After Ganapathy, A Ceasefire

This guy Prachanda is a freaking roller coaster ride.

First I receved the shock of the Baburam article: Baburam Bhattarai, Pramod Aryal, Ram Chandra Poudel. It shocked me for the enormous ideological leap it signalled. At first I could not believe it. It was so good. I was so pleased. It was manna from heaven.

Then, Prachanda dropped the Ganapathy bomb, out of the blue. And I am like, how foolish can you get? I seriously questioned my judgment. I was made to think Moriarty was right all along. These guys are Pol Pot's children. I have been taken for a ride. All my efforts to counter what I considered their demonizations I was beginning to regret.

And now, there is this ceasefire declaration, which is an even bigger news than the Baburam article, because this is something concrete, on the ground. And suddenly I am extremely happy again.

My mind is ringing hollow. I need to take some time off to digest these sudden turns by these Maoist freaks. Let me go grab a glass of water, with ice. I will be right back.

(I am back.)

Oh well. This is cause for celebration.

Maoists declare three-month long ceasefire The CPN (Maoist) has declared unilateral three-month long cease fire effective from today (Sep. 03).

And the news is a single sentence. This has got to be hot news. Just happened. I was about to go to bed but decided to quickly peruse the NepalNews page before hitting the sack, and I am so glad I did that. This is breaking news.

Suddenly I see peace all over the horizon again.

This gives the Nepli people time for Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, and this makes room for the democrats to wage the movement. With a Maoist ceasefire in place, the seven parties can wage a full fledged movement.

A ceasefire is the least the Maoists could do after both the UML and the Congress have come around to the Maoists' republican agenda.

Off to sleep. It is almost morning. Prachanda cost me a lot of sleep.

But that's okay. The latest news is tremendously good. And I have a weekend ahead of me.

The ceasefire also means no military aid to the army from the US. That is a good tactical move. And a great political move.

Congratulations Prachanda-Baburam.

What Is Prachanda Doing?

Scenario 1: His proposed alliance with the Indian Maoists is his warning to the United States not to provide military aid to the king. My position is the United States and the other world powers should work on the king to head towards a Constituent Assembly. That is the only outlet. Military aid is not the solution. So if this is what Prachanda has in mind, I still don't see a contradiction between what he is saying, and what Baburam said only a few days back.

Scenario 2: Baburam might know what Prachanda's left hand is doing, but he has no idea what his right hand might be doing. Prachanda keeps Baburam in the dark, and only uses him to show a milder face of his outfit to the world.

Scenario 3: Prachanda is one wild goose. This guy has gone berserk. For him it is an armed revolution as far as the eyes can see. That is the goal in itself. There is no other goal. It is to be a non-stop revolution. This freight train comes with no brakes. There is a fundamental ideological rift between Prachanda and Baburam. It is only a matter of time before the Maoist party formally splits. If it is this scenario, Prachanda just made the king's job so much easier. Nepal is in for a prolonged phase of violence. All the atrocities committed so far by the two sides are but a prologue. They will pale in comparison to what might be in store down the line. The two guns are rearing for another round of clashes. This is not good. Suddenly things have gone topsy turvy. The bad has become worse.

Scenario 4: Baburam is Prachanda's willing accomplice. Though I doubt this to be the case. But then Baburam was instrumental in unifying the what used to be two Maoist factions in India. So you never know. But then maybe it is not true Baburam played that role. Ganapathy was on the unification path even before the Nepali Maoists launched their revolution in 1996.

Mistake Made: The country should have gone for a Constituent Assembly a few years ago! The bull-headedness of the right wing did not allow that. The democrats were equally bull-headed. What triggered this sudden outburst by Prachanda? Was it the king's "visit" to the districts that were supposed to have been Prachanda's strongholds? The visit was designed to sugggest the king will not negotiate with the Maoists, he will only crush them. And the Maoists seem to have hit back now.

Prachanda' Hubris: India might end up taking the Indira option. Then where does Prachanda end up? "I have revisionism." That statement of his perhaps defines him. To this guy Maoism is religion. He has a few fixed ideas, and that is it. It is dogma. It is not science that changes with time.

Where Is Prachanda: I think he is in India. The statement has been jointly signed. Which means they got together for the purpose: Ganapathy and Prachanda. It is safer in India, because India is a much bigger country. Prachanda always seems to have access to sophisticated electronic gadgetry. How would that be possible in some forst hideout in Nepal? Wherever he is, he has internet access. That's for sure. On the other hand, he really is hiding somewhere in some forest somewhere in Nepal as he likes the world to believe.

Intelligence: This is an intelligence war, not a military war.

The Two: Both are failed school teachers. Hmm. Prachanda and Ganapathy.

Option For The Nepali Democrarts: Eat the Maoists' lunch. Steal their political and social thunder. The UML and the Congress have already co-opted the Maoists on the republican issue. The UML should also get behind on the land-to-the-tiller platform.

