This piece comes from IRIN, a humanitarian news service for NGO audiences. This documents the harsh and unjust lives experienced by millions of young girls in Nepal, as further evidence why revolutionary change is both greatly needed and justified.
KATHMANDU, 27 January 2011 (IRIN) – One million fewer children are working in Nepal than a decade ago, though more girls are toiling in dangerous conditions than boys, according to a soon-to-be-published report documenting the country’s sizeable population of child labourers.
Nearly 24 percent of girls nationwide (or 911,000), compared to 17.5 percent of boys (or 688,000), perform work that qualifies them as labourers, according to an International Labour Organization (ILO) report. Read the rest of this entry »
Republic Cannot Kill It Own Children: Supreme Court
January 14, 2011: India’s Supreme Court has given the government six weeks to explain the circumstances under which a prominent Maoist was killed last year.
Cherukuri Rajkumar was acting as an intermediary to set up peace talks between the Maoists and the Indian government when he was shot dead.
One judge said the state could not be allowed to kill its own children.
Human rights activists alleged the victim, also known as Azad, was killed by the police after he had been detained.
The Supreme COurt has asked the central government and the state administration in Andhra Pradesh to explain how Azad died last July in the Adilabad forests of Andra Pradesh.
He was number two in the rebel hierarchy in the state and a spokesman for the Maoists.
Note: the state of ‘Odisha’ is also known as ‘Orissa’. The MoUs referred to in the article are ‘memorandums of understanding’, or documents describing bilateral or multilateral agreements. Thanks to Banned Thought for making the statement available. Posting here does not imply endorsement.
Adivasi woman in the forests of Orissa
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Press Release
January 12, 2011
Condemn the indiscriminate killings and fake encounters
by the police and paramilitary forces in Odisha !
People would surely defeat the conspiracy of Naveen Patnaik
to hand over the natural resources of Odisha to the Corporations
by decimating the Maoist revolutionary movement !
As part of the massive offensive Operation Green Hunt being conducted in coordination by the central and state governments with the avowed aim of decimating the Maoist revolutionary movement completely, the special police and paramilitary forces have resorted to indiscriminate killings in the past two months in Odisha and have taken nearly 25 lives in cold-blood in various incidents. Of these most of them were fake encounters while others were incidents where hundreds of police and paramilitary were deployed with specific information about the whereabouts of the guerillas and fired indiscriminately on the guerillas and the people with them. Read the rest of this entry »
Kathmandu, 24 January: CPN-Maoist is clear over ground after the situation bringing People’s Liberation Army (PLA) under the Special Committee for Integration of Army.
This was the last condition put forwarded by the old political parties before Maoist party. PLA soldiers are under the special committee and Maoist party has become ‘civil party’ in their eyes. Maoist party has claimed the consensus government under its leadership due to be the largest party in the Constituent Assembly and, in the situation, the resignation of the caretaker government.
Maoist Chairman Com. Prachanda has expressed his hope to form the consensus government under his party leadership. He has informed the public about the talk he is holding among the political parties.
The talk is ‘positive’ among the political parties and, specially, ‘between the three major parties’. He claimed that the reliable ground is being made for the consensus government.
“Especially in a country like Nepal, where autocratic monarchy has ruled for hundreds of years, it would be prudent to go through a phase of democratic republic before completing the bourgeois democratic revolution….
“The usefulness and prudence of the democratic republic phase is being questioned. It is exactly here that the differences between anarchism, reformism and Marxism come out sharply. Whereas reformists disagree with a revolutionary leap, anarchists discard the need of passing through stages and sub-stages. Marxists support both revolutionary leaps and the need to pass through stages.”
“Given the country’s sensitive position between the emerging global powers in India and China, a balanced relation with both neighbours is crucial for the success of the New Democratic revolution. It is thus prudent to focus on the internal democratic agenda to unify the country and to take on foreign domination.”
Below is a transcribed lecture by Baburam Bhattarai, a leading figure within the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-Maoist) given on Jan. 14th, 2011 in Mumbai, India.
This talk take place in the context of public and sharp conflict between different wings of the Maoist party — conflict that focuses on whether to press the revolution to a new stage, and what the social and political content of that new stage should be. It also take place on a terrain marked by disagreement over whether to make broad resistance to foreign domination (i.e. India) the centerpiece of this moment’s revolutionary tactics — or whether to focus instead (as Bhattarai suggests) on internal, domestic democratic transformations (and implicitly seek long-term stable relations with India).
