Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Prachanda, Order Your Cadres To Live


When Prachanda finally surfaces, this dude is going to make world headlines. He is likely the most mysterious political figure on Planet Earth right now. Some major media outlets of global repute to this day think Padma Ratna Tuladhar is the real Prachanda. I mean, he could be anybody, right? Poor Padma Ratnaji.

The seven parties have finally woken up. And the balls are rolling. The clouds are gathering.

Prachanda is in a rather unique position to bring peace into the country. And this is not going to be a false peace. This is going to be a true peace that is accompanied by progress.

And to do that all Prachanda has to do is to do things he has himself, without external convincing has already long pledged to do. He has to execute his own plan. That is all.

The Maoists have been this rigid, hierarchical organization. Maoist fighters have willingly died because the party asked them to. You have to really wonder about that. Girija Koirala could not even order his party cadre to shut up.

But now Prachanda has to oder his cadres to live!

I hope Prachanda will do what only he can do, what he has already pledged he will do.

I would like to see a Prachanda leading his party in the national parliament competing with the very best of them to bring forth some of the most progressive legislation so as to strike at the foundations of social injustice and poverty that have plagued Nepali society.

As I have said before, steps 3,4,5 and 6 are already worked out. I hope Prachanda will not sacrifice those future steps by refusing to get creative and flexible with steps 1 and 2. He will have to make room for the fact that the seven parliamentary parties for one are inefficient. They also have mixed records from the 1990s. They have not been the most diligent when it boils down to doing homework.

The more leadership Prachanda shows now, more will be the dividends he and his party will stand to reap once peace descends upon the country.

What do I mean by being creative and flexible?
  1. If the Maoists were to unilaterally declare a ceasefire, and make it clear it will hold unless the RNA goes on another military offensive against them, do you think that will limit the RNA's options? In case you have not noticed, the RNA has fought the "image war" much more vigorously than it ever fought the military war. They will not want the world to see they breached a unilateral ceasefire announced by the Maoists.
  2. Outdo the RNA and this regime in terms of cooperating with the UN human rights people who are active in the country. Put the RNA to shame.
  3. Unilaterally engage the local cadres of all seven parties in dialogue in all the villages in the country. You don't need the permission of the leaders of those parties to do that.
  4. Codify your fundamental departure from classic Maoism. You are not sacrificing your progressive thinking. What might have been good for Mao in the China of the 1930s might not be the best stuff for Nepal today. Your already stated goal of a peaceful transformation of the state is new thinking within the communist camp. Make it official.
  5. Retrain all your local level cadres to your new thinking. The more of this you do, larger your party will be once peace is achieved. They are going to have to win hearts and minds the peaceful way. These seven parties are your potential comrades now and your future competitors within a peaceful space later.
This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure Prachanda can come up with a much longer list of things to do in his capacity as the Maoist supremo.

