West Bengal: Evicted Dalit Starves to Death

This article was posted on the Asian Human Rights Commission website on November 18, 2009.

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha

Government of West Bengal must act to prevent further starvation deaths

E.M. Parvati died yesterday. Parvati was a resident of Belgachhia Bhagar, a municipal dumping ground of Howrah in West Bengal. The doctor who examined Parvati’s body certified that the cause of death was pulmonary tuberculosis aggravated by severe malnourishment and anaemia.

Parvati is not the first person in her family to die in this manner. Her daughter E.M. Lachhmi, died of starvation at the age of five on 11 March 2005. Her two sons, E.M. Shiva, died in December 2003 and E.M. Gaddama alias Chhottu, died in November 2004. Shiva was three years old and Gaddama was about a month old.

Parvati’s death is further proof to the despicable apathy of the West Bengal state government and that of the government of India to the plight of the poor and marginalised in the country. It is also part of the continuing saga of an estimated 7000 Dalits who were evicted from Bellilious Park on 2 February 2003 by the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC).

CPI (Maoist) Leader Released from Prison After Two Years

This article was posted on Democracy and Class Struggle.

Maoist leader Tusharkant Bhattacharya released from Central Jail in Warangal

CPI (Maoists) central committee member , Tusharkant Bhattacharyya, a leading intellectual and ideologue in India was freed from Warangal Jail late Thursday (November 19) night. Tusharkant Bhatttacharya was lodged in Warangal prison for the past two years.

According to Andhra Police, Bhattacharya was acquitted in three cases registered against him in the state, while he already has got bail in the case registered against him in Bihar.

Speaking to media soon after his release from the prison, Tusharkant Bhattacharya reiterated that as long as there was State violence and oppression against the people, the Maoists movement will continue to fight for the depressed classes and those being exploited.

A History of the Tamil Struggle for Self-Determination in Sri Lanka

This article was published on Radical Notes.

Tamil Eelam: Historical Right to Nationhood (II)

by Ron Ridenour

We are running  four parts of a five-part series posted on Radical Notes on November 19, 2009. These articles trace the settlement of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and the development of the modern Tamil struggle for self-determination. They also expose the cabal of imperialist and reactionary powers that have fortified the Sinhala-chauvinist Sri Lanka regime, and describe the horrific conditions in the so-called “welfare villages” that now hold close to 300,000 Tamil refugees. Finally, the author draws apt comparisons with Israel’s oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon in English, and Serendib in Arabic (which gave rise to the word serendipity) is commonly referred to as the “pearl of the orient” due to its beauty and wealth of natural resources, flora and fauna. Today, it is a land torn apart by hatred: racist government policies, ethnic cleansing, and terror war just ended albeit continuing in the form of incarceration of hundreds of thousands of Tamil people in the north. A key reason for this brutal hatred is the dispute over whether a minority of its people, the Tamils, should have: equal rights with the majority Sinhalese, and if this is denied (as will be shown it has), should they have the right to their own autonomous territory.

Sri Lanka’s first aborigines with continuous lineage are the Tamil people. It is not precisely known when they came to the island, but perhaps as many as 5000 years ago. Archaeologists date the first humans in Sri Lanka to some 34,000 years. Scientists call them Balangoda people, the name of the location where artifacts were found. These hunting-gathering cave dwellers have no current lineage.

Nepal: Third Phase of Protests Begins

This article was published in the Himilayan Times, November 21, 2009

Maoist 3rd phase of protests begins

KATHMANDU: Agitating UCPN-Maoist has declared third phase of protest programmes demanding the establishment of ‘civilian supremacy’ by cancelling the President Ram Baran Yadav’s step to reinstate the then army chief Rookmangud Katawal.

The Maoists had given a week to the government to fulfill their demands at the end of second round of agitation on November 13 that expired on Friday.

The Central Committee meeting of the Maoists today decided to launch a month-long protest programme that begins on November  22 and ends on December 22. The itinerary includes the protest programmes by its sister organisations, boycotting the programmes of prime minister and ministers and a general strike from December 20-22. The Maoists have also threatened to launch an the indefinite general strike after December 22 if their demands were not addressed.

UCPN (Maoist) Gives Government Three Days to Pass Budget

This article was published on Nepal News.

Maoists three-day reprieve for passage of budget from Nov 23

The Unified CPN (Maoist) on Sunday decided to allow the legislature parliament to resume normal business on Nov. 23, 24 and 25 for the approval of the budget.  A parliamentary party meeting of the main opposition party held today morning made a decision to this effect.

The party had on Saturday decided to take a three-day break from the five-month disruption of the parliament so that the government’s budget for year 2009/2010 could be passed. However, the dates for the same had not been fixed yesterday.

The Maoist lawmakers have been disrupting House proceeding since Aug 6 demanding ‘correction’ of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav’s move reinstating the then Army Chief Rookmangud Katawal by overturning the Maoist government’s decision to sack him.

Meanwhile, the Maoists have also started their third phase of protest programme from today.  As per the protest programme unveiled by the Maoist party on Saturday, the one-month protest programme include publicity campaign from Nov 22-30, sister organizations protest programmes from Dec 1-10 and ethnic and regional fronts protests between Dec 11 and 19. A three-day general strike is also scheduled between Dec 20 and 22.

