Archive for the ‘Nepal’ Category
Posted by kasama on November 4, 2011
“The rightist deviation; which dissolved the Peoples Liberation Army that has sacrificed itself for the peace and transformation, will be demised soon. Hundred thousands of new PLA soldiers will take birth from the ashes of the dissolved PLA. The land lords, puppets, imperialists and the expansionists; who are exchanging their happiness, will have no more time to feel their happiness because we are with people and their happiness.”
A momentous clash has broken out in Nepal.
The prime minister of Nepal and the historic chairman of the Maoist party (two men once prominent in the revolution ) have declared the dissolution of the Peoples Liberation Army.
In quick opposition, organized revolutionary forces within their own party and leadership declared a determination to preserve the people’s armed forces — by rebuilding the Peoples Liberation Army if necessary.
On November 2, the dissolution of the PLA was announced in the form of a new Seven Point Agreement which was reached between Bhattarai, Prachanda and the other parties that make up Nepal’s Constituent Assembly.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Communist Party, Nepal, peoples war, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 1 Comment »
Posted by kasama on November 2, 2011
There will be a public panel discussion this weekend in New Orleans:
From #Occupy to Revolution:
How Could Our World Actually Change
Speakers: Eric Ribellarsi, Jim Weill, Mike Ely
Saturday, November 5, 11 am – 2 pm
Avery Alexander Plaza (formerly Duncan Plaza) in front of City Hall.
Sponsored by the Voice Collective
Firsthand report backs about the revolutionary experiences in Nepal, Greece, and within the Occupy Together movement in the US. Discussion the possibilities for a new revolutionary movement in the U.S.
Jim Weill and Eric Ribellarsi have recently returned from deep investigations into the “movement of the squares” in Greece—and after learning from the ideas of active revolutionaries within that movement. They also bring insights from their explorations of the Maoist revolutionary movement of Nepal, which has mass support in the millions and is sharply confronting the unsolved problems of overthrowing the old order and making much needed radical changes.
Mike Ely is a veteran revolutionary with a history that starts from his work with the early Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, the intense strike wave among coal miners in the 1970s, and covers decades of experience attempting to build revolutionary organization.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Eric Ribellarsi, Greece, Jim Weill, Kasama, Mike Ely, Nepal, Occupy Wall Street | 7 Comments »
Posted by kasama on October 25, 2011
We are receiving reports that the revolutionary left forces within Nepal’s Maoist party may be moving to consolidate themselves and separate from previous Maoist leaders who have openly abandoned preparations for revolution.
This would obviously be an important development for the (the UCPN[Maoist]) — the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). And it would also be a major (even historic) event for South Asia’s hopes, and important on a world scale.
It is something that every revolutionary person should pay attention to, learn from, and help others understand. It is worth asking “What would it mean if the people of a country truly succeeded in creating a radical new socialist society? What would it mean for the world?”
And it is worth watching closely to understand: “What line and approach are the revolutionaries of Nepal regrouping around? What are their plans, strategies and perspectives?”
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 4 Comments »
Posted by Mike E on September 25, 2011
A powerful current in Nepal has wanted a new society and a new form of state power. photo: Jed Brandt
by Mike Ely
CWM raises some important questions when he asks:
“Do you know if there are attempts to strengthen democratic mechanisms within the UCPN (so that the leadership can’t dismiss the wishes of the base in the future)? Also, if a split were to occur, is there reason to suppose that the new formation would be more democratic than the UCPN is now?”
“In comment 25, Eric mentioned mechanisms through which UCPN members can hypothetically influence party decisions, but these mechanisms seemed to require meetings in urban centers, which would presumably be quite inaccessible for people in remote areas. Does this mean that people in remote rural regions (people like Uday) just passively take orders or are there mechanisms through which they can influence the party? Also, Eric claims that Prachanda transgressed the majority position in the UCPN when he began disarming the PLA, which makes me wonder what mechanisms allowed him to disregard the will of the majority and if his apparent lack of accountability played out in the remote areas in the same way as it did in the urban centers.”
I suspect (from our many discussions) that CWM’s assumption is that the Nepal’s Maoist party and revolutionary movement has some inherently anti-democratic structure, and that this (the very existence of a vanguard party) is somehow inherently the problem that needs to be excavated and dealt with. And (typically of such assumptions) it coexists with very little investigation into the actual power relations and decision-making within this living movement.