Between Drinking Water And Helicopters
Logic For The Maoists
The Two Extremes
Caste Discrimination Leads To War
Proposed Democratic Republican Constitution
Project Take Over Tundikhel: Draft 1
Alliance Gathering At Queens Bridge Park
Amnestry International Report: Nepali Children Caught In Conflict
Senator Leahy To US Congress On Nepal
To: Koirala, Nepal, KC, Pokharel, Tripathy, Mahto And The Rest
Gagan Thapa Case Taken To The United Nations
2005 Young Republican National Convention (US) Resolution 1 On Nepal
Tom Daschle
UN Security Council Needs To Enforce Human Rights On A War Footing
Loktantra: Pahilo Patak
Possible Framework For A Maoist-Democrat Alliance
Kunda Dixit In Jackson Heights
Political And Military Stalemate: Democrats Stand To Tip The Balance
Seize The Moment: Match The Maoists
The Road To The White House Goes Through Nepal
Getting Interviewed By A Cornell University Student
40% Of Americans Can't Point Out The Pacific On A Map
Op-Ed Piece Sent To The New York Times
Nepali Maoists, Bihari Maoists
Power Through Political Dialogue
CPI (M), CPN (M)
Prachanda's Meaningful Statement
Constituent Assembly Will Still Be A Lot Of Work In The Form Of Political Dialogue
Sangram Morcha: A New Political Party (1993)
ICG Report: Lasting Peace
The Hardliner Democrat Approach
The Bombing Of A Bus
Power Does Not Necessarily Flow Through The Barrel Of A Gun: Maoists
The Maoists And The Democrats Giving The King Veto Power
Rabindra Mishra, An Unprofessional, Disrespectful Journalist
Prachanda Press Statement
Common Minimum Program: Constituent Assembly
Baburam Bhattarai Press Statement
The Lake Freezes At 32 Degrees Fahrenheit Like Magic
Maoist Military Victory Vs Roundtable Conference With The Maoists
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The Emotional Structure Of The Conflict
Phone Talk With Hridayesh Tripathy
Comrade Gonzalo Of Peru: A Profile
The Maoists Have Been Reading My Emails, Blog Entries
Dinesh Prasain Tour: Report
100 Reasons To Revive Parliament
Baburam: Prachanda's Best Bet, Litmust Test, And Only Option
Madhesi Rights: Abhi Nahin To Kabhi Nahin
Pradip Giri: DaMaJaMa
Prachanda's Letter Bomb Of 5/1
The Seven Dwarfs
Girija, Deuba, And The Rest Of Them Clowns
Email From Arzu Rana Deuba
Tibetans And Madhesis
Changing Gears
The King Will Only Respond To Internal Pressure
Prachanda: A Profile
How To Move Towards A Common Minimum Program?
The Nepali Diaspora Contradiction: Would You Like Some Tea?
Prachanda Is Angry
Hindu International (HI)
The Dinesh Prasain US Speaking Tour
The Twins Gyanendra And Prachanda Are Watching Closed-Circuit Television
Uttar Ram Tamata
I Don't Feel Sorry For The King
A Victory For The Democrats, Monarchists, Maoists
Nepali Maoists And The US Perspective
Reviving Parliament: Not An Option
This Inadequate, Improper, Insufficient 1990 Constitution
Phone Marathon II
Phone Marathon: Called Up Delhi
Koirala Disappoints: He Is The Same Worn Out Record
The Monarchists, Not The Maoists, Are Like The Al Qaeda
Online Coverage Of The Maoists
Nepal Communist Party (Progressive)
The ICG Report
To: Prachanda, Baburam, Mahara, Badal And The Rest Of The Maoist Leadership
Prime Minister-Elect Prasain: "You Have The Power!"
Doing Business With Baburam Bhattarai
Shaubhagya Shah: Autocracy 101 At Harvard
"I’m sorry Mrs Sunuwar"
eDemocracy, 4S Campaign, 24/7 Vigil For Democracy: Take Over Tundikhel
Baburam Bhattarai On A Democratic Republic
Time For The Nepali Congress To Take A Stand On The Constituent Assembly Question
Response To The Panchayati Ghost Tulsi Giri
Finally The Democrats Make Sense
Ideological Overture To The Nepali Maoists (2)
Comrade Ramesh Nath Pandey And World Revolution
Democracy: The Third Wave
Dinesh Prasain's Possible US Tour In April
Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari's Daughter Speaks Out
Human Rights ----> Political Platform ----> Full-Fledged Movement
Democrats, Imagine The Worst From Monarchists/Maoists
Ideological Overture To The Nepali Maoists
Sought eDialogue with Dr. Baburam Bhattarai
Towards a Democratic Republic of Nepal
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5 Steps



5 Steps To Democracy
  1. Take over power: Take Over Tundikhel.
  2. Build a democratic party, the total, transparent kind: Janata Dal Constitution.
  3. Introduce a democratic constitution into the country: Proposed Constitution.
  4. Promise rapid economic growth in the aftermath: 21st Century Nepal.
  5. Go global with it: Reorganized UN, Methods.
Project Take Over Tundikhel, Draft 2
The idea is to turn Nepal into the Ukraine for 2005. Ukraine had its Orange Revolution in 2004. I have been talking to some individuals and organizations dedicated to global democracy for funding options.

To the August 8 draft, I would like to add this: the seven political parties. A seven member committee to represent the seven parties would sit on top of the "pyramid" so as to shepherd it politically. That committee is also the interim government in waiting.

I suggest as follows:

Girija Koirala: Supreme Leader, like Ganeshman Singh was in 1990.
Madhav Nepal: Prime Minister in waiting, for leading the largest party in the country.
Hridayesh Tripathy: Deputy Prime Minister in waiting, for being the leading Madhesi democrat, the largest segment of the social DaMaJaMa coalition.
Ministers in waiting: one from each participating party, Narahari Acharya or designate, Gopalman Shrestha or designate, CP Mainali or designate, Narayan Man Bijukchhe or designate, Amik Sherchan or designate.

This group becomes the interim government through negotiation with the king or unilaterally declares itself the interim government after the movement has reached critical momentum. It is possible to negotiate with the king the possibility of a Constituent Assembly that guarantees a ceremonial monarchy. That woud be my personal first choice. But there also are options 2 and 3 on the table.

Nepal's movement for democracy is something of global importance. If an indigenous movement for democracy with external logistical support can give birth to democracy in the second poorest country on the planet, there is hope for democracy literally everywhere on the planet: through little or no loss of life, and with minimal financial expenditures.

Nepal will have provided the answer to the most vexing foreign policy debate on the American political scene. That is huge.

And if the concept of total, transparent democracy can be instituted in Nepal, heck, that democracy will be a prime target for export also into the United States itself where the progressives are really struggling to get back on track, and do so for good.

This movement is not against this or that person, this or that group. This movement is to raise the national and global political consciousness to a higher plane, a plane not seen before in human discourse.

