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Nepal
The
People's War Is Sinking Roots
From the time the first cries of the People̓s
War were heard on 13 February 1996, the face of Nepal has been changing.
The downtrodden of the Himalayas are rising up, arms in hand, marching
along the tortuous path of revolution to overthrow imperialism,
feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, determined to turn Nepal into
a red base for the world revolution.
With the initiation of the war,
the sharp class struggle that has been rocking Nepal for some time
has taken a qualitative leap in both intensity and scope.
In semi-feudal semi-colonial countries
the poor peasants are the main force of the new democratic revolution.
And in Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, the rural
poor live in particularly appalling conditions. Unleashed by the
People̓s War, this most oppressed section has stepped to the
forefront of the struggle. Along with the proletariat and, led by
a genuine MLM party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [CPN(M)],
the masses of Nepal are learning the laws of war through waging
war. The pace and quality of events during the last two years have
brought valuable lessons not only to the oppressed of Nepal and
their vanguard, but for the oppressed all over the world.
Developing the People̓s War
The two weeks of concentrated and simultaneous
activity that marked the initiation of the People̓s War and
the ensuing actions in the next couple of months effectively established
the politics of armed struggle and prepared the basis for guerrilla
war. After the successful accomplishment of this first phase, in
which new forms of organization also started to take shape, the
Party launched the second phase of the war. The CPN(M) adheres to
the Maoist understanding that in a people̓s war the main form
of the organization of the masses is the revolutionary army and
the main form of struggle is armed struggle. The basic objective
of the Second Plan was “to develop guerrilla warfare in a
planned manner so as to prepare grounds to convert specific areas
into Guerrilla Zones in the near future. For this, the emphasis
would be on creating radicalized (or militarized) mass bases in
specific areas and upgrading and expanding the fighting capability
of the armed detachments. Accordingly, broad categorization and
identification of Principal Zones, Secondary Zones and Propaganda
Zones was made....” [“One Year of People̓s War
in Nepal”, The Worker, Organ of the CPN(Maoist), No.
3, February 1997] The Second Plan that started to unfold in October
̓96 incorporated different forms of action and activities.
An
important part of the Second Plan has been guerrilla raids against
enemy armed forces. The proletariat and the people can only seize
power by destroying the enemy̓s rule which is enforced through
its army. In countries dominated by imperialism, the people̓s
army can destroy the enemy̓s rule at first in parts of the
countryside, win bae areas and establish political power as the
key to unleashing the masses and developing strength in preparation
for seizing nationwide power in keeping with the strategy of surrounding
the cities from the countryside. This is an uneven and protracted
war, where the forces of the enemy have all the means of the state
at their disposal and are armed to the teeth. But the army of revolution
is armed with great courage and sacrifice stemming from a materialist
understanding of the course of history, and it relies on the boundless
initiative of the masses to overcome any obstacle. Most of the CPN(M)-led
military actions so far have been carried out with home-made guns
and bombs, khukhuris (traditional Nepali curved knives),
work tools and sometimes even bare hands. But the revolutionaries
also apply a policy of acquiring more modern weaponry. In late ̓96
and early ̓97, there were several attacks against police outposts,
including in Lung in Pyuthan, Tribeni in Dolpa (both in the Western
hills) and in Bethan.
Among
these the Party has singled out the Bethan raid as the most successful
and the best example so far in this newly budding war of a daring
military exploit and supreme sacrifice. Bethan is a backward region
in Ramechhap, in the Eastern hills of Nepal. In the dark of the
night of 3 January 1997, a squad consisting of 29 guerrillas led
by Comrade Tirtha Gautam held their lives in their hands and dared
to attack a police outpost equipped with modern weaponry. Our comrades
were armed only with home-made bombs and guns, but were filled with
revolutionary enthusiasm and convinced that in a revolutionary war
it is people not weapons that are decisive. After a pitched battle
that lasted for several hours, they succeeded in overpowering the
enemy. Two policemen were killed and two others seriously injured,
and the guerrillas seized four rifles and hundreds of rounds of
ammunition. Comrade Gautam and two other fighters (including a woman)
lost their lives as their blood flowed to water the soil of revolution.
