A report by Members of WPRM Britain and Ireland

On our trip to Nepal, one of our main priorities was to gain access to one of the seven cantonments in which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been stationed since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in late 2006. The PLA had fought many battles during the People’s War (PW) and had gained many glorious victories, providing the backbone for the revolution and the main crucial link with the masses. But now it is in the cantonments and its arms are monitored by the United Nations (UN), even as the key to those arms remains with the respective PLA commanders. Since the CPA, many revolutionaries around the world have become worried that the Maoists have ‘given up’ the armed struggle, because as Mao said “without a people’s army, the people have nothing.” We were therefore intent on finding out how the PLA maintained its revolutionary nature within the cantonments, kept its links with the masses and whether it still provided a source of struggle for the future revolution, if that time came about. Gaining access is not usually straightforward, but we were hoping to visit the 7^th Division of the PLA in Kailali district in the far west of Nepal. However, we were fortunate to meet the acting commander, Comrade Jeevan, while he was in a meeting in the district headquarters of Danghadi. Comrade Jeevan, whose name means ‘life’, instantly commanded our respect and over a cup of tea he made all the necessary arrangements to facilitate our access the very next day. Read the rest of this entry »

WPRM: It’s a great pleasure to have the chance to talk with you. Can you please introduce yourself?
Comrade Jeevan: My name is Jeevan and I am from a remote district of Nepal, Kalikot. I have been involved in the revolution since 2053, using the Nepali calendar [*1996]. I have been involved since I was 16 years old and now I am just continuing my job. I am acting division commander of the 7^th division of the PLA.

WPRM: How and why did you join the PLA and can you describe to us your conception of the People’s War (PW)?
Comrade Jeevan: For thirteen years I have been part of this organisation which aims to build New Democratic Revolution, oppose feudalism and imperialism in our country and eradicate all social dogmas in our society. To live real life, humans need a life of freedom and according to our ideology we strive for this. When we first waged struggle we saw how the reality of society is different from this, not in the favour of the people. Although it looked as though there was just one monarchy, there were actually many small parts of the monarchy, and we arrived here by defeating them. All the feudal forces exploited the people, the proletarian class, especially in the remote village areas. All of these feudal forces were supported by the central feudal power: the monarchy. Our strategy was not to fight with the central feudal power at first, but to start from the remote areas. We decided to start from the countryside and encircle the urban areas. At that time we were totally absent from the centre, we started from the villages. It was especially important to carry out our theories in the countryside, but they actually have a world-wide significance. Now there are no feudal forces in village areas, but still new leadership has not been fully established. We have demolished the feudal forces from the villages but we can’t claim that we have established the new system in these areas. In these areas there is still no social or cultural administration, no legally established regional administration. So we have to do two things: we have to establish people’s rule in the countryside and we have to demolish the central state.  Read the rest of this entry »

This is on-the-spot reporting just in from the first day of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, which has seen a great deal of spirited resistance and confrontation—perhaps as much as has occurred at any anarchist mobilization in North America in half a decade. This gushy, hastily composed account presents the context, attempts to convey the spirit of the day, and raises a few preliminary questions.

The basic narrative of the day runs thus: The protesters attempt to reach the summit site, but are brutally forced back by police. They eventually turn around and march through Pittsburgh neighborhoods and shopping districts, where the police pursue and attack them. Property destruction intensifies in response to these attacks, and the conflict culminates in a standoff between police and students during which a black bloc destroys a business district.

One might interpret all this as legitimate acts of revenge for the police murder in London at last spring’s G20 summit; but it also signifies the survival of militant street resistance in the Obama era. Read the rest of this entry »

Report by Members of WPRM Britain and Ireland currently visiting Nepal.

One evening in Kathmandu, we had the pleasure of meeting Ganesh Man Pun, Comrade Rashmi, which translates as ‘Moonlight’. Coming to our hotel, Rashmi arrived in the middle of one of the daily power cuts which occur every evening, making his name more apt for the occasion as we talked over the light of the moon coming through our third floor window and one small oil burning lamp. Rashmi is a Central Committee member of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as well as the Chairman of the Young Communist League (YCL).

