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The sending of a
letter by the American President G. Bush on September 2 to the Nepalese
Prime-minister Sher Bahadur Deuba congratulating him for fighting against
terrorism on the occasion of the first anniversary of the 11 September bombing
of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre signifies how far-reaching military
actions under the leadership of CPN (Maoist) has become! It should be noted that
just three days before the much hyped September 11 annual celebration in America
was to be celebrated, in Nepal, a biggest casualty was inflicted to the
reactionary government within the span of 24 hours leading to the death of more
than 100 armed personnel and more than 75 armed personnel injured in the Eastern
and Western part of Nepal.
The masterstroke
military strike on Sandhikharka, the district headquarter of Arghakhanchi (which
is barely 350km away from Katmandu) has left 66 security personnel dead and
nearly three dozen injured. In this attack an army barrack, district head
quarters, district police office, residence of chief district office were
completely destroyed. The PLA also raided the branch office of the state owned
Rastriya Banijya Bank, seizing cash and movable assets worth Rs. 92 million
Nepalese currency. They managed to lay hands on a huge cache of arms and
ammunition consisting of SLR, GPM. LMG, SMG, two-inch mortar and hand grenades.
According to the estimates of the government, the total value of government
property destroyed in Sandhikharka amounted to Rs. 580 million. It should be
noted that a night vision helicopter was sent but was forced to retreat due to
heavy fighting; similarly two other military helicopters were inflicted with
gunshots thus forcing them to a hasty retreat. This is the nearest daring attack
on a district head quarter from Kathmandu indicating that the PLA is slowly
closing near Kathmandu, the seat of fascist fratricidal, regicidal Gyanendra.
What makes this military strike important and memorable is that it was done to
Commemorate the martyrdom of Comrade Suresh Vagle, an alternative Polit-Bureau
Member of CPN (Maoist) who was killed by the reactionary forces. It should be
noted that the military strike on Sandhikharka was preceded by another equally
successful military strike in Bhiman police post within 24 hours. Bhiman is
situated about 19 km from Sindhuli district headquarter in the Eastern region of
Nepal, which left 49 armed personnel dead and more than three dozens injured.
This is the biggest successful military strike inflicting heavy loss to the
government in the eastern region so far. The additional armed force sent to
reinforce the loosing battle in Bhiman got ambushed on the way killing one
military man dead and two injured. The attack on Bhiman has a symbolic value for
the revolutionary communists, as it is the place where Com. Azad was martyred by
the reactionary government. He was the first one to raise the banner of revolt
against the then Fourth Congress for not carrying People’s war.
The clamping of
emergency on November 26th, 2001 for the facilitation of military mobilization
has made almost no difference to the fighting ability of the PLA and the spread
of PW throughout Nepal. If at all it has made a difference then it is in the
scale of the daily quota of killings, which is on an average of 5-7 per day. It
is no secret that the RNA is mostly confined to the district headquarters, urban
centers and roadsides, while the PLA controls the rest of the countryside. Hence
most the victims killed in so called "encounters" are innocent masses and
political prisoners in custody.
There has not been
any single military offensive launched by the RNA so far, on the other hand
every military offensive launched by the PLA has resulted in resounding
successes, the loss being very minimal. Hence this indicates that they are still
in a defensive stage. Take the case of the military strike on the security
forces in Mangalsen, the district headquarter of Accham, 600 kms northwest of
the capital on February 3, 2002, resulting in the killing of 48 armed policemen
and 46 military men. Many were left injured. In the attack, the chief district
officer and the, National Investigation Department Director and his wife were
also killed. Ten government offices including the district police headquarter
were burnt the PLA was able to secure SLRs, LMGs, three rocket launchers, six
rockets, grenades and bullets. The PLA was also successful in destroying a
neighbouring airport at Saphe Bazar. This attack took place less than three
months after the of slapping of emergency and military mobilization. It should
be noted that the enemy had boasted of crushing the movement within a few weeks
of the royal army mobilisation.
What is even more
embarrassing for the enemy was the attack on a police post in Lamahi and on the
army base camp in Satbaria, both falling in Dang district, in April 11,2001.
This has made a mockery of their claim that they had learnt lessons from the
military attack on their well-fortified barrack and arms depot on Ghorahi, the
headquarter of Dang district in November 3, 2001 which resulted in the
promulgation of emergency and army mobilization. The attack on both the places
resulted in the killing of 34 armed personnel with hundreds injured. The PLA
managed to raid the Rastriya Banijya Bank, destroying the sub-station of the
Nepal Electricity Authority in Lamahi. The arms and ammunition captured
consisted of ninety SLRs, three LMGs, three SMOs, fifty nine 303 rifles, seven
Magnums, 17 pistols and revolvers, eight shot guns and forty eight hand grenades
from both the places.