Another
form of action is what the Party calls acts of sabotage. These include
attacks (for example in Kabre and Baglun) against such targets as
the Agricultural Development Banks which are a pillar of comprador
and feudal domination in the countryside. During these attacks loan
papers are often burned. Premises of NGOs and INGOs (International
Non-Governmental Organizations) that play a role in perpetuating
poverty in the countryside as well as premises of comprador capitalists
have also been raided, and on some occasions weapons and grain have
been seized. Such actions as burning the loan papers, apart from
actually destroying the records of unjust and back-breaking loans,
point towards the new class relations the Party is fighting for.
One
form of military action has been the selective annihilation of local
tyrants and other elements hated by the masses, among whom are informers
as well as police officers responsible for the arrests and killings
of comrades. For generations, the heavy burden of the caste system,
feudal oppression and tradition have weighed heavily on the backs
of the people. Now the time has come for the masses to have their
say and throw their wrath upon those who personify and enforce these
oppressive relations.
The
revolutionaries also regularly organize armed propaganda in the
form of torch processions and corner meetings (these are meetings
held in neighbourhoods that disperse when the authorities come and
then gather again in a different spot). In the course of all these
actions the fighters always explain their politics to the masses,
expose the enemy and call on people to join and help the revolution.
The CPN(M) has several publications that appear regularly, but the
distribution of leaflets, graffiti, posters and shouting slogans
are other methods the Party uses to train the masses in revolutionary
politics.
In
coordination with military actions, the Second Plan also integrated
political, economic, social and cultural activities. These were
organized to further educate the masses on the aims of the People̓s
War. They also serve to mobilize a wider range of people, including
from those sections of the population who, even though not the most
oppressd, can be won over in a united front against imperialism
and feudalism. One key arena of these united front activities has
been the cities.
In
this context the Kathmandu Valley Bandh (general strike) and Nepal
Bandh, 21 August and 12 December 1996 respectively, were carried
out under the banner of the National Mass Movement Coordination
Committee (NMMCC), a pro-people organization.
The
Nepal Bandh was called in protest against the Mahakali Treaty, border
encroachment, corruption, murder and suppression, according to a
press release by the NMMCC. With nearly 2.27 per cent of the world̓s
water resources, Nepal is one of the richest countries in water
resources in the world and has a capacity to produce electricity
equivalent to that of Mexico, the USA and Canada combined, yet 40
per cent of the rural population still lack regular supplies of
potable water. To the extent this capacity is tapped, it has been
through unequal treaties for the benefit of India, which plays the
role of the big regional power. In the particular case of the Mahakali
Integrated Development Project, Nepal has taken up a project which
will cost it a foreign debt of Rs 250 billion (the equivalent of
five years of the annual budget), but according to the agreement
the electricity generated will be sold to India at give-away prices
for years to come. The theft of Nepal̓s resources by India
is one feature of a long-standing unequal relationship, which all
the Nepalese ruling parties have given their stamp of approval.
This has created a strong sense of nationalism and anti-Indian/anti-imperialist
feeling among the masses, as well as sections of the national bourgeoisie.
During
the Bandh, transport, educational institutions, factories and markets
of major cities were closed. Hundreds of vehicles were burned by
petrol bombs and thousands of people demonstrated in the streets
of the Kathmandu Valley. Major cities including Kathmandu, Bhaktpur,
Patan, Hetauda, Pokhara, Biratnagar and Nepalganj saw torch-light
processions attended by thousands. Three hundred thousand leaflets
were distributed all over the country during the Bandh.
The
Celebration of the first anniversary of the People̓s War was
part of the Second Plan. In a burst of activity on this day the
Party and the people reaffirmed their determination to continue
on the path they have chosen. [See Celebrations of the First Anniversary
of the People̓s War, p. 58.]
