Volume 2, No. 9, September 2001

As part of the initiation of the first plan of the Great Leap Forward as formulated by the Second National Conference, the whole country was shaken with daring military actions by people’s guerillas in the first week of April, 2001. Though thousands of actions, including small and big sabotages, were carried out all over the country in the course of the week-long campaign culminating in the general shut-down (Nepal bandh) on April 6, the annual mass movement day, five leading guerilla raids on different police out-posts under the three Regional commands of the Party created the utmost impact and raised the five-year long People’s War (PW) to new heights.

Two massive guerilla raids were carried out in the Western Region, the hub of the PW, which are regarded as the biggest military actions since the one at the district headquarter of Dolpa in September 2000. The first of these at Rukumkot, the virtual bastion of PW, on April 1, is widely acknowledged as the topmost military action to date, if one sees it from the strict military point of view. Since it was the first successful attack against a company-level fortification of the Special Striking Force of the enemy’s police force located on a strategic hill-top. The recently constructed fortification on a specially chosen hill-top consisted of an outer fence, then a thick stone wall with eight observation posts and finally a trench inside the wall. The fortified post was manned by 76 policemen at the time. However, the people’s guerillas, of a company-level formation, aided by local militias, successfully stormed into the fortification with lightening speed and destroyed the enemy camp within 45 minutes. As a result, 32 police commandos including one inspector were killed, 14 wounded and 22 were taken into people’s custody. Together with this a large quantity of arms and ammunitions were captured, including 58 rifles, 6 magnums, 1 shotgun, 3 pistols, 3 revolvers, around 6000 pieces of ammunition and some communication sets. This great military victory was won at the cost of the glorious martyrdom of eight of our precious comrades including Com. Rajendra, deputy commander of a platoon. Hundreds of revolutionary masses of adjoining villages had expressed their solidarity with the people’s guerillas by staging torch-light processions all around during the course of the military actions.

The second guerilla raid in the Western Region was successfully conducted at Naumule ilaka (sub-district) police out-post of Dailekh district on the night of April 6 and the morning of April 7. This was also a well-fortified out-post lacated on a hilltop and manned by 72 policeman. But the people’s guerillas, consisting of several platoons and aided by local militias, overwhelmed this outpoast within seventy minutes. Here, too, 32 policemen including one inspector were killed and dozens injured. A large quantity of arms and ammunitions, including 58 rifles and around 41 thousand pieces of ammunitions, were gained through this raid. The casualities on the people’s guerilla side were six. The success of this military action has greatly contributed to the expansion of the base areas in the far West.

In the Central Region, two successful guerilla raids were carrried out simultaneously on April 2 at Mujhung of Palpa district and Darkha of Dhading district. the Mujhung police out-post manned by 22 personnel was stormed by people’s guerillas and captured within half an hour, killing 2 policemen and wounding 9 others. Further 8 policemen were killed when a reinforcement team coming from the regional headquarter towards Mujhung after receiving the news of the raid, fell into a rivulet 100 meters below the road. The Police out-post was completely destroyed with bombs. The guerillas gained 12 rifles, 2 pistols, 2 revolvers, 1 shotgun and large quantities of ammunition from this raid. There was no casualty or injury on the side of the people’s guerillas. In another raid at Darkha of Dhading district adjoining the capital city of Kathmandu, the police out-post with 14 personnel at the moment was captured within five minutes when the enemy merceneries surrendered without any resistance. The people’s guerillas, however, captured 9 rifles, 1 magnum, 1 shotgun, 2 pistols, 2 revolvers and large quantities of ammunitions, and destroyed the out-post. The reactionary government is later reported to have arrested all the policemen and put them on trial for allegedly having sided with the revolutionaries.

In the Eastern Region, the Mainapokhari police out-post in Dolakha district was raided by the people’s guerillas on April 1. However, because of some last minute obstacles the raid was delayed to the early morning hours (3:30 a.m. to be precise) and as a result the mission was only half accomplished. The outpost with 46 personnel was partially captured and destroyed, and 7 policemen killed and 20 others injured. The guerillas captured 8 rifles, 1 magnum and some ammunitions. Three precious lives of the people’s guerillas were lost and six others injured in the process.

In the Kathmandu Valley, the bomb blast carried out at the residences of the former police chief, Achyut Krishna Kharel, and a ruling party ex-member of parliament, Lekh Nath Neupane, on April 1, sent chills down the spine of many a ruling class butcher and traitor.

