Nepal Maoists: Turn Factories into Barracks for Revolt

The following comes from the Himalayan Times. Though this information comes from the bourgeois press, it is with great interest that we examine this news and learn from this experience.

“Dahal said all the hotels and factories would be turned into barracks if the reactionary forces attempt to stop peace and constitution-drafting processes. He said his party would lead the revolt.”

“People had not believed when we were preparing for people’s war.” He said the dreams of the party and martyrs would not be realised unless the workers captured state power.”

Factories to turn into barracks, says Prachanda

Claims people’s revolt the only option left

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal today directed all workers to make final preparations for the people’s revolt, claiming no other options were left.

Nepal: Maoists Form Militant New Youth Wing

Revolutionary Youth in Nepal

This article comes from ekantipur.com. We cannot confirm its accuracy, and we urge our usual caution in reports from the bourgeois press. However, the political struggle within Nepal’ appears to be sharpening, and we will provide reports and news as quickly as we can.

“Those who try to obstruct the establishment of a people’s federal republican order will be banished to jungle.”

Party youth outfits: Maoists to form tougher youth wing

SINDHULI, FEB 24 -UCPN (Maoist) Secretary CP Gajurel on Thursday said his party was forming a new youth organisation, which would be more ‘dangerous’ than the existing Young Communist League (YCL).

“In the past, everybody was afraid of YCL but not anymore. So we are planning to constitute a new force,” he said at a function in Sindhuli.

Philippines: 25th Anniversary of the People Power Uprising

This originally appeared on the Philippine Revolution website. The article pays tribute to the People Power uprisings that took place in Quezon City in 1986, which was a series of tremendous mass actions aimed at removing the Marcos dictatorship.  EDSA refers to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, where over 2,000,000 people came out in opposition to the regime. There is much to learn from this experience as we watch the political events in the Middle East unfold.

On the 25th anniversary of the EDSA people power uprising

Communist Party of the Philippines
February 25, 2011

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) joins the Filipino people in marking the 25th anniversary of the EDSA people power uprising. For four days, millions of Filipinos staged demonstrations along a stretch of EDSA and other major thoroughfares in the National Capital Region (NCR) as well as in almost all other major cities and towns across the country. These demonstrations ultimately culminated in the overthrow of the 20-year reign of the US-Marcos dictatorship.

100,000 Workers March Against Indian Goverment

Thanks to Red Ant Liberation Army blog for sharing this.

At least 100,000 trade unionists marched through the Indian capital on Wednesday in a protest against high food prices and unemployment, piling pressure on an administration under fire over corruption scandals.

People from various trade unions attend a rally to protest against high food prices, unemployment and corruption, near the Indian Parliament, in New Delhi, India, Feb. 23, 2011

Thousands of trade unionists march against India’s embattled government

By Krittivas Mukherjee

People from various trade unions attend a rally to protest against high food prices, unemployment and corruption, near the Indian Parliament, in New Delhi, India, Feb. 23, 2011.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – At least 100,000 trade unionists marched through the Indian capital on Wednesday in a protest against high food prices and unemployment, piling pressure on an administration under fire over corruption scandals.

The demonstration was the biggest in New Delhi in years and included members of a trade union linked to the ruling Congress party, reflecting disquiet within the party over food inflation which hit a high of over 18 percent last December.

It was also the latest in a wave of protests that have swept the world, ignited by a worldwide spike in food prices. But unlike the protests that have toppled autocratic leaders, there have been no calls to overthrow India’s democratic government.

Philippine Peace Talks Open in Norway

Thanks to Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle for pointing this out. As the article explains peace talks have been on the table in the Philippines for over 25 years. However, these talks in particular come after the arrest of Allan Jazmines, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Long-awaited Philippine peace talks open in Norway

A ceasefire between government troops and the CPP is in effect for the week-long closed-door talks Peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels have resumed in Norway, more than six years after the last round broke down.

The negotiations near Oslo are aimed at ending the 42-year insurgency, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Nepal: Maoist Leader Prachanda Calls for Strong National Security Force

Below is a recent speech by Nepalese Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda.

In this speech he details the monitoring of the PLA by the Special Committee (SC) which is a temporary body to oversee the integration of the two armies.

He praises the PLA for their discipline, and warns that “hurdles” remain ahead. This originally appeared in the Red Star, Feb 1-15, 2011 edition, available as a PDF here.

“Until the integration and rehabilitation concludes as per the provision of the CPA and interim constitution, the situation of one state two armies will continue as a matter of fact.

“We had written to the United Nations a five-point joint letter appealing for help by sending a peace mission. However, a situation was created due to which the UNMIN went back a few days ago before it performed the task for which it was called for.”

