and establishes links with Nepali Students studying abroad. We believe it is not the fault of the students who leave, they just want a good education in a good environment and we know our country right now is not able to give that. Keeping that in mind and being practical we look to make links with these students so we can encourage them to come back and use their expertise to develop the country.
BP: Are you optimistic about the future of Nepal?
MB: Definitely! Otherwise i wouldn't be where i am right now!

Interview With Radio Adelade.

2009-06-04T17:54:00.002+10:00

Did an interview with Radio Adelade last week. For anyone interested it is available online here. (youll need to scroll down to see it)

May be interesting.

Interview with Comrade Sushil from the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoists

2009-05-23T10:45:00.001+10:00

The following Interview was conducted with Comrade Sushil of the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) at some point in the previous few weeks. It occurred somewhere in the area of the Indian-Bhutan border. There are minor edits for clarity, and also as they are an underground party, minor editing for the security of Comrade Sushil.

Lal Salam Blog: Thank you very much for meeting with me. So are you from Bhutan?

Comrade Sushil: Yes, from Bhutan.

Lal Salam Blog:From the Bhutanese refugee camps?

Comrade Sushil:Uhh, actually people think that all our party are from the refugees, but i am from Bhutan. I have spent allot of time in India, working, but then also in Bhutan and then in Nepal working for the party as well.

Lal Salam Blog: So you are a cadre of the Communist Party Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoists)?

Comrade Sushil: Yes i am a member of the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoist). I have been a member since 2003 and i have worked actively as a whole timer since the same year. I joined the party from within Bhutan.

Lal Salam Blog: What is the history of the Party?

Comrade Sushil: The CPB(MLM) was established on the 7th of November 2001, and the announcement of the Party was on the 22nd of April 2003. From this time the party has been working with the exploited people in Bhutan. The people are all exploited by the regime, so our party has been working with all the people, mainly in rural areas, but in urban areas also. Mostly we work with the people in the villages.

Lal Salam Blog: So what are the problems in Bhutan? What sort of oppressions are forced on the people of Bhutan?

Comrade Sushil: The biggest problem is the feudal Monarchy. Because of this monarchy the problems are created. Peoples standard of living has been kept backwards because of the Monarchy. In a third world country like Bhutan, this is because of feudalism. This feudalism is the main problem of Bhutan. This is why the Communist Party, our glorious party, is working to overthrow the regime, and to overthrow feudalism.

Lal Salam Blog: So the goal of the Party for now is to throw out feudalism from Bhutan?

Comrade Sushil: Definitely. The main aim of our party is to overthrow feudalism and to establish the peoples rule in Bhutan.

Lal Salam Blog: So you would like to establish a People's State in Bhutan? Is that what you would have replace the King?

Comrade Sushil: We should not understand like this. We should replace the king with a Proletarian Dictatorship. Our aim, our hope, no our dream is to establish a New Democratic Socialism. Only after that can we achieve our ultimate goal, which is to achieve communism. It is not only our goal to throw out the king and overthrow feudalism in Bhutan, but to establish a peaceful society that can achieve socialism and communism.

Lal Salam Blog: Last year your party started a Peoples War in Bhutan...

Comrade Sushil: No. We have not initiated a protracted peoples war in Bhutan. Since our parties establishment we have however had many rural peoples class struggles and these struggles have used different means. In different ways we have launched many struggles and programs, and we have the aim of reaching a level where we can launch a Protracted Peoples War. Last year we did initiate some armed struggles, which is only a factor of the rural class struggle. Much of the media proclaimed this as the beginning of the Peoples War, but we are not at that phase. We are trying to reach the level of Peoples War, but we have not yet reached it, and are preparing for it. We do not know how long this will take, it will depend on many factors.

Lal Salam Blog: So there will be more attacks, more bombs and more armed actions in the future?

Comrade Sushil: Certainly. We are preparing for this. There will be more armed struggle. Without the armed struggle, we cannot change the situation in our country. We cannot change the state power. We will one day take the state power, but for now we are in preparation, making networks with the peasants and in the cities, training, preparing for the struggle.

Lal Salam Blog: Do you think Peoples War can be successful? Bhutan is already a very brutal state. As many as a sixth of the population lives in exile and the state has beaten, attacked, arrested and even raped and murdered those it perceives to be political activists?

Comrade Sushil: Our parties thought is that only by waging the armed struggle and the Peoples War can we win the liberation of our exploited people. I believe so. Thousands of people have been evicted from Bhutan, we are very aware of this. Why were they evicted? They were evicted after political activism and movements. They were evicted because the people in the southern belt had a high political consciousness. This is totally not a refugee problem, this is a political problem. It is a problem of a brutal monarchy and a restrictive feudal system. Without destroying these institutions we cannot solve these problems. Our party is launching this armed struggle to liberate the exploited people and we know that one day we will be successful. This is a long term plan, it will take many preparations, and without this and without correct politics we cannot be successful. We have this ideology, the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist and this is a political weapon. With this weapon we believe that one day we will be successful.

Lal Salam Blog: So have you learnt much from the experiences of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and their experiences in Nepal? Are there close or special links between your parties?

Comrade Sushil: We do not have special or direct links with this party. But, and also like communists all around the world, in Peru, India or the Philippians we have ideological links. These places all have communist parties leading revolution through the armed struggle, and with all of them we have ideological links and an ideological relationship. That means we support them ideologically and they support us ideologically. We have a relationship with the CP Nepal(Maoist), but also with the CP India (Maoist) who are also waging an armed struggle. We don't receive any physical support, or anything like that, but we should understand that we are all communists, and we are all internationalists, and we receive and give moral support.

Lal Salam Blog: What does your party think about Prachanda Path and the Nepali Maoists synthesis? It has been controversial to some international communists.

Comrade Sushil: About this Prachanda Path. It is something we should study. And also it is not only a thing to be studied, it has shown it has the ability to guide workers actions. I don't want to comment more because the ideological things i have had not sufficiently studied, and till now our party has not discussed at length Prachanda Path.

Lal Salam Blog: The Maoists in Nepal have given up their Peoples War and taken a new tactic in pursuing the Constituent Assembly elections. Is this a correct tactic in your parties opinion?

Comrade Sushil: In regards to the UCPN(M) we do not think that they have given up their goals. We think they are pursuing another way, another tactic to establish a peoples state. We don't think they have established the proletarian dictatorship. So we, our party, does not think that they have achieve state power. We too will go for a Constituent Assembly at first, and only after that can we step or jump or leap forward to a New Democratic revolution. In the context of the Maoists we don't think they have state power, and are still struggling for it. It is a fact that the future shows you which path you must take, you can only pick your path depending on the concrete situation you face. We will also move for a constituent assembly elections and a new state, but without establishing the proletarian people at the center of this new state then it cannot reach higher and improve the lives of the people. We think that the Maoists of Nepal face similar situations to us, and have similar actions, so we will continue to watch closely.

Lal Salam Blog: So a Constituent Assembly is a tactic that you are interested in for change in Bhutan?

Comrade Sushil: Actually it is the tactics and strategy of communist parties in the third world. Third world countries are semi-colonial and semi-feudal. So without a New Democratic Socialism stage we cannot reach socialism. So we are in this revolution, it is a peasant revolution we can say. So to reach our aims, to some extent we should aim for a Constituent Assembly, and this is our main slogan and the main aim of the present situation in our revolution. That is not our only slogan, and out only goal, and it isn't the only thing that we campaign around with the peasants and people of Bhutan. And we don't want or aspire to another bourgeois constitution, but we need a constitution that is in favor of the oppressed and poor people of Bhutan.

Lal Salam Blog: Last year the government of Bhutan held elections, in a very restricted and controlled way, but the western media still presented this as a opening up and of "democracy". If there was to be a more open electoral system, would the CPB(MLM) pursue peaceful politics through elections?

Comrade Sushil: WE think there is only one path to real democracy in Bhutan. We don't believe in the current "democracy" this is well known. And we don't think that this system can lead to real democracy. The international community has its formula and they see votes and call it democracy- but there is no such thing in Bhutan and it is not possible to impose a real democracy from the outside into Bhutan. Any "democracy" that the regime brings into practice itself will be done in such a way so that real power continues to be restricted and kept in the hands of the old order, and not in the hands of the mass of exploited people, so that this "democracy" could not be used against the regime. Even if the regime cast out the king, it would not fundamentally change it. Our party will not make compromises with that order. We wont co-operate with their agenda, we have another agenda that is contradiction to theirs. We are going to establish the rule of all the people while they just want to exploit them. There is this contradiction between the people and the regime. Our party struggles because of that. If they were to try and set up a "democracy" for then when we should not be a part of it. When i say this it does not mean that we are militarists. The people want peace, and don't want to live in terror but this regime suppresses and exploits the people, they already live in terror. It is not a hobby to carry out armed struggle, it is our only option the liberation of our people.

Lal Salam Blog: Bhutan is such a tiny country, and it has very close relations, with India in particular. If you care to reach peoples war, do you think India would interfere to defend its interests?

Comrade Sushil: On this the whole party is very much conscious. But in the present situation India is not so dangerous to Bhutan. China is quite dangerous. 11,500 square kilometers of Bhutan's lands have been occupied and taken by China. So we are surrounded by two very large and powerful countries, who are always looking to interfere into Bhutan. They have two ways of interfering. Political intervention and direct intervention. There are Indian Army camps established in Bhutan. There are several big barracks. We have known this but we don't think they will intervene directly. Maybe at some point in the future. There will be political intervention, and we can try to counter this with our allies by rousing grassroots support for our cause in India. We are already doing this. If they try to intervene militarily it will be a heavy cost for them, a bloody and long civil war. Also the regime and the fuedalists don't want this. They want to defend their borders, protect his kingdom. We also want to establish the sovereignty of Bhutan, so we will always fight foreign influence, from India as well as China.

Lal Salam Blog: I understand that your party has allot of support amongst the refugees in Nepal.

Comrade Sushil: We are not just a party for the refugees. We have support where ever our people are.

Lal Salam Blog: So in India, Nepal and Bhutan?

Comrade Sushil: Yes.

Lal Salam Blog: And your party does work amongst all the commuities of Bhutan and across the whole country, not just in the southern Belt that is largely Nepali speaking?

Comrade Sushil: The southern belt is not only Nepali speaking, but there are people from many communites there as well. Myself i haven't been to the north as yet, our party does work there, but i have been working in the south and also in the east. In allot of people, and in the media there is allot of confusion. The CPB(MLM) is not just a party in the refugee camps, and not just Nepali speaking. We have cadres of many ethnic backgrounds, and our party works all over Bhutan.

Lal Salam Blog: For the refugees in Nepal is it true your party favors repatriation in Bhutan rather then resettlement in third countries?

Comrade Sushil: It is not that our party policy is just to return people to Bhutan. It is not a solution. Liberating the people of Bhutan is the only real and long term solution to this problem. We are not for resettlement, and we are not for repatriation in Bhutan without changing anything else. Moving people around like they are animals is not a solution. That is our position. There needs to be a political solution to this, and only then can the refugees get their rights. Some people have said our party was created to agitate for the repatriation of refugees, this is not the case. Our party was established within Bhutan and amongst the people. We are in favour of all the oppressed people. Only understanding the problem of the refugees as a problem of the political structure of Bhutan that we can find a solution. Our party was not established for the refugees, but for all the Bhutanese.

Democracy, The "Democrats" and the LTTE- Big Risks in the Future of Nepal's Republic.

2009-05-21T14:46:00.002+10:00

The stalemate of sorts continues.

The Maoists refuse to let the constitution be cast aside and the military be put above civilian rule and the "Democratic Alliance" refuses to back down and insists they have thwarted an attempt by the Maoists to "capture the state and establish a one party authoritarian dictatorship".

The assembly has not been able to conduct business since May 4th with the Maoist lawmakers disrupting the sittings by chanting slogans and blockading the rostrum. Outside the assembly, the Maoists have turned to the streets, with daily rallies and protests, culminating with a 300,000+ rally on the 17th in Kathmandu, with smaller programs in other major cities across the country. Even these massive showings of popular support however were not enough to budge the "Democrats" who have retreated behind the media to scream to all that they only have the interests of the country in mind. Despite this judging by the turnout to the mass rallies, the people aren't convinced.

The "Democratic Alliance" is the alliance between the CPN(UML) and the Congress, plus an array of smaller parties ranging from hardcore royalists, to ethnic chauvinists, to smaller parties on the hard left. Because of this the "Democratic Alliance" is riddled with limitations and contradictions. Firstly- it has no political basis at all. To get a majority the opposition has had to cobble together a whopping coalition of 22 different parties. While some try to champion this as a step forward and a government of consensus, the fact of the matter is that there is no political basis for this coalition at all. If this coalition does form government, it will by definition be totally incapable. There is no common, or even predominant position on any issue, and Nepal has many issues to overcome. Federalism, state restructuring, economic growth, the new Constitution, the monarchy, Hinduism and secularism, the peace process and the army integration issue. This government simply cannot function, as it is dependant on both far left and far right parties with contradtictory objectives and visions.

The one common point for this coalition is that they are not the Maoists. But this raises the question- how can they be a "democratic alliance" when it is created to intentionally exclude the party that won the elections. This is made even more ridiculous when their candidate for Prime Minister is Madhav Kumar Nepal who was beaten in the First past the post section of the Constituent Assembly elections not once but twice. Both times he was beaten by Maoists- who are now excluded from the government!

It should be clear that this opposition coalition is anything but democratic- without mentioning that they actively supported the unconstitutional moves of the president to protect a General who has been quoted as saying "enlightened despotism is preferable to chaotic democracy; the masses require protection from themselves." (General Katawal- October 2002). It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.

But Nepal doesn't exist in a vacuum, and world events will inevitably affect the situation in Nepal s well. Some recent events from the south have given those in power a new found courage and confidence to push on to protect their place and privileges in Nepali society from that great unwashed horde that is the Maoist movement. Interference from the south is nothing new in Nepal, but this time I am not referring to India, but rather the recent events in Sri Lanka/Tamil Elam with the demise of the LTTE.

For three decades the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam waged a national liberation struggle in the North and East of that country, and at its height controlled vast parts of the country and ran in essence a parallel state. This has recently all come to an end however after a massive military campaign by the Sri Lankan government the LTTE has now been defeated. While most of the world is looking at this situation and seeing the horriffic bloodbath and humanitarian crisis that it has caused, the elite look to the destruction of the LTTE (and often the destruction of the Tamils) and see inspiration for their own political problems.

Now that the elite are trapped in a peace process and constituion writing process that they cant control- they are desperately looking for ways to get out of it, or alter it to tilt the balance of power back in their favour. Now that they are close to getting governmen they will first attempt to redefine the interim constitution and the peace process. This can be seen with the congress already calling for the Peoples Liberation Army to be reverified and its number reduced to 4,000. When they cant do this, they will move outside of the consituion (like with the Presidents move) and in light of the demise of the LTTE are now more confident that should they need too they can crush this "maoist problem".

Thus the Maoists are facing a steep task- with very real risks on the road ahead.

The first and for most objective of the Maoists at this point is too protect democracy, the peace process and the interim constitution. All of the political parties came to the agreements, and after winning the elections they have the right to lead the way in he creation of the New Nepal. To defend the Constitution and the peace process is to defend the revolution.

It is very important for the Maoists to resist provocation. The ruling elite have been trying to provoke the Maoists to withdraw from the peace process and the assembly. It is very important that they do not so so, firstly because the peace and the constitution writing process is very popular, and if they walked away from that, then the public would leave them in droves. Secondly after winning the elections they are inherently have the political legitimacy, and when it is the opposition that has to go outside of the constitution to achieve its shady ends, then public support floods to the revolutionary pole.

Defending the constituion and the process will be no easy feat. Within the parliament the Maoists have disrupted the assembly for two weeks in protest. However they are likely to end this disruption shortly to try and pass a binding resolution that the presidents actions were unconstitutional and must be revoked. On the street the protests have been getting larger and larger, the peak so far has been the May 17th rallies of 300,000 in Kathmandu. They will continue, and maybe even get bigger, until the civilian supremacy over the military and the supremacy of the Constitution is restored. There is even rumours of a banda (general strike).

At any rate- the same contradictions are still in play. The situation in its fundamentals is unchanged. But something that has changed in the last two weeks, is where public support lies, and that's with the Maoists. So far problems are not being resolved but in fact becoming more polarised. People are getting angrier at what has happened to their democracy and the peace process- and the final result of this is yet to be seen.

Piece I wrote for JanaDisha

2009-05-14T13:45:00.001+10:00

This is just something i wrote for the Daily Newspaper- JanaDisha. It was translated into Nepali- so i'm not sure how it read for them, but here it is.

Now im heading down into the eastern Terai/Madhesh . Ill be gone a few days- so there wont be anythign between now and then- but i should have a range more views and perspectives when i return.

cheers,
ben

As a foreigner, a journalist and especially as someone who is concerned about the people of Nepal I am deeply worried about the recent moves by the President Ram Baran Yadav and the political opposition to go against the government and stage what has to be seen as an anti-democratic coup.

It has shown to me, and i think the whole world, that even though the Nepali people have removed their king and fought so hard for democracy, the rich and powerful in Nepal have no interest in respecting the democratic will of the people. The Martyrs of Janandolan 1, Janandolan 2, the peoples war, and all the movements did not sacrifice their lives, so that the ceremonial President could over rule the executive government to save a General who threatens the very idea of democracy. It is an insult to every Nepali to see your political "leaders" in the UML and the Congress putting their own interests (and the interests of India) above the interests and the desire of the Nepali people they claim to represent.

I do not understand how these people can look themselves in the mirror. How can they justify their actions? This General Katawal has not only played a key role in suppressing the people in the past, not only has he supported anti-democratic coups by the ex-King Gyanendra, but now, then he is generously given the opportunity by the Nepali people to play a progressive role in the New Nepal, he refuses to follow the direction of the government, that legitimately has the support of a majority of people. How can the UML and the Congress defend their actions to defend this man. This man who has no respect for the people and democracy. how can they be the saviors of democracy- when they protect those who would strangle the Nepali Republic while it is still a baby in the crib?

But while in parliament I see bureaucrats and corrupt politicians acting for themselves, on the streets and in the eyes of the people the real democracy is still strong. The real democracy in Nepal was not created by the bureaucrat, and it was not dreamt in the minds of the powerful people in Delhi and Washington. The birth of Nepali democracy has been the reward for the hard work and sacrifice of all the people of Nepal. Democracy was born in every village, every town and every city. Democracy shines in the eyes of every average Nepali i have met- and now this shine is a fire- as the Nepali people are rightfully disgusted that their democratically elected government has been overthrown by the same elites who have run this country for all time. To add insult to injury, they do this in the name of "Democracy".

The one thing I have learnt the Nepali people more than anything is that Democracy is not in an assembly and democracy is not limited to just a vote. Democracy means that power must come from the people. Nepal has proven this- and the waves of real democracy- democracy from the streets has already smashed the monarchy and opened the door to a better- and a socialist- future for Nepal.

Many governments around the world will support the opposition. The great "democracies" on India and America has already played a key role in attacking the Revolution of the Nepali people. But while the "international community" may be against you- the worlds progressive people will always be on your side. Everywhere working people and oppressed people have been impressed by your struggle for democracy and national sovereignty. Your struggle gives an example to the whole world, that even in a small and impoverished country, you can fight for your rights- and you can win!

For me I see an interesting time ahead for the people in Nepal. There are both great ricks, and great opportunities. But the one thing is certain, that justice does not lay on the side of the President in his coup. Justice will never be on the side of those who sit in Delhi and Washington and try to interfere with the sovereignty of proud nations. Justice in Nepal will always be on the side of the people, and no matter what the so called "democrats" say or do. When the people of Nepal cry out against injustice and autocracy then their voices will always carry with it the power of democracy and revolution.

Another Analysis of the events and th situation.

2009-05-14T13:44:00.001+10:00

For a swiss mob- bit of background again- esecially if you havent been following the situaion may be of use.

The recent political clashes in the tiny Himalayan nation of Nepal have been well publicized- even in the western press. How ever the events on the surface can be misleading, as there are political undercurrents and forces which are not as obvious to the casual observer, yet are the root cause of the current political "crisis".

The real issue at the center of the recent political events is the question of power and the creation of a new Nepali state.

Up until in one way or another 2006 Nepal had been ruled by a autocratic monarchy. A mass movement in 1990 known as the Jana Andolan had won limited democratic reforms- but in essence the King still retained much of his power. This finally came crashing down when in 2006 when the pressures of a rural "Peoples War" launched by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) in 1996 combined with urban discontent led mostly by the "Seven Party Alliance", which was made up of the Parliamentary parties of the political mainstream.

These fores combined to launch the "Jana Andolan II" - the second peoples movement. This 19 day movement which paralyzed the nation brought a final end to the monarchy. The slate was wiped clean, the old was destroyed, and the "Jana Andolan II" was supposed to be the point where a new and - finally - a democratic Nepal was ushered into reality.

But the process of creating the new is proving to be much more difficult then destroying the old. While this process initially moved swiftly, it has now stalled, and is now deeply divided in the road forward.