The State Responds
In response to the People̓s War, the state has unleashed frenzied
terror on the masses. In areas where support for revolution is widespread,
the police attack and arrest all the young men. As a result, young
men have been forced to go into hiding in the nearby mountains and
the women have taken over their part of production. A team of human
rights activists who visited the village of Kot Gaon in Rolpa during
a tour of Western Nepal reported, “When the team arrived at
the village it looked quiet and almost desolate. It was found that
there were 20 police personnel at the police post located at Madichaur,
10 of them riot police.... The reason why the village looked so
desolate was that most of the family members of the village had
been to the rice field to work and many of the young boys and men
had been compelled to go into hiding due to police terror.”
[Human Rights Bulletin, Vol. 8, No. 18, May 1996, published by Forum
for Protection of Human Rights, Nepal] Other reports indicate that
when attacking villages in the search for activists, the police
shoot unarmed people, and when the person they are looking for is
not found, they arrest, torture, rape and sometimes kill their family
members. The above-mentioned human rights team also reported that
the drunken polic forces looted the local inhabitants̓ chickens
and goats. Amnesty International̓s March ̓97 report also
condemns “the torture and deliberate killing of prisoners
or other defenseless individuals” by the state. According
to this report, as of November 1996, 1358 people had been arrested
and although many were released about 600 remained in detention
awaiting trial. Among them are many members of the Magar tribal
community and members of lower Hindu castes. As early as March 1997,
more than 70 people had been killed in the hands of the enemy.
One
atrocious example of state terrorism is the killings in Mirul, a
small village in Rolpa inhabited by poor peasants of the Kham Magar
oppressed nationality, and a stronghold of the CPN(M). On 17 November
1996 the armed police forces and goons from neighbouring areas descended
on Mirul, ransacked the peasants̓ houses and took almost the
whole adult population into custody. After interrogation and threats,
they released most, but five people were taken to nearby jungle
and shot dead. Among these were a 70-year-old and a 65-year-old.
The body of a young revolutionary woman was set on fire while she
was still alive. In the coming weeks the oppression and killing
continued. But emboldened by the ongoing People̓s War the people
of Mirul did not submit quietly. They took it upon themselves to
eliminate the enemy agents in the village and virtually seized the
local power in their own hands, and in doing so they set a bright
example for other villages.
Election Boycott
Nepal was ruled for a long time through
a partyless Panchayat system of monarchy, but shifted to a constitutional
monarchy in the wake of a massive uprising in 1990. The constitutional
monarchy, which was established to spread the seeds of reformism
and parliamentary illusions among different strata, far from bringing
about any real changes continued to serve the semi-colonial, semi-feudal
social formation in Nepal. In early 1997 the government began preparing
for local elections to be held on 17 May. These are held at the
village level, through Village Development Committees (VDCs) and
District Development Committees (DDCs) as well as municipalities,
to form the local government.
The
elections provide legitimacy to the feudal and comprador forces
and are used by the reactionaries to maintain their rule. With this
understanding, the CPN(M) called on people to boycott the elections
and thus to reject the old regime while at the same time to fight
to build the basis for a new state through the People̓s War.
The
Party̓s call for boycott was accompanied by a campaign of agitation
and propaganda, using posters, leaflets and door-to-door visits
to expose the election farce and to call on people to take up the
revolutionary struggle instead. Rallies were also organized in major
cities, even though pro-Maoist rallies were banned. The processions
that were held in support of the boycott policy were attacked by
the police and many were arrested.
In
response to the Party̓s call, hundreds of thousands of people
decided not to vote, and in about 40 VDCs nobody even filed for
nominations. Soon after, in other VDCs where partial lists had been
presented, the nominees pulled out. By the time of the vote 75 VDCs
(out of about 4000) did not even have candidates for the election.
(This was mainly in Rolpa, Jajarkot, Rukum, Salyan, Gorkha, Baglun
and Lamjun as well as Humla, Jumla, Bjura and Dolpa — areas
where Party influence is relatively strong.) The elections for these
areas were postponed to an undecided date.