In this talk, there is a argument that the process of revolution in a country like Nepal is a special sub-stage of bourgeois democracy — and postponing the completion of the Maoist New Democracy (the opening of the socialist revolution).
Following are excerpts from two articles, “Global Politics and the Sri Lankan Trajectory” and “A Contribution to the Debate between Rajpal Abeynayake and Malinda Senevirathne on the Role of the Moral Police,” submitted by Surendra Rupasinghe, Secretary of the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist).
These selections focus on the interrelationship on the one hand between the political and economic situation in Sri Lanka and international developments, and on the other the relationship between all this and a campaign being waged in the ideological sphere by the regime of President and Commander-in Chief Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has acquired enormous political power in the wake of the defeat of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).
Sri Lanka: the global context and ideology of a triumphant regime
Introduction
The imperatives and the options of the Sri Lankan regime have to be identified within the logic of motion of the global political-economic-strategic order.
The present regime is trying to optimise the range of its policy options within the context of dramatic changes in the global political-economic-strategic order. The undisputed hegemony exercised by the U.S. as the sole superpower has entered into a new spiral of crisis.
The following from the Telegraph of India, and cites the growing fear from the Indian government of spreading Maoist influence in urban centers, especially following the detainment of Dr. Binayak Sen.
MK: Maoism fashionable in universities
A STAFF REPORTER
Calcutta, Jan. 21: Governor M.K. Narayanan, the chancellor of the state’s universities, today said Maoism was becoming “fashionable” in varsities and added that a “section of the civil society was feeling encouraged and taking part in protests”.
Citing instances of protests by sections of the civil society following the arrest of rights activist Binayak Sen, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for being a Maoist conduit, Narayanan said on the sidelines of a CII seminar: “The Maoists are gaining the upper hand in the people’s mind. A section of the civil society is feeling encouraged and taking part in protests. Maoism is becoming fashionable in universities across several states, including Bengal.” Read the rest of this entry »
We have received a recent English translation of the draft Nepali Constitution that the Maoists proposed in 2009.
This draft was presented in the Constituent Assembly two years ago where opposing class forces put forward opposing visions for a new Nepal. Because the Assembly and political process has been deadlocked — between antagonistic and opposing forces — this draft constitution never went further than debate.
At the time (2009) this draft was associated with Baburam Bhattarai, one of the Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) — a leader now leading one of the contending factions within that party.
Part of the current debate among the Maoists themselves, now two years later, is precisely over what kind of federal republic to fight for — with some forces insisted that the goal should be a peoples democratic federal republic (not merely a democratic federal republic).
As a result the vision included in this draft constitution has itself been controversial.
Download the Draft Constitution here as a PDF file.
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When this draft was first issued in 2009, Lal Salaam Canada wrote the following description.
Maoists unveil their proposed constitution for federal Nepal
Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who heads a committee formed by his party, Unified CPN (Maoist), for determining the party’s vision on democracy has unveiled the party’s draft proposal through his personal website.
The Maoists’ draft maintains liberal stance on fundamental rights of the people such as freedom of expression, right to form political parties, right to assembly, among others. The draft divided into 21 parts and 145 articles authorises the state governments to form paramilitary force or militia but the national army would be formed after integration between the People’s Liberation Army and Nepal Army.
This interview originally appeared in the Jan 16-31 issue of The Red Star.
Revolt means bringing millions of people to the street
United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is leaving Nepal. What will happen to peace process in the absence of UNMIN?
We are talking with other political parties to extend the tenure of UNMIN because the role of UNMIN has been clearly determined since peace process began, in the interim constitution, and other understandings and agreements that were reached among the political parties. The peace process is reaching its last stage. The extension of UNMIN is, therefore, necessary. We have written a letter to the United Nations requesting UNMIN’s continuity. However, the government and other parties have objected to it. We have also requested the UN to devise an alternative mechanism or system tofacilitate the peace process, if the UN does not take any decision to continue its mission in Nepal.