Early agreements were reached. It was agreed that a Constituent Assembly would be elected- and for the first time in Nepal the sovereignty of the people would be absolute. The civil war in the countryside was brought to an end. The Maoist combatants moved into
UN monitored camps and it was agreed that they would be rehabilitated and integrated into the (new and no longer Royal) National Army. But while these agreements were reached, and allot of preliminary progress has been made, nothing concrete has happened yet. It was exactly when decisions of real importance were to be made- that the problems started to occur.

In 2008 the elections were finally held to the Constituent Assembly and it after the results of these elections the culture of consensus that had existed prior came crashing to an end. The Movement that had been cobbled together against the king but now that the king was gone, so was the "common enemy". The movement for a New Nepal fostered very different and mutually exclusive visions for what the New Nepal should look like.

The forces led by the Maoists are calling for a radically different Nepal. The Maoists are pushing for drastic institutional change and wish to set up the New Nepal on the basis of federalism, to give rights to various ethnic minorities, as well as special rights for women and people of low caste, as well as a Constitution that as well as political rights, enshrines the economic and cultural rights of the people. This would require a drastic reshuffle of the Nepali state and society- which is particularly dangerous to those political parties and people currently in positions of power within the status quo particular the two "major parties", the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (UML). These political parties in context of the post 1990 limited democracy, fused themselves into Nepal's extensive bureaucracies and power structures- neglecting the vast majority of Nepal's rural poor.

In theory any disagreements about Nepal's future should have been decided by the people of Nepal in the constituent assembly elections, held in April last year. In these elections the Maoists received a broad mandate for their agenda and the two "mainstream parties" the NC and UML were deserted by voters. While the Maoists did not win an absolute majority of the assembly, they won a million votes more than their nearest competitor, and make up 40% of the Assembly. Further, the Maoists, when couple with ethnic parties that split from them and other smaller leftist parties make up more than 60% of the assembly. The vote was decisive and the people endorsed a broad and radical vision for their future.

This vision has been impeded at every step by the bureaucracy, military, media, local elite and international power centers. The Maoist government was toothless and all of its decisions have been scuttled, including the budget which remains largely unimplemented due to the other parties and the uncooperative bureaucracy. This came to a head over the issues around the Chief of Army Staff. The CoAS General Katawal repeatedly disobeyed the directives of the Defence Ministry, placing himself and the military outside of civilian control. Especially seeing as Nepal has a history of military coups, the government then made the moves within the Constitution to sack him. After doing so, the ceremonial President Ram Baran Yadav of the right wing Congress party went outside of his constitutional role to reinstate him. This caused the Maoists to resign from government, as it was abundantly clear to everyone that while they had government, the power remained in the hands of the opposition.

Probably the decisive role in this decision however was not played by any forces within Nepal. Foreign ambassadors played a central role in pressurizing politicians and the Maoist government against taking action against Katawal. In particular the Indian embassy feels threatened by radical change due to its security and economic interests in Nepal. They blatantly backed the opposition and limited the government course of action with the threat of economic sanctions.

These moves by the opposition have created large amounts of public discontent. It has made perfectly clear to the Nepali people the difference between the Elected Government and the state power- and now they are demanding that the anti-democratic actions of the president be repealed. This has also created a dilemma for those within the elite within the NC and the UML. The agreements that they signed before the election, are now at the advantage of the Maoists- and while they have temporarily been able to protect their bureaucratic/military support- they have paid the price in their political legitimacy. Further to continue to protect their power bases they will have to continue to move outside of the Constitution and agreements, which is then complicated again by the existence of the Peoples Liberation Army- which drastically limits the chances of a traditional military coup.

At any rate the current political situation is one of uncertainty. The opposition has shown the entire nation that they will not relinquish power even to a democratically elected government. This has sparked protests across the country- with more to come- demanding the Maoists be returned to government. The Maoists have publicly stated that they will not enter another government that is impotent. The process can only progress with the Maoists involved, but the Maoists will only be involved if executive power is rightfully placed in the civilian government, a demand the opposition will not give into without a fight. Rather than resolving- the recent actions have just exacerbated the contradictions and power struggles within Nepal, and the winners and losers will be seen

Video: Nepal's Coup

2009-05-08T13:29:00.002+10:00

I recently teamed up with Austrian radical anarco-maoist-trotskyist Dave who put together a video of some of the recent event- with a bit of a commentary by yours truly.

I have tried to embed here- but if it doesn't work the link is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvvwsUU-v0

Pictures from the last few Days.

2009-05-07T19:13:00.004+10:00

The last week in Nepal has been one of intensifying social struggles. Here is a some pictures that Lal Salam Blog has been able to get from Kathmandu.

A pro-government Rally before as the "crisis" began. They were calling for the removal of the Chief of Army Staff Katawal. The Maoist led government removed Katwal after his repeated refusal to recognize the supremacy of the civilian government and his disobedience of the orders of the defence ministry.

When Katawal was removed, despite it being well within the governments power in the constitution, and being necessary for the protection of democracy, the opposition Nepali Congress called on its student supporters to protest, and the in small groups took to the streets to burn tires and cause disruption.

Above is Congress supporters burning tires near the Janadisha (the Maoists daily paper) offices. There was a nervous couple of hours at Janadisha at one point as their phones died, and there were rumours of an imminent military coup, however it turned out (thankfully) to just be a legitimate fault in the phone network.

More congress supporters burning tires. Note the difference between the Congress rally above, and the Maoists rally below.

Despite the obvious public support for the sacking of Katawal, the president went outside his constitutional role to reinstate him- rendering the Maoist government ceremonial. This was essentially a "soft coup" against the democratic government in Nepal, engineered largely outside of the country by the USA and India.

Above Minister of Information and Communications Mahara makes the last announcement of the Maoist led government- declaring that it is the decision of the rightful government of Nepal that the actions of the President is nothing short of illegal.

Below Prime Minister Prachanda announces his resignation due to the inability of the government to implement any of its promises due to the unlawful and unconstitutional actions of the opposition and international forces.

Below a rally protesting against the Coup proceeding through the tourist area. For the tourists looking to get to Nepal for the peace, serenity and "shangri-la" it put their world upside down.

The front page of "Jana Disha" the Maoists daily paper. It shows the President on the shoulders of the Indian Prime Minster and wearing the crown of the (now defunct) monarchy. Behind him are the leaders of the opposition all carrying the Indian flag.

As close as any of the royals got to being a maoist....

Speaks for itself.

Below: the protests are not all on the street- this is a program organised by civil society and hundred packed the auditorium. The support for the Maoists actions is even bigger then just the Maobadi- members of the UML and the head of the Nepali Bar Association spoke at this program.

The Coup in Nepal.

2009-05-05T13:39:00.002+10:00

The last 48 hours in Nepal has seen a flurry of activity and has created the illusion of a political situation has been rapidly changing. While there has been a series of developments withing the parliament and within the government, and the alliances and support of different political parties has been removed and realigned- the essence of the political situation remains unchanged. The real political situation has remained stagnant for some months now. The actual reality of the political situation is that there is a new revolutionary force with an overwhelming support amongst the people of Nepal is pushing to radically change the institutions of the Nation and to create a more developed and just society. Opposed to these changes are an elite minority within the established power structures that resisting this struggle by any means necessary. This was made abundantly clear on May 3rd when the ceremonial President went outside his constitutional role to defy the democratically elected government. In essence this was a coup. The rightful political power of the government was usurped by an unlawful and outside force. In response to this blatant illegal move, the revolutionary Prime Minister Prachanda, and the Maoist government chose to resign- rather then remain in a position where in reality they had no political power, despite a clear mandate from the people of Nepal and clear constitutional and political legitimacy.

The mainstream press will tell you that the current political crisis started 2 weeks ago when the revolutionary Maoist government asked for "clarification" from the Chief of Army Staff- the constitutional first step in removing him from his post. Instead of trying to provide a clarification and justification for his actions and disobedience of the government the CoAS Katawal questioned the right of the government to seek his clarification. For the next two weeks the Maoists tried frantically to gain support from the other political parties to take action against the CoAS for his repeated insubordination, but when this was not possible, they took actions themselves to remove General Katawal from his post- sparking protests from the opposition, and parties to resign from government, sparking the current political crisis. This does not tell the full story. The fact is that the Army had been disobeying the government for months. The budget was still largely unimplemented due to political resistance. Every move of the government was resisted and every decision was made impotent. The crisis is not one revolving around the question of the army, but a crisis due to the gap between the democratic government and the power they should legitimately hold.

The last few days has made perfectly clear to anyone watching Nepal the real balance of forces within the country. The elected government is in no position of power, even on a question as elementary to any democracy such as civilian control over the military. The real power brokers are 1) those in a position of power within the country. The bureaucrats, the military, the rich, ex-royals and the feudal land lords- largely grouped behind the political leadership of the Nepali Congress and 2) those international forces that wish to preserve the status quo in Nepal as it serves their interests, namely India and the United States of America. The established political parties are all firmly integrated into this system as well which the current political crisis clearly proves. The CPN(UML) while initially giving its approval to the government, backed down and joined the opposition under the pressure of these international forces.

This basic situation within Nepal is unchanged still today. Even though the Maoists have withdrawn from government, the basic and fundamental political situation in the country is that the great majority of Nepalis desperately want real and radical change, and the current political institutions are neither willing nor capable of fulfilling these demands. The form of this struggle has now changed, in light of the coup by the Nepali Congress President. The struggle now is outside of the government, and will be led by the struggle on the streets, and the struggle for the people in Nepal is for a meaningful government that is capable of bring about the changes that they demand.

These demands fly in direct contradiction to anyone in a position of power. The entire economic and political set up of Nepal is geared towards ensuring the dominance of international power centers and the local powers that do their bidding. Creating a Nepal that is truly democratic, and that will create real economic development within Nepal (and geared towards the whole people of Nepal- not just an elite) needs to go against this power structure. This struggle continues to be played out. The struggle now for the Maoists not just for government, but for meaningful power that can really start to build the New Nepal- and fulfill the modest dreams of the Nepali people- democracy, development, equality and justice.

UPDATE- May 4 - 4:00PM

2009-05-04T20:20:00.002+10:00

The Maoist led government is not more.

I have just come from a press conference at the Prime Ministers office where Prime Minister Prachanda was to address the nation.

The Meeting was first addressed by Minister of Communications and Information, and spokesperson of the Government, Krishna Mahara. He informed those present that the just completed cabinet meeting has declared that the actions of the President in reinstating the Chief of Army Staff was illegal, and sent him a letter demanding he revoke his decision. He also informed that the cabinet meeting has also accepted the resignations that had been presented by the ministers from the UML and the Sabdhavana party.

After this Prachanda addressed the Nation. He announced that he has resigned from his position as Prime Minister. This has naturally completely changed the political situation in Nepal. It seems, my early analysis would be, that this is to open it up to the opposition to try and create a government without the Maoists, which would be extremely difficult and have no political basis- apart from being "anti-Maoists".

It is hard to tell at present the exact course of events, however, when i have more information i will pass it on. There again has been protests from both sides all day, which without doubt would have had some clashes.

Still a situation of tremendous uncertainty. things are changing by the moment, sorry for short post...

UPDATE: May 4 9:30 AM

2009-05-04T13:35:00.002+10:00

Kathmandu this morning- at least for now is still in an uneasy calm.

The breaking News is that late last night the President (of the Nepali Congress Party) went way outside his role as stipulated in the interim Constitution and contacted the ex-General Katawal and requested that he continue at his post. The implications of this are unclear- weather the legitimate CoAS Khadka has stepped aside or, the much more probable scenario, there are now two people claiming to be the legitimate head of the Armed Forces. It seems that there is now a dual power, with the Prime Minister being challenged (unconstitutionally) by the president.

This will just further disrupt the situation and lead to further instability. The Major political parties of the UML and the MJF are still divided, and are likely to remain. However the UML has definitely left government, although with real reservations from certain key leaders. Yesterday there were clashes between Maoists and Congress Cadres, and occasionally the Congress and the police, and it is likely that the same will occur again. Today is likely to be another hectic and fast paced day- will give more details as i have them.

Ongoing Events: May 3rd 6:00PM

2009-05-03T22:22:00.002+10:00

While an uneasy haze surrounds Kathmandu, things for the moment have returned to a relative normality.

Things are a little clearer now, but still things are changing at present, and especially without access to the Nepali Language news it is hard to tell exactly what is going on.

To recap this morning after a final last ditch attempt at consensus- the Maoists removed the Chief of Army Staff General Katawal from his post. This has brought into the open divisions with in the government, within the Military and within many political parties.

The Madheshi Peoples Rights Forum (MJF) passed a note of decent against the procedure that the Maoists used to sack Katawal. They are deeply divided about the action, and split vertically, with key leaders on both sides of the debate. The CPN(UML) boycotted the cabinet meeting after the motion to sack Katawal passed. It seems that they have left the government, but they too are split vertically, with key leaders being very vocal on both sides of the issue. It is yet to be seen for certain what stance these parties will take in the coming days, they have both had emergency meetings this afternoon. It does appear however the at least factions of the UML are teaming up with the Nepali Congress to try and create a new Government.

Naturally the Nepali Congress lead the opposition to the Maoists. They have been trying to disrupt the capital and create protests all afternoon with little success. Further, the nations ceremonial President is a member of the Nepali Congress and has increasingly been trying to overstep his role. The interim Constitution clearly states that the President takes his directives from the executive- however President Ram Baran Yadav is now choosing to "consult other stake holders" before endorsing any decision on the matter.

At present the risk of a Military Coup appears small (although not insignificant). The now acting Chief of Staff General Khadka appears to have consolidated control within the military. That being said EX-General Katawal was attempting to meet with his supporters in the military, and i have not seen the outcome of this meeting yet.

It will however all come down to the streets. So far the NC are the only ones who have tried to call people to the streets against the decision. All after noon NC members created fires and disrupted traffic. These were counted however by the Maoists- led by the YCL, who have organised rallies across Kathmandu, and then dispersed opposition groups and removed traffic hazards, put out fires ect. Within less than 12 hours of the decision, a Maoist rally of More than 10,000 has been held in central Kathmandu, with smaller rallies elsewhere.

These events are of course unlikely to be over today, and it also needs to be stressed that we are yet to see a response from the "international community". It is still essential that International watchers be on guard for the possible necessity of Solidarity actions.

More as i know it.

Events Unfolding As We Speak: 3rd May 3:00PM

2009-05-03T19:12:00.002+10:00

This morning the Maoists in government made the decision to remove Gen. Katawal from his position of Chief of Army Staff after his repeated political based insubordination. This was done after 10 days of trying to reach consensus with the other political parties, up until a final cross party meeting this morning. This consensus was not possible to come too, and due to this the Maoists have made this decision on their own.

As a result of this, reactionary and anti-democractic forces are trying to unseat the overwhelmingly elected government. The major coalitio parteners in government, the Madheshi Peoples Right Forum and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninst) have reportedly left government, and supporters of the major opposition party the Nepali Congress has small groups of supporters in the streets, disrupting traffic and burning tires. Also and alarmingly, the Chief of Army Staff has not accepted his removal, and is attempting to meet with other members of the millitary.

It is becoming clear that the political opposition, including parties previously within the government, are trying to find ways to destroy the Maoist government and to remove them from any form of power. This situaion is chaning by the minute, but it is clear that very important and decisive struggles are playing out as we speak.

At the same time, there are rallies in various places by the supports of the government to support the government and the Maoist party in its decision. The support for this decision and the government as a whole is widespread and while life is generally un affected away from the major roads, a increasingly tense situation is comming about in Kathmandu. In likelyhood across the country as well. Supporters of Nepal and its revolution SHOULD BE ALERT AND AWARE TO THE SITUATION AS IT DEVELOPS. MORE DETAILS FROM KATHMANDU WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN AVAILABLE. The role of international forces is yet to be seen, and i am yet to see or hear any response from India or the USA. However, both of these powers have made serious threats (unofficially) to the Maoist government. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTS AND SUPPORTING GROUPS SHOULD BE READY FOR SOLIDARITY ACTIONS< IF THE SITUATION WAS TO DEVELOP.

More as it becomes available to me.

Dr Babburam Bhattarrai's May Day Speech

2009-05-02T13:48:00.005+10:00

Firstly, from myself and the people of Nepal, happy International Workers Day 2009!

For those interested- below is the key speech given by Dr Baburam Bhattarai at the Maoists major rally in central Kathmandu.

IMPORTANT: This is not an official translation- rather a paraphrase. It was translated to me by a fellow spectator, and i have reconstructed it from those notes. This should be useful to get the essence of the speech, but may be incorrect in emphasis and in content, and should not be quoted as fact. For these reasons responsibility for this should remain with Lal Salam Blog and not be totally associated with Dr Baburam Bhattarai or the United Communist Party Nepal (Maoist)

Hello and Happy May Day to all! Today May 1st is a day of huge historical significance. For 120 years the international working class has celebrated May Day as the international workers day. For over a hundred years now workers have been fighting, for their liberation through the only means that this is possible- through revolution. For 120 years now International Workers Day has been commemorated, originally to remember the Haymarket Martyrs, who bravely sacrificed their lives in Chicago while fighting for their rights and the rights of all the worlds working people. Today's rally is a real tribute to these hero's.

And In Nepal we have our own history of labour struggles and sacrifices. We should remember the workers who took the first ever industrial action in Nepal in 1949 against the autocratic regime of the Rana's. More recently there have been many martyrs in the Labour movement, particularly during the time of the 10years people's war and our struggle against the Monarchy in Nepal. Today we pay tribute to those people who have made sacrifices for the peoples cause.

So today in Nepal the United Communist Party of Nepal wants to establish a New Nepal under the rule of the proletariat. In the new Constitution we will make sure that the rights of labourers are guaranteed. To do this we recognise that the Revolution is not over, but simply its form has changed. We are not in the peoples war anymore, but we are still in revolution, and we will continue the revolution until the rights of the working proletariat are recognised and guaranteed! This New Nepali Republic should be a Republic for the People, and not for the counterrevolutionaries and feudalists and our party is as determined as ever to continue to fight for all of the peasants and workers.

As a minister i have to admit that we have not been able to solve all of the problems we have faced yet. I confess this, we don't have total power. Things like an unemployment allowance are things that we have planned, but not been able to achieve. Many people here work, but work in terrible conditions. There are people who work in clothes factories, but they themselves have only rags to wear. To fight this we need to continue to struggle, and the United Communist Party Nepal (Maoist) will continue this struggle from the government, from the assembly and from the street!

I would like to announce i will be trying to raise the minimum wage to 10,000 rupees* due to the recent price rises. When prices rise it is important to rise the minimum wage accordingly. Those who work should not starve and the current price wages are causing this.

It may be difficult for me to do this however because of our coalition partners. The other parties in government are constantly causing trouble for the government, and are always trying to pull our legs out from underneath us. For example our revenue collection has been very high, and the government has been able to collect a vast amount of money, but we have not been able to mobilise this money for the good of the people. We have been unable to mobilise these funds because of the absence of local governments. The budget is very ambitious but due to the opposition parties we have not been able to use the structures excising or create new structures for implementing the budget.

But we will overcome these problems, and find ways around them. As most of you know we have launched the youth employment scheme to create employment and growth within Nepal. Loans of up to 200,000 rupees will be given to 100,000 youths to help them create enterprises at their local level and to stimulate development across Nepal and to battle against unemployment in our country. On top of this in the Next year we will create jobs and employment opportunities for a million Nepalis. This is essential for us to begin to end our dependence on foreign nations and to stop the trend of Nepalis being forced to look overseas to find employment.

This is complicated because feudalism has not been completely eliminated in Nepal. To improve out economic position we need to focus on industrial development. We are doing our best to foster Public Private Partnerships to develop Nepal. We will work to end the need to protest in industries, and try to foster a working relationship between industrialists and the workforce. They are not our enemies right now, our enemies are the feudalists, the expansionists and the imperialists. We want the support from industrialists.

At present the government is encircled by the parliamentary parties, by feudal forces and royalists. There is a polarisation between the progressive republicans and the supposed "democrats". Despite this we will be successful. This government has a huge mandate from the people, and everybody, the Bureaucracy and the military MUST be made to follow the government. If a soldier can be punished for not obeying his superior, why not a general? We will sack Katawal, we will not go back on this decision. We Will transform the army, and involve it in development projects.

But we must be aware of possible threats. We must be aware of the threat of social-democrats who want to politicise the army. Disciplinary action must be taken against Katawal. The military must be under civilian control. It is essential for democracy. Look at Pakistan and Bangladesh, where there have been many military coups because the army is not under the control of the civilian government. Why does the Nepali Congress refuse to learn from history and protect the army?

It is not our agenda to capture state power and put it under the control of our party. Democracy means the civilian control of the state, and the army especially. This is what we are trying to do, institutionalise a Democratic New Nepali state.

If the Nepali Congress refuses to support the government in these important decisions, then it is they who will lose. They will lose all support of the people, they will leave them in droves, and in the next election., they will be decimated.

