Nepal’s Crisis: Resistance and the Lies of the Rulers

Burning and effigy of MK Nepal, Photo by Eric Ribellarsi

This was originally posted on thefirecollective.org.

“I interviewed a young Maoist woman outside the Constituent Assembly.  She identified as being from the Association of Unemployed People, and told me that “Only communism can provide a solution for unemployed people in Nepal, and we should take this peace process to its logical conclusion. This government is increasing unemployment day by day, and won’t allow the reforms that Baburam Bhattarai tried to make for us when he was the Finance Minister. People should have power in our country, not a Prime Minister who was not elected….if he does not resign, we will fight until the end, the Constituent Assembly should not be extended without his resignation.” …

I met a leader from the Maoist party there at the demonstration, Prataj Prawanta, who described the situation to me:

“The situation is very crucial….We have not completely left the People’s War, this is a part of the war.  Now, the imperialist and expansionist powers are dominating Nepal, and stopping us from going ahead. But the people are encouraged and want to go ahead. The government always blocks the people’s voice. Today is the last day of the Constituent Assembly…. We are not expecting a solution from them, because they have their agenda, and we have our agenda. We must go ahead with the people’s agenda and complete the People’s War.”

Eric Ribellarsi reporting from Nepal. Photo album also available.

As I watched on May 28^th, thousands of people surrounded the Constituent Assembly building to burn effigies of Prime Minister M.K. Nepal, a man who has repeatedly blocked the restructuring of Nepal’s society that was agreed upon in the 2006 Peace Accords. A young man standing right near me would lift the burning effigy high into to air on a pole so that all could see, and people would respond with loud, determined cheers. It is hard to convey just how hated this man is, even by many in his own party who have threatened to split. These events characterized the sentiments of a people determined to win against a foreign dominated government.

Nepal: Interview With Gopal Chitham

On May 30th, radical journalists interviewed Gopal Chitham, a Maoist Lawyer who has done extensive theoretical work on water relations between Nepal and India. Dr. Chitham was part of the drafting process of the People’s Constitution announced by Baburam Bhattarai the day before. Dr. Chitham explains the details of this draft constitution and the on-going debates in society and among the Maoists about how to go forward in Nepal, and in what direction.