We want to build a strong national security force

The country is going through a serious political bend at present. Nepali people had taken part actively in the 10-year long great People’s War and 19-day historical united people’s movement with belief and aspiration of building new Nepal through radical transformation. As a result of struggle and sacrifice of the people, Republic has been established eliminating monarchy that had been ruling Nepal for 240 years. On this occasion, I pay heartfelt tribute to the great martyrs who sacrificed themselves and express my hearty respect to the disappeared fighters, injured and disabled.

Guarav: How Nepal’s Maoists Conduct 2-Line Struggle

CP Gajurel 'Gaurav' is Secretary of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

“Learning from the experience of two-line struggle in our party, we have upgraded the methods to handle it…

“Several questions related to the communist movement  can be debated openly; for example, the question of the nature and characteristics of imperialism in the 21st century. It is a purely theoretical question. So, this debate can be carried out openly.

“Secondly, a meeting of the like-minded leaders, and the comrades , is quite natural. Moreover, the leaders of equal  level can also hold informal meeting with regard to two-line struggle. This is a new development.  Previously, it was not accepted because it was thought to be party-splitting activity.

“Let me add one thing here. The differences within the party, which do not correspond to the opinion of the majority, should be, as decided, discussed within the party through the inner- party magazine  Bichardhara.”

This article is from Red Star Vol. 4,  No-3,  Feb 1-15, 2011 which is available as a PDF file here.

Peace Process, Internal Affair of our Country

CP Gajurel ‘Guarav’ is Secretary of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the single largest party in Nepal. Despite the fact that it is the largest party, a champion of national agenda at present and a party to the overall peace process, the other parties are against supporting it to lead the new government.

Nepal: Maoists Comment on Mubarak’s Fall

Supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) dance to a patriotic song as they block a road in Katmandu.

This brief statement by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) comes from krishnasenonline.org.

Mubarak steps down: bourgeois enters in army gown

Kathmandu, February 16: The historic efforts of thousands of justice loving Egyptian people have over-turned the arbitrary rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak has resigned from the post. Eighteen-day movement of the people is going to be concluded with an unprecedented change in the country; however, the hold in the revolution is of bourgeoisie who are hatching conspiracies to hold the land under their dictatorship.

The people are not ready to vacate the Tahirr square because of untrust on the process in handover the power to the people. Army has been deployed in place of forming the government of the people who are demanding drastic changes in state power and its social, economic and the cultural sectors including political one.

Nepal Maoist Workers Go on Strike

Photo of Maoists on Strike in May 2010

This report comes MyRepublica, and documents the struggle of the Maoists in the Kaski district, for among other things better wages. This however should been seen in the larger context for the demand for revolution and liberation. We will continue to post news from this struggle as it develops.

Pro-Maoist workers shut industries in Kaski

POKHARA, Feb 15: Workers affiliated to UCPN (Maoist) on Tuesday launched an indefinite strike, forcing industries of Kaski district to shut down their operations.

The agitating All Nepal Industrial Worker Association (ANIWA) said it launched the strike because the promoters of the industries continued to ignore their calls to double wage and salary.

“It is difficult to survive with the salary we are receiving currently,” said Bhoj Raj Khatri, chairman of ANIWA. “We will not withdraw our strike unless the management fulfills our demand to double salary.”

U.S. Backs the Hated Nepal Police

During the long years of guerrilla warfare starting in the 1990s, it was the paramilitary Nepal Police who were often the most direct and brutal opponents of the revolution. This force was implicated in murder and rape. They hunted down political activists to kill and torture them. And they punished villages associated with the revolution. It was the police who were posted out in rural areas and conducted many assaults on the people. And it was this police force who was the target of the revolutionary movement — and was driven out of one provincial town after another. Now they form a bastion of the old power structure in the capital of Nepal.

Here is news that the U.S. government is financing a new Police Command Center in the capital of Nepal and promising ongoing support for this armed group.

We ask our readers to consider what this means: What is the U.S. wanting to strengthen within Nepal? What role will this new Center play in the sharp political struggles ahead? By what right does this foreign power intervene in Nepal to prop up such hated and discredited institutions? What should people in the U.S. do to expose and oppose such actions by the U.S. government — in a country with a rare and ongoing popular revolution?

Help us expose and oppose U.S. counterinsurgency against the revolution in Nepal.

New York Action: Free Binayak Sen! Stop Operation Green Hunt!

Free Binayak Sen Action in New York City.