The UML needs to take a stand. The UML is refusing to be for or against anything. It is like trying to be a third sex. It is useless. And because of this indecision the processes have been delayed. The UML is suffering from a profound identity crisis. They are trying to be a third option, when the only options to the people of Nepal are revolution or reaction. There needs to be leftist unity so we can break the deadlocks and achieve progress in Nepal. If the UML chooses not to do this then they too will be swept into oblivion by the progressive waves of the Maoist movement.

Some parties have been pressuring the President to intervene at the present time. But how can he, the President is only ceremonial. If he tries to overstep his constitutional responsibilities and support the army then it will be a suicidal decision for him. If he goes outside his role, then he will suffer the same fate as the king. I respect him and do not think this will happen, he will respect the Constitution, and therefore remain ceremonial.

We have come to the point where every decision made about Nepal in the past has been decided elsewhere, whether it be London, Washington or Delhi. We will not accept this anymore. We will not accept any interference any longer. We want to foster a mutual relationship with international powers, to respect Nepal's sovereignty. Foreign powers should be careful not to interfere with a sovereign Nepal, because if you interfere it will start a great revolution amongst the people.

We, the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have chosen the peaceful and progressive path for social and economic change and we will end ALL forms of discrimination, whether it be based on gender, caste, religion, national minorities or region. no one should question our commitment to peace and to the process of making these changes. There were rumours that today we would use the mass of people to try and take power by force. This is false. We will win the popular support, but we will not force change on Nepal. We will bring about change by completing the peace process and writing the new constituion.

If there are obsticles put in our way on this peaceful path, then it would leave us no choice but to then persue the path of revolution. Army integration will happen and the new Constitution will be written no matter what. We will have peace, federalism and development. We will make Nepal properous. The United Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist) is committed to this cause.

We want a broad consensus on the current issues that face the government to solve the existing problems, but if all paths are blocked then we will turn to the street! We do not want to be in government for the sake of being in Government, we don't have a love for the chair. If people want and if it is necessary then we are prepared to make any sacrifice for the people, we will leave the government and fight alongside the people. So I want to put our government at stake, we will either sack Katawal, or we will leave government. If we cannot establish civilian supremacy then we cannot remain in government.

The United Communist Party Nepal (Maoist) will always be with the people. We will never forget you or betray your sacrifices. We will never betray your dreams!

*I am not sure over what time period the 10,000 rupee minimum wage is- 10,000 rupees translates to about 120$USD.

In Their Own Words- The People of Rolpa (Part 2)

2009-04-28T14:02:00.005+10:00

Part 2 of my trip to Rolpa. For part one- see below.

The hills of Rolpa.

This is Gaurav Sharma. He is 26 years old and a captain in the Peoples liberation army. In his own words- here is his story:

I joined the Maoists movement when I was 15. Because i was still young i wasn't allowed to be a fighter at first, so i joined and became and actor and a dancer in one of the cultural troupes. It was good, i got to travel widely all across Nepal.

I came from a farming family, peasants in Rolpa. I joined through another member of my extended family who had joined the movement, however my close family, my parents, were against me joining the movement initially.

Once i was older i joined the PLA. In the early days there was no PLA training, everyone just had to learn by doing. Many people died just from inexperience, simple things like crouching and crawling when under fire, and often we would have to leave good and sophisticated weapons and equipment behind because we did not know how to use it. After a while though, we got more experienced, and then as our movement grew, we also received training from people who were ex-Gurkha soldiers in the British and Indian armies...

Conditions in the camp are not good, however they are better then they were initially. We want there to be integration into the new army. The political parties all signed agreements, but now they are trying to go back on them. We want the agreements implemented, and Nepal needs a New National Army, so we can develop the nation, and fight against anyone who challenges it. We have no problems with most people in the Army and the police, more then 50% are OK. But there are those in the police and army- the officers especially, who are against the PLA and want to destroy it. We don't want them in the New Army.

Rolpa is incredibly impoverished. For most people here, there has been in effect no development and change in their situation in their lifetimes. This has changed for many recently, who have been able to get access to better drinking water and electricity as they were provided to the PLA cantonments, and then the surrounding areas.

In the village of Tila I met one youth, Dilip Mahendra (no photo). Dilip is 21 an has lived in Rolpa his whole life.

Lal Salam Blog: Has there been many changes since the end of the Peoples War?
Dilip Mahendra: Lots of changes, Electricity is now here, the youth employment scheme* will start soon- which i am very hopeful for. Also there is now an old age pension, and some money has come for the martyrs families, so many good changes.
LSB: So you support the Maoists?
DM: Yes I am an activist with the YCL (Young Communist League- the Maoists youth movement) and have helped to organise many activities. I am a little inactive at present but i will always support the Maoists.
LSB: SO why did you join the Maoists?
DM: The Maoists would come to my school and talk to the students. They would come and urge all the youth to unite to help develop the country. So that is why i joined the Maoists....
LSB: The Maoists restricted alcohol during the war. Is this still a Maoist policy?
DM: No that ban is no longer in place.
LSB: Do you and other YCL drink? Is Alcohol a problem in Rolpa?
DM: I do not drink, others do. Alcohol is not a major problem here. If people drink and people are drunk it is not a problem, unless you get drunk and disruptive. If you are disruptive the YCL cadre will come and talk to you and the YCL makes sure there are no problems.
LSB: Are young people here all thinking about and involved in politics?
DM: I think so. There are many people in YCL, and even some in Youth Force (Youth Force is the UML youth/muscle). There was a small dissagreement between the groups during the recent elections. But we are all friends. There are some UML people in youth force, but i want a strong developed and united Nepal, so im with the Maoists and YCL.

*The youth employment scheme is a scheme from the government where i think more than a hundred thousand Nepali youths will be given loans to start tourist agricultural and other businesses across the country in an attempt to both kick start development and cut down on youth unemployment.

A Woman on guard at the 5th Division headquarters. Unfortunately i wasnt able to get access inside the camps- due to hightened security for the elections, the commander being off base, and having not made appropriate contacts with the local party.

Gate- 5th Division Headquarters- Durhaban, Rolpa

I did however get access to their hospital- which is new and open to the public. Although it is very basic facilities, it is better anf more than the people in the area have ever had. They deal mostly with diareah type diseases, and although it is the PLA hospital, mostly with the general public.

This old woman ran a small store in Durhaban that made most of its buisness with the people from the PLA cantonment in the vilage. She was a local UML supporter, and did not talk much when i tried to interview her; however she did say this:

"The changes that have happened and are happening dont belong to any political party, they belong to the poor people. We are the ones who have made the sacrifices for change, and we are the ones who deserve it."

In Their Own Words- The People of Rolpa (part 1)

2009-04-25T14:23:00.000+10:00

I recently spent a week living with and talking to the the people of Rolpa. Rolpa is a very underdeveloped hilly district in Nepal's mid-western region where the Maoists launched their People's War in 1996- which went on to change Nepal in almost every aspect of its politics and culture. Because of this however Rolpa was also the scene for some of the worst police/army repression and violence. These are their stories in their own words.

The Martyrs Gate built by the Maoists during the War period that welcomes people as you cross into Rolpa.

Liwang- The District Capital of Rolpa

I Met Swedah Dukesi (no Picture-Sorry!) on the side of the road waiting for a bus. He was a 53 year old man who was actually from Rukkum which was the next district north of Rolpa, however it too was the Maoist base area, and had many similar experiences to Rolpa. He had a badge of a red communist flag on his shirt.

Lal Salam Blog: I see that badge, are you a Maoist?
Mr Dukesi: No i am with the UML. The Communist party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist).
LSB: Did that mean you had a hard time during the People's War? Did you have many troubles from the Maoists?
Mr Dukesi: It was a dangerous time. The Maoists would come into the village and ask for food and shelter, and talk politics and leave. The Army however would come- then beat us, abuse us, accuse us all of being Maoists. The Army would kill people. In comparison the Army and the police where always far worse then the Maoists...

The Divisional headquarters of the Peoples Liberation Army- 5th Division the day after the by-elections. In the foreground a UML flag flies. The UML and other political parties repeatedly have claimed that the Maoists do not allow them to operate in Maoist strongholds. Across the road from the UML flag there is a local UML family- and proudly and vocally so, and much f the village was plastered by UML posters and stickers (they still lost the election). If 50 meters from a PLA the UML can operate very publicly without feeling threatened, i find these allegations hard to believe (especially seeing as all the local UML members denied them).

Terrace farming in Rolpa.

This Man- A Dalit- lived in a small village in Rolpa. He missed most of the brutal times during the Peoples War as he was working in India. It is common for people in rural Nepal to leave Nepal for employment, particularly to India, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Malaysia due to lack of opportunities at home.

LSB: So are you hopefully for the future?
Man: We are from a Dalit family, so there have already been many changes. Before the peoples war we faced many problems and discrimination. We would be humiliated for being Dalits, but since the Maoist movement, things have changed here. Attitudes are different.

LSB: Do you support the Maoists?
Man: Yes, we support the Maoists. They are doing good things, they are bringing change.

What was said was backed up, as while we were interviewing this man; other locals of other castes were in his home, and eating and drinking with him, behavior that simply would not have been possible just a few years ago.

The Martyrs Road in Rolpa. The road was constructed by the Maoists during the Peoples War. The Party organised local communities and the peoples army to build the road. As well some locals who had been found of various crimes were sentenced by the "Peoples Courts" to work a set hour of time on the road as punishment. There was even "international brigades" of foreign Maoists supporters who came to work on the road. It seems like a very simple and basic thing, but this rocky and rough dirt track made a real difference to peoples lives and made the movement of goods and people much quicker and easier for many people.

This is Nongna- a 26 year old woman who currently lives in the village of Tila. She was in Rolpa throughout the Peoples War. She is a new mother. Rolpa- particularly near the PLA cantonments, has many children as the peace process and the end of the war has created an atmosphere where raising children has become possible again.

LSB: Was it dangerous to be in Rolpa during the Peoples War?
Nongna: Well, when the Maoists would come they would just ask for food and shelter, but when the army would come they would kill and torture people. This would happen every day. So for this reason I joined the Maoists. The village was very difficult, there were always many problems with the police and the army. But i didn't just join because of this, the Maoists had visions for the future, and for liberation.
LSB: What did you do for the party?
N: I used to go to peoples homes and explain to people the politics of the Maoists and try to convince others to support and join the Maoist movement.
LSB: What is it like from women in Nepal?
N: Well if i was a man i would not have so many of the problems I have had. Every household has issues, but as a maobadi these issues are not as profound.
LSB: So the Maoists are good for women?
N: Yes very much. In the party it is much more equal between men and women, and women are able to participate freely.
LSB:And is this changing all of society?
N:Yes, there have been changes in broader society. People have seen the benefits of not having this divide and discrimination and people are learning.

It is worth nothing that you can physically see a difference between Maoist women and women who have not joined the Maoists. The Maoist women stand straight and tall, are much more confident, will look a man in the eye and confidently interact with men in the life of the village. Women who have not yet become a Maoist or in Areas that are less Maoist affected will tend to be quiet, reclusive and be hidden and smothered by the men in the Village.

This is Kahldi Magar Pun, who is an old man who has lived in Rolpa all his life. He is currently living in the village of Tila. He is staunch UML.

LSB: Do you support a political party?
KMP: Yes i support the UML. But i support them because i have family connects with the UML, not for any political reasons.
LSB: Was it difficult to be a UML supporter during the Peoples War?
KMP: At that time there was no police or army in my village, and when the Maoists came they would just want to talk and have some food and shelter, so for me it was easy.
LSB: So never any problems with the Maoists?
KMP: No the Maoists would have cultural programs and shows, and all the people would come and enjoy. They were good, I enjoyed the Maoists programs.
LSB: So you like the Maoists?
KMP: I support the UML...
LSB: So what do you think of the UML's actions in government?
KMP: The politicians just come here for votes, and then go to Kathmandu. It doesnt matter what we think. All the same the NC, UML the maobadi...
LSB: Do you think the Maoists are the same as the other parties?
KMP:Well the Maoists have done well, facilities have improved here, there are roads and electricity and we didnt have that before.
LSB: So do you have high hopes for the New Nepal and the new Constitution?
KMP: UML governments in the past have done nothing, but in the same amount of time in government the Maoists have done a little bit, so we think that the new Constitution and the new Constitution will do good things for us.

This is what a "Terrorist" looks like...

Her name is Diti Thapa. She is 28 years old. In her own words this is why she joined the Maoists:

Diti Thapa:... One day the Army came to my village. My family were not Maoists, we were not such a political family, but the army accused us of being Maoists anyway. They accused us of being Maoists and they were abusing us, and then they took my brother, my husband and my father, and they shot them. And then they raped me....
...I just hate those people who have done this to me. Because of them I have many problems, mental problems. It always comes back what happened. The killing of my father, and brother and husband, and the rest, it is always coming back. I am always crying...

Some say that these aren't political reasons for joining the movement, but nothing could be further from the truth. This was the true politics about the old Nepal- it was a bureaucratic order, that just didn't give a fuck about its people, and had no limits to the brutality that it showed to its opponents.
It is also worth nothing that the guns that killed her family where likely supplied by the US. The soldiers that raped her likewise were likely trained by the USA. But because she had the strength to resist this brutality- she is a terrorist.

If fighting against this kind of brutality- that is just incomprehensible to any reasonable person- means that your are on the side of terrorism- i know where i stand....

2009-04-24T13:30:00.002+10:00

Less than 2 weeks after the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won by-elections across Nepal, they have renewed their efforts to create the New Nepal. On Sunday 19Th the Maoist led government made the first steps towards removing the Chief of Army Staff after a long dispute between the Nations military and the elected civilian government.

The by-elections have proven without doubt that the Maoists and their agenda for the creation of a New Nepal has popular support across the country, and the Maoists have taken this opportunity to press on with their plans in restructuring the state. This has sparked fierce resistance from the political opposition, the embassy's of foreign nations and the army itself, and the ongoing peace process and the process of the creation of a new Nepal seems to be in jeopardy.

The core of the issue is the need for there to be civilian control over all aspects of the state- especially the military. In recent months the military has repeatedly proved either unwilling or unable to take directives from the civilian government and especially from the Ministry of Defence headed by the Maoist Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal.

There have been multiple controversies from the (ex-royal) Nepal Army. Firstly, in February the National Army recruited several thousand soldiers against the orders of the Government, the Defense Ministry, the supreme court and the Interim Constitution. The army again challenged the civilian government when it reinstated 8 generals who where retired by the defense ministry on March 16th, and finally recently staged a political boycott of the National Games went the Peoples Liberation Army of the Maoists were allowed to compete.

A military that repeatedly undermines the popularly elected government is an obviously enormous threat to democracy, especially in a developing nation like Nepal. Thus for the ongoing security and prosperity of Nepal it is essential that the military be restructured and brought back under the control of the legitimately elected civilian government.

The creation of the New Nepal will also require the National army to be reconstructed and realigned to match the new reality of the new Nepali state. The Nepali Army has changed only in name from when it was previously the Royal Nepali Army, and has backed an anti-democratic coup to reinstate absolute royal rule in 2005. The retirement of the head of the Army, the Chief of Army Staff would be the first step in a process of creating the democratic new Nepali Army, and is thus essential for the ongoing peace, progress and democratic rule in Nepal.

This is the core of the current issues around the army, the creation of new state structures in Nepal. The sacking of the Chief of Army Staff should not be seen as a political question. The politics is obvious and beyond doubt- the chief of the Army has put himself outside of civilian control and therefor should be removed. The basis of the opposition to these moves is motivated instead by the question of power. People in positions of state power in Nepal, be it in the bureaucracy, in the judiciary and in the military, feel threatened by the process of change. The political opposition has no common politics, but unites those within the fabric of the old society to prevent the cultivation of the new. Resistance to change in the military is the struggle of those who are rich and powerful who see the military as their armed gang to insure against radical change.

However Nepal has shown repeatedly in its recent history that the real power in a society doesn't come from those at the top of that society, but rather from those within that society. There has been many demonstrations everyday by Maoist supporters calling for the retirement of the Chief of Army Staff, and these demonstrations coupled with the by-election results has put beyond doubt that the popular sentiment is behind the government and desires change.

The By-elections: The revolution STILL going strong- and now we have the stats to prove it!

2009-04-17T14:00:00.004+10:00

Apologies its been a while since there has been an update. For the last week or so i have been in Rolpa- to see the bi elections and to meet the people there, as this was the base area for the Maoists during the peoples war. There are many pictures and interviews to come, but for now, here is an analysis of the election outcome.

On April 10 across the country bi-elections were held in 6 constituencies that had been left vacant in the last 12 months. These elections took place in a range of areas, in different parts of the country, in areas where different ethnic groups and where political parties were powerful so in effect these elections gave a good reflection in the political mood amongst the people. While only a fraction of people could vote, and the small amount of seats at stake would not affect the balance of power within the parliament, these elections were incredibly important because of the role they take in the wider political struggle in the country.

In these elections, the Maoists (again) won considerably.

Of the 6 constituencies 2 were previously held by the Maoists, which they retained, and they also picked up another seat- previously held by the Nepali Congress. The other seats went one each to the Nepali Congress, the CPN(UML) and the Madeshi Peoples Rights Forum. Despite what was widely predicted, rather then Maoist support dropping in the last year, it has increased. This is further despite the constant media attacks and the inability for their government to carry out most of their programs in a meaningful way.

This is because the Maoists are still a party that has deep connections within the communities of Nepal. Its work in local areas , and its work in the youth, women's, trade unions, peasants, low caste and poor peoples movements means that there is a link with the average Nepalis that has proven to be strong, and hasn't yet been severed, despite the constant media attacks and co-ordinated attempts by the opposition to destroy or usurp this revolutionary base.

Also the Maoists polled well in the Terai areas, and finished second in one of the Madhesh constituencies. This is even more surprising due to the departure from the Maoists of Matrika Yadav, who was their most publicised Madheshi leader. Even despite this very public split and the very publicised criticisms of the Maoists from Yadav, the Maoists have been able to increase their support in the Madheshi areas, which are so crucial in the current situation. If the balance of power tips back in favour of the Maoists in the Madhesh, then it will help to overcome a major challenge to the ongoing revolutionary process.

This election is more than just a simple vote but is in essence an important part of the wider political power struggle that is still playing out. These results are encouraging for the revolutionaries, and strengthens their hands, and gives them more strength and ability to push forward with the plans and programs of the revolution. Conversely- the political opposition, was looking to these elections, to provide them with an opportunity to discredit and overthrow the government. The Nepali Congress leads this political opposition- including elements of parties within government and the Army, with the support of the international players in the embassy. The Congress opposition was hoping that this election would result in defeat for the Maoists, which would give them an opportunity to claim that that government had lost the support of the people, and try to overthrow it. The elections have instead, removed this possibility and rather will lead to renewed attacks on the state power that their class base still holds.

As I have said that these polls should not be looked at not just as polls, but as part of the political processes that is ongoing. They are important because the revolution, and the counter revolution are both progressing, and trying to gather strength to do away with the other. It is easy to see, for the political opposition has been very active in the army recruitment, disrupting the assembly and protests in different parts of the country, but the progressive forces have not simply stood back and done nothing, they have had mobilisations, they have retiring more and more officials, and now they have won this election. All these are just parleys. There are two fundamentally opposed forces vying for control and naturally there will need to be a confrontation at some point between these two poles. The old- the army and bureaucrats desperately trying to crush the new- a inclusive and equitable Nepal. The prize is the power to enforce and create the New Nepal in their image, and while this election, this small skirmish has been won by those with a very new vision for Nepal, the decisive battles are yet to be played out.

The New Nepal- revolution in the 21st centuary.

2009-04-06T14:12:00.002+10:00

The constituent assembly elections of last year were won in outstanding fashion by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The received almost a million votes more than their nearest competitor, and have more seats in the assembly than the next largest 2 parties combined. While the UCPN(M) does not have an outright majority in the assembly, it holds almost 40% of the seats, and thus seeing as the new constitution needs to be approved by a two thirds majority, by definition this means that the new Constitution for the "New Nepal" will be the minimum vision of the Maoist party.

So what does this mean? In concrete terms what can we expect for the new Nepali State. The Maoist vision of this new state. A secular Republic has already been achieved- Nepal will no longer be a "Hindu kingdom" and the despised monarchy has been given its marching orders, but while this is significant, the real changes are yet to come.

A New National democratised army, the basis of which will be both the (ex Royal) Nepali Army and the People's Liberation Army previously of the Maoists. The new army needs to be democratised, and loyal only to the new state and democracy rather the monarchy or political factions.

Nepals diverse culture will be protected and developed. It will be developed and modernised to remove any old fuedal influences that discriminate, but be protected from the cultural imperialism of Hindi and the West that threatens to destroy Nepals own identity and replace it with a sexist consumer culture.

The New Nepal will actively seek to fight oppression against all the discriminated people of Nepal. It will be a federal state that gives the right of autonomy and self determination to all the many nations of people within the borders of Nepal. It will also fight discrimination against women and that of Dalits, who were "untouchable" under the old Hindu Caste system. It will do so with more than just words, special rights will be given to Dalits and Women to insure that discrimination against them is brought to an end.