Rediff On The NeT: The Rediff Interview/PWG leader Ganapathy October 1998 The dirty golden rays of the candle, stuck crookedly on top of an inverted flash-light, glinted off the Naxalite's glasses as he prepared to answer yet another query from the visiting journalist. In the shadows, his gaunt face looked more strained. He responded characteristically, softly, in Telugu, a hand on the hip, the other cradling his stengun......... Muppalla Lakshmana Rao. Infamous as Ganapathy...... In person, Ganapathy -- wiry, medium height, thinly moustached with specks of grey in his hair -- comes across as unassuming, unimpressive and utterly harmless....... no hint that this is a man whom the Bharatiya Janata Party considers one of the most dangerous in the country. No hint that this is one for whose head the Andhra Pradesh government would gladly pay over a million rupees....... A bit shy, a bit unsure, he looks and behaves like the school teacher he once was...... 48-year-old..... For the last 20 years, the forests have been his refuge...... took over as PW secretary in 1992 after the ouster of the legendary Kondapalli Seetharamaiah....... rendezvoused with the Naxal leader deep in the forests of Andhra Pradesh after a gruelling five-hour night march....... ..................................

There are many oppressed nationalities in India fighting the imperialist government. For instance, in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East. We expect the merger to have a positive impact on their fights. ..... two aspects -- the agrarian revolution and fight for nationality ........ our unity will help the unifying process world-wide...... our party is very small. The enemy is much stronger. ...... unification will also see a combined military leadership and more military camps....... We expect the talks to transform the physical clashes into political debate....... We welcome the comrades in the other rightist and leftist groups to fight against their leadership and join the revolution. ...... Small sections of many splinter groups have been joining our party since 1992-93, mainly in North India, Srikakulam and North Telangana....... What we want is to rebuild 1972 on a higher plane........ a protracted people's war. Our aim is to dislodge the imperialists with the gun. ..... Proletariat dictatorship. ....... the rule of the masses cannot be achieved through normal political methods. The Indian people have only one way to usher in modern democracy: armed struggle. You cannot get anything for the poor from the existing democratic system. Despite millions taking up armed struggle in various forms, despite the so-called democratic methods, the so-called parliamentary procedures, the people are not able to enjoy even basic rights, leave alone political power. Such is the state of the State, the Establishment, the System......... It is natural that the ruling classes have to be overthrown for the downtrodden to come to power...... The Establishment has been labelling us revolutionaries variously as anti-social elements, extremists, terrorists etc in its bid to isolate/distance/sever us from the people. We shall counter such propaganda politically........ The land should belong to the one who tills it, not the landlord. They (the landlords) have kept vast tracts of land in their vice-like grip. They have been living off, pestering and frustrating the peasantry for ages. Will they give up land if normal methods are used? No. This problem has never been solved by any commissions constituted by Parliament. Nowhere in the world has this problem been appropriately resolved. So why should we lay our faith in such a system? ........... imperialist investments....... the resources are ours, the labour is ours, but the capital is not ours. And the production is not for our people....... Prior to 1947, it was only the British that were in power in India. After August 15, 1947, every imperialist country in the world has barged into India and looted it, just like that, to their heart's content. Why will they leave now like gentlemen if asked to? ....... The Tatas, the Birlas, the Dalmias, the Singhanias and several other capitalists with other names, companies -- these people are looting the country by suppressing the small and the middle-classes and the downtrodden. They are keeping their cut and passing on the major cut to their imperialist bosses...... Terming our activities as violence is not correct. Ours is counter-violence...... It's the people's war. And who else will be killed in a people's war but people?........ When the crops failed recently, we collected and distributed Rs 3.6 million among the farmers. In North Telangana, we had captured a lot of land from landlords. Due to repression, these lands were uncultivated. This year, we organised the peasants to cultivate on 2,000 acres of captured land. In Dandakaranya, due to our struggle, the tendu leaf pickers and bamboo workers are earning a decent living......... several struggles demanding schools, teachers, buildings etc. ...... When we started, we were a few individuals in Telangana. Now we have a full-fledged organisation...... the party is not in a position to consolidate the entire movement and transform it into a unified struggle. This is because of the severe repression we are facing now........ we lost around 100 student comrades in the last 10 years. The students faced as severe a repression as that faced by the peasants. For the peasants, the terrain and the movement are conducive to survival. In the case of students, this is not true. Their area of operation is limited, as they are all concentrated in urban areas......... We expect a rapid growth....... Our party's backbone is always the proletariat, the agricultural labourers and the poor peasants. ........ some sections of the middle-class and upper middle-class came in a wave into the revolution with a lot of romantic thoughts. And then they went back....... We have several all-India level mass organisations........ The upper middle-class and the upper middle-class intelligentsia -- and here I include the NRIs, who form the majority of your readers -- do not at present have a good opinion of our party. But we believe their opinion can be changed....... Already in Germany, movements against the Turks have started. And in America and other capitalist countries, fascist and racist forces are growing. Soon the people, the NRIs, will become the targets of fascist and racist movements. This will make them recognise the real nature of imperialism. They are bound to become pro-people and pro-democratic......... We welcome capital from NRIs who are not imperialist agents........ The banks are supposed to repay the money to the people. They can't say the PW looted the bank, so we will not pay you back. If we find that they are not repaying their depositors, then we may reconsider this decision........ . the party will tax only those traders who are above middle-class. We will not touch the poor and the middle-class. -- namely the higher middle-class and rich traders........ We will impose tax only on those who can afford itWe deny the ISI part. We do not have any relation with them. That's State propaganda to discredit us.......We have had no relations with the LTTE till now. But we are not against having relations with them. We will certainly have links with them if an opportunity arises. We feel that such a relation would be conducive to the revolutionary movement........ In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese are oppressing Tamilians ...... that does not imply that we support all the tactics and politics of the LTTE. Our support is basically to the Tamilian nationalist cause....... They were not LTTE. They were ex-LTTE.......... Such a relation would bring solidarity between the masses of the two countries. It will also prove a major morale booster for all nationalist fighters......... There are many organisations in South East Asia that the PW would like to have links with........ It is part of our policy to have relations with all communists and nationality struggles....... we have good relations with some strong parties that are following the correct line......... There are struggles in Jammu and Kashmir, the struggles of the Nagas in the NE. We assure all of them the right of self-determination....... When nations are forced into a political system, there will always arise fresh national movements. You cannot hold on to nations that do not want to be part of your set-up....... a voluntary federation of nationalities with the right to secede will lead to unity..... When the revolution is at its ebb, defections do take place...... It is not possible to have all the people ideologically enlightened at the same time...... proper education, proper selection, recruitment, proper testing etc....... The punishment for such betrayals is death in every revolution. ...... We do not resort to mindless violence......... Blowing up railway stations and tracks are for specific reasons. Categorising such actions as mindless violence is grossly incorrect. Such actions are the counter to State violence....... The political actions are taken by the regional or state committees...... We consider actions taken with political motives as political actions. Only the implementation is military...... We have all types of checks to prevent such excesses. From demotions to expulsions......... the '85 and '91 offensive of the enemy....... Now they are using highly developed communication systems, modern weapons. With World Bank loans, they are building a large network of roads. They are using helicopters and modern weapons. And the central government is involved in the repression much more than before. We comprehend the threat.......... we are facing an enemy hundred times stronger than us. ......In the second wave of repression in 1991, they used the ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police) and the BSF (Border Security Force). Initially, we were confused and suffered severe losses........ Our base is the masses. With their help we will tide over this repression....... we do not hold the BJP government responsible for the present wave of repression. They are only tools in the hands of the imperialists....... the BJP is based on communalism and reactionary ideology...... Even if the BJP loses power tomorrow, the repression will continue.......We have a vast country and vast masses. ..... It is the enemy who has to decide whether they want to face us in the NT and DK of today or in NTs and DKs throughout the country....... from the primary level to the higher level..... Our decision is that the party should be projected, not individuals. If a person tries to project himself, that should be checked. That's the party policy....... I cannot be separated from the party.