This comes from the Free Binayak Sen Campaign website.This action represented the beginnings of opposition to the Indian government attacks on Maoist revolutionary forces and the tribal people called Adivasis.

12 February 2011, New York City

Members of the Committee for a New South Asia in New York leafleted at a speech, on India-China relations, given by the Foreign Secretary of India, Ms. Nirupama Rao. The event was sponsored by the India China Institute at New School University. One side of the leaflet asked and discussed the question, “Why is Dr. Binayak Sen being persecuted by the Indian state?” The other side it asked, “Why are the Adivasis being attacked through Operation Green Hunt?”

Several people with leaflets were assigned outside the building and right outside the room where Ms. Rao was speaking. About 100 people attended the event. Some members from the Committee attended the event and approached Ms. Rao afterwards and personally handed her a copy of the leaflet.

Conference: Maoism and the State of the Indian Left

This is a map of the "Red Corridor" where the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) has predominant influence

This conference is being hosted by the South Asia Center at the University of Pennsylvania.  The text below comes from their Facebook page. The event listing can be found here.

Maoism and the State of the Indian Left

Issues surrounding the CPI (Maoist) have acquired an important place in the political debates on contemporary India. By estimates of the Government of India, the Maoists have their presence in about 220 of 626 districts of the country. While the ruling dispensation, including most mainstream political parties, paint the Maoists, to use the famous expression of the current Prime Minister, as “the gravest threat to internal security”, the Maoists claim that they are fighting for the marginalized, poor and tribal populations.

Maoist presence is mainly concentrated in the forested regions of central-east India. The militarized Maoist movement – which does not contest elections unlike the mainstream Communist parties in India – and its predecessor, the Naxalite movement of the 1970s, claim to have given voice to the social, economic and political aspirations of the rural poor through their revolutionary opposition to the Indian state. Those sympathetic to the Maoists claim that Maoists have been successful in developing their movement in India in the era of economic liberalization, in contrast to the fate of the parliamentary Left in India, most notably the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which are increasingly faced with electoral decline in areas where they were once dominant. The parliamentary Left on the other hand, is critical of the Maoists. They consider them to be dogmatic and term their militarized strategy and tactics to be erroneous in the Indian context, which has high human costs and has no chance of success.

Philippines: Maoists Praised for Aiding Flood Victims

Thanks to Red Ant Liberation Army blog for sharing.

Philippine NPA Fighters

Maoist guerrillas praised for aiding calamity victims

MANILA, Philippines- The fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Saturday welcomed the decision of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for directing members of the New People’s Army (NPA) to assist victims of mass flooding in Eastern Visayas and other calamity disaster areas in Caraga and Bicol regions due to non-stop rain since the Christmas holidays last year.

Nepal: Maoist offer to Opposition Party Rejected

This article originally appeared in Republica. As always, we remind our readers that articles in the bourgeois press may not accurately report facts and events.

The CP-UML's Khanal

UML Standing Committee Says Deal Erroneous

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: The Standing Committee (SC) meeting of the ruling CPN-UML has termed the secret seven-point deal reached between Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal an erroneous move.

The SC decision came hours after the prime minister and Maoist Chairman Dahal confirmed that they had reached the secret deal and vowed to move ahead in accordance with its spirit.

While Khanal and party leaders close to him have been defending the accord, Madhav Kumar Nepal, KP Sharma Oli and other leaders close to them have objected to it vehemently.

“The five-hour meeting concluded that the agreement was a mistake in terms of policy, procedure and system,” said a party leader from the Nepal-Oli camp.

The leader claimed that at the meeting the prime minister undertook self-criticism for signing the agreement.

Nepal: Love Marriages and Revolution

This article is from myrepublica.

This article follows an earlier article on the horrendous sale of women for sex trafficking in South Asia.

In contrast to this are the increasing love marriages in Nepal among the Maoists.   The love marriages – in contrast to the arranged marriages of feudal Nepal – are one example of the revolutionary changes in the New Nepal.

This article shows a glimpse how these love marriages are struggled for in the Maoist cantonments.

Maoist Combatants Finding Life-Partners Inside Cantonments

Amar Khadka

Itahari, Jan. 30: An increasing number of Maoist combatants are finding a life-partner inside the cantonments, though some are finding it hard to convince their parents to accept their spouses.

Ramesh Limbu, company deputy-commander of First Division Headquarters at Chulachuli, Ilam, is one of the unfortunate husbands struggling to make their parents accept their daughter-in-law.

Limbu, 26, who is from Tungupa, Panchthar, married Sushila Khawas.  But his parents have refused to accept Khawas as daughter-in-law.  “We fell in love during the insurgency,” Limbu said.