The social and political changes will also be coupled with new economic practices. National industrial projects will be prioritised to create the basis for an economic development that can bring real improvements to the people of Nepal. Employment will be guaranteed and a minimum wage has already been set (and raised) by the government. Workers can even be given the right to be involved in industrial management.

The education system will be revolutionized. Private educational facilities that charge high fees from minimum gain will be regulated- taxed and phased out to be incorporated into a new education system that will provide a relevant and reformed service to people. Ethnic minorities will have the right to receive lessons in their mother tongue, and the service will be made free to lower levels, and much cheaper and more access able to the community as a whole. This has been coupled with a literacy campaign that is already beginning which will involve thousands of volunteers and eradicate illiteracy in this country were currently as many as 50% of people cant read or write.

This new system goes far beyond the accepted norms of western "democracy". The vision for a new Nepal is not something that is modelled on current existing examples. The vision for a New Nepal is a vision that provides the only way for Nepal to develop and grow and provide the respect and decency that its people deserve. This is not a worn out "bourgeois democratic" revolution, this is a new revolutionary democracy of the 21st century!

Interview with Com. Suresh Kumar Ale Magar- Member of the Constituent Assembly for the Unified Communist Party Nepal (Maoist)

2009-04-03T14:13:00.007+11:00

"We would like to call on the progressive and leftist forces of the world... to support us so revolution and be accomplished."

On April 2nd i had the opportunity to interview Mr. Suresh Kumar Ale Magar, who is a member of the Constituent Assembly for the UCPN(Maoist). It is an interesting interview- with some very interesting comments about Latin America. There was some minor editing for clarity.

Ben Peterson: Mr Suresh thank you very much for meeting with me.
Suresh Kumar Ale: Thank you, and welcome to Nepal
BP: Thank you very much. So you are a member of the Constituent Assembly...
SKA: Correct.
BP:... and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). How long have you been part of the Maoist movement here?
SKA: The Maoist movement? About 30 years, three decades.
BP: Thats a considerable amount of time. So you were with the party throughout the war period?
SKA: When i joined this movement it was not the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), it was named at that time the CPN(Masal). But later there were many separations, separate factions and then we became the CPN(Maoist). It is now after a reintegration with the CPN(Mashal) and the CPN(Maoist) that the party is now the Unified CPN(Maoist)
BP:And you were elected to the assembly in the First Past the Post system?(1)
SKA: Yes
BP: From which district?
SKA: From the first past the post not the proportional representation, from constituency number one Tanahun district.
BP: Now there has been allot of talk from the party leadership about leading the revolution from the government, this is very new and a very different tactic that hasn't really been explored by revolutionaries before, and it is a very different tactics to the Peoples War that went for over 10 years. So it is obvious that the tactics of the party has changed, but has the overall goals and overall aims of the party changed as well?
SKA: No the overall goal of the party has not changed at all and shall not ever change at all. Our ultimate goal will remain the same, of course there will be different tactics, tactical change. This is what we have done in the context of Nepal. No revolution ever repeats, what can be done is revolutions can be developed after taking into account the particular context, particular situation in a society. We need a marxist and leninist model for the particular context of Nepal. Thats what we need to develop. We have to chart a new path, a new phase. that's what we have done, and our vision is that in our revolution the reactionaries of Nepal are trapped in a very critical situation. Because of the contradictions between them they had to change sides, and because of our interpretations of the contradictions in the reactionary classes one group of the reactionary class was compelled to make a kind of compromise or coalition (with the revolutionaries). Certain parliamentary parties were compelled to do so because of the autocratic rule of the then monarchy of King Gyanendra. This is what happened and this is why we had to refine our practices in this way. And s there were elections to the Constituent Assembly in which we, in which our party the UCPN(M) emerged as the largest political force. And later our party had to lead the government. (2)
BP: Now there is the situation where there is both the Peoples Liberation Army, and the (ex Royal) Nepali Army, and this is a big point of different between the Maoist led government and the political opposition(3), how to integrate these armies and implement security sector reform- so what is the Maoist plans for the Security Sector Reform and the integration of the armies?
SKA: As you know that until now two armies existed, one Peoples Liberation Army, one Nepal Army. What needs to happen is the merger of the two armies, and the creation of a new Army. Of course there will be a sort of "process" as the comprehensive peace accord stipulates- supervision, integration and rehabilitation of the maoist combatants. It is the responsibility of the government. So we must respect it, respect both armies and build a new army. Of course if anybody from the PLA wouldn't like to join the army, they can leave safe, maybe they would prefer to join the police force or other security sector- then ok. But in the end all the soldiers, the whole PLA must be able to join the Army.
BP:This has all been complicated recently by the actions of the Nepali Army with the support of the political opposition in the recruitment issue in the army and the retirement of 8 generals being resisted. At present the army really is renegade, so is this and the actions of the Nepali Congress a threat to democracy and the future of Nepal?
SKA: Well yes, there are serious challenges to the ongoing peace process, but i think in the end this will not be a problem. After all in the interim constitution and the comprehensive peace accords it is clear that integration will happen, so no one can go back from that and those understandings and agreements.
BP: I think it is fair to say that the situation in Nepal is currently one of re founding the nation. As a new beginning for a "New Nepal". "New Nepal" has been talked about allot by the leadership, such as Prachanda and Dr Bhattarai and others, so what will the "New Nepal" look like, and what will the new constitution include?
SKA: Well it will be a republic, this has already been achieved. "New Nepal" for us, for Maoists and revolutionaries "New Nepal" means a Nepal on the way to socialism. On the road to socialism. New Democratic Nepal. Of course for other people "New Nepal" may not mean this. Some want "New Nepal" to be like what the old Nepal already is. Or other people may say "Healthy Nepal" or "Democratised Nepal" but not a Nepal that is on the road to socialism.
BP: That's very interesting. I have a document here "A Brief Introduction to the Policies of the C.P.N (Maoist)" written by Prachanda in 2004 i think, and it talks about the Maoists minimum program. It talks allot about what would be bourgeois democratic norms, such as sovereignty of the people, secular sate, press freedom ect, but there are things here that are very interesting and go beyond a normal western democracy. It talks about special rights for women and dalits (4), a revolutionary land reform and it also talks about "the guarantee of minimum wages and workers participation in industrial management" Is that something that is still a part of the Maoist program, new economic practices?
SKA: This is all part of the Maoist program of course. Until now we have taken government, but state powers are not in our hand and this problem has to be rectified. The revolution has not been completed, it continues, but of course as the revolution is completed a new kind of economy will be here on top of the world(5). A new economy will exist or there can be no victory in Nepal without that.
BP: So workers involvement in the economy and the state?
SKA:Oh yes.
BP: Well that's very interesting for many observers of Nepal. So while Nepal is at the front of what could be a new socialist revival, there are also other countries around the world undergoing similar processes, also rewriting their constitutions with new provisions in them. Namely Venezuela and Bolivia, so have the Maoists in Nepal been looking at the experiences in Latin America?
SKA:One difference. We are interested at looking to Venezuela, Bolivia and the Others, but still, but we think our party is better as we consider Marxism Leninism Maoism as our guiding principle and we use this influence and follow the path of Mao Tse Tung indefinitely, which means New Democratic Revolution. (For) the accomplishment of the revolution it is critical to follow the principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, we follow and therefore our policies will be better suited to opposing our class enemies. But we see the policies and the struggle of the people in Venezuela, Bolivia and the Latin American Countries against imperialism, particularly against US imperialism. They stand against this, which we strongly appreciate, and i strongly believe that in the future that's there could be an international anti-imperialist organisation, of which those countries would be a major part.
BP: So the revolution in Nepal would be looking to make international anti-imperialist allies in Latin America?
SKA: Not only that but we think that that is a must. To accomplish revolution in a particular country against the reactionary forces of that country is not enough. Today's world is such that every ruling class of any country is completely supported by imperialist forces. No ruling class can sustain by itself. So for that matter the fight against a particular ruling class in a particular country much develop into a fight against imperialism. In any struggle it would be typical for foreign intervention to come and support their interests. So not only do we need relations with these Latin American countries, but to be able to properly handle the international contradictions some kind of international anti-imperialist organisation is a must. This is something we hope we can build with the Latin American countries.(6)
BP: So speaking of foreign intervention,there has been allot of opposition leaders, such as G.P Koirala (Nepali Congress), the Ex King Gyanendra and K.P. Oli (CPN(UML)) all congregating in Dehli under different pretexts. Also in the Constituent Assembly there has been increasing pressure on the Maoists. It has widely been speculated that there may be attempts to overthrown the government. If this was to happen what would be the response of the Maoists?
SKA:This is a risk, an we are aware that they may try to do so, but they have a problem, they are not in a position to do so. They want to run the government, they want to run the agenda, they want to form their own government, they want to run the country themselves, but it is not easy for them to do so. People have a consciousness. People have supported communist forces. This government has come to power not by means of insurrection or gun or means they do not like but through a process of elections, which our party was a part. So, constitutionally and legally they are not able to overthrow us. This is why India wants to be involved to endanger the Maoist led government. We know very well what they want, we are thinking only what we must do. We know what they want and we only worry about what we should do. I don't think they will be able to threaten toe government. I don't think so. (7)
BP: This can tie in with the situation where it is clear that while you have government you do not have state power. The army does what it wants to do, the bureaucracy has been either unwilling or unable to implement the budget, so does the party aspire to challenge for state power?
SKA:We hope to do so. We plan to do that as we know very well that the old bureaucracy is seeped in the "status quoist" mindset and we have new and fresh ideas. There can be no link with the past and its conflicting thinking. At the moment we are helpless to move forward, but we are looking for ways that we can tackle this kind of thing. Smash the old bureaucracy and create a new one. We are looking for ways.
BP: So for one final question, are you optimistic for the "New Nepal" and what are you dreams| what do you want to sons and daughters of Nepal to inherit from the current generation?
SKA: Definitely, why not!?! we are optimistic, if we were not, why join the revolution? We may as well not have joined the party! There are many challenges, which for revolutionaries and our movement, we have to face them, we believe that, we are confident that the strong lead of marxism leninism maoist will be successful. We will be successful in climbing all the obstacles and challenges and ultimately we will be victorious, accomplish the revolution. Not by taking old paths but by taking a new one, because this is the 21st century. For this reason we would like to call upon progressive and leftist forces of the world- like you people from Australia- to support us so that the revolution can be accomplished.

1. Nepal's election to the constituent assembly was a mixed electoral system, firstly direct elections in electorates, and then a direct proportional representation system as well.
2. This passage might not be particularly clear unless your familiar with the processes in Nepal. In short the Maoist led peoples war came to an end when the Maoists made a peace agreement with parliamentary parties after they adopted the Maoist calls for a Constituent assembly. They were compelled to do so after the monarchy ousted them from their limited parliamentary powers and created a police state. Now however they are "trapped in a very critical situation", the writing of a new constitution where the Maoists have the final say on the constitution.
3. The political opposition is lead by the Nepali Congress who have remained outside of the government, however it also includes forces within the government, particularly the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist). If talking about the political opposition it refere's to all these parties.
4. Dalits are people from the lowest caste in the Hindu caste system which existed in Nepal. Also known as untouchables.
5. "on top of the world" refers to that fact that Nepal has Sagarmatha (Mt Everist) and 8 of the top 10 highest mountains in the world within its borders. People in Nepal often talk about Nepal being on top of the world, or the roof of the world.
6. These comments on Latin America are obviously very interesting. I just think I should add that there is a bit of difference of opinion between the Maoists as to what to make of Latin America. Some see it as a revolution, others as (such as these comments) as a anti-imperialist uprising in need of "marxist leninist maoist thought", so the party in my opinion hasn't totally defined how it relates to the Latin Americans. What is standard however is a recognition that these are significant events and the need for greater intercontinental links.
7. This passage is a little confusing, the essence of what is being said that because the Maoists have taken government in a process that has the support of the vast majority of people and was supported by the reactionary powers in India and the parties of the political opposition, now these political parties are not left with a leg to stand on and are unable to remove the Maosits from power, and a consciousness of the people means that the political opposition is unable to go use extra constitutional means without rousing the mass of the people.

The Festival of the Oppressed.

2009-04-01T19:24:00.007+11:00

Lenin once said that the Revolution looks like the festival of the oppressed. And its some festival. The last couple of days I have had some amazing experiences.

On Monday as I was walking back to my room I by chance happened to come upon a political program being set up by the Maoists. It is common to see the Maoist flags and graffiti- they are all over the city (and the countryside as well) but this was the first chance I had to witness their mass oriented programs since i had arrived.

It was pretty amazing. There were various speakers who talked on a range of topics, from international imperialism to the national problems and the economy- all mixed up with traditional song and dance.

Several women spoke- most strikingly was this woman- dressed completely in red. It was really good to see- some people were obviously new to public speaking and as well as women there were people from class and caste backgrounds that normally wouldn't be entitled to be involved in politics.

He chaired the meeting.

The cultural dancers. I have video, but its proving difficult to get online. They were really enthusiastic and it was a very interesting aspect of the program. I can't really recall a radical political program in Australia where dance was incorporated into the session. Maybe it something we should look into? (as long as i don't have to do tit its cool with me).

This was a much more militant dance that the first, with kicks and punches and salutes. I presume something about the peoples war or fighting the peoples enemies, but i wasn't near anyone who spoke English at the time, so im not certain.

More dancers- as you can see the crowd was pretty big. There was at least a couple of thousand I would say- although people came and went throughout and many walked past, so many thousands would have seen it.

Also this is just one of many similar programs that are happening to maximise the turn out of the National day of rallies happening on April 6. Ill be at the Kathmandu mass rally keep an eye out here for the report.

And then to make things even more interesting yesterday I went to Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, where the Maoist student Union had just won the student union elections. While the Maoists results were a little bit mixed elsewhere for various reasons- the atmosphere at TU- the largest and oldest uni in Nepal was electric.

Beating the red drum of victory.

Thousands of students stuck around in the rain for the result- and the victory rally and celebrations.

Durga Dheni- the now treasurer of the Union and one of the women on the Maoist ticket.

The campaign went for about 2 weeks, but planning had been going for months, they had cultural shows, magazines and the whole campus is covered in posters and graffiti. They worked hard and it had paid off.

It was- as a socialist- impossible not to get a little involved in what was going on- especially in a Lenin shirt and with a hammer and sickle tattoo.

The leaders who had just been elected carrying a banner through the neighbouring town of Kirtipur at about 10 at night after the result was finally announced. Power shedding and rain shortened the celebrations considerably. Locals lined the streets and cheered as well as the students marched by.

These rallies- and the others that i haven't seen are occurring in a situation that is becoming increasingly tense. The winter session of the parliament has just been called,and the opposition (inside and out of the government) is putting the heat on the Maoists. With the mass rallies and bi-elections in the next couple of weeks it can all change very quickly and very intensely.

so in a shameless self plug- watch this space for the latest on the ground information and analysis.

A Week With The Peoples Army.

2009-03-29T17:33:00.002+11:00

Gday.

Heres just something short I have done up on my time in the camps for The Red Star.

Nothing too new from the earlier short piece with pictures i dont think- but might be of interest.

Just so you know, I did do several interviews in the camps- but they are not real great. There were limitations due to the language barrier ect- and often the best stuff i got in more informal discussions, so i dont think there are any of the interviews worth putting up here in that sense- but i hope that the other post and this one can get across the spirit of the camps. They are amazing places- a highlight of my trip so far- and i learnt allot about so many things while i was there. If nothing else the camps really taught me allot about humanity. While thigns werent perfect it was amazing to see that community of people and how they intereacted- i think im just ranting but it was like taking a step into the socialist future, respect and "oneness" guided life and relations.

Socialism is a drug that once you get in your bones you never forget it...

Sorry for the tangent- heres the article:

Chitwan is famous around the world for its national park. Within the midst of the jungle there are rare and exciting animals. Rhinos and elephants and tigers, and all a manner of things that every year thousands of westerners flock to see- for they cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.

And as a very western foreigner I too descended out of the hills and comfort of Kathmandu and into the jungle, but not in search of any of this. The jungles of Chitwan hold something much more important than endangered animals, and something just as rare. It is a force that has been unleashed and fed by the huge discontent in the country and turned upon the peoples oppressors with a fury and enthusiasm that has been a major factor in bringing about and continuing the enormous process of change that is ongoing in Nepal.

In the jungles of Chitwan waits the JanaMukti Sena- the peoples liberation army.

The mainstream media and a wide range of non-governmental organisations talk of this army is one of child soldiers and human rights abusers. A dictatorial leadership that has played on the insecurities of the poor an uneducated peasantry, and forced them into their army. At any rate the PLA proved themselves to be a formidable fighting force, as during the war they had repeatedly beaten back the Royal Nepalese Army, despite it being funded, armed and trained by international superpowers such as the USA, UK and India.

So in the face of this I really did not know what to expect, however despite all the reports and propaganda, I didn't meet child soldiers starving and home sick- and I didn't meet indoctrinated and brainwashed drones determined only to follow their party. This was a peoples army, and all that was to be found were people.

This is an army of people. The people of Nepal have had enough of the grinding poverty in their society. They have had enough of the parasitic monarchy that lives in phenomenal wealth while the people starve. They have had enough of hollow democracy that talks but never provides. They have had enough husbands, sons and fathers being sent overseas for work, of daughters, mothers and wives being left along to work at home or sold into the sex trade. They have had enough of the indignity and defeat that had been forced upon them, and when a clear path to fight against it was given, they enthusiastically took up the challenge.

The idea that these amazing people are ignorant and being exploited is insulting to the sacrifices they have made. The whole camp is now like a school, people who either left school early to fight or never had the opportunity to study in the first place are now deep into their books, studying at all levels and in all subjects. They understand why they fought and what they set out to achieve and their thirst for knowledge is unquenchable. I could barely get questions in for interviews, as the people their were always asking about my experiences, my country and its foreign policy and ideas for development here in Nepal.

There is nothing to prove that the People's Liberation Army is blindly and dogmatically politicised. The PLA is a political peoples army, but their political dreams are for development, democracy and equality. All that I talked too said that their dreams were that Nepal would be developed and that their children could study and then work in Nepal, without the crushing poverty, and without the oppression and discrimination against ethnic minorities, women, and people of low caste.

But while this is an army of the people- from the people and for the people there was clearly a massive effort to do away with the many problems that can plague Nepali society. People of all castes stood on equal standing. There were inter caste marriages that would never have been possible before the peoples war. While there was officers, there was little distinction between them and the rank and file. Everyone ate and cleaned in common. Importantly women, who were often forced into a cruel existence previously, enjoyed a much higher participation and involvement in the society. Men could often be seen caring for the children and cleaning the home while the women used their time to study or go off axe in hand to chop wood.

A week with the PLA was a painfully short time, and I only met a fraction of the people and heard a fraction of the stories available but it is clear to anyone that sees the amazing people of the JanaMukti Sena's almost 30,000 members that they are some of the best sons and daughters of this country- and if their hard work and sacrifices are allowed to go to developing this nation, then the future of Nepal will one that is radically different.

Some Pictures and thoughts from the Peoples Liberation Army.

2009-03-26T15:12:00.007+11:00

For the last week I have been with the JanaMukti Sena, the Peoples Liberation Army. Mostly with the 3rd Division, Kalyan/Anish Memorial brigade.

This is the Peoples/Military hospital. Set up by the peoples army, it now serves both them and the public. It has many facilities, including a pharmacy, operating room for minor surgeries, a pre and post natal care facility and a female ward. It was built by the PLA, and runs at next to no cost for the people of the area. ( i also fell ill at the camp, and it cost me 10 rupees, about 20 Australian cents, which included my medication)

These were two married comrades (please forgive, I only briefly met them and didn't record their names). He was tending to their child while she was studying for her School Leaving Certificate. They are representative of many in the camp. Many of the people i spoke to were studying. As Many members left school to fight and join the PLA, many of them are now not qualified. Alternatively, many others just simply didn't have access to any real sort of schooling.The PLA is now like a university- everywhere peoples are studying something.

This is also a common scene in that the men often spend allot of time tending to the children. In fact in my time there i saw no division of labour based on sex, women could often be seen axes and saws in hand to go off and cut wood while the men stayed back to cook, clean and care for the children.

From left to right Comrade Rakess, Com. Sasila, myself and Com. Agragg. All aged in their early 20's, from the 6th battalion. Rakess left his wife and family in the village in order to fight. Agragg has recently had his first child with his wife, who is an activist with the All Nepal Women's Organisation (Revolutionary). Sasila came from a relatively wealthy background, however rebelled against it to join the fight against the caste system and injustice in her country.

Their interview of me went for at least as long as my interview with them. Once they found out i was a progressive journalist they were full of questions about Australia, the struggle here, how strong the socialists are, our government, our governments relations with Nepal and with America, the nature of imperialism, and what the conditions for people in Australia. Many journalists come to these camps and here political talk from people who were previously peasants and write it off as brainwashing by some evil party. These people are often uneducated, but they are not stupid. They know exactly what they are doing and why. They are thinking things through, and they crave information. People who want to write off the "simple" people of Nepal- do so at your own peril.
Women with guns. Enough said.