In this situation, a political office might be set up here, which, we think, could monitor the peace process. So far as I have understood, the UN is preparing in that way. The UN is in favour of establishing an office for monitoring peace process. There are, certainly, some questions raised on who would monitor in place of UNMIN and what may be the alternative mechanism and what will happen to the ongoing peace process. However, I do not think that the peace process will be derailed after January 15 because we are discussing the matter with the other political parties. Even the international situation is unlikely to accept any steps against the process. Although, if we observe the activities and the intention of the government, it becomes clear that they want to provoke the Maoist party, derail the peace process and push the nation into a long conflict. However, all of the political parties do not agree with the government and the entire situation does not seem so. Secondly, we are in a serious discussion with the other political parties on forming an alternative of UNMIN. I think it will be resolved through consensus before January 15. We want to appeal people not to be terrified by thinking that the peace process will break down and conflict will take its place. However, the situation is very sensitive. Harsh and complex situation may have to be faced if the aspirations of the peace agreement and the interimconstitution are not addressed. But, we are sure that there is no alternative to national consensus.
Nepal – People’s Liberation Army Says They Will Not Hand Over Arms
Kathmandu, 7 January: “We don’t hand over the arms to the caretaker government; the arms will be with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which is in the process of integration,” said PLA Chief Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Pasang’ talking with correspondent of The Red Star today.
Clarifying the issue of the arms that has been raised by the government to be the expression of breaching all the understandings and the agreements committed before. He added that the weapons are the weapons not stolen from anywhere or given by the government; rather the weapons are exchanged by the blood of the warriors who were/are fighting against the feudalism and comprador capitalism.
The caretaker government or one of the concerned actors of the peace process has no ethical right even to pronounce this word. No one concerned actor has its right to violate the procedures of ongoing peace process and push the nation into a long term violation.
In course of talk, Pasang added that he is not dissatisfied with the leaders of the party; we are talking for the exit from national complexities that are created objectively within the party and tough conspiracy in the nation by the elements, who want to derail the peace process.
Sita Dahal, Comrade Prachanda, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Hisila Yami pose for a photo before heading to the historic Chunwang Baithak in Rolpa. Photo by Dinesh Shrestha
Dinesh Shrestha is a photojournalist. But he is not a mainstream photographer like others. What he does, he claims, is “mission journalism.” And according to this mission journalism, people like him work for a specific purpose.
“We tell news as it happens; we are there on the ground and report as we see it. And we do this for a reason,” he admits and derides the idea of “desk journalism” which, according to the scribe, tends to “assume a lot of things and remains far from facts.”
An original of Gorkha, Shrestha was involved with “party activities” since his schooldays. By party, he meant the Maoists.
After fleeing from his village due to police operations during the initial years of “People’sWar”, he came to Kathmandu and started working as a journalist. After a year of working with the then leftist paper Janadisha, Shrestha was arrested in 2002, when Nepal had just seen an emergency.
This article originally appeared in Republica. We should remind readers that articles from the bourgeois press may not accurately reflect the positions of revolutionary parties.
Dahal speech reverts to state-capture mode
KATHMANDU, Jan 17: In his firebrand speech to junior party cadres, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the party´s immediate goal is to seize state power through a people´s revolt and establish “people´s federal republic” in the country.
The Maoist chairman put forward such views during a training session for party cadres at Bhrikuti Mandap in the capital, Monday.
“Our immediate policy is to launch a revolt to achieve the constitution of a people´s federal democratic republic in Nepal,” a party leader quoted Dahal as saying at the training which saw the participation of over 5,000 cadres of the Maoist Newa and Tamsaling states.
The Maoist chairman also stated that the party would revive the kangaroo courts and party´s parallel governments at local levels. “We will form ´front committees´ to organize, mobilize and serve their interests. These committees will fill the gap created after the dissolution of people´s courts and governments,” a party cadre quoted Dahal as saying.
AlJazeera English broadcast “Faultlines” interviews Indian author Arundhati Roy.
““The Gandhian ethos is a very frightening ethos in the forest; because the Gandhian ethos requires… performance that requires an audience, you know. And in the forest, there’s no audience… in a society that doesn’t belong to the rest of society. How do hungry people go on a hunger strike? How do people who don’t have any money not pay their taxes or do civil disobedience?”
This piece comes from IRIN, a humanitarian news service for NGO audiences. This documents the harsh and unjust lives experienced by millions of young girls in Nepal, as further evidence why revolutionary change is both greatly needed and justified.
Revolution in South Asia 