First Phase of PLA Discharges from Cantonments Completed

This article was published by My Republica, November 19, 2009

Disqualified Maoist Combatants: Phase 1 of discharge & rehab ends, next phase uncertain

Kathmandu: The first phase of the discharge and rehabilitation of disqualified Maoist combatants was completed on Wednesday, but uncertainty persists over commencement of the second phase.

“Our teams deployed for the first phase finished their work at all seven cantonments today,” said Bishnu Prasad Nepal, spokesperson at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction on Wednesday.

Marking an important step in the ongoing peace process, the discharge and rehabilitation of the disqualified – minors and late recruits — began on October 11 from the second division Maoist cantonment at Dudhauli, Sindhuli. Discharge and rehabilitation of the disqualified is part of the ongoing peace process which enters its fourth year on Sunday.

Kiran Demands Dissolution of Nepal Government

This article was published in Telegraph Nepal, November 20, 2009

Senior Maoist leader demands dissolution of Nepal Govt

The Vice Chairman of the Maoist party, Mohan Baidya alias Kiran has alleged that the government has been exhibiting nonchalance towards sorting out the current political dispute for reasons unknown. Kiran claims that his party though remained steadfast in sorting out the differences, however, the government was ignoring the Maoists flexibility and thus pushing the Maoist party for yet another stir.

Kiran emphatically says that his party will not allow the budget to get approved from the Parliament until the Nepal President unconstitutional moves get corrected. “We are in favor of consensus…we could exhibit some flexibility…let’s talk, however, this government is not interested in talks”, laments Mohan Baidya.

He made these remarks yesterday, November 19, 2009, while addressing a literary program in Kathmandu. “No response as such as of now we have received from the government as regards our demands and concerns”, says Kiran who is considered to be a hardliner in the Maoist camp. “We will not allow this government to approve the budget unless the people’s supremacy gets restored in the country”. Kiran continued.

He demanded the dissolution of the incumbent government in order to hasten the process of constitution draft.  Mohan Baidya reminded the Nepal’s literary figures of their Himalayan role in landing the revolution to a positive conclusion.

Operation Green Hunt Cartoon: Tribal Maoist vs. Indian State and Capitalists

“Vadi” is a person who advocates or promotes. This cartoon shows the tribal person, defending the land and advocating Maoism vs. the repressive forces behind the MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding), the contracts to seize tribal lands for big Indian capitalists and multinational corporations.

A Primer on India’s Maoists and Their Work

This article was published in Radical Notes, November 19, 2009.

War Against the Maoists: But Who Are They and What Do They Want

Author’s Note: This is meant to be a simple and brief exposition of the goals and strategies of the Maoist movement in India for people who may not have much awareness about it and are confused by the propaganda in the mainstream media. This does not go into the arcane debates about mode of production in India, the debates among communist revolutionaries over strategy and tactics etc. This aims at people who, for example, are perplexed why the Maoists, instead of trying to ensure safe drinking water like an NGO, rather, often resort to violent activities against the Government.

Rita Khanna

The Indian government is launching a full-scale war against the Maoist rebels and the people led by them in different parts of the country. The initial battles, without any formal announcement, have already started. For this purpose, they intend to deploy about 75,000 security personnel in parts of Central and Eastern India, including Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand. The government will organize its regular air-force in addition to paramilitary and specially trained COBRA forces. The air-force has begun to extend its logistic support.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram have declared the Maoist rebels to be ‘the biggest internal security threat’ to India and a hindrance to ‘development’. The mainstream media seem to have taken them at their face value. Their publications and television programmes seem to be building a war-hysteria against the Maoist rebels regardless of the fact that this attack by the government will be directed against some of the most deprived of the Indian people. Indeed this is turning into a war of the state against its own people!

Rising Number of Nepali Students in Universities in the U.S.

Hike in Nepali students in US universities

eKantipur, November 17, 2009

Kathmandu- The number of Nepali students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education has increased significantly, according to Open Doors 2009. The annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, the number increased from 8,936 to 11,581 in 2008/09– a 29.6 per cent increase over the 2007/08 academic year.

Nepal ranks 11th among the leading countries of origin of international students, as it did the last year.  In the academic year 2006/2007, Nepal ranked 13th among the countries of origin of international students. India tops the list with 15.4% followed by China with 14.7%.

America’s nearly 3,000 accredited schools of higher education continue to attract new students in what is becoming a highly competitive international ‘market’ around the world, According to U.S. Embassy Kathmandu’s Counselor for Public Affairs Terry J. White.

The U.S. remains the preferred destination for students from Nepal who want to study abroad because of the quality and prestige associated with an American degree.

RDF India: Stand by the Struggling Masses Against Operation Green Hunt

“Resist the Indian government’s war on the people! Stand by the struggling masses fighting for their land, life and livelihood!”

Following is a statement by the Revolutionary Democratic Front of India  (rdfindia@gmail.com)  from the end of October 2009.