I will add that in this brigade it was made up of a little over 20% women, which is below the average for the PLA. But while women were a minority, and are still underrepresented in the higher ranks, they were in my experience much more serious as a general rule. Some of the male comrades were sometimes a little hazy, but the women were often the most political and well read. Men on guard duty would often talk to me if i asked, while on duty the women would direct me on to someone else.

L-R: Com. Sedanta, (Name unknown) and Com. Krishna. Sedanta was a medic in the rebel army, but was wounded himself. All three are currently studying, the books in the foreground are test papers for the upcoming exams. The middle comrade is a Bhutanese refugee. Almost 20 years ago Bhutan violently expelled a 6th of its population who were ethnic Nepalis. His dream is that after helping the struggle here in Nepal, he will be able to return to his homeland and help the struggle against the violent and racist monarchy there.

Comrade Sedanta again. He was shot by the Army while tending to wounded. That's his scar.

Comrade Sunil. 23 years old.

Sunil is a vice- battalion commander. He is engaged to be Married in a couple of months. He is from a poor farming family in the north of Nepal. His dream is just that Nepal will be developed his family wont be impoverished and everyone will be treated with respect.

The picture is that of his older brother. His brother shared this simple and reasonable hope for something better, and he died for it. He was killed by the military during the war.

This is Sriganna. She is an inspiration. She is the vice-battalion commander, highest ranked woman in the brigade. He room is packed full of political books and magazines, and is clear on her politics, she can always be seen talking to people around the camp, especially the other women. She has lost both a sister and a brother during the war to the repressions by the army. Now due to a complicated political issue i wont go into at present her husband is in jail. Still she is always smiling.

She and all the people here are just happy with what they have already achieved. They can now be optimistic about what the future of their people has in store.

Interview with Subash Pokharel, co-ordinator of the Blue Diamond Society

2009-03-17T19:23:00.002+11:00

Lal Salam blog interviewed Subash Pokharel of the Blue Diamond Society last week. The Blue Diamond Society is the largest LGBTI (lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender and intergender people- i think thats the correct terminology- apologies if it isnt) rights organisation in Nepal and were good enough to speak with us about the situation in their community.

Ben Peterson: Subash Pokhrel thank you very much for meeting with me.
Subash Pokhrel: You’re Welcome.
BP: Ok, so I have read allot about Nepal and it is clear that Hindu, and in particular an orthodox form of Hinduism plays a big role in the society here. Is that something that has been of a concern for people of sexual minorities?
SP: It is a religious society so, basically, One Culture, One Religion, one pattern, I think every religion is like that, but we have a diversity of religions and cultures and patterns in the society. For more than two centenaries the Hindu religion was carried out by Brahmins, the so called high castes in the society dominated. And that religion dominated in all aspects of society as well as government bodies, policy makers, decision makers, all were basically Brahmins, the Hindu based caste group. Due to the thinking, and because of this religion, they cannot imagine that certain other cultures, other groups, other genders, exist in this society. They only recognize the established, such as the male and female relationship. But while older generations feared this, slowly attitudes are changing. We are starting to come out at the front, committee groups are already raising out voice in the decision making bodies, like the present Constituent Assembly. We have a representative in the House, Sunil Babu Panta.
BP: The openly gay member of the Constituent Assembly?
SP: Yes, that is him. He has been implementing that committee. So right now we are a bit comfortable in society.
BP: Well that’s good to hear.
SP: Thank you.
BP:So you said that there has been allot and in recent times there has been increasing amount of change, and you've been able to open up, or there has been allot more space for diversity...
SP: I think we are in the process of making the constitution, a new constitution, in Nepal and the process has started and we have been engaging in that process. And very good political sentiments are already in the scheme, like including out committee. In every front they are trying to include Male, Female and other groups. Others can be included. Some of the provisions are already there, there is already a sexual and gender minorities committee. So it’s very positive. We are very much hopeful in to or three years at least we'll have very inclusive legal documents, legal framework, legal mechanisms.
BP: That’s fantastic
SP: Three years, or lets say five years, depends on how long it takes to make the constitution.
BP: So how large is the LGBTI community in Nepal? I have noticed, although I have only been here a short time, that unlike in Australia, it is very acceptable to show affection to members of the same sex, and even hold hands and hug in public. So do the lines between the communities sometimes blur?
SP:Yes, Tentative time. We have to asses the fact that society ill always change slowly, not abruptly. Today’s government policies and legal framework... Until e have good legal mechanisms, there can be no change, legal binding things to the society. It's very hard to expect that society will change without the laws being changed also. And when bad laws re enforced this leads to discrimination. We are hoping that in the right legal framework ill include the right provisions and on that basis we can advocate, lobby/ You know in society e are citizens, the same as other citizens, so why you not accepting us? And through this society will change. But already we are starting to extend our networks, with other organizations, like civil liberties organizations, civil society organizations, media and political parties. We have very good relations, and they are starting to understand us, slowly we are entering into society.
BP: So how is your relationship with the Maoists, now that they lead the government? I have read some things that up until a few years ago, and even more recently, their cadre would pressure people not to accept queer tenants, and these sorts of things. But I have also been seeing allot recently which would suggest a change in their policy.
SP: Yes, in principle, the Maoist culture has also been monolithic. They also believed in one culture, and one command. I think that kind of culture has influence in any kind of organization, but because we have, and we can channel our voice into their party organisations, due practically to our representative in the Constituent Assembly. I think you would probably know about the two lesbian commandos. Rebels in the Maoists rebel group (Peoples Liberation Army). They expelled them from the cantonments. (The PLA is currently in cantonments under UN supervision as part of an ongoing peace process).
BP: No I wasn’t aware of that.
SP: I can show you the media after... After they were expelled they came to our office, and we provided them with some accommodation for one month, and we continued to explore within the Maoist organisation, later on after one month, our approaching and our relationship with the leadership meant that after one month they were able to return to the cantonments. This is a great example of how we have been able to make them believe. We are as human as you are, we are citizens as you are. We have a very natural sexual activities. We are sexual beings. It's not a crime. This kind of thing made them convinced.
BP: And now they have been returned to the camps?
SP: Yes Yes. At least we are able to convince others. They are trying to learn. They are listening to us. This process is going on. Although all these things are happening, we are able to convince them and they are fixing the incidents.
BP: I think I will have to look into that case more.
SP: At least we can go to the certain cultural organisations and put our voice forward. This sort of environment encourages us to use our voice because the democracy is there. Democracy makes us go and ask and encourage others.
BP: SO you’re with the Blue Diamond Society...
SP: Yes Yes.
BP: So what sort of activities does the Blue Diamond Society do? You mentioned before about providing accommodation for the PLA women when they ere expelled, what sort of activities do you do besides lobbying?
SP:Well, the organisation was established in 2001. Formally an NGO, non government organisation. We have a very long struggle. First time our committee focused on HIV prevention and treatment, that kind of thing, because our committee was very alarmed by HIV. Basically through donors like Family Health International, USAID, UNAID, these organisations assisted us greatly in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention. And later on we realized that only confining to HIV related things will not take us into our different issues. We were experts on HIV because of our sexuality. We are operated by donation and government donation. We are not stranded in this city only confined to issues of HIV/AIDS, it will not resolve our whole social issues, so e started to campaign and raise our voice in the medium of human rights campaigning. By working with other group’s e were able to establish good networks with the Media, human rights organisations even the political parties. So on the basis of our human rights work and our HIV/AIDS work we have built our capacity.
BP: Has there been much risk involved in this work? In recent times in Nepal there has been widespread human rights violations, so by taking up the struggle for LGBTI rights have your brought much anger to yourself and your organisation?
SP: In previous years the committee and our people, because we have no legal protection in the law we could not plead to the police to protect us from violations. Basically our community had to rely on sex work, we had no other means of livelihood in the previous years, but now the society is able to employ more than 500 people. Blue Diamond Society now has more than 35 offices in Nepal. It’s a very good network, and we are very influential already. That sort of violence against the community was very great in previous years, but now because we have support from other organisations we are able to have confidence in our protection, and do our work, but there is still violence there.
BP: Starting in 2001 and already having 35 offices, that’s a pretty impressive effort. Do you do much work in rural areas as well, and if so, how does this differ from urban work in say Katmandu?
SP: People in our community they have too, almost all, more than95% I would say, if they are to become open about their sexuality, they are expelled from and have to get out of their family, community and even village. So it is typical that those who have been expelled from their villages tend to center around the cities. I don’t know why the community centers around the city areas, in search of employment I think. So we concentrate on city areas. People come to live there, and open up offices. Initially we had one office, but so many people came, and got in contact with the Blue Diamond Society, we encouraged them to open up more offices in their area. In that way we are able to grow. We were able to increase our HIV work and we have support in our HIV prevention work, because we are recognized and work with the government’s plan of prevention. So because of that, and the international community we have been able to open up our offices.
BP: So you are largely assisted by international organisations?
SP: Yes, and the government. Recently there has been a land mark case in the Supreme Court granting all sorts of civil rights to the LGBTI community. Slowly we are being included more in the government. There is a very small but symbolic support for our community.
BP: So we mentioned the new constitution being written earlier. What are your hopes for the new Constitution and the "New Nepal"?
SP: It is in the discussion process, and the Supreme Court has ordered the government to form one committee, a study committee, so they will research the needs of our community and the international norms and make recommendations for the constituent assembly. It is in the discussion phase. But all of our rights have been committed too.
BP: So as you say it is an ongoing process, but is there any already noticeable difference in the attitudes of people? Is there more acceptance then there was a few years ago?
SP: Ultimately attitudes are changing. Our public based programs are bringing more people into contact with the LGBTI community. The antagonisms between our community and society as whole is starting to slowly lessen, but even in developed nations things are not perfect and ideal.
BP: Yes Australia is an example of that.
SP: I do not know the situation in your country, but it is very hard for some elements in society to recognize and accept our rights.

Talking with Subash afterwoods he also said that they pride themselves on their international links. If any persons or groups from other international LGBTI rights groups, feel free to drop me an email and ill pass it on.

From Kathmandu with Revolutionary Love (and a lal Salam?)

2009-03-14T23:54:00.002+11:00

The last two weeks has been a mind boggling tsunami of meet ups, sight seeings, discussions, bureaucracy, interviews and reading. I have been flat out, and its hard to find the time to put everything up here that I would like to.

I'll start with a highlight of the trip so far. Nepal for a country that is among the worlds poorest has some really impressive architecture within Kathmandu. The Durbar Square was the historical palace, with temples and shrines dating back centuraries and a craftmanship that would outdo carvers and builders just about anywhere. Also there is the Singha Durba, which was once among the biggest buildings in South Asia, was built by one of the Rana Prime ministers. It is an enormous structure, built mainly on the basis of western influences. It is obvious and apparent that when an entire nations budget is the personal plaything of a family and a monarch, truly amazing feats of architecture can be achived (at the expense of the welbing of millions of people).

I think the most obvious of these momentous buildings is the Narayanhiti Palace, which until just a few months ago was the private dwellings of the Shah Monarchy. This is an enormous complex that looks out over the city and symbolically dominates the surrounding area. The king has now been disposed, and the palace has from a couple of months ago been open to the public, as a mueseum and a national treasure.

These days almost as striking as the palace itself is the enormous line of people out the front waiting to get their cahnce to go in, and to see the lifestyles of their previous rulers. This line, litterally a couple of hundred meters long is there from the time it opens in the morning to shortly before it closes at night. And this is some time after the Palace opened. The People of Nepal are now flocking to see what is now THEIRS, and to personally reclaim the treasures of their nation, on the site where they were previously forbidden to even walk along the footpath outh the front.

I walked alng the line and talked to the people who were lining up. I cannot really describe the excitment that people had to see the palace for the first time. The feeling was enhanced by a sense of achievement. The people had earned this. The King was only overthrown after the People's War led by the United Communist Party Nepal (Maoists) and the Janaandolan (Peoples Movement) led by the Maoists and other parties, that raged for 19 days before peoples power was finally able to dislodge the monarchy and send it into the dustbin of history.

And i cannot give justice with words to the luxury that was to be found inside the palace. It may suffice to say that no expense was spared. It is truly an enormous complex, that is filled with riches that i had never seen. I would think I would be correct in saying that even Australia does not have a private residence that can rival the Narayanhiti Palace. All this and I only saw half the palace, as the rest is not yet open to the public.

As the people- from all walks of life- walked through the palace there was three distinct emotions that I got from the crowd.

Firstly, amazement. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, the average person lives on less than a dollar a day, yet here the people were coming into contact with wealth that they litterally would not have dreamed possible-especially in Nepal, and even more so considering that a 10 or 15 minute walk from the palace doors there are people living with absolutley nothing. The reality of the palace and the lives of the Royals was overshadowing even the wildest of rumours on the streets.

Secondly, disgust. Once people got over the "wealth-shock" the air was less amazement and more anger. THIS is how THEY lived?!?! And all of this was on the backs of the hard working people of Nepal! The royals enjoyed this livestyle, carefree and open, while most popel in the country cant even read!

But the thrid and i think the biggest emotion in the people going through the palace was a real sense of pride and achivement. After 240 odd years of the Royals- now all of this was theirs! And it was directly on the basis of their struggle and sacrifice that they were able to finally overcome the monarchy. This was very clear in the people's minds who i talked too. Everyone I talked too had played some role in the Peoples Movement. Also was that despite the abject poverty that people were familiar with, it was refreshing for them to se that, despite the reality for most, Nepal DOES have a wealth, and if its resources and potential are focussed on the best interests of the many, rather than the private pockets of the few, then anything truly is possible.

And so the people i talked to here, and elsewhere, are optimistic. People are committed too and have high hopes for the "New Nepal". While it isn't certain exactly what that is yet, if the masses who have fought and sometimes died about have anything to say about it, "New Nepal" will be something radically different to anything this tiny himalayan nation has ever seen before.

So as i have said I have been busy. Yesterday I interviewed someone from the Blue Diamond Society, which is a LGBT rights group here, and i ave also met the Vice Chairwoman of the Constituent Assembly Purna Kumari Subedi, who was the one time head of the All Nepal Womens Organisation (Revolutionary) aslo. There is much more to come- Watch this space!

The PLA recruits- What is the future of the Peace Process?

2009-03-08T22:26:00.001+11:00

On March the third the People's Liberation Army of Nepal, which fought a ten year war against what was then the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal started recruiting new soldiers to fill vacancies within this force. This has been hailed by the media and political opposition (both inside and outside of the government) as a major hit to the ongoing issue of the integration of the armies and has been said to put the peace process in jeopardy.

However to come to these conclusions one has to disregard the facts and the real issues surrounding this recent controversy. This recruitment has been in response to a recruitment by the (ex Royal) Nepali Army. The recruitment by the army took place against the instructions and orders of the Defense Ministry, the government, the Supreme Court, yet did not receive the same condemnation from the various political parties in opposition.

The political opposition, lead by the Nepali Congress, has called for this recruitment to be stopped, and has demanded the United Communist Party (Maoist) halt the recruitment. However the UCPN (M) is not in a position to do so, as the People's Liberation Army is not longer the military wing of that party. It has been repeatedly been stressed by both the UCPN (M) and the PLA that the PLA now takes its directions from and is loyal to the civilian government.

The PLA and the UCPN (M) both continue to reconfirm their commitment to the ongoing peace process and the process of creating the New Nepal. It is the army, with the political support of the opposition, which is putting the peace process in jeopardy and continues to move against the spirit of the People's Movement of 2006 and the mandate given to the government in the constituent assembly elections last year.

When placed in a position where despite its commitment to the peace process and the government, its opponent in the Nepali Army continued to grow and build its strength, the PLA was left with no option but to follow suit.

The peace process only can be brought to a logical conclusion when the two forces are integrated into a new, democratized national army, loyal only to the New Nepal. Contrary to the opinion of the political opposition, the most pressing need in this matter is not to rehabilitate the PLA into the community, but (as this whole episode shows) firstly to bring the rogue army back under the control of the civilian government, and secondly dissolve both of these forces, and then reintegrate them into a New National Army for the New Nepal.

This however will be a struggle for the Maoist led government as those inside and out of the army will fight tooth and nail to preserve it in its current state as insurance of the status quo. IT is clear to most observers that while the King may be gone and the constitution is still being written, the shape and form of the New Nepal is anything but certain, and is still to be played out in the future.

First Impressions and Adventures in Nepal

2009-03-06T18:35:00.003+11:00

And here I am. After too long speculating from the sidelines (and sidelines 10,000 km away) I have finally arrived in the land of Mountains and Maoists. On Tuesday Night at about 10 pm i landed in Kathmandu to see with my own eyes the processes unfolding here.

This is less of an in depth analysis and more of a account of my personal experiences so far, which have been really intense.

I was met at the airport by a political Comrade of mine, Narendra Jung Peter. He has been an amazing help so far, and amongst many other things has helped arrange a room to stay, a Sim card and introductions to already a mind boggling amount of people.

SO it wasn't until Wednesday that i got to look around Kathmandu a little bit. Its an amazing place, and so unbelievably different to the comforts of the West. To describe it best i think all that really needs to be said that it is loud, chaotic but amazingly open and friendly. I've been lost a few times already, but everywhere i go there are people more than happy to help me out, and have a chat which has been great.

There is allot of political graffiti and posters on the walls in Kathmandu. Most of it, at least where i am staying, is just residual stuff left over from previous events etc. There is still allot of stuff left over from the election, most of it Maoist. I have some good photos which i will upload later. Their are also allot of posters, around where i am they are mostly in relation to the UML Congress that was held two weeks ago. There was also some i saw in another part of the city advertising a programme for the Newari (an ethnic group) National Liberation Front. I am pretty sure this is a Maoist group, but unfortunately it has already been, so i couldn't try and attend. There have also been posters around where i am staying for the local shopkeepers union, but i have not yet found anyone to translate for me.

There is some more recent stuff, there was a big slogan on one wall from the Maoists women's group, which is organizing something in regards to International Women s day, which i saw around, but the areas near the Schools and universities are saturated with material, due to the ongoing student elections. Hopefully I will be able to make contact with some of these students and get an insight to the student movements, as the struggle here has been fierce, often escalating into confrontations.

The last few days have been amazingly intense. I haven't had time to think, it's been really crazy, but so amazingly rewarding. Again, comrade Narendra Jung Peter has been an invaluable contact, and i already owe him more than i can thought possible.

Yesterday I got up early to go see the Dabur Square. It is an amazing place, it is the central square of Kathmandu and has temples and other architecture dating back literally over a thousand years. It is an amazing mix of Nepali culture and architecture which is so amazingly impressive, with smaller additions and influences taken from other cultures that passed through the valley, as Kathmandu is on what was the traditional trade route between India and Tibet/China. The exception to this rule of subtle influences is the domination of the beastly building that is sort of tacked onto the side of the old royal palace which is based on the Bank of England building in London. There is nothing subtle about the imposition of this palace extension, and if endemic of the fact that while as a independent nation Nepal was able to resist becoming a part of the British Empire, the cultural (and economic) imperialism wasn't able to be stopped at the border.

After seeing the Darbur Square Narendra called me and invited me to a meeting at the Ministry of Communications and Information on the need to spread responsibility and accountability within the media of Nepal. Present at the meeting where ex-ministers, heads of journalist federations, veteran and respected journos, academics and editors.... and me. Needless to say i felt a little out of my depth, especially as I don't speak a word of Nepali, but ti was still a good experience that i am very grateful for.

Their are many issues in the Media at the moment. Firstly and foremost, there is the issue of the Army integration, which has recently flared up. The (ex-royal) Nepali Army recently went ahead and recruited several thousand new members, despite it being against the interim constitution, the peace agreement, the supreme court and the directions of the government and defence ministries. However only in the last couple of days has the in response to this the People's Liberation Army has also started a process of recruitment. The right wing media is now starting a shit storm about how the PLA is putting the peace process in jeopardy and the UCPN(M) is at fault. It is a ridiculous argument, and the root cause of a the current issues is that the Army is still loyal to the Royals and the opposition, and not to the government.

Also is the issue of the load shedding. Kathmandu is without power for up to 16 hours a day, which naturally is causing massive disruption to peoples lives and the economy. While Nepal is a third world country and it definitely has issues with energy, there has recently (since the Maoists formed government) has been a noticeable increase in the problem. While there has now doubt has been chronic under funding from the government in energy for years, i think that the recent increase in the problem is suspicious to say the least.

I will try and write articles on all the issues i see happening, and also try and get some interviews done. I also need to go to the countryside and see things a bit better as will and meet the rural peoples. At any rate tho i am really looking forward to this challenge, and will write as regularly as possible.

On a final note, the comrades i have spoken too here have really enjoyed Green Left Weekly. I highly recommend, its a great paper and that who ill be writing for predominately. www.greenleft.org.au

Is Nepal headed for more turmoil?

2009-02-19T10:54:00.004+11:00

On the Green Left Weekly discussion list an questions was recently posted, "Is Nepal Headed for More Turmoil?". This is a response to that question.