After the weeklong special ‘shock’ programme in the first week of April, sporadic military actions were continued by the people’s guerillas in Eastern and Central
regions. Of these, an ambush carried out in Syangja district of the Central Region on May 9 was the most notable, which killed 4 policemen on the spot.

In sum, the series of guerilla actions carried out as part of the first plan of the Great Leap Forward have succeeded in aggravating the crisis in the ruling class set-up, which is manifested in the large-scale desertion from the police force, and in expanding and consolidating the revolutionary base areas, particularly in the Western Region. The fact that several strategic police out-post such as those in Thawang, Mahat, Kholagaon, Pakhapani, Gajul, Daha, Garkhakot, Ramindanda and Rangechour, all in Rolpa and Rukum districts, were packed-off after the Rukumkot raid, eloquently speaks of the strategic importance of these daring guerilla actions.

In line with the strategic slogan of "Expand and Consolidate Base Areas, and Move Forward to Establishment of Central People’s Government", passed by the Second National Conference of the Party, the waves of expanding and consolidating base areas have been sweeping across the country, particualrly in the Western Region. As the reactionary police force has been thoroughly demoralized and virtually immobilized in large parts of the country, after recieving deadly blow after blow from the people’s guerillas, most of the areas in the hilly regions have come under the fold of the revolutionaries. Consequently the Party has launched a campaing to fill the power vacuum through revolutionary People’s Committees. In recent months there have been waves of formation of United People’s Committees at the village and district levels in line with the revolutionary united front policy of the Party. Whereas most of the People’s Committees in the strategic zone of the Western Region have been elected by the masses of the people, in other areas they have been temporarily nominated by the gathering of a cross-section of the people under the leadership of the Party. In the Western Region these People’s Committees have been functioning openly and exercising people’s power according to tentative rules and regulations formulated by the higher level of the Committee.

Recently, elections to four district level People’s Committees were held in the Western Region, including in Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot and Sallyan. Hundreds of local representatives exercised their franchise, whereas thousands of masses were witness to the open swearing-in ceremony. National newspapers prominently reported the events. In several other districts, the district level People’s Committees have been operating clandestinely, as there the reactionary state power has not been sufficiently destroyed. Still in other districts, only the local People’s Committees at the village level of ilaka (sub-district) level have been operating and exercising people’s power. In recent months,there has been an increasing tendency of forming higher level People’s Committees (i.e. at district and sub-district level) and operating openly. This is a clear sign of creating and consolidating base areas, even though the reactionary state is as yet to openly use its last armed might, the royal army. It may be noted here that after the Dolpa guerilla action in last Septemeber, the royal army has been stationed in all the district headquarters but not mobilized below the district level.

Six women guerillas created history when they made a daring and successful jail-break on March 31, 2001 in the first ever incident of this kind during the five yers of the People’s War in Nepal. Lodged in the ultra-modern reactionary jail in Gorkha (central region) for the last two years, these six revolutionary heroines, Uma Bhujel (Com. Shilu), Kamala Naharki, Engela B.k., Sanju Aryal, Meena Marhatta and Rita B.K., all the six brave daughters of the international proletariat have since then rejoined the revolutionary camp and resumed their duties.

The story of this daring escape now proudly recounted by these marvellous young gurrillas is no less astonishing and thrilling than a Hollywood movie. The whole project was executed according to a meticulous plan under the leadership of Com. Uma Bhujel, a section commander before her capture by the enemy, and wife of platoon commender Com. Bhimsen Pokhrel, who was martyred along with Com. Suresh Wagle in Sepetember 1999. The plan was finalised and execution initiated on the auspicious birth anniversary of Com. Mao on December 26, 2000. All the six comrades had their roles defined, and the plan was to be completed on the sixth anniversary of the inititiation of PW on February 13, 2001, but had to be extended due to unforeseen factors. For the next three months, the six dare-devils played their roles according to the script. Some had to constantly divert the attention of dozens of armed guards alwayes on the prowl. Others had to keep the non-political prisoners in good humour. and the most callenging task was to dig a tunnel, about 15 metres long, through two heavily fortified walls, with the help of a mere iron rod and a few kitchen appliances. Com. Kamala Naharki undertook this uphill task single-handedly. The common ruse employed for the uncommon activity was that of kitchen-gardening behind their narrow cell. With several hiccups in between, the task was successfully accomplished and the six revolutionary women guerillas crawled through the narrow tunnel and out of enemy captivity at 2:00 a.m. on March 31. Still they had to encounter a last hiccup when they were spotted and fired at by the enemy armed guards, but the great proletarian heroines exhibited thier extraordinary presence of mind and courage once again and managed to escape to safety. Within no time they were in the midst of the revolutionary masses and their proud Party commrades.

