I just visited the Maoists' website, just chanced around, a lazy Sunday morning thing to do, kind of.
Used to be the most prominent feature on their front page was the Mao line "Power flows through the barrel of a gun." Now that line is gone! This is huge. This is big. This is major. All democrats need to make note of this.
I am in a mood to celebrate.
These are the remaining quotes on the front page.
"We don’t regard Marx's theory as something completed and inviolable; on the contrary, we are convinced that it has only laid the foundation stone of the science which socialists must develop in all directions if they wish to keep pace with life…"- Lenin
"Correctness and incorrectness of ideological and political line decides everything. If the line is correct everything will come in its way if it is wrong everything will be lost which one had before." - Chairman Mao
The Maoists are exhibiting flexibility. This has to be noticed. It is very hard for an organization like theirs to show such flexibility. It is much harder than it is for Girija. And now that they are, this has to be noticed. It will be a major mistake to not notice. Looks like the Maoists have really done their homework.
For the first time I see the Maoists moving towards a soft landing. The only people who could mess it up would be the democrats. The non-Maoists need to do all in their capacity to ease this transition. Peace asks for a price. Moving beyond the past is one of those prices.
A Maoist-democrat solidarity will quicken the demise of the autocratic regime in place, and it will also disarm the Maoists. That is two birds with one stone. And that is just the beginning.
This also shows the Maoists have moved on to a new kind of solidarity. The Prachanda-Baburam brief imbroglio episode is over, and that is great news. It is easier to deal with a unified party that is moving towards common sense.
The Maoists have to be rewarded for this newfound flexibility. And the way to do that is to enagage them. The democrats need to enage them. Welcome their overtures for fuller dialogue.
I am getting hopeful.
I am feeling particularly happy right now. This is not the false happiness of a king "lifting" an emergency. This feels more genuine. In politics your word is all you got. If people can not take you on your word, you hurt your credibility, and your chances.
I sent this email to the Maoists a few days back:
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 06:28:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Paramendra Kumar Bhagat" paramendra@yahoo.com>
Subject: To: Prachanda, Baburam
To: "Maobadi Nepal" info@cpnm.org>, "Nepal Maoists" krishnasenonline@yahoo.com>
Hello "Comrades!"
This is the second time I am trying this. The first time I tried was in February. I have since gotten ample evidence that you all have been reading my blog. But I still have not managed to open up a private eChannel of Communication with you.
What I am seeking is this. That there be an email account that is individual to Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, and I get to talk back and forth with Dr. Bhattarai over email. The goal is to ultimately post the entire dialogue at my blog, but I would not do so immediately. I would do so after some ground has been covered.
My blog has been widely read among all three political camps. The Monarchists have been reading it, I have been told it has been a "big hit" in Delhi among the democrats there, and you all have been reading it. My blog is not journalism, it is political work. My goal is peace and progress. My goal is a democratic, progressive peace.
I might even get involved closely with a campaign outlined here: http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2005/03/edemocracy-4s-campaign-247-vigil-for.html in the post-monsoon phase. I might do some major fund-raising in New York in the private, progressive sector. And coordinate the campaign from this end, fund it and all.
Shall we talk? What do you think? You are not going to get UN mediation. But you could get an alliance with the democrats, and I might be the only person in some position to forge that. Frankly, I don't see you taking over the country militarily any more than I see the Monarchists crushing you militarily. So you could take up on my offer now, or you could waste time and take up on it six months or a year from now.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
Paramendra.
In the spirit of transparent democracy, I make it public. My politics is not my private life, it is my public life. I am still working on opening a private channel with Dr. Bhattarai, just so you know!
In The News
- Koirala asks Nepal leaders to work for democracy:- Webindia123, India .....met political leaders of his country camping here ..... also called on Nepalese political groups to engage with the Maoists in the peace talks that could lead to the formation of a constituent assembly...... also meeting members of the Nepalese community who have formed an umbrella group called Jan Sampark Samiti ..... "India will try to tell Koirala to persuade other political parties to open a dialogue with the Maoists so that a lasting solution to the present crisis is found," an official source said.