The situation is quite the opposite: Never in the history of Nepal has there been a force so dedicated to empowering to the people as this Maoist party. The history of Nepal has literally been divided into a “before” and “after” by the emergence of this movement. In a society where power was previously viewed as divine and the people were viewed as voiceless subjects to a king and his regents — the emergence of an armed force rooted among the poorest and most despised, and dedicated to their interests, is a democratic shift of incalculable magnitude.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, mass line, Mike Ely, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 30 Comments »
Posted by Mike E on September 23, 2011
Troy Davis
The following first appeared on Winter Has Its End, revolutionary journalism blog.
The statement is from a young Nepali Maoist from the remote rural Himalayan town of Thewang in Rolpa, the village where the Nepali people’s war began.
Uday advocates for the continuation of the Nepalese revolution, and wrote a statement on the lynching of Troy Davis in the United States.
* * * * * * * *
by Uday Magar
We are shocked by this brutal act of America. We can prove that it is America who is guilty of murdering our friend, TROY DAVIS.
The question is: Who is going to punish the murderer?
The answer is: US.
A part of America is occupied by machines that reject love and justice. Even after it was proven that TROY DAVIS is an innocent man, he was inhumanly murdered. It’s crystal clear that America cruelly kills every hope that is likely to oppose it. It mercilessly murders the minds that show signs of opposition to its plans.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, death penalty, Nepal | 35 Comments »
Posted by kasama on September 21, 2011
foto: Thomas van Beersum
Thanks to J.G. and Odio de Clase for sharing this translation of Liam Wright’s piece on a performance in Nepal that is calling for new revolutionary preparations.
Liam Wright’s original piece first appeared, in English, on Winter Has Its End.
ARTE POPULAR AL SERVICIO DE LA REVOLUCIÓN EN NEPAL: “TRAER LA TORMENTA DE LA REVOLUCIÓN”
Por Liam Wright
1 de septiembre de 2011
Cantó:
“No nos podemos rendir.
No podemos convertirnos en traidores;
no podemos matar nuestros propios sueños.
No podemos entregar nuestras armas al enemigo.
No podemos traicionar a la revolución.”
Levanté los ojos mientras me enjugaba una gota de sudor del rostro. El lugar estaba lleno hasta los topes. Alrededor de mil personas abarrotaban un teatro con capacidad para novecientas. El pasillo central estaba repleto de gente encaramada en asientos improvisados hasta la última fila. Algunas personas se quedaron fuera, asomándose por la puerta de entrada. En la parte de arriba, el entresuelo estaba lleno a rebosar. Y… hacía calor.
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Posted in Kasama translations, Liam Wright, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Mike E on September 15, 2011
Dil Sahni, is a renowned writer, professor, and Maoist sympathizer in Nepal. He works as the coordinator of the M.A. English Department at Butwal Multiple Campus, Nepal.
This poem was published most recently by Winter Has Its End, which is offering a series of poems by revolutionaries in Nepal.
Comrade
by Dil Sahni
Comrade!
When you were in the street
You spoke revolution
Comrade!
When you were in the slums
You spoke liberation
Comrade!
When you were with the people
Like the fish in the water
You spoke Marxism
You spoke Leninism
You spoke Maoism
You spoke so much
Socialism and Communism
And what not
But now Comrade!
When you are in the chair
You do not hear
What the street would say to you
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Posted in Nepal, poem, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 7 Comments »
Posted by Mike E on September 9, 2011
photo: Thomas van Beersum
Thanks to Christos Mais and Antigeitonies for sharing this translation of Liam Wright’s piece on an important performance in Nepal calling for new revolutionary preparations. Liam Wright’s original piece first appeared, in English, on Winter Has Its End.
Φέρτε την καταιγίδα! Μια συγκινητική παράσταση στο Νεπάλ **
του Liam Wright
Σήκωσα τα μάτια μου καθώς σκούπιζα μια σταγόνα ιδρώτα από το πρόσωπό μου. Το μέρος ήταν γεμάτο. Περίπου χίλιοι άνθρωποι στριμωγμένοι σε ένα θέατρο που χωρούσε εννιακόσια άτομα. Ο κεντρικός διάδρομος ήταν γεμάτος με ανθρώπους σκαρφαλωμένους σε αυτοσχέδια καθίσματα μέχρι την τελευταία σειρά. Μερικοί στέκονταν κοιτώντας από την είσοδο. Ο εξώστης ήταν επίσης γεμάτος. Και … έκανε ζέστη.