The
overwhelming positive response to the CPN(M)̓s call for a boycott
came as a shock to the ruling classes, who were accusing each other
of incopetence in dealing with the war. For weeks, Nepali papers
carried front page articles voicing the need for the regime to bring
in new rules and regulations to defeat the People̓s War. Forces
from within the state were criticizing the government for “soft
peddling over such grave issues”, and this at the same time
that police forces were on a rampage in the countryside, arresting,
raping and killing villagers on suspicion of Maoism. There were
requests for members of the ruling parties to be armed at the grassroots
level and to join in with the armed forces in fighting the Maoists.
A Kathmandu Post editorial in May said, “If the government
does not act now, people in the affected areas will lose faith not
only in the Government̓s ability but also in the democratic
process itself [sic]. Then there is also the very strong possibility
that the ideological fires of class struggle the Maoists are fanning
will spread to other parts.”
During
the elections the state introduced a security plan involving 20,000
policemen who were mainly concentrated in areas most affected by
the People̓s War. The police staged regular raids to intimidate
the masses and curb the boycott campaign of the Party. Three types
of reserve forces were brought in to strengthen the police, and
in addition there were plans for a quick reaction army team to be
deployed in every constituency.
So
far, the reactionary state has relied mainly on the police (who
are not the best trained and equipped forces at the enemy̓s
disposal) to suppress the revolution, but as the flames of the war
spread, the state is concocting new schemes to drown the revolution
in blood. Soon after the elections the government started reviewing
a new “anti-terrorist” bill (Terrorism and Disruptive
Crime [Prevention and Punishment] Bill) which will grant sweeping
powers to the police and the administration. This has given rise
to outrage among people of all walks of life in Nepal, and the Party
has launched a political offensive against the bill. Under the leadership
of the NMMCC, 9 political parties and fronts launched a series of
Nepal Bandhs, the first on 29 August 1997, and several more were
to follow. Tens of thousands of people, from human rights activists
and lawyers to writers and artists, have been mobilized, and a broad
united front has been established.
It
should be mentioned that the United Nepal Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)
(UML), a revisionist grouping who in summer ̓97 was playing
a major role in the government, has been pushing for this “anti-terrorist”
bill through one of its leaders, the deputy prime minister Gautam.
He was quoted in the Kathmandu Post in August ̓97 as
saying “they [CPN(M)] are terrorists and need to be dealt
with sternly by enacting a strong anti-terrorism law.” In
response to some inside his party who have raised questions about
the need for this bill, he said, “Those who argue that tough
laws are not needed can be accused of promoting terrorism.”
The revisionist monarchists of UML sound more and more like Peru̓s
Fujimori.
At
the same time, the government has been reinforcing its military
presence by setting up military camps at Rolpa, Rukum, Jajarkot
and Dang. Two army battalions have been sent to Western Nepal and
are preparing a suppression campaign. When in Peru, in 1984 the
army entered to replace the police in fighting the PCP, our comrades
and the masses faced unspeakable cruelty and genocide and according
to the PCP comrades themselves, it was a time of unprecedented difficulty
for the People̓s War. The introduction of the better armed
and trained army to the battlefield in Nepal would pose new dangers
and challenges to the revolution.
The People̓s War advances
In
May, the Party announced that the Second Plan was coming to a conclusion
and the Party was preparing the initial stage of the third phase.
The Party̓s assessment was that during the first stages of
the People̓s War (First and Second Plans) the fighting ability
of the Party had grown and the Party was developing a professional
guerrilla force. The Third Plan started from 17 August under the
slogan “Develop Guerrilla War to the Next Higher Stage”.
One of the aims of this third stage is to expand the areas of influence,
especially to the Terai region. (This is the rice-growing southern
plains where Nepal borders India; it is the most populated part
of the country, with many inhabitants of Indian origin.) The mobilization
against the proposed “anti-terrorist” act is also part
of the Third Plan.