- MIDDLE: India indulges despots Times of India, India To the north there is Nepal, where a reactionary monarchy battles a protracted Maoist insurgency and freedom is the loser. To the east there is Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where an entrenched military junta refuses to yield to elected democratic forces and, according to human rights organisations, harshly suppresses ethnic minorities...... India, which now accounts for more than a quarter of all Myanmar's exports, is one of the few major free markets that does not impose trade sanctions on the country....... Gyanendra recently sacked the government and imposed martial law....... China, which has no agenda for political change in Myanmar and is helping to build naval bases on the Andaman sea coast facing India. Beijing is also actively courting Nepal....... after Suu Kyi's latest detention, in mid-2003, Tokyo froze all financial aid to Myanmar........ rather than ASEAN it is China and India, Myanmar's two biggest neighbours and trading partners, that could bring the most effective influence to bear.......
- Karat did meet Nepal Maoists, admits party Hindustan Times, India Karat told the Maoists to give up violence and join the political mainstream ..... The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) confirmed to the Hindustan Times that a high-level delegation, including Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Bahadur Mahara went to meet Indian political leaders......In an e-mail message, CPN (Maoist) chairman Prachand said the objective of the meetings was to gauge India’s stand if the CPN(Maoist) were to accept a multi-party system as a political solution to the ongoing civil war in Nepal, and agreed to work with other political parties in a constituent assembly....... "Taking constituent assembly as the means of minimum political solution, the party is maintaining relations with different political parties and forces not only within the country but of the world including India, Europe and US."
- Maoist Leaders In Delhi: An Inside Story NepalNews.com Dr. Bhattarai’s team also had the under-cover presence of another politburo member who was none other than Kishan Pyakurel, the pseudonym of Top Bahadur Raymajhi who leads the Maoist organization in India....... Mahara is considered a Prachanda supporter while Rayamajhi favours Bhattarai....... the team led by Dr. Bhattarai’s team primarily held talks with three sorts of people. Firstly, various political leaders in India. Secondly, high level Indian government officials. And, thirdly, the Delhi-based representatives of the Nepalese political parties........ Prakash Karat .. A.B. Bardhan.. George Fernandez.. their relationship dates back to the 70’s when both of them were studying at the Delhi-based Jawaharalal Nehru University......after Bhattarai’s latest Delhi tour, the Maoists have received political recognition from the Indian government, in an undeclared fashion ...... Bhattarai is giving more emphasis on trying his luck through the Indian leftists who are in the government..... The principal accomplishment that the Maoists have harvested in Delhi is nothing but the coalition with the agitating political parties in Nepal. The news source claims, based on the discussions held between the Maoist representatives and the Nepalese political parties, a possibility of working together for a ‘democratic republic’ has emerged. The visit of Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala this week is being seen in a similar perspective........ Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Dr. Shekhar Koirala of Nepali Congress, Pradip Giri of Nepali Congress (Democratic), Rajan Bhattarai of CPN (UML), Hridayesh Tripathi and Rajendra Mahato of Sadbhawana Party and Chandradev Joshi of United Left Front ....... ‘The discussions with the Maoists have been very positive. Though there have not been any immediate formal agreement, some common agenda might be reached to fight for a democratic republic.’ If it is so then (elections to) the constituent assembly could be a point of departure for them, and for this the seven parties have already opened the ways....... the Royal Nepalese Army tried to sabotage Dr. Bhattarai’s Delhi visit ...... India had been in touch with the Maoists; that India was taking Baburam’s side and that India was desirous of talking directly to Prachanda ..... hinting the party establishment, he slammed a serious charge that the ones who name him pro-Indian are the ones who are pro-palace....... The Nepali politicians are actively working through the ‘Nepal Democracy and Human Rights Advocacy Center’, which has its office at Yusuf Saraya of New Delhi.
- Mahara Baburam Nepali Times NEPALGANJ—Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been appointed the head of the United Revolutionary People’s Council in place of Baburam Bhattarai who held that position. Spokesman of the party, Mahara had been working as the joint-coordinator of the council. The Western Central Command’s Organisation Mobilisation Committee in-charge Purna Subedi confirmed this saying Bhattarai had not been reinstated in the politburo. “But he is working with the party headquarters,” she said, adding that the central leadership dispute just when the party had gained momentum in its struggle had frustrated party ranks. “There are attempts to create confusion by highlighting the intra-party struggle but nobody has seen the action taken against Bhattarai as a wise move.”
No comments:
Post a Comment