Είχαμε ταξιδέψει όλη τη νύχτα από τα βουνά, με το λεωφορείο, έντεκα ώρες δρόμο για να φτάσουμε στο Butwal, μια μικρή πόλη στην πνιγηρή πεδινή περιοχή Terai του Νεπάλ.
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Posted in Kasama translations, Liam Wright, Nepal, winter has its end blog | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Mike E on September 8, 2011
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| Posters of Jamakattel, photo credit: Liam Wright |
This first appeared on Winter Has Its End.
by Liam Wright
Update: On Sunday, August 27, we reported on an attack against the head of the now-split, Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Trade Union Federation, Salkiram Jamakattel and the militant response from his constituents.
That night we saw 150 restaurant workers respond to the attack by marching militantly through the streets of the famous tourist district of Kathmandu, Nepal, the Thamel district with chants of “Lal Salam! Lal Salam!” or “Red Salute! Red Salute!”
The next day thousands were in the streets demanding the immediate arrest of his attacker, who had bashed his head with a pipe with obvious intent to kill.
Two days ago Maoists began decorating Kathmandu with posters, continuing to demand the arrest of the assailant who attacked Jamakattel. The posters are hard to miss as you walk around Kathmandu. Almost every rickshaw you see has one pasted on its backside, and they sprinkle the walls of almost every district of the city.
The red, monochromatic posters feature an image of the popular union leader bruised and bandaged in a hospital bed but sitting up, recovering. They read,
“Arrest the person who attempted to murder the popular labor leader and Constituent Assembly member, Comrade Salikram Jamakattel without delay!”
Posted in >> analysis of news, Liam Wright, Nepal, trade unions, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog, working class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Mike E on September 7, 2011
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| Torch rally against surrender, photo credit: Eric Ribellarsi |
This is a translation of the interview Nepal’s Biplab: “Even if we can’t go together, nothing will stop the coming revolution.” Biplab (Netra Bikram Chanda) is a leading member of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) .
This French version appeared on Servir le Peuple.
Biplab :
« Même si nous ne pouvons pas continuer tous ensemble, rien n’arrêtera la prochaine révolution »
Introduction par Servire le Peuple
Une traduction spécialement dédicacée aux ultragauchistes qui considèrent qu’il n’y a pas de ligne rouge au Népal… et que ceux qui “fantasmeraient” là-dessus, c’est à dire ceux qui pratiquent l’internationalisme prolétarien, contrairement à eux, ne feraient que “s’approprier le prestige” ( !) du maoïsme au Népal et maintenant en Inde (et seraient au passage des “cosmopolites” !!!). Car il faut bien comprendre ce qu’il y a derrière cette position : les opportunistes de droite népalais ayant l’appui de l’expansionnisme indien, voire du projet impérialiste chinois, et de toute la Réaction mondiale qui salue leur “engagement dans le processus de paix” ; la ligne rouge, sans la solidarité internationaliste, MOURRA et la révolution népalaise avec elle. En niant qu’elle existe, et donc en ne la soutenant (par définition) pas, les ultragauchistes se font encore une fois les zélés serviteurs du système impérialiste mondial, en accélérant la liquidation de la première révolution issue d’une Guerre populaire victorieuse depuis 1975. Ces manœuvres au service de la Réaction mondiale doivent être dénoncées par tous les vrais révolutionnaires internationalistes, impitoyablement, et tou-te-s ceux et celles qui ont étudié l’histoire du mouvement communiste international, savent ce qu’elles mériteront le moment venu.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Kasama translations, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 1 Comment »
Posted by kasama on September 7, 2011
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| photo: Jim Weill |
This first appeared on Winter Has Its End.
by Jim Weill
In Nepali buses there are seats, and then there are seats. Reclining seats with cushioned headrests – and just about anywhere else a body will fit: in the aisles, on armrests, on benches in the driver’s area, in the doorway, even on top of the bus. One reason for this is, of course, money. Bus operators want to carry as many passengers as possible to acquire as many fares as possible. But Nepalis are also much less squeamish about bodily proximity than European-derived peoples. Complete strangers will lay their heads on each others’ shoulders and it is no offense to lean back against the legs of someone sitting above you.