He began our discussion by telling us his own background in the party. Becoming involved in politics as a student, Rashmi was soon a whole-timer cadre for the All-Nepal National Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) before becoming a district member of the YCL. Rising through the ranks Rashmi led one of the four attacks that comprised the initiation of the People’s War on 13^th February, 1996. As commander of one of the groups, Rashmi led the attack on a police post in Rukum district, capturing many weapons and explosives. He explained to us that “after capturing many policemen, we told them the reasons for our action. We told them they are our brothers, but we are fighting for New Democratic Revolution, against feudal and comprador rule in Nepal. We released them and told them not to fight against us in the future.” 29 days after this, Rashmi’s father, a local party and Peasant Association member, was martyred, being caught in his home by the police who had been summoned by a local feudalist. The police promptly led him outside into the yard and shot him. Rashmi spoke of this incident without bitterness, but with an intense pride in the martyrdom of his father, who, he said, died for the people. Read the rest of this entry »

Report by members of WPRM Britain and Ireland currently visiting Nepal.

Our journey started, as many do in Nepal, with a five hour bus trip where the only available free space was the roof. Although the journey was long it was only just over 100km, following narrow, windy mountain roads which were bumpy and at times treacherous. The roof however provided stunning views of the scenery and the opportunity to meet many local people, including a family of seven brothers and two sisters who found us a great source of amusement but were eager for us to visit their village and stay with their family. They were very friendly and not reserved at all, especially the girls unlike in many parts of Nepal and Asia in general, but we politely told them of our need to get to the town of Jiri in Dolakha district, east of Kathmandu.

Jiri is quite a remote town, of average size and the start of the popular trek to the Everest base camp. For this reason we were straight away accosted by hotel managers looking for business in the off-peak season. As with many tourist hotels in Nepal the managers are supporters of Nepali Congress and, indeed, the deposed royal family. In these areas images of the Dalia Lama are numerous. Our first port of call in Jiri was the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) office, a hive of activity compared to the cemetery stillness of the Nepali Congress office opposite. There we met the Area Secretary Comrade Kulbindra, various Young Communist League (YCL) activists and a teacher from the Sahid (Martyrs) Memorial Boarding School. After a brief chat over Nepali tea, we were asked whether we wanted to walk up the easy of the difficult route to the school, which was high up a mountain. Doubting that the school could be on the very top of the mountain we chose the difficult route, a choice that would soon come back to haunt us. Read the rest of this entry »

WPRM: Can you introduce yourself please?
Com. Sonam: My name is Sonam. I am a politburo member of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and am in-charge of the Young Communist League (YCL).

WPRM: The YCL is often charged with terrorist activities by the Nepali as well as the western media, can you explain to us the activities of the organisation and the role it plays in Nepali politics and society today?
Com. Sonam: When the YCL was founded it was based on four principles: to defend and propagate the party line, to politicise the masses on the basis of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM), to fight for proletarian state power, and lastly to serve the people. This organisation is a political, militant mass organisation. Previously we had an understanding with other political parties which is reflected in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The YCL is committed to implement this understanding and to make the other side implement this too. This is a politically contentious issue. We are trying to develop a state based on MLM and we want to demolish the current state. Those people with old ideas who want to maintain the status-quo will obviously oppose our organisation. Because we are fighting for the interests of the majority of the people, the majority of the people support us. A minority of the reactionaries who exploit this country oppose us.

We have been an obstruction for reactionary interests. In order to maintain the exploitation and oppression they propagate that the YCL is a terrorist organisation. But we have taken up many important activities. First of all, we are safeguarding our border from east to west. We have an open border with India and there have been encroachments by India recently. Secondly, in the cities we widen streets because, as you have seen, in Kathmandu the roads are very narrow. We also collect rubbish and plant trees. Lastly, we carry out actions against anti-people elements, such as drug dealers, rapists, and corrupt people in business and politics. We also help drug addicts overcome their addictions. Read the rest of this entry »