The much hyped attack
on a Maoist training camp in Lisne in Rolpa by the RNA was found to be a big
hoax. The government was claiming that they managed to encircle and kill 350
"terrorists". However, the truth is that the PLA in Lisne camp got wind of the
approaching RNA, lured them to deeper areas and was instead encircled and
attacked resulting in an embarrassing withdrawal by the RNA with only their
under-garments covering them. In fact what the RNA did not know was that in the
same month another attack was waiting to take place in the same district, Rolpa,
but in another spot. The successful attack on the base camp of the army in Gam
in Rolpa took place in April 7, 2001. It should be noted that the army base camp
in Gam had been fortified and designed according to the advanced design by
American military advisers. The attack left 24 military personnel dead. At the
time of attack, some American military personnel were present, but they managed
to save their skin by retreating hastily. The arms and ammunition captured was
next to the amount captured in the first historic attack on Ghorai army barrack
in Dang in November23, 2001.
Between the clamping
of emergency in November 23, 2001 and up till today, innumerable smaller
military actions in almost all parts of Nepal have been taking place. There has
been an increased number of ambushes, attacks on innumerable telephone
exchanges, nearly 40 repeater stations, hundreds of village development offices
and power plants. Similarly capturing and selective annihilation of arch enemies
of the revolution, together with blasting of properties and houses of selective
fascists and government personnel and inspectors have been carried out. Also
there has been heightened surprise attacks on urban areas, specially in
Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. In March 2002, Gorkhapatra Corporation, a
state run national newspaper office was bombed in the capital city. Around the
same time a posh private run college building belonging to Mohan Bahadur Pandey,
a press secretary at the royal palace was bombed too. A special task force (STF)
even dared to attack the army installation in the capital causing damage to the
historic "silkhana" which stores antiquated arms and ammunition of the RNA, in
March, 2002. Right at the heart of the capital, the then ruling Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba’s central headquarter was bombed. Another notable attack was
the bomb attack on Tej and Karan Enterprises premise in Kathmandu on August
25,2002. New cars, buses numbering 22 were destroyed. The enterprise belongs to
an Indian businessman, which created quite a furor in India. In Chitwan, a
Coca-cola factory of Bottler’s Nepal was blasted in April, 2001. Similarly there
have been numerable attacks on helicopters, the latest one being setting ablaze
a privately run Karnali Air Ways helicopter in Juba in Solukhumbu district. It
should be noted that last November the PLA was successful in destroying Phaplu
airport tower in the same district. All these have inflicted heavy economic
losses on the government. Innumerable bomb hoaxes, bombing of different
municipality offices in the urban areas, are too many to mention.
The increasing number
of statements issued by the office of the American Embassy in Nepal to find a
viable solution to insurgent problems in Nepal, together with increasing visits
by foreign ministers, secretary of states of the USA and UK, European nations
and reciprocal shuttle visits by the Nepalese Prime minister in these states for
arms and ammunitions, together with the visits of armed advisers from different
countries on some pretext or the other all shows, how internationalized Nepal’s
PW has become. The illegal extradition of alternative central committee member
Bamdev Chhetri and four other Nepalese journalists and several Nepalese citizens
from India, and the stationing of foreign military personnel in Nepal on some
pretext or the other, all these show the measure of nervousness of the ruling
classes of the world by the fast development of PW in Nepal.
Meanwhile another
reverberatory military strike has taken place in Khlanga, the regional
headquarter of Karnali region in Jumla district in western Nepal and in Takukot
of Gorkha district in the midwestern region in November 2002. These successful
military strikes has important historic significance as they represent the first
military attack after the royal coup.
On November 14, just
after the conclusion of a historic three days bandh called by the CPN (Maoist)
and organised by the URPC, hundreds of PLA forces attacked on security bases
consisting of an army barrack, armed police base, regional police unit and
district police office from all sides in Khalanga, resulting in the killing of
33 police men, 4 army men, including the chief district officer and two
sub-inspector policemen. The PLA force set ablaze the district administrative
office, district police office, land revenue office, Jumla Airport tower, and a
barrack of the armed police force and regional police unit. The PLA force also
seized Rs. 2.1 million in cash and valuables worth 1.7 million from the bank
before setting it ablaze. They captured innumerable arms and ammunition in the
whole raid. They also managed to break the district jail. It should be noted
that this is the first time that the PLA is able to attack and capture a
regional headquarter. In the past the PLA has been successful in attacking
and capturing district headquarters such as in Dunai of Dolpa, Shyangja of Shyangja, Salleri
of Solukhumbu, Ghorai of Dang, Mangalsen of Accham and Sandhikharka of
Arghakhanchhi district.
Similarly the same
day the PLA forces attacked on a police post in Takukot in Gorkha district, the
ancient seat of the present king, killing 24 policemen and injuring many more.
The PLA force managed to seize 37 rifles. It should be noted that this
successful attack took place despite the presence of a heavy concentrated armed
force in this district. On December 4, a successful attack took place on Lahan
in the Eastern region targetting an Area Police Office and the local Bank.
In the present
Central Committee meeting the CPN (Maoist) has affirmed to enter the phase of
preparation for the strategic offensive from its previous position of strategic
equilibrium. This decision by itself speaks volumes that people’s power can not
be matched by any amount of arms and ammunitions. For no missile can deter the
hunger missile when it is fired by the power of MLM ideology!
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