Furthermore, it seemed that allocation of the proper seats was arbitrary. One could get a ticket for a proper seat, or one could claim a seat early enough, and it was likely the arrangement wouldn’t be contested. So these long bus rides became something egalitarian and communal, with people enduring mild discomfort together, both physically and socially. In a new society, I thought to myself, will everyone have their own cushioned seat, or will everyone share in these minute, everyday struggles together?
Our large coach bus bumped and jostled along the mountain roads, veered around switchbacks and, to my occasional horror, seemed to flirt with the steep edges of the river valley. But eventually, I gave myself over to a different sort of comfort. The clouds hugged the tops of the green hills, terraced with rice paddies. The popular Hindi and Nepali music poured from the speakers, thick with percussion and broad, powerful voices.
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Posted in Jim Weill, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 3 Comments »
Posted by kasama on September 4, 2011
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| Torch rally against surrender, photo credit: Eric Ribellarsi |
The following interview with Biplab (Netra Bikram Chanda), a leading member of the Maoist party in Nepal, was conducted the week before Baburam Bhattarai’s election. At that momentarily the left and right wings of the Maoists were (briefly) working together to weaken the current party chairman Prachanda (obviously for different reasons). That situation ended when Bhattarai moved to disarm and dissolve the People’s Liberation Army.
Things have changed and events have moved quickly in the days since this interview was given. However it still gives a sense of the struggle over the future of Nepal’s revolution within the Maoist party.
It first appeared on Winter Has Its End (WHIE).
WHIE: Very sharp differences have emerged in your party over army integration. Could you explain those to us?
BIPLAB: We have a two-line struggle going on in our party over the integration of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This struggle has mainly been targeted at Baburam Bhattarai, but at the moment it has become focused on Prachanda. Prachanda is claiming that we can go forward by accepting the integration proposals of the reactionary forces in Nepal.
They are ready to dissolve, not integrate, the People’s Liberation Army which fought for 12 years, into the Nepal Army.
It is amazing that the Nepal Army has put forward proposal about integration. Their proposal gives them leadership and disintegrates the People’s Liberation Army under it. The PLA is treated not as soldiers of Nepal. It suggests that the PLA step aside into local bureaus, and become unarmed forest guards. Prachanda is accepting their proposal.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Maoism, Nepal, Prachanda, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 4 Comments »
Posted by Mike E on September 2, 2011
One of many blockades throughout the country. photo credit: Eric Ribellarsi
UPDATE FROM NEPAL:
We have just learned that the Prachanda and Bhattarai factions of the Maoist party in Nepal have announced that they will not step back from their moves to disarm the Peoples Liberation Army. Not only will they order then hanging over of keys to weapons storage containers, but they will also begin moving the containers themselves out of three of the cantonments. (Cantonment is the name for the treaty-supervised bases where the PLA forces are concentrated.)
Kiran, Dev Gurung, and Biplab boycotted the meeting.
* * * * * * * * **
Eric is writing his eyewitness reports from Kathmandu itself, the capital of Nepal. He and co-workers are scrambling to understand and describe events that are breaking around them. Their reports often appear first on their team’s blog Winter Has Its End.
By Eric Ribellarsi
Today, the Kiran faction of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has launched a major protest program against the disarming of the People’s Liberation Army being led by Nepal’s new Prime Minister, Baburam Bhattarai. The Maoist rebels are demanding the immediate reversal of the decision to disarm People’s Liberation Army, a process which has already begun.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Che Guevara, Eric Ribellarsi, Nepal, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 3 Comments »
Posted by Mike E on September 1, 2011
Kiran, Vice chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist):
“….the meeting of Army Integration Special Committee… made a surprising and suicidal decision of handing over the weapons containers and their keys 7:00PM today.
“This decision will lead to disarming and dissolving of People’s Liberation Army. We condemn this decision and humbly request the discarding of this decision of surrender immediately.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The following is a statement by Mohan Baidhya (nom de guerre: Kiran).
Kiran’s faction of the Nepal’s Maoist party is calling for a mass gathering in Kathmandu’s Ratna Park. Eric Ribellarsi also reports that were were plans for blockading the roads leading into Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. It is, of course, unclear what will actually happen. We will share reports on developments.
This statement first appeared on Winter Has Its End. Thanks to Bikkil Sthapit for the English translation.
Kathmandu: September 1, 2011
Our party has always remained firm about the commitments to drafting a new constitution and army integration in regards to the Comprehensive Peace Accord. We’ve already envisioned that both tasks must be completed simultaneously. Without any doubt, army integration is one of the vital parts of peace process.