Is Nepal heading for Fresh turmoil? That’s an interesting question. The current political situation in Nepal is very turbulent, tense, polarised and volatile. It is very possible, even very likely, that more "turmoil" is on the horizon. At any rate the current situation cannot continue. The Maoist government has struggled to carry out its election promises, particularly the budget by and large remains unimplemented in many of its respects. The coalition partners, while taking part in government, talk and act more like opposition, and align more closely with the opposition. Something has to give.

Within the parliament it appears that moves are being made to try and derail the Maoist led government. The Nepali Congress, with the backing of international forces and the elite in the Nepali Army, is trying to build a broad "democratic alliance" within the parliament against the Maoist led government. The NC justifies this move by accusing the Maoists of "authoritarian" and "anti-democratic" practices. In these accusations and attempts to undermine the government they are getting increasing amounts of support from parties within the government.

Both the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN(UML)) and the Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum (MJF) while being minor parties in the government, have shamelessly been getting closer to the NC's efforts to undermine it. Recently leaders in the UML has referred to the Peoples Liberation Army, which waits in cantonments under the supervision of the United Nations to be integrated with the old Royalist Military into a new National Army, as being criminal elements. This goes against the spirit of the peace agreement, and one of the very first obligations of the government, which is to carry out the ongoing peace process to a conclusion.

Increasingly the UML, the MJF and the NC are adopting the talk of the need to protect “democracy” and are talking more and more blatantly about displacing the Maoist government, despite its clear electoral victory in April last year.

The fact of the matter is that these parties could have the numbers to be able to topple the government within the current government. It is not in the class interests of the NC to allow the Maoist government to continue, and the bureaucratic UML and the MJF feel much more secure in a coalition that will simply maintain the status quo, and therefore maintain their positions in the political elite.

This would be tragic if the real power was in the parliament but Nepal, in the last ten years has proven more graphically than anywhere else that the power in any society lies not in any parliamentary institution, but rather with the masses of people in the streets.

All of the major changes in Nepal in the last few years have been on the back of massive peoples movement. The Parliamentary system set up after the 1990 peoples movement in the more than 10 years of its existence proved unable to achieve the secular and republican aspirations of the people. Even with a government led by the UML in 1994, supposedly "communists", was completely and totally incapable of taking any action to bring about radical change. In contrast to this the People's War led by the Maoists, and the Peoples Movement of 2006 which was led by the Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance was able to completely change the political reality of Nepal. The most democratic event in Nepal’s history didn’t involve a vote! It has only been through "turmoil" that the people of Nepal have been able to realise their aspirations.

And this will be the nature of any "turmoil" that may break out in Nepal. As I said earlier, something has to give in the political situation there, but the tragedy would not necessarily be a change in the form of government and another peoples movement. There is no point to a stable government when the government is unable to institute even the most basic of their plans and therefore it would be more tragic if the current static situation continued. If there are moves by the opposition NC and its allies to topple the government, or if the plans and programs of the Maoists continue to be held back by either the state apparatus or their government partners, the UCPN(M) leaders are now talking about the need for a new peoples movement.

Late last year the UCPN(M) had an extensive set of meetings which devised a new party strategy to progress the revolution. As they see it, they must struggle on three fronts. One, in the government and parliament, to provide relief to the people and to begin the development of the country. Two, in the writing of the new constitution, so to set up a pro-peoples constitution, in the interest of the workers and peasants. The third front, and most important one, is the street struggle, to provide the pressure necessary to bring about the changes that the people of desperately want and need, and to overcome the resistance of all the right wing forces.

In this context, more “turmoil” is very likely. Ruling classes have yet to roll over and give up their power, privilege and position in a society without a fight, and the “turmoil” of the last few years has resulted in far more progress to an equal, socially just, democratic and secular nation than any other period of stability and peace.

Matrika Yadav Splits From United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

2009-02-12T17:28:00.001+11:00

It seems that there has been a split in the Maoist Party in Nepal. While splits are not necessarily a bad thing or a major obstacle, this does seem to be a major split. Matrika Yadav has left the party to "reconstitute the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)". For more info see: http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=179879

This split is obviously significant because Matrika Yadav is a major fish in the Maoist party (and government). Yadav was originally the minister for land reform, but resigned from that post last year after a controversy around the redistribution of land. It is very important also because Matrika Yadav is the foremost Madhesi spokesperson in the UCPN(M). To have the major Madehsi leader very publically split from the party is of immense importance, especially with the problems in the Terai ongoing. It will make it increasingly difficult for the UCPN(M) to gain the trust of the Madheshi people.

The reasons for the split given by Yadav were:
a) The leadership of the UCPN(M) is now dominated by corrupt and power hungry individuals who have forgotten their revolutionary convictions.
b) The UCPN(M)'s position on the Madheshi/Terai questions is unsatisfactory and not in line with the aspirations of the Madhesi peoples.

In regards to a) I find it hard to believe, at least at this stage. From all I have read I haven’t as yet seen any reason to believe that this is the case. If anything the evidence of what I have read has been to the contrary, that the leadership is actively trying to prevent the bureaucratization of the party, as they brought in limits of what their party members in the assembly can own use ect, just a few month ago. Furth if this sell out has occurred, when did it occur? I can’t see any defining point where the party "changed" and the leadership changed from a revolutionary one to a corrupt one. Nor have I seen any major changes of policy which would suggest this change occurred within the current leadership. I can’t say beyond doubt that this is the case. I am starting to hear complaints of nepotism by some members of the party, but the majority of what I have heard come my way does not seem to back up Mr. Yadavs claims.

Point b) also seems strange. Personally I am satisfied with the UCPN(M)'s position in the Terai, and across Nepal, is that all national minorities and oppressed groups will have regional autonomy and the New Nepal will have a federal structure. The UCPN(M) however does not support the slogan of "One Madhes- One Province" where the entire Terai would become one autonomous province, because the Terai is not one homogenous mass, there are various ethnicities and the region needs to be administered accordingly.

This brings us to the real causes of this split. Firstly, it is the success of the "Madhesi movement" in splitting the revolutionary forces. The Madhesi movement is based on the legitimate demands of the Madhesi people, who have for years been oppressed by the central government in Kathmandu. However the "Madheshi movement" did not start with the strikes and protests in 2007, and its leadership did not start with the Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum and the Madhesh/Terai Democratic Party. The Madhesi Movement comes out of the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist), the people’s war they started and the 2006 Peoples Movement, which was led in large part by the CPN(M).

The Madhesi Movement from 2007 onwards was the usurpation of this struggle from the people who made it possible to a new conservative leadership. This new leadership has taken legitimate demands for self determination and replaced it with a counterproductive Madhesi chauvinism. Furthermore it has sidelined the most important thing that will change the lives of the Madhesi people, that being land reform. This usurpation of the Madhesi movement was actively pursued by international imperialist forces, and has been amazingly successful in splitting revolutionary classes and forces, which adds pressure to the Maoist lead government. This pressure is even more so on the Madhesi members of this party and this has apparently caused Matrika Yadav has chosen to split.

The second and larger issue behind this split is that to this point the Maoist government has not been able to bring about much in the way of real change. This is due to mainly due to the hesitance and resistance to change brought by opposition forces. The Nepali Congress represent these forces first and foremost, but the forces hostile to the new government and to any progress it may bring. The old army fears the Maoists government as its ideological opposite and as a threat to its position in society, the CPN(UML) and the Madhesi parties fear their bureaucratic positions are threatened and their support base amongst the people will be threatened, and the state bureaucracy is feeling the heat as the government tries to crack down on corruption.

The combination of these forces means that to this point the UCPN(M) has by and large not been able to implement the budget, and provide small but significant relief to the poorest in society. Moves are being made and the Maoists now appear allot closer to being able to implement their promises. Further after a sharp criticism from the rank and file of the party, the UCPN(M) has renewed its efforts to mobilize the people and its cadre, which will counter allot of the pressure by the reactionaries. However despite this, as long as the budget goes unimplemented, the Maoists will lose influence and support as in the eyes of the people they look more and more like the previous political elite and lose their credibility as they fail to follow up on their promises.

Most important of the promised changes is the need to implement a meaningful land reform. At this point there has been no redistribution of land, and the land question is of fundamental importance. 80% of the population is agrarian based, and a land reform policy will bring an instant and meaningful change to the people, which would sure up beyond doubt the support of the mass of the peasantry. This is especially important because the area likely to be most affected by any meaningful land reform is the Terai and for the Madhesi people. A land reform would bring the Madhesi back under the revolutionary political leadership, and open the road to develop the revolution further.

This (in my honest and humble opinion) is the real cause of this split, the justifiable complaint that the government despite being led by revolutionaries has made little headway in implementing the promised change.

It is too early to come to a conclusion on the affects this split will have. It will undoubtedly make it difficult for the Maoists to reach into the Madhesi areas, but the Maoists will easily do so with one sweep if they implement a land reform. Such a move will sure up unparalleled support for the Maoists and, to use a worn out phrase, sweep Matrika Yadav into the dustbin of history.

However, if conditions with the UCPN(M) has deteriorated so much already, then Matrika may just be saving some revolutionary cadre to struggle for another day, of which revolutionaries everywhere would be thankful.

In all this episode just shows that the revolution in Nepal is perched at an important make-or-break moment. Either it will push on through all the resistance to deepen the revolution, or the Revolution will stagnate, fail and the struggle will wait to be taken up another day.

2009-01-28T18:33:00.000+11:00

Written For Green Left. You saw it HERE FIRST

Nepal Maoist Unify with Smaller Parties-

On Monday the 12th of January the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre - Masal) merged together to form a new party, the Unified communist Party Nepal (Maoist). The UCPN(M) hope this is just the first of many unifications, and is currently having discussions with other smaller leftist parties and currents.

Kantipur Press reported on January 24 that CPN(ML) Revolutionary leader Navaraj Sharma said that an agreement on party unity had already been agreed on in principle.
Leaders from the CPN- United, CPN United Marxist as well as leaders from certain elements of the CPN(UML) have also expressed their interest in greater leftist unity.

This unity is of a great importance given the actions of the main opposition group, the Nepali Congress. The Nepali congress and its leader G.P Koirala have been publically calling for a “Broad Democratic Alliance” to overthrow the government led by the Maoist party, which was overwhelmingly elected to power in April last year.

In reality this “democratic alliance” is an alliance of the rich and powerful reaching out to bureaucrats in some parties that feel their positions are being threatened by the public upsurge since the People’s Movement in 2006 which disposed of the monarchy in 2006.

The response to this threat to the progressive government, from within Nepal, but also and increasingly from foreign interference, particularly that of India, the UCPN(M) has formulated a new strategy to carry out the pro-people budget and write a pro-people constitution. In the progressive Nepali paper UCPN(M) central leader C. P. Gajurel wrote of the new strategy “it is necessary to wage struggle from various fronts- the street, constituent assembly and government”.

The Chairman of the UCPN(M), Prachanda, elaborated on these themes at a mass meeting of thousands of supporters that was held to celebrate the unification. “We want to write a constitution which protects the rights and benefits of the peasants and the workers, though the constituent assembly. To accomplish this historical task, we have no other weapon than the unity of the Nepalese people and the unity of revolutionaries”.

Prachanda further warned opposition groups that “a big hurricane of the struggles will come and people will capture the state power if ‘kings’, feudal lords and their puppets try to overturn the present government in the assistance of foreign powers.” He continued “(We) will either advance ahead or go back to the status quo. People should be in continuous struggle. The struggle is for victory in the constituent assembly. The peace process will meet an incident if there is no struggle against the enemies of the people.”

But the Maoists are struggling not just with problems outside of the government but also within it. Government partners CPN(UML) and the Madheshi Peoples Rights Forum have been openly critical of the Maoists and are contemplating leaving the government. Implementing the budget has thus proven difficult for the UCPN(M) due to the uncooperative attitude of its government partners and the state bureaucracy. Attempts to increase efficiency and reduce corruption in the bureaucracy have been resisted by the employees in the civil service. These issues mean that the implementation of the budget has been severely disrupted and five months after the formation of the Maoist led government, it has not been successful so far in bringing about the relief to the people of Nepal as intended.

As the situation polarizes a tense situation has developed and key issues such as the writing of the constitution, the creation of the new National Army and the Madheshi issues go unresolved. This has resulted in unsustainable situation with the UCPN(M) in one corner and the NC in the other, with the UML and Madehsi parties stuck in the middle caught between the progressive interests of their following and the conservative interest of the leadership. This untenable situation must surely come to a head for Nepal to be able to achieve any sort of progress, alternatively it will remain in the crushing poverty that has been shouldered by its people for centuries.

2008-12-20T17:41:00.003+11:00

Talk I did for a Melbourne DSP Meeting. The first half is the same as the historical background i already have up here, but its a little more fleshed out and upto date.

ill also use this to apologise for not writing much stuff recently as well. been flat knacker

As all of you know this year I have been following the events that have been unfolding in Nepal. Most of you would have heard me rant and rave about Nepal at least a couple of times, and tonight won’t be the last time. What has happened and is happening in Nepal has very real and very big implications for India, South Asia and the World.
Nepal, for those who don’t know, is a small, landlocked nation in the Himalayas wedged between China and India. It is an incredibly poor and underdeveloped nation, 30% of people live in extreme poverty. It has a horrendous childhood mortality rate, on par with Iraq and the West Bank. 80% of the population is employed by agriculture. Most of the country is only accessible by foot or by air, there are few roads, and naturally health care and education is very limited in quality and availability, especially in the wake of the civil war. The literacy rate is 48% and drops as low as 35% in women. Nepal is an incredibly impoverished nation.
The modern nation of Nepal came into being when in 1768 the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas was conquered by the royal Shah Dynasty and foundered the Kingdom of the Gorkhas. Nepal continued to grow through military conquest throughout the late 18th century. This was also the time where another power in the region was rapidly growing, being the British East India Company. These two powers inevitably came into conflict, and the result was the 1814-16 Gorkha War, where the Nepalese were soundly defeated by the technologically superior British. In 1816 the Segauli Treaty between the British and the Nepalese monarchy came into affect, in which Nepal had to forfeit large portions of land, especially along the agricultural areas known as the Terai.
From this point on Nepal has been a semi-colonial "protectorate" of foreign Imperialists, with the Monarchy playing the role as the local ruler in the interests of foreign powers, historically out of London. After the 1816 war and embarrassment, the Royal court degenerated into factionalism and instability, which came to a head in 1846 when there was an overthrow of the Shahs. While the Shah monarchy remained in place it lost all but ceremonial power to the rival Rana families. This arrangement continued for roughly the next hundred years.
In the 1940’s a democratic movement built up, heavily influenced by the Indian Democracy and Independence movement of the same time. The Nepalese monarchy had adopted a policy of isolation and was largely successful in keeping foreign influences from entering Nepal. However they were not successful in stopping Nepalese from a relatively privileged background escaping into and embracing these outside influences. In 1947 the Nepali Congress (NC) party was formed and they launched an armed uprising in 1950. At the same time, the ceremonial Shah family saw this as their opportunity to regain their power and influence, and they monarch and his family fled their "palace prison" to India. This uprising called for an election to a constituent assembly to write a new democratic constitution, but this was not to happen. In 1951 an agreement, known as the “Delhi Compromise” was forged between the Nepali Congress, the Shah Monarchy and the ruling Rana's to create an interim government, to rule until an election to a constituent assembly could be organized. The Rana's were too discredited from their brutal rule to return, but over the next few years the King used his reinstated powers to slowly weaken the democratic forces, and the NC never really pushed for an election. In 1959 the King issued a new constitution which left all power with the monarchy, and almost none in parliament, and announced elections to this new impotent parliament later that year. While the NC won the elections easily, the first Royal parliament would last only a limited time, when in 1962 the King dissolved the parliament and replaced it with a “party less” system called “panchayat”, which would govern Nepal in the interests of the royals for the next three decades.
In the late 1980's a period of regroupment occurred within the Nepalese left, and the democratic movement was able to put aside differences. This resulted in the United Left Front, a union of most of leftist parties of Nepal and the ability for the United Left Front to work with the Nepali congress for the democratic Cause. 1990 the democratic movement rose again in the form of “Jana Andolan”, which translates as “the people’s movement”. Nepal erupted. All aspects of society came out on the streets and the king was forced by this movement, to relinquish power again to a constitutional monarchy, with multiparty democracy. The United Left Front went onto forge the CPN(UML)
Again there were calls for a constituent assembly, the removal of the King from power and a truly democratic Nepal. Because there was no strong principled revolutionary leftist forces the demands of the peoples movement went unanswered. A range of reforms including land reform and poverty alleviation programs were never introduced, the king was retained as head of state. This new "democracy" descended into bureaucratic and stable infighting and was completely useless.
The CPN (Maoist) came out of a regroupment during this period, but outside of the United Left Front. Several Maoists groups came together during this upsurge, and formed the Maoist party, however during the Jana Andolan were still too small and insignificant to capitalize on the upsurge and keep the movement going.
Originally the new Maoist party participated in Electoral politics. In the 1991 the electoral arm of the Maoists was the third biggest party in the parliament. They used their position in parliament as a propaganda tool while the party began preparations to launch the “Peoples War”.
On February 4th1996, Babburam Bhattarai on the behalf of the CPN(M) presented a list of 40 demands to the prime minister, and announced that unless action was taken that a “Peoples War” the Maoists would launch a people’s war, which they did on February 13. The 40 demands was to become the Maoists manifesto, and centered around the right to healthcare, education, better conditions for rural Nepalese, and end to the caste system and discrimination against women and minorities, and for elections to a constituent assembly to set up a federal democratic republic. Initially, this insurgency was small and localized to the Nations western hills, but was able to slowly gain some level of popular support due to the failure of the government to help the rural poor. Then when the government started trying to crack down on the rebels, or those perceived to be rebel sympathizers, the heavy handed responses further stirred unrest and the Maoist influence grew.
2001 was a momentous year. Firstly the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) held a National Conference, which resulted in the formal adoption of what they term “Pracahanda Path”. I don’t know all the intricacies of what is Maoism but “Prachanda Path” seems to be, not a departure from Maoism, but an elaboration on Maoism. Prachanda Path seems from what I can tell a turn away from dogma and orthodoxy, but the development of a relevant, non-sectarian strategy for the reality of Nepal. While the CPN(M) is definitely a Maoist organization, they definitely maintain a criticism of aspects of Maoism, which was spelled out in “Prachanda Path”. In particular they talk about, at least in the present situation their commitment to a multi-party democratic system, and seem to be very critical of Stalin. At any rate “Prachanda Path” laid the basis for divisions within the international Maoist Movement, which came to a head over the next few years and ended with a split in the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, which was the biggest Maoist international.
The second big event in 2001 involved the Royal Family. The Nepali crown prince, while drunk and stoned, shot his parents (the king), his brothers and a large portion of the royal family after an argument, and then shot himself. Naturally this drastically undermined the support and respect for the royal family, and then by association the government. Finally, 2001 saw the terrorist attacks in the US. The Nepali government’s response to this was the jump on the terrorist bandwagon and declare the CPN(M) as a terrorist organization, and then declare a state of emergency which severely curtailed civil rights, the freedom of the press.
The new king, one of the remaining royals Gyanendra, began consolidating power in his own hands. In 2002 he dismissed the Parliament, and directly appointed governments, usually from royalist parties. On February 1st 2005 he dismissed the entire government and took all authority. Gyanendra then used the Royal Nepalese Army, fresh with training and weapons from the United States and the UK, to unleash a wave of violence and destruction against the population deemed to be supporting the Maoists.
At this point the insurgency exploded, and the Maoists, despite massive military presence, were able to expand and fight off the military. By late 2005, the Maoists had effective control of 80% of the nation, and the government had little control outside of Kathmandu the capitol, and a few larger provincial cities (but even these were susceptible to attack).
In late 2005 the Maoists controlling 80% of the nation, decided to blockade the capitol Kathmandu. As the king and government were coming under more pressure, the political groups that were members of the now dissolved parliament formed the Seven Party Alliance (SPA). The leaders of the SPA and the CPN(M) opened a dialogue which came to the “12 point agreement”. Within this framework, the CPN(M) committed to multiparty democracy and freedom of speech, while the SPA adopted the Maoists calls for elections to create a new constitution.
Together the SPA and the CPN(M) agitated for a boycott of the 2006 February 8 local elections. A series of waves of arrests of political activist was launched by the royal government, but the SPA/CPN(M) effort was successful with less than 20% participation in the polls.
This led to “Jana Andolan II” or the second people’s movement. Inspired by this, the SPA, in conjunction with the CPN(M) called what was initially intended to be a 4 day strike from April 5-9 2006, which brought the nation to a halt. On April 8, the government ordered a curfew, with orders that protesters to be shot on sight. On April 9, the SPA announced that the strike would continue indefinitely. Prachanda threatened to personally enter Kathmandu and lead the protests. The government responded by again trying to enforce its curfew. On April 21, after 14 days of massive street protests (involving as many as 500,000 people at any one time just in Kathmandu) the king relinquished power back to the SPA, and asked the SPA to designate a new Prime Minister.
Some political commentators refer to the 2006 movement as the “democracy movement” and only the events 1990 as “the people’s movement”, but I think it’s important to see this as the same struggle. 1990 and 2006 was the same struggle, it’s the same demands, the only difference being that in 2006, unlike in 1990, there was a strong and principled force (the Maoists) that was determined enough to see the changes through.
Jana Andolan 2 was the real transition of power. While the King was only officially removed this year, after the Jana Andolan 2 he was stripped from all power and it really was just a matter of time. Jana Andolan 2 ended Nepal as the world knew it. It wiped the slate clean and took everything back to square one. The Struggle since 2006 and the Jana Andolan 2 has been on what the new Nepal will look like.
Prior to the elections this year CPN(Maoist) did not initially join the interim government. The SPA went back on its previous promises and did not immediately call for elections to a new constitutional assembly, but said that elections should simply be held for the previously existing parliament, and a parliamentary committee would draft a new constitution. The Maoists insisted on a new body to constitute a new republican state but under Maoist pressure, the SPA was forced to give into these demands. This caused the elections to the Constituent Assembly to be delayed.
A second delay was caused by arguments over the form of the Constituent assembly elections. The SPA including the NC and the UML initially argued that the elections would be held with just electorates on a first past the post basis as had historically been the case. The Maoists however demanded a direct proportional representation system. This was especially important was the former system had been used by the Nepali political elites in Kathmandu and the Hill regions of Nepal, to oppress the peoples of the southern Terai Plains. People in the Terai make up 40-50% of the population of Nepal, but had never received more than 15-20% of the representation in a Nepalese parliament. A compromise solution was resolved where 240 seats would be on the basis of the first past the post, 335 seats would be awarded on the basis of direct proportional representation and then 26 seats would be given by the government to any minority groups that were not represented or under represented in the assembly.
After 2 delays the elections where finally held on April 10 of this year.
Despite some tension the elections were held in a generally free and fair atmosphere. People were free to cast their vote. The results show a massive victory to the Maoists, who polled about 30% of the vote and will make up 36% of the seats in the Constituent Assembly. While this isn’t an absolute majority, it’s more than 15% more seats then any other party, and they polled a million votes more than their nearest competitors. While this isn’t an absolute majority, parties with progressive platforms make up the majority. Smaller revolutionary Parties make up about another 8%, the bureaucratic hulk that is the UML makes up another 18%, and then the Madhesi Parties another 12%. In all the elections were an overwhelming vote for change, and radical change, led by the Maoists
Ill talk abit about the Madhesi movement. The Madheshi/Terai Parties picked up about 13% of the vote during the election. These parties spring from the southern plains, the Terai, where most of the agricultural land is and about 40% of the population lives. This population has historically been oppressed by the people from the hills where the monarchy had been based. In 2007 in response to the idea from the SPA that the elections would not be on the basis of direct proportional representation, the Madheshi Movement sprang up. This movement called for an end of oppression of Madheshi people, for regional autonomy and for a direct proportional representation in the Constituent Assembly Election, all of which were Maoist demands. The difference was that the new Madheshi parties are lead by bureaucrats and politicians from the NC and the UML who jumped ship and set up new less discredited parties with the help f the Indian embassy. Essentially this movement by the Madhesi people was usurped by a leadership which used this movement to divert support from the Maoists, by picking up some Maoist demands and capitalizing on the Madhesi populations rightful anger, and dropping other Maoist demands like land reform which would challenge the local elites.
At any rate the elections took the established elites and political establishment by complete and total surprise. Prior to the elections, the consensus in the Media and political commentators was that the UML would win, followed by the NC and the Maoists would follow in a distant third. The real question was would the Maoists accept defeat or try and return to the hills following their inevitable defeat. Naturally the result knocked the established political order flat on its arse.
Due to this the Maoists met outright hostility from both the UML and the NC in attempts to form government. There were pre election agreements that in order to keep the peace process going that a national consensus government would be formed while the new constitution was written. The NC and the UML now started trying to wrangle their way out of these deals. I wont go into detail, because its largely unimportant, but after about 6 months of political haggling the Maoists were able to form government with the UML, other leftists and some of the Madhesi parties.
So the challenges now for the Maoists are many. They are leading the government, but seeing as it is a minority government, it would be correct to say they have taken state power. Nepal is now a nation of two armies, the National Army with its officers still very much pro royal, or at least right wing and the Maoists Peoples Liberation Army. There were agreements on the integration of these two forces, but in light of the election results the elite of Nepal, led mostly by the NC are desperately trying to maintain the National Army as a bastion of their power and are trying to exclude the Maoist army or at least drastically limit the level in which Maoists are brought into the army.
Its also of fundamental importance that the Maoists achieve land reform. In a feudal backward country like Nepal land reform naturally is in the forefront of the majority of the populations minds. This is particularly important because the areas where the majority of the land reform will take place is in the Terai, and therefore to maintain support there and amongst the Madhesi populations a widespread and effective land reform policy is essential.
Thirdly developing the country is also going to be essential if a long term sustainable and ultimately socialist Nepal can even be possible. At the moment it is an incredibly backward county with essentially no industry, and its economy is entirely based around agriculture and tourism. Unlike Venezuela also Nepal does not have the good fortune of sitting on a fifth of the worlds oil wealth, and has very limited natural resources. They do have an enormous potential for hydro-electric power stations, and sitting between India and China would be in a very good position to export sustainable green energy to those nations, but developing these resources is very capital intensive, and also very demanding on an educated workforce, which Nepal at this stage just doesn’t have, and therefore Nepal at this stage, in the absence of a Soviet bloc, is very dependant on international capital to bankroll its revolution.
The Maoist party is aware of these challenges. The Budget written by a key Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai this year was very ambitious. There are plans for a literacy program to erase illiteracy within two years, extend the road networks to all regions, develop other infrastructure projects, such as bridges ect and extensively invest in hydropower projects. Also by early next year the Maoists hope to begin the extensive nationwide (but Terai based) land reform programs. These projects are very dependent on foreign aid but also on cutting corruption. The Maoists are now using their youth wing the Young Communist League as a tool of development. Because it is such a large and well organized organization it has taken it upon itself to begin infrastructure projects, and also help try and develop communities with communal agriculture projects ect. Also in the budget school will be free up until the 8th grade (I think), which although its not (yet) full free education it’s the best the government can offer in the economic reality of Nepal at this stage.
It is important however to note that the Maoist Party of Nepal is currently going through a very intense internal debate. Essentially this debate stems from their current strategy “Prachanda Path” has essentially reached its conclusion, and very successfully. In 2001 the CPN(Maoist) made the conscious decision to start looking into the cities and within the “democratic forces” for allies against the monarchy, and to politically work towards a constituent assembly, and the republic. In this they where completely successful, due to a host of reasons. Now they have come to the end of the “Prachanda Path” there is no real clear direction as to where to from here, what do we do with the Constituent Assembly, do we consolidate the gains of the revolution, or continue to push forward for something even more?
I wont go into all the details of the factional debates, but three weeks ago the CPN(Maoist) held an extended cadre conference with about 1200 cadre from across the country. The new working slogan that they have adopted is they are building a new ‘People’s Federal Democratic National Republic’. The slogan isn’t really important, but the meeting was. Coming out of this meeting allot of the party especially the grass roots had been growing frustrated by a parliamentary focus of the leaders, which in some ways was justified. The party hasn’t really brought out the full force of the party apparatus since the election campaign. They had been very active on certain issues, and I’m not at all trying to suggest the leadership is bureaucratic but they had been bogged down in political shit slinging within the Assembly. Now they have a commitment to not neglect the roots and to continue to struggle on the streets and in the assembly for the new Nepal. The Maoist party is now going to use the constituent assembly to write what they term a pro-people constitution, which seems similar to a Venezuela.
Ill just finish up saying that I don’t think Nepal is really the “Next Venezuela” because the two are very different. Nepal is not and will not be for a long time in a position to give aid around the world, or even really have doctors on every corner ect. But Nepal does have a movement that has overthrown a 240 year old monarchy that was backed to the hilt by international powers, and is involving literally millions of people in struggling for a better socialist society. The political landscape of Nepal has changed forever, and the more the fire grows there it is spreading into India and beyond. I could go on for longer and talk about the women’s movement, the youth movement, the oppressed peoples and more which are all amazing in themselves, but at the end of the day its just important to know that there is a revolutionary movement radically changing the reality for millions of people in South Asia, and this has very real repercussions for the world, and we need to be switched onto this revolution.