The former U.S. President George W. Bush declared a “War on Terror” on the pretext of 9/11, and attacked Iraq and then Afghanistan so that U.S. imperialism could capture oil, gas and other natural resources in these foreign countries. The prime minister of India too made an open declaration of “war against terrorism” after 26/11. P. Chidambaram [The Home Minister in charge of Operation Green Hunt] too recently announced the government’s decision to go on a military offensive adhering to the dictates of the U.S. This time the offensive was aimed at the people of this country, those who are among the most deprived and exploited. This is just to facilitate the handing over of the country’s natural resources to the plunder and loot of foreign corporations, even though purported aim is to re-establish the sovereign rule of the Indian state in Maoist-influenced regions.

One of the main proponents of this war on people is Manmohan Singh, who was an economist with the World Bank controlled by U.S. imperialism before he joined active politics. Till the day he became finance minister of the UPA government , P. Chidambaram was a member of the Board of Directors in Vedanta, the British mining multinational. He was also the lawyer of the notorious U.S. electricity corporation, Enron.

Both Singh and Chidambaram have been die-hard advocates of foreign investment to the country, the two foremost agents of U.S. imperialism in the country. On 18 June 2006, the prime minister made a statement in the parliament, pronouncing that, “the environment for foreign investment is going to be severely affected if left-wing extremism continues to grow and expand in the mineral-rich regions of the country”. The booty of this war declared by Manmohan Singh’s government on the people is going to be handed over to the imperialist countries, particularly to U.S. imperialism.

Azad on Waging a People’s War of Self-Defense

The title of this article implies that the Maoists are hiding behind civilians, in contrast to Azad’s view that we “rely on the sea of people in which we swim like fish.”

Can use civilians to fight govt, warn Maoists

Manoj CG, Indian Express, November 12, 2009

With the Centre planning to move in more forces to combat Left-wing insurgents, the Maoists have for the first time indicated that they could use civilians in the war against the government. Giving an insight into their battle strategy, the Maoists have said they would not fight a “positional war” against a superior force and would instead employ guerilla warfare tactics.

Coming out with details about its operations, the Maoists have insisted that they enjoy “massive mass support” and claimed that a “handful of guerillas” had repulsed a massive joint operation by the Central forces in Dantewada district in September by “relying on the sea of people in which we swam like fish”. And they plan to use the local population in the future also to thwart more such attacks from security forces.

“All our plans, policies, strategy and tactics will be based entirely on the active involvement of the vast masses of people in this war of self-defence. The enemy class cannot decimate us without decimating the entire population in regions we control,” Maoist leader Azad, who is also the spokesperson of the group’s central committee, said in an interview with The Indian Express.

Hisila Yami on the November Protests

That Was a Good Show

by Hisila Yami [Yami is a member of the Politburo of the UCPN (Maoist)]

eKantipur, November 16, 2009.  Also posted on MRzine.

What started as a focus on protests against military supremacy has silently led to a focus on support for civilian supremacy. The retirement of Rookmangud Katawal, the ex-military chief and the main person who triggered the present crisis, has de facto diverted the attention of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to support civil supremacy. This means the Maoist party has now shifted its attention to House supremacy whereby the unconstitutional move of the president overruling the then prime minister’s order should be tabled for discussion at the CA. However, this shift has not brought any consensus between the Maoists and the governing old mainstream parties.

NDF Philippines: Mindanao Could Become Another Afghanistan

Nuns lead march against US troops in the Philippines.

Under the Obama Regime, Mindanao could become another Afghanistan

Jorge “Ka Oris“ Madios, Spokesperson, National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Mindanao

Philippine Revolution, November 13, 2009

On the occasion of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s two-day visit to the Philippines, the National Democratic Front-Mindanao (NDF-Mindanao) reiterates the demand of the Filipino people for the US government to immediately pull-out the US Pacific Command’s 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTFP) from Mindanao and elsewhere in the Philippines.

Should the US refuse and instead continue heightening its military intervention and escalate its participation in counter-guerrilla operations, Mindanao and the entire Philippines could become another Afghanistan, Iraq or Vietnam where its forces will be caught in a spiral of armed mass resistance.

Nepal: Maoists Will Declare Autonomous States During Third Phase

This article was published on eKantipur.com.

Maoists to declare autonomous states in 3rd-phase agitation

KATHMANDU, NOV 14 – Unified CPN (Maoist) Secretary CP Gajurel said that his party is preparing to declare autonomous states as per the party strategy in new phase of agitation which is on the horizon.

Speaking to the media people in Dharan on Saturday, he stated that if the parties agree upon discussing the Maoist resolution motion tabled at the Legislture-Parliament then the Maoists will let the House business resume. Otherwise, he said, his party will resort to a fresh round of agitation in a new way. According to him, the new agitation will be more intense but peaceful.

Gajurel, who earlier today in Dhankuta said the declaration of authonomous states and capture of the government offices was against the party policy and that the party will not approve such incidents, dubbed the declaration of Kirat Autonomous State in eastern hilly districts and the seizure of Dhankuta Municipality as but rumours.

As per the party strategy, he said, the Unified CPN (Maoist) will declare autonomous states during the third-phase of protest.