This daring jail-break by the so-called ‘weeker sex’ gave a death below to the already sagging morale of the reactionary rulling classes and prepared a perfect background for the historic military actions by the people’s guerillas in the next couple of days in Rukum, Dolakha, Palpa, Dhading and Dailekh. This historic incident has once again highlighted the glorious role played by women in the PW in Nepal and has inthused millions of women in the country.

Chairman Com. Prachanda, in a public statement issued on April 2, has felicitated the six brave women comrades for their outstanding accomplishment and called upon all the rovolutionaries to draw inspiration from them. Similarly, Com. Laldhoj, in-charge of Central Regional Bureau of the Party, and Com. Parvati, in-charge of the
Central Women’s Department, have separetely greeted the six women comrades and highlighted the historical significance of this jail-break. Gorkha District committee of the Party organized a public felicitation programme for the six women comrads on April 29 in Baguwa village, when thousands of peasant masses gathered to listen to and have a glimpse of the brave women guerillas.

Nepal Burns (based on newspaper reports)

Prior to the ceasefire call by the new Nepalese government, there was a spurt of armed actions by the CPN (M) in the month of July 2001.

Barely a week after the Royal massacre, on July 7, Maoists Guerrillas struck, kiling 41 police personnel, in a string of actions. It was a birthday gift to King Gyanendra, who was celebrating his 55th birth anniversary. 22 policemen were also killed in an attack on the police station at Bichaur Danda in Sanijung district, 150 kms north west of Kathmandu. 10 more were killed in the northern district of Nuwakot and nine lost their lives in Gulmi in western Nepal.

On July 11, Maoists gunned down a senior police officer in an attack in Western Nepal. Sijapati was the chief of police in Rapti Zone, and is, till today, the most senior police official killed by Maoists.

Within a few days Maoists attacked two police posts in Western Nepal, killing two policemen and taking 71 into people’s custody. It is remoured that many of these have now joined the Maoist guerrillas. Panic-striken the then Koiralla government, with a pliant King in place, for the first time called out the army. But this had little effect. In a seperate incident Maoists attacked the Harichowk police post in Baglung district, 325 kms west of Kathmandu — one policeman was killed and 5 missing. In addition two other police posts to the west and south-west of Kathmandu were targated.

Meanwhile, Koiralla was forced to resign. Internal contradictions within the Nepalese Congress, charges of corruption, the palace killing and the growing Maoist offensive, necessitated a change-of-guard. The new government’s first task was to declare a unilateral ceasefire, followed by the release of 25 Maoists. The CPN (M) also declared a temporary cessation of hostilities.

Yet, notwithstanding the peace initiatives by the Deuba government, they too were a party to passing a budget on July 9, in which huge amounts were allocated for the suppression of the Maoists. Of the Rs. 10,000 crore budget for fiscal 2001-02, Rs. 1,040 was allocated to the police and army and another Rs. 60 crores was set aside for the so-called ‘Integrated Security and Devolopment Plan’ to curtial the influence of the Maoists in the violence-hit districts. In other words a gigantic 11% of budgetary expenditure has been allocated for the suppression of Maoist — this is an increase of 35% over the previous year. Also, immediately after taking power Nepal’s Chief of General Staff was sent on a 7-day ‘goodwill’ visit to India. He held wide-ranging discussions with top military personnel in India, particularly those involved in counter-insurgency operation. He also visited a number of ordinance factories for large-scale military purchases.

These two steps raises questions as to whether Deuba is serious about the ceasefire. Besides, India’s Defence (and Foreign) minister is to make an immediate 2-day visit to Nepal in Mid-August. Jaswant Singh has postponed all urgent agenda, in order to travel to Nepal to meet the new King and Prime Minister. He has specifically sought an appointment with the King, who is in charge of the army.

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