The Internal Struggle of the Maoists in the Lead up to the National Cadre conference

2008-10-24T10:41:00.004+11:00

Anyone watching Nepal would probably have read that at the moment there is a very intense internal struggle is playing out within the CPN(M). From what ive read this is my take on the internal struggle. That being said it is hard to find good information, and especially only having access to the english speaking press...

In any healthy revolutionary organisation there is nessiarily a strong culture of debate and discussion. But also any healthy party organisation has to have a firm commitment to democratic centralism. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is no exception to this rule.

In the corporate press there is all sorts of talk about deep and even ireconcilable differences within he Maoist camp as to the direction of the party in the new post CA election context. Any rumours of bidding splits, I belive are false. The CPN(M) has gone through some very momentus and incredibly intense ideological struggles and challenges over its life. The creation of the idea of "Prachanda Path" was not a simple process, but involved a simmilar intense debate and struggle within the Maoist party. Internal struggles have even got to the point where Baburam Bhattarai the defacto number 2 of the CPN(M) was even breifly expelled from the CPN(M) in 2005. Importantly while the CPN(M) has had very intense internal politics, even since before the peoples war began, the intensity of the internal struggles have been matched by a passionate commitment to the party and democratic socialism, and all factions have been able to come behind the party line when all is said and done.

The current debate and disscussion needs to be understood in the context of the situation in Nepal. The CPN(M) finds itself in a very precarious position at present. While they have form and control government it would be false to say that the Maoists have completely captured state power at this stage. The Maoists have found themselves leading what is left of a feudal/bourgeois state. Nepal is a country with 2 armies, the Nepalese Army, which despite dropping Royal from its name is very much still a bastion of the old state, and and the Peoples Liberation Army of the Maoists. Nepal is still crippled by underdevelopment, which simply must be allieviated. Due to a lack of resources and capital any development will have to be tied to foriegn investment, which with the lack of any "soviet bloc" means that this new (potentially) socialist government could need to be open and relatively cooperative with forces such as the IMF or the World Bank. It is this context that the debate within the Maoist Party is happening. The current strategy of the Maoists goes back to when they were still in the jungles during the Peoples war. The peoples war, the co-operation with the other parties and the truly massive Peoples movement of 2006 have brought this strategy to its logical conclusion. The monarchy has been defeated, the constituent assembly is sitting and the Maoists lead the government. Their stragegy was the right one, and they have the success to prove it, and so now they are in the middle of forging the new blueprint for the next stage of the struggle.

Within the party their has emerged two lines and factions within this debate. The first which i will term the "Orthodox" faction from my understanding hold a more traditional Maoist viewpoint and are lead by Mohan Baidya, CP Gajurel, Ram Bahdur Thapa and Matrika Yadav. The second, the "21st Maoists" are more flexible and have been more open to creating a new and dynamic party line, is lead by Babburam Bhattarai and his wife Hasila Yami (and Prachanda has recently shown inclinations to this side of debate).

The Orthodox faction is calling for a "Peoples Republic" in the more tradishional sense. They are calling for the immeadiate controll of the economy and political life. They think that the revolutionary events of the 2006 peoples movement are in danger unless there is an immeadiate and intense puch forward for socialism. They would like to imeadiately try and build a state simmilar to a Cuba or (apparently) North Korea and do away with the constituent assembley (ala Bolsheviks in 1917). Interestingly both sides of the debate maintain that they are for multi party democracy, however the orthodox faction would only allow other parties to function within the political space allocated by the state. The "21st centurary Maoists" are less ambitious but just as revolutionary. This faction recognises that Nepal is impoverished and needs to be able to interact with the rest of the capitalist world in order to obtain capital to develope the country. They are for creating a "people oriented constituion" through the constiuent assembly (simmilar to a Venezeula) and consolidating their own control and the gains of the 2006 peoples movement, before trying to push to a more obviously socialist system. They are for a multi party democracy, but want to change the context of that democracy. (eg they argue that in a capitalist context, the political parties all advcated the same ruling class ideology just different means to that end, but in the context of a socialist revolution, the parties would all be for socialist revolution, but with different means to that end ect). I

n my honest and humble opinion, both these lines have some serious strengths and weaknesses. The 'Orthodox' faction will always be correct in saying that the quickest road to socialism is the best road to socialism, I mean if a socialist party isnt striving for socialism, then it isnt a socialist party is it? But to put your party, and now the nation of Nepal on such a public crash course with the might of international imperialism, especially while the country is so underdeveloped, international solidarity still in its infancy, and your trading partners so limited seems risky, if not suicidal. While it would be nice to have a south asia Cuba, there is no USSR to take the heat off while the New Nepal is being born, and whats more Cuba is struggling under a blockade that makes it difficult for socialism to breathe there, Nepal being landlocked, at this stage could easily be smothered by India closing the border.

That being said the "21st Centuray Maoists" can be cutting a fine line in the race to develop the countryside. They only need to look across the border to West Bengal to see that a "communist" government means shit if they are just communist in name, and not in actions. Particually the bending over backwards to get money off the WTO and the IMF can naturally lead to the seeping in of some less than revolutionary ideas. However if you can keep the outside corrupting influences out and develope the country, then the working classes of Nepal will be in an infinately better posistion to spread the revolution as time goes on. T

hese two lines are currently being debated out, allong with many other issues, in the lead up to a National Cadre Conference in November, to decide on Maoist stratgy going forward. There are two important things to remember more than anything else however. For one, which ever line gets up and what ever happens at the conference, the fundamental thing about the revolution in Nepal will not change, and that is there are millions of oppressed peoples who are actively involved in the changes of that country, who know the power of their class and are already far better off for the relativly small changes so far. The monarchy -gone, the caste system, largely gone, developement- seriously being challenged, sexism- seriously being challenged, feudal land relations- seriously being challenged or already gone. On top of this the Young Communist League with half a million members is not going to be any less active against corruption, the revolutionary women are not going to stop uplifting women. At this stage the machine has enough juice to keep it ticking over.

Secondly, nothing i can say is of any consequence, and i would like to stress that this are my own ramblings from my analysis with only a few limited contacts in Nepal and then jsut what i read on a few email lists and websites. Take note that this party is a party that since its creation has consistently read the political lay of the land and found the best way to go forward with truly amazing results. If anyone is going to find the best possible way to enhance the revolution in Nepal and spread it to the world, the CPN(M) are the people to do it. At every twist and turn they have made the most of every situation based on the very best concrete analysis of the concrete situation. There is no reason to start doubting them now, and im sure that the exciting developements in Nepal are going to continue for the forseable future.

Bhutanese Refugees

2008-10-24T10:37:00.001+11:00

If you’ve read what the mainstream media has had to say about Bhutan in the last year then you would probably have a pretty decent impression of Bhutan and its government. A monarchy that has “given up its power” and embraced democracy, and a government that has chosen to strive for “gross national happiness” instead of production or straining towards a western style consumer society.

However looking past this highly successful public relations campaign by the Bhutanese government shows a very different picture.

According to the CIA handbook Bhutan has a population of around 680,000 people. however according to the UNHCR 100,000 of those are ethnic Nepalese who have been forced to live in refugee camps in Nepal since the early 1990’s. On top of the Royal Bhutanese Government systematically discriminates against the remaining ethnic Nepali population. The last government census (in 2005) labeled 13% of the population within Bhutan as “non-nationals” and thus denied them any rights, including the right to vote.

In 1985 pro democratic uprisings, largely in the southern Nepali population were suppressed by the Royal Bhutan government. The Nepali population was viewed as a threat to the monarchy and systematically discriminated against. The Hindu religion was outlawed and only the Bhutanese dress, dialect and customs were legal. The entire Nepali cultural identity was outlawed. On top of this, freedom of the press was closed and foreign tourism was curtailed to try and limit outside influences.

To the concern to the Bhutanese monarchy the Nepali population continued to grow, and at a faster rate then that of the ethnic Bhutanese, and despite the Monarchy’s best efforts, a radical democratic movement was still active and growing in strength, fueled now by civil rights claims as the ethnic Nepali’s demanded the right to their own culture and language. The Royal Bhutanese government changed the citizenship requirements and only granted citizenship to Nepalis who could prove their citizenship with “registration” papers from the ministry of home affairs dating back prior to 1958, despite that ministry not being in existence until 1968.

After a nationwide census in 1988 the Royal Government began a crack down on the Nepali population. Especially political activists were targeted, any more than 100,000 people, more than 15% of the Nations total population was expelled, imprisoned or even in some cases killed. It was an ethnic cleansing operation of epic proportion, and one of the most underreported events of our generation.

The western media had always ignored the plight of the Bhutanese refugees, which made its reporting of the “elections” this year even more insulting. The accepted line was that this was an encouraging and refreshing to see a “benevolent dictator” king give up some of his powers for the good of modernizing the country. It is absolutely laughable that these elections had any credibility at all. On top of almost a 6th of the country living in exile, and another 13% being disenfranchised, only two political parties, both staunchly royalist were registered and allowed to participate in the election. The king and a number of his representatives automatically gain entry to the assembly’s without being elected. The upper house was only open to people with a higher education qualification, and in a country such as Bhutan where public education at an elementary level is largely unavailable then this just serves to drastically limit the members of the assembly to the narrow and privileged grouping around the monarchy.

In the end while there was an election, and on Election Day there was no vote rigging or tampering, it does not mean that these elections were not rigged as the media has reported. The voting system in Bhutan was so flawed that the outcome was already a foregone conclusion and the oppression of the Nepali and other minorities, as well as the true democratic movement was always going to continue unchallenged.

The elections of this year in Bhutan were nothing more than a Public Relations exercise to change the impression of Bhutan in the international community, and sadly it has been very successful.
It seems that after almost 20 years the refugees languishing in Nepal are finally having their problems dealt with, but unfortunately the solution that the UN has come up with is not the ideal solution for the refugees. A third party resettlement program has been formulated where the governments of the United States, Australia and a handful of European countries have agreed to resettle the refugees in their respective countries. While this is obviously far better that the refugees continuing to stay and rot in their camps, and the standard of living in these countries is somewhat higher than in Bhutan or in Nepal, the desire of the overwhelming majority of the refugees is the want to return to Bhutan and their communities, relatives and homeland, but one that is free from discrimination and democratic.

The Power of Youth

2008-10-24T09:59:00.001+11:00

Coming from Australia its hard to imagine any power in young people. We are constantly belittled in the media as being interested in nothing more than “sex drugs and rock and roll”, and young people are excluded from any positions of power. Even the few places where youth have a voice such as in university student unions have been systematically attacked by the government (ie VSU) to further marginalize us.

The powers would be would have us believe that there is no power in youth, and you cant possibly achieve anything, unless you sell your soul to the bureaucracy. It’s only after you completely give up your beliefs and become a cog in the machine before you can ever “be something”.

But this doesn’t have to be the case. In the tiny and impoverished nation of Nepal, the youth are taking their lives and futures into their own hands. Nepal is currently in the middle of a radical transformation and leading from the front of this revolutionary wave are the youth. The Young Communist League which is the youth organization of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has as many as 500,000 members and is active for change across the country.

Nepal is an incredibly underdeveloped nation, and due to this options for youth in Nepal have historically been very limited. 80% of the Nation is employed in agriculture and education has never been readily available. For young men, the only other options have been foreign employment in either the middle east on dangerous construction jobs for almost slave wages or alternatively to sign up for the “Gorkha Battalions” in the British and Indian militaries where they have to fight and die for foreign nations for often with less pay and/or rights then the rest of those armies.

For women the historical options have been even bleaker. The only work available for young Women is sex work, mostly in India, and many women and girls have been either tricked into prostitution with the promise of other decent work only to be forced into sex slavery on arrival, or girls as young as 7-8 have been abducted and sold to brothels. It is believed that of the 250,000 prostitutes in Mumbai, India, most are Nepalese. Alternatively, women were often forced into arranged marriages in line with the Hindu traditions that dominate the country. Young women have historically never had option or a say in their futures.

But this is all changing in the “New Nepal”. During the 10 year peoples war and the April 2006 “peoples movement” uprising young people have discovered their voice. Young people lead the struggle against the Monarchy and its oppressive state forces which collapsed under the pressure of a massive peoples movement in 2006.

But while from the ashes of the old régime the new Nepal might be arising, it is still riddled with many of the problems that crippled the old. Corruption in the police and local officials is still common, unemployment is still widespread and communities are mostly still without important necessities, like running water or garbage collection.

Background: Nepal 1768- Elections 2008

2008-09-30T09:50:00.000+10:00

This is a talk i did for a Sydney DSP meeting a few weeks ago.

Summarises the history of Nepal, from its very beggining through to the elections held this year.

Very brief, and vague in different sections. Hope this can be of use to people!