The
activities of the guerrillas are mainly concentrated on the historic
strongholds of the Party, mostly the mid-Western hills and some
parts of the Eastern hills. Having consolidated some of its base
and in response to the enthusiasm expressed by the masses in other
areas to join the People̓s War, the Party is set to expand
to new areas. One example is given in a report printed in the pro-people
Janadesh Weekly, July ̓97, from Dang, in Rapti zone,
an area of extreme polarization where Maoist activity is spreading
gradually. This was an area of peasant uprisings in the ̓60s
where the movement was defeated because of a wrong line. This area
is inhabited by people of the Tharu nationality who are exploited
by one big landlord (who is also a leading person in the Nepal Congress
Party). Guerrillas took over the local market where they made speeches
telling people about the People̓s War and Maoism, called on
them to support the revolution and asked for donations from villagers.
Many people, including small shopkeepers, donated willingly. During
this action the guerrillas also set the landlord̓s house on
fire (landlords typically live in the capital so he wasn̓t
there). Stung by this, the reactionaries retaliated by harassing
the masses for their support for the guerrillas.
Twists and Turns
Nepalese
society is marked by the contradiction between a handful of ruling
feudal and comprador bureaucratic capitalist classes and the overwhelming
majority of the oppressed masses. This contradiction is getting
more acute and polarization is intensifying. The crisis gripping
the Nepalese regime has been sharpened by the upsurge of the masses
since 1990. There have been five different governments in the last
seven years since the restoration of the multi-party parliamentary
system. The coalition that was forming the government until October
̓97 included the Rastriya Prajantantra Party (RPR), a reincarnation
of the reactionary royalist forces who still control the army, the
police and the bureaucracy. Another member of the coalition was
the Sadbhavana Party (SP), a regional party of pro-Indian landlords
and bourgeoisie of the Terai region. And finally, the United Nepal
Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist). The UML, with its Marxist-Leninist
trademark and its organizational network (the largest among the
ruling classes), has become a handy tool to confuse the masses.
(This coalition collapsed in October to be replaced by another one
headed by RPP leader Surya Bahadur Thapa and supported, among others,
by the Nepali Congress Party).
The
new government̓s plans to join in the World Trade Organization
will further polarize the economy, as Nepal tunes its economy to
WTO obligations to qualify for membership. Among these conditions
is that member nations need to cut tariffs and dismantle non-tariff
barrirs to trade, measures that would open up the country even more
to imperialist capital. This will have a devastating affect on small-scale
and home-based production units such as in the garment field. All
this will help isolate the puppet regime and strengthen the basis
for continuing the People̓s War.
One
reason the People̓s War is said to be a clarifying factor is
that many self-proclaimed “revolutionary” forces are
forced to show their true colours in opposing the rising masses.
Most notable among these has been the UML who, despite their claim
to be Marxist-Leninists, are one of the main forces in a government
that is brutally suppressing the masses and their revolution. There
are also other forces such as the Nepal Communist Party (Mashal)
who instead of rectifying their mistakes and welcoming the People̓s
War have decided instead to turn their backs on revolution.
The
People̓s War has brought the fundamental weakness of the old
state in Nepal to the light of day and has awakened hope among the
masses of the oppressed, even beyond the borders of the country.
This will not go unnoticed by the imperialists and the other reactionaries
in the region, particularly India, which historically has been the
dominating force in Nepal. The experience of the People̓s War
in Peru is proof that the imperialists and reactionaries will not
spare a single effort to crush the revolution. But the same contradictions
that gave rise to the revolution in Nepal are brewing also in India,
and any attempt by India to intervene will cause fierce opposition
not only in Nepal but in India itself. It is impossible to predict
the course of events in Nepal, and as the CPN(M) says (quoting Lenin),
the revolution always creates in its course of development an unusual
and complex situation. The road to victory will no doubt be full
of twists and turns but the downtrodden of Nepal are coming forward
as active creators of a new social order, and a whole new generation
of youth is being trained in the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
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