This is cutting edge stuff.

In The News

    • Nepal's Political Parties, Maoist Rebels Consider Joining Forces Voice of America Such a coalition could help bring an end to the rebels' nine-year-long campaign of violence....... The rebels originally proposed the talks on June 29...... A seven-party political alliance has now said it would begin a dialogue with the rebels, once a committee of human rights and civil activists determines that the rebels are meeting their commitment to curtail violence. ..... on Wednesday, Maoist leader Prachanda told a Nepalese magazine that he was in favor of a peaceful settlement of the conflict....... Information and Communication Minister Tanka Dhakal told reporters that such talks would not be in the country's interests, and accused the politicians of playing into the rebels' hands......the parties are aware of the risks involved, and are approaching the proposed dialogue cautiously........ "If this dialogue leads to the political parties convincing the Maoists to declare a no-first-attack pact or unilateral ceasefire, that will be a major victory" ....... if the rebels and the parties do reach an agreement, they could prove a formidable opposition to the King.

    • Nepal presses opposition to shun Maoist rebels Reuters.uk There have been no talks between the government and the rebels, and no military progress in the war....... guerrilla leader Prachanda accepted their demand to stop killing unarmed civilians and end extortion...... Nepal's key donors, including India, Britain and the United States, have urged the king to unite with political parties against the Maoists and to restore democracy. But he is not close to any deal with the parties or the rebels.

    • Analysis: Nepal at crossroads World Peace Herald Nepal's King Gyanendra's warning to the seven-party opposition alliance against holding talks with Maoists rebel is aimed at sabotaging the possibility of unity between the two sides, a move Indian analysts say could eventually isolate the king. ....... "Any alliance between political parties would amount to the beginning of the end of monarchy in Nepal" ...... Seven political parties appealed to Maoist leader Prachanda not to harm civilians, nongovernmental organization and political workers. The request was accepted. ....... Maoist insurgents.... now control almost 90 percent of Nepalese territory......... Political party's secret parleys with Maoists insurgents have focused primarily on two issues, firstly, the workers of political parties have loud access in areas controlled by rebels and secondly they are not targeted by Maoists........ we are also actively observing whether rebels will keep the word of their leaders

    • Strategic importance of Nepal corridor Financial Express, India Regionalism is fast threatening multilateralism. As Peter Sutherland observed, MFN is almost a dead letter—virtually all WTO members are engaged in preferential trade arrangements. India and China are fast realising that they need to recognise this trend and act accordingly. China is negotiating FTAs with 23 coun-tries/regional groupings, while India is doing so with seven countries/groupings...... both India and China are contemplating an Asian Economic Community..... almost certain that Asia will re-emerge as the dominant global economy in the next few decades, spearheaded by India and China.....a need to explore logistical connectivity between the Asian giants through air, sea, rail and road...... The India-China-Nepal corridor has to be seen as an integral part of this larger strategic picture....... Customs clearance takes time and is subject to the whims of officials. There are too many forms requiring approval from different agencies. Expediting clearance procedures is an urgent requirement....... Sharing equipment and infrastructure for truck inspection and sharing data and intelligence..... A single-window inspection, as in Singapore ....... Ladakh-Kashi, Tibet-Sikkim (Nathula-Yarlung), the Tawang corridor and Ledo-Myanmar....... the Nepal corridor is of great strategic importance to India, as it will allow exporters easy access to the three regional markets of western China— Tibet, Qinghai and Sichuan...... Sichuan, particularly, is a huge market for Indian goods and services. ..... The Nepal corridor is a step towards fulfilling India’s ambition to play a central role in Asian trade, investment, energy, security and geopolitics.

    • Diplomats in Nepal condemn Maoist harassment Radio Australia, Australia The Industrial Security Group, comprising of diplomats from France, Germany, India, Britain, the United States and the European Union, say unions linked to the rebels are hurting the economy by threatening frequent strikes.

    • Cellular phones ring again in Nepal Times of India, India

    • Trans-Himalayan railway from China to India via Nepal would be a ... PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal

    • China, India and the Future of South Asia PeaceJournalism.com

    • Nepal King’s controversial Europe/New York Odyssey United We Blog, Nepal ...... Gyanendra will leave Kathmandu on Sept 9. King will first go to Frankfurt, Germany (the transit point) where he will give directions to the Nepali diplomatic community. Ambassadors from Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Geneva, Russia and many more consul generals will be there to hear what the monarch has to say. There will be more than 18 diplomats in the meeting. King will stay there for two days: 10-11 Sept......... the king will ask the diplomats to push forward the plan of economic diplomacy........ pro-democratic people in the US are busy managing the protest programs in New York ...... Anand Bista of Nepalese Democratic Youth Council in USA...... “Lets make the NY rally grand success like our earlier DC rally held on may 16th 2005” ...... Creative Dissent Nepal ......
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