The modern nation of Nepal came into being when in 1768 the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas was conquered by the royal Shah Dynasty and foundered the Kingdom of the Gurkhas. Nepal continued to grow through military conquest throughout the late 18th century. This was also the time where another power in the region was rapidly growing, being the British East India Company. These two powers inevitably came into conflict, and the result was the 1814-16 Gorkha War, where the Nepalese were soundly defeated by the technologically superior British. In 1816 the Segauli Treaty between the British and the Nepalese monarchy came into affect, in which Nepal had to forfeit large portions of land, especially along the agricultural areas known as the Terai.
From this point on Nepal has been a semi-colonial "protectorate" of foreign Imperialists, with the Monarchy playing the role as the local ruler in the interests of either London, or more recently, New Delhi. After the 1816 war and embarrassment, the Royal court degenerated into factionalism and instability, which came to a head in 1846 when there was an overthrow of the Shahs. While the Shah monarchy remained in place it lost all but ceremonial power to the rival Rana family. This arrangement continued for roughly the next hundred years.
In the 1940’s a democratic movement built up, heavily influenced by the Indian Democracy and Independence movement of the same time. The Nepalese monarchy had adopted a policy of isolation and was largely successful in keeping foreign influences from entering Nepal. However they were not successful in stopping Nepalese from a relatively privileged background escaping into and embracing these outside influences. In 1947 the Nepali Congress (NC) party was formed and they launched an armed uprising in 1950. At the same time, the ceremonial Shah family, saw this as their opportunity to regain their power and influence, and they monarch and his family fled their "palace prison" to India. This uprising called for an election to a constituent assembly to write a new democratic constitution, but this was not to happen. In 1951 an agreement, known as the “Delhi Compromise” was forged between the Nepali Congress, the Shah Monarchy and the ruling Rana's to create an interim government, to rule until an election to a constituent assembly could be organized. The Rana's were too discredited from their brutal rule to return, but over the next few years the King used his reinstated powers to slowly weaken the democratic forces, and the NC never really pushed for an election. In 1959 the King issued a new constitution which left all power with the monarchy, and almost none in parliament, and announced elections to this new impotent parliament later that year. While the NC won the elections easily, the first Royal parliament would last only a limited time, when in 1962 the King dissolved the parliament and replaced it with a “party less” system called “panchayat”, which would govern Nepal in the interests of the royals for the next three decades.
In the late 1980's a period of regroupment occurred within the Nepalese left, and the democratic movement was able to put aside differences. This resulted in the United Left Front, a union of most of leftist parties of Nepal and the ability for the United Left Front to work with the Nepali congress for the democratic Cause. 1990 the democratic movement rose again in the form of “Jana Andolan”, which translates as “the people’s movement”. Nepal erupted. All aspects of society came out on the streets and the king was forced by this movement, to relinquish power again to a constitutional monarchy, with multiparty democracy. The United Left Front went onto forge the CPN(UML)
Again there were calls for a constituent assembly, the removal of the King from power and a truly democratic Nepal. A range of reforms including land reform and poverty alleviation programs were never introduced, the king was retained as head of state, and this new "democracy" descended into bureaucratic and stable infighting and was completely useless.
Over the same period a series of unifications and regroupments occurred within the far left, (left of the UML) which resulted in the Communist Party Nepal (Maoist). Initially this party participated in the electoral process, with some initial success, but it almost immediately began its preparations for an armed struggle.
On February 4th1996, Babburam Bhattarai on the behalf of the CPN(M) presented a list of 40 demands to the prime minister, and announced that unless action was taken that a “Peoples War” the Maoists would launch a people’s war, which they did on February 13. The 40 demands was to become the Maoists manifesto, and centered around the right to healthcare, education, better conditions for rural Nepalese, and end to the caste system and discrimination against women and minorities, and for elections to a constituent assembly to set up a federal democratic republic. Initially, this insurgency was small and localized to the Nations western hills, but was able to slowly gain some level of popular support due to the failure of the government to help the rural poor. Then when the government started trying to crack down on the rebels, or those perceived to be rebel sympathizers, the heavy handed responses further stirred unrest and the Maoist influence grew.
2001 was a momentous year. Firstly the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) held a National Conference, which resulted in the formal adoption of what they term “Prachanda Path”. “Prachanda Path” seems to be, not a departure from Maoism, but an elaboration on Maoism. While the CPN(M) is definitely a Maoist organization, they definitely maintain a criticism of aspects of Maoism, and especially Stalinism, which was spelled out in “Prachanda Path”. At any rate “Prachanda Path” laid the basis for divisions within the international Maoist Movement, which came to a head over the next few years and ended with a split in the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, which is/was the major Maoist international.
The second big event in 2001 involved the Royal Family. The Nepali crown prince, while drunk and stoned, shot his parents (the king), his brothers and a large portion of the royal family after an argument, and then shot himself. Naturally this drastically undermined the support and respect for the royal family, and the government. Finally, 2001 saw the terrorist attacks in the US. The Nepali government’s response to this was the jump on the terrorist bandwagon and declare the CPN(M) as a terrorist organization, and then declare a state of emergency which severely curtailed civil rights, the freedom of the press.
The new king, one of the remaining royals Gyanendra, began consolidating power in his own hands. In 2002 he dismissed the Parliament, and directly appointed governments, usually from royalist parties. On February 1st 2005 he dismissed the entire government and took all authority. Gyanendra then used the Royal Nepalese Army, fresh with training and weapons from the United States and the UK, to unleash a wave of violence and destruction against the population deemed to be supporting the Maoists.
At this point the insurgency exploded, and the Maoists, despite massive military presence, were able to expand and fight off the military. By late 2005, the Maoists had effective control of 80% of the nation, and the government had little control outside of Kathmandu the capitol, and a few larger provincial cities (but even these were susceptible to attack).
In late 2005 the Maoists controlling 80% of the nation, decided to blockade the capitol Kathmandu. As the king and government were coming under more pressure, the political groups that were members of the now dissolved parliament formed the Seven Party Alliance (SPA). The leaders of the SPA and the CPN(M) opened a dialogue which came to the “12 point agreement”. Within this framework, the CPN(M) committed to multiparty democracy and freedom of speech, while the SPA adopted the Maoists calls for elections to create a new constitution.
Together the SPA and the CPN(M) agitated for a boycott of the 2006 February 8 local elections. A series of waves of arrests of political activist was launched by the royal government, but the SPA/CPN(M) effort was successful with less than 20% participation in the polls.
This led to “Jana Andolan II” or the second people’s movement. Inspired by this, the SPA, in conjunction with the CPN(M) called what was initially intended to be a 4 day strike from April 5-9 2006, which brought the nation to a halt. On April 8, the government ordered a curfew, with orders that protesters to be shot on sight. On April 9, the SPA announced that the strike would continue indefinitely. Prachanda threatened to personally enter Kathmandu and lead the protests. The government responded by again trying to enforce its curfew. On April 21, after 14 days of massive street protests (involving as many as 500,000 people at any one time just in Kathmandu) the king relinquished power back to the SPA, and asked the SPA to designate a new Prime Minister.
Some political commentators refer to the 2006 movement as the “democracy movement” and only the events 1990 as “the people’s movement”, but I think it’s important to see this as the same struggle. 1990 and 2006 saw the same demands, the only difference being that in 2006, unlike in 1990, there was a strong and principled force (the Maoists) that was determined enough to see the changes through.
Jana Andolan 2 was the real transition of power. While the King was only officially removed this year, after the Jana Andolan 2 he was stripped from all power and it really was just a matter of time. Jana Andolan 2 ended Nepal as the world knew it. It wiped the slate clean and took everything back to square one. The Struggle since 2006 and the Jana Andolan 2 has been on what the new Nepal will look like.
Prior to the elections this year CPN(Maoist) did not initially join the interim government. The SPA went back on its previous promises and did not immediately call for elections to a new constitutional assembly, but said that elections should simply be held for the previously existing parliament, and a parliamentary committee would draft a new constitution. The Maoists insisted on a new body to constitute a new republican state but under Maoist pressure, the SPA was forced to give into these demands. This caused the elections to the Constituent Assembly to be delayed.
A second delay was caused by arguments over the form of the Constituent assembly elections. The SPA including the NC and the UML initially argued that the elections would be held with just electorates on a first past the post basis as had historically been the case. The Maoists however demanded a direct proportional representation system. This was especially important was the former system had been used by the Nepali political elites in Kathmandu and the Hill regions of Nepal, to oppress the peoples of the southern Terai Plains. People in the Terai make up 40-50% of the population of Nepal, but had never received more than 15-20% of the representation in a Nepalese parliament. A compromise solution was resolved where 240 seats would be on the basis of the first past the post, 335 seats would be awarded on the basis of direct proportional representation and then 26 seats would be given by the government to any minority groups that were not represented or under represented in the assembly.
After 2 delays the elections where finally held on April 10 of this year.
Despite some tension the elections were held in a generally free and fair atmosphere. People were free to cast their vote. The results show a massive victory to the Maoists, who polled about 30% of the vote and will make up 36% of the seats in the Constituent Assembly. While this isn’t an absolute majority, it’s more than 15% more seats then any other party, and they polled more than a million votes more than their nearest competitors.

Nepalese Maoists set ambitious targets in budget

2008-09-30T09:43:00.000+10:00

as seen in Green Left Weekly
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/769/39650
Nepalese Maoists set ambitious targets in budget
Nepal’s finance minister and member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Dr Baburam Bhattarai announced the first budget of the Republic of Nepal.
The monster 236 billion rupee (AU$3.9 billion) budget is 39.7% larger than the total allocation for the previous fiscal year. The Maoist-led government hopes to raise the extra funds by reducing corruption, as well as increasing revenue from tourism and foreign aid. Bhattarai announced a series of programs aimed at increasing education and health care and increasing employment opportunities. Central to these programs are the “Be Literate: Build New Nepal” and the “New Nepal: Healthy Nepal” programs. The literacy program aims to eradicate illiteracy in Nepal within two years. According to the UN figures, Nepal’s adult literacy rate is below 50%; the level of illiteracy is worse among women. New schools and university campuses are planned, particularly in remote and rural areas where the bulk of Nepalese live. Education will be free up to secondary level with free daily meals up to Grade 5, free education for all up to Grade 10 and free for poor and oppressed peoples up to Grade 12. The “New Nepal: Healthy Nepal” program aims to provide free health care to all Nepalese. Investment will be made to repair damage done to the health-care system during the 10 year war that ended in 2006, and health-care facilities will be increased with the eventual goal of extending health-care facilities into the villages. A free maternity services program will also be set up, which is significant given Nepal’s horrendously high infant mortality rate of 62 deaths per thousand (Australia’s is 4.82 deaths per thousand). An ambitious road building program is planned, with the intention of up all districts of Nepal within two years. (At present large portions of Nepal are inaccessible except by foot.) As well there are plans for another international and more regional airports to help increase tourism. Nepal’s water resources will be better utilised, with plans to provide widespread and quality irrigation to increase agricultural output, and an ambitious target has been set by the government to generate 10,000 megawatts of electricity from hydroelectric plants by 2020. The new government also plans to encourage communities to set up cooperative shops and cooperative agricultural projects to spur local development and local, community-owned economies. A new parliament building will also be built in Kathmandu and monuments will be built to commemorate the Jana Andolan or People’s Movement that brought about the fall of the Hindu monarchy and the creation of the secular Republic of Nepal. The opponents of the Maoist-led government have criticised the budget as too ambitious and too reliant on foreign capital. The Nepali Congress has led attacks on the budget in the constituent assembly and the media. However, Bhattarai argued during his budget speech: “We are now in the process of making a great leap forward from one era to another … there is always a risk involved in such a move … We can never reach the destination unless we aim high.”

Prachanda to Meet with Cuban VP, Visit Karl Marx's birthplace.

2008-09-22T13:51:00.002+10:00

From KantipurOnline.

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=161302

PM Dahal to visit Marx’s birthplace
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, Sept 21 - During his 28-hour stopover in Germany en route to New York, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will take a two-and-half-hour drive to Traier to visit the birthplace of Karl Marx, whose writings have inspired communist revolutions all over the world, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The house where Marx was born in 1818 was turned into the Museum-Karl-Marx-Haus in 1947 by Germany's Social Democratic Party.
The museum houses a study centre with 80,000 volumes including the works of Marx and the spectrum of his reading, the history of socialism, the history of the socialist and workers' movement as well as the social and economic history of the 19th century.
"The exhibition in the Museum-Karl-Marx-Haus will inform you: about the person Karl Marx, his life, his work, his allies and his adversaries," according to the website of the museum. "Account is also given, for the first time, of the history of his influence which extends from the end of the nineteenth century up to present, thus
encompassing the entire panorama of the twentieth century."
While in Frankfurt he will also release a book in German whose title translates in English as Revolution in Nepal, one of the officials accompanying the prime minister said.
In New York Prime Minister Kamal Dahal is scheduled to meet four presidents, one vice president, two heads of government and representatives of the US and Russia, according to the program made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Besides attending a dinner and tea reception hosted by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Dahal will also have a meeting with him the day before he leaves New York.
He will attend a reception hosted by US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
Foreign ministry sources say that there is no separate meeting scheduled with Bush.
"Bush only meets very important world leaders during the General Assembly," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs source said.
Ex-king Gyanendra had made preparations to attend the UN General Assembly in 2005 after he took over executive powers, but decided not to go after he was not invited by Bush for the reception traditionally hosted for world leaders on the eve of the General Assembly.
The presidents Dahal is scheduled meet are the Sri Lankan, Swiss, Turkish and Serbian presidents. He will meet the Cuban vice president and the heads of government of Bnagladesh and Mongolia.
"The Turkish president requested a meeting with our prime minister and we could not refuse," said a source. "There was also a request from Cuba for a meeting with its vice president."
The meeting with the Swiss president was mutually arranged, he said.
Dahal will also meet Minister for International Development of Norway Erik Solheim and US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher. Both are frequent visitors to Nepal. While Solheim was here the day Dahal was sworn in as prime minister, Boucher last visited here in 2006.
The Russian foreign minister, who is leading his country's delegation to the UN General Assembly, will also meet the Nepali prime minister.
Dahal is also scheduled to give a talk at the India China Institute of the New School University on the topic "A Maoist Vision for New Nepal" and a talk at the Asia Society titled "A New Nepal: Challenges for Enduring Peace and Democracy".
While Kul Chandra Gautam, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations will moderate the former, Tamrat Samuel, former deputy special representative of the UN Secretary-General to UNMIN, will moderate the latter.
He is also scheduled to participate in a BBC world debate on the Millennium Development Goals and give an interview to CNN.
In between he will go on a half-day tour of the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Centre were located, and the financial capital of the world, according to the published programme for the New York visit.
No programmes are scheduled for the prime minister for September 28 when he will leave New York in the evening.

INTERVIEW- Dipak Sapkota; Assistant editor of the Red Star

2008-09-15T11:16:00.005+10:00

Dipak Sapkota is the Assitant Editor of The Red Star, which is a progressive english language paper based in Nepal. The Lal Salam blog talked with Dipak and he answered our questions about the radical changes happening in Nepal.

Lal Salam: Nepal is currently going through a very radical time of change, with the declaration of the republic and the abolition of the monarchy. What is the atmosphere like on the streets of Nepal in this time of great changes?
Dipak Sapkota- Yes, as you said, Nepal is going through very historical changes. People celebrated with huge enthusiasm the declaration of Republic. On 28th May, people in the capital city organised rallies and gathered outside the constituent assembly to hear the declaration of Republic. The government announced holiday for three days to celebrate the Republic. People now hope a lot from the first government after the Republic. But at the same time we are suffering from acute fuel shortage and inflation that is hampering our happiness.

LS: The Monarchy has been abolished, but the King remains in the country. Is there any possibility of the Monarchy returning, are there any royalists forces left in Nepal?
Sapkota- The possibility of the Monarchy returning is very less. The king was so infamous and he is not a politically strong man. He was a businessman and he still holds his business. So he may not dare to re-establish monarchy. There is a very small force who still advocate the monarchy. There are only four members out of 601 in the constituent assembly from the Royalist party.

LS: While the monarchy was only officially abolished this year, it lost the majority of its powers in the 2006 Democracy Movement when millions protested in the streets. What was it like during that movement? What was the feeling in the people during that movement?
Sapkota- The People's movement in 2006 was a joint attempt of CPN-Maoist and seven parliamentary parties. The 12-point understanding made on November 2005 was the main inspiration of the movement. People wanted to get rid of Monarchy as well as they had also wanted peace and progress in the country. 21 people were killed during the movement in the cities.

LS: In the corporate media a lot is made of the Young Communist League. Could you tell me more about the young Communist League and the role they are playing in Nepal today?
Sapkota- The League was a semi-military organisation before the Maoist armed movement started in 1996. Many revolution-aspirant youths joined this organisation. Later during the armed movement People's Liberation Army came into existence. The League was overshadowed. After the Maoist agreed on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006, PLA started to stay in 28 different temporary cantonments. But there were no provisions for thousands of Militias. So the League was again reactivated that organised the militias and youths who joined Maoist at that time. In the past YCL engaged in building roads, controlling crimes, distribution of drinking water in cities, control the frauds at manpower agencies, traffic management, and youth awareness. Now they are busy in collective farming, working for solving the problems of education and unemployment.

LS: The corporate media characterises the YCL as the "young criminals league" and there are many allegations of criminal or violent activities. Is there truth behind the claims of intimidation and violence?
Sapkota- This is the matter of class. The corporate media serves the interests of elite class of Nepal. That means they see the League as the criminals. The activists 'arrested' some most infamous corruptors and handed to the police, that was 'intimidation' and 'violence' for corporate media.

LS: During the Peoples War and the state of emergency enforced by the then Royal Government there were many limitations brought against freedom of speech and the press. What was it like to act as a journalist under those conditions?
Sapkota- Yes, the then Royal Government imposed many restrictions against freedom of speech and the press. They especially attacked the progressive journalists. More than 25 journalists were killed by the state and about 200 arrested during the conflict. There were dangers of being killed by the state at any time.

LS: The progressive press in Nepal often talks of Krishna Sen. Who was he?
Sapkota- He was one of the senior-most progressive journalist in Nepal. He was an editor of a progressive daily 'Janadisha' at the time he was arrested. The police killed him in the custody by torturing him a lot. He was also a revolutionary poet, a soft spoken man and highly respected among the left in Nepal.

LS: There is much talk in he mainstream media about the "authoritarian" tendencies of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) and the media expresses concerns for the freedom of the press. Prachanda was said to have threaded certain media outlets earlier this year. As a journalist, is freedom of speech under threat in Nepal?
Sapkota- This is very common allegation to the left and the revolutionary forces in the world. The Nepali press enjoys a lot of freedom and facilities. The present government is not sole Maoist government. The Maoists have assured multi-party competition and they have time and again expressed their commitment for the freedom of press. Prachanda had not threatened the press but he had requested the media to be serious about the nation before they write.

LS: What role are women playing in the changes in Nepal? What are the conditions like for women in Nepal and are there any signs of improvement?
Sapkota- Woman play a vital role in the change in Nepal. The participation of the women in the People's war was surprising. About 40 percent in the People's Liberation Army were women. Likewise the participation of the women in the movement 2006 was also significant. Now there is about 33 percent women participation in the Constituent Assembly as the result of People's War and people's movement. The present condition of women varies in cities and villages. Women enjoy quite a lot of economical, social and educational rights in the cities whereas in the villages women live in worse condition in terms of all these issues.

LS: Nepal is home to a range of oppressed nationalities, castes or religious groups. What role are these groups playing in the changes in Nepal, and are there signs of improvement for them?
Sapkota- Yes, Nepal is home of range of nationalities, castes and religious groups. These groups are now struggling to institutionalise their rights in the new constitution either through the Constituent Assembly or various activities. They have proportional participation in the Constituent Assembly and the cabinet as well as various government bodies. These groups are enjoying reservation in the civil service, political appointment and they will soon have in security sector too. They are having significant benefits but the advantage is not reaching to the lowest level within these groups too.

LS: The elections to the constituent assembly this year were historic. What was the atmosphere during the elections? Was there any intimidation or fear?
Sapkota- Nepal had the election of the constituent assembly for the first time in Nepal. Nepal waited it for more than 60 years. The participation of the voters was more than 60 percent in the election. The election was like the celebration. Many corporate media reported 'intimidation' and 'fear' but it was not like that. Some parliamentary party leaders who had betrayed the people in the past faced the bitter reaction from the people in the election, some were even chased from the villages.

LS: The changes in Nepal are dramatic and have only been won after years of hard work. What role are youth playing in the political process in Nepal?
Sapkota- The participation of the youth in the People's War and People's Movement was the decisive factor for their success. The 30 thousands strong People's Liberation Army had more than 98 percent youths. More than 60 percent were between 18-25 age group. There are more than eight students unions who are affiliated with different political parties. Likewise four youth organisations who also organise youths for movements and awareness. The youths of Nepal, may be, are the most political conscious youths in the world.

LS: Where do you see Nepal going? Where do you think Nepal will be in the future?
Sapkota- Nepal is still at the crossroad. The Maoist, who lead the government is trying to start a campaign for economic progress and political transformation. But some parliamentary parties are trying hard to foil the government. Nepal needs stability and steady economic progress. As well as the republic should be institutionalised and must be people's oriented. Nepali people hope for a better future.