In The News

• Official now: Nepal, Indian Maoists get together Indian Express, India .... top leaders of Nepal and India’s Maoist parties today announced their decision to ‘‘fight together and establish socialism and communism’’ in the two countries....... joint statement signed by Ganapathy, general secretary of India’s CPI (Maoists), and Prachanda...... would fight ‘‘unitedly’’ till such time ‘‘conspiracies hatched by imperialists and reactionaries are crushed and the people’s cause of socialism and communism are established in Nepal, India and all over the world.’’ ...... Condemning the ‘‘fascist attack of feudal tyrant Gyanendra upon the revolutionary people of Nepal and fascist attack of Indian ruling classes on the revolutionary leaders and masses of India,’’ the Maoist leaders called upon people to raise their voice against ‘‘imperialism and expansionism to repress the revolutionary cause’’. The statement did not spell out the mode of struggle the two groups would adopt but charted out a joint course of action for Maoists along the Compact Revolutionary Zone stretching from Andhra Pradesh to Nepal....... Today’s statement targets King Gyanendra, saying he is ‘‘not only usurping absolute power through a coup on February 1, but is massacring revolutionary masses across the country.’’ The statement makes clear that chances of Maoists and pro-democracy parties getting together against the royal takeover are receding. The Maoists have also signalled that they will not accept a negotiated settlement to end their 10-year old insurgency......
  
• Indian and Nepali Maoists vow to fight together Reuters AlertNet, UK ..... reinforcing fears that the bloody insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom could spill over into its huge southern neighbour....... Prachanda and his Indian counterpart Ganapathy accused the governments of the two countries of trying to crush their movements...... receive support from Indian Maoist groups fighting for the rights of landless peasants...... several raids on Indian police stations on the India-Nepal frontier..... The nine-year insurgency has killed more than 12,500 people in Nepal, while more than 6,000 people have died in the decades-old Maoist campaign in India....... Last month, India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh outlawed the Communist Party of India (Maoist), led by Ganapathy, after the leftist extremists killed 10 people, including a provincial lawmaker and a bureaucrat.
• Indian and Nepali Maoists vow to fight together Financial Express, India
• Indian-Nepali Maoist Alliance Sparks New Fears Epoch Times, NY