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Posted in Maoism, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 2 Comments »
Posted by kasama on September 1, 2011
Defiant. photo: Eric Ribellarsi
She sang:
“We cannot surrender.
We cannot become traitors.
We cannot kill our own dreams.
We cannot give our arms to the enemy.
We cannot betray the revolution.”
This first appeared on the Winter Has Its End site for revolutionary journalism.
by Liam Wright
I lifted my eyes as I wiped a streak of sweat from my face. The place was packed. About a thousand people crammed into a theater meant to hold nine hundred. The center aisle was filled with people perched on impromptu seats all the way to the back row. Some stood peering through the entryway. Up top, the balcony was filled to the brim as well. And… it was hot.
We had traveled overnight out of the mountains, on an eleven hour bus ride to get to Butwal, a small city in the sweltering lowland Terai region of Nepal. This city is an historic spot. It is the place where the renowned Nepalese warriors, known as Gorkhas, defeated the British East India Company in 1816, maintaining Nepalese independence.
It seems only appropriate that we would come here, a place where Nepal had fought so decisively for sovereignty long ago, to see a performance organized by a section of the Maoist’s who want to fight to continue their revolution now. The performance, Samana or Resistance, we were told was, “both a call to the people and a warning to our leaders.”
The whole way over I was excited. I’d been mulling over this for a bit. How would the Nepalese revolutionaries go forward? How would they settle the debate over whether to dissolve their People’s Liberation Army or not? Would they move to break through? To go for power? Or would those among the Maoists party’s leadership who want to consolidate a capitalist democracy win the day?
This program promised to give us a hint of how the revolutionaries among the Maoists planned to tell the people: “We’re going to move. Be ready.” We were told that the program is going on tour through forty-five places in all, each with a couple showings. If each is overflowing like this, they were going to reach a lot of people.
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Posted in art, comedy, communism, dance, Liam Wright, Maoism, music, Nepal, Prachanda, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 1 Comment »
Posted by kasama on August 30, 2011
Interview with Vice-commander in the Nepal Peoples Liberation Army. His nom de guerre is Tarzan.
“If we were to integrate the Peoples Liberation Army and Nepal Army under the terms and conditions of the bourgeois army, then we believe the revolution will not be completed.”
This video interview first appeared on the blog of the Winter Has Its End team for revolutionary journalism.
The reporters wrote:
“While on our journey to Thawang, the village where Nepal’s people’s war began, we had the great opportunity to visit with Binprasad, (party name: Tarzan), a People’s Liberation Army member out on break from the cantonments (sites where the revolutionary army has been confined during the period of Nepal’s ceasefire).
“Tarzan spoke with us about his concerns about the future of the People’s Liberation Army, and the future of the revolution itself.”
Watch the video interview and read its transcript here >>
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Posted in >> analysis of news, communism, Nepal, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), video, winter has its end blog | Leave a Comment »
Posted by kasama on August 29, 2011
Baburam Bhattarai at a meeting with the International Monetary Fund. photo credit: Washington Post
While everyone is assessing this development, we will simply publish a news account for now.
The following report first appeared on Nepal Everest News, an English language publication aligned with the Prachanda faction of the Maoist Party. We will have further analysis as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, we urge reader to explore this analysis of the stakes and opposing lines within Nepal’s Maoist movement.
Kathmandu, Aug.28: Vice-chairman of the UCPN (Maoist), Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has been elected the Prime Minister of Nepal. In the elections held today at the meeting of the Legislature-Parliament, Dr. Bhattarai won with 340 votes. His only contender, Nepali Congress Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel garnered 235 votes. A total of 575 votes were cast today out of the total 594 members present in the Legislature-Parliament.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front’s support played a decisive role in Dr. Bhattarai’s win, based on a four-point agreement reached earlier today between the UCPN (Maoist) and the Front on matters relating to peace, constitution and a coalition government.
Voting in favour of Dr. Bhattarai today were the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal, the CPN (ML-Socialist), the Rastriya Janamorcha, the CPN (Unified), the CPN (United), the Samajbadi Janata Dal, the Nepal Pariwar Dal, the Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Giri), the Rastriya Janamukti Party and the Nepal Democratic Socialist Manch, besides his party the UCPN (Maoist).
Likewise, NC leader Poudel received votes from the CPN-UML, the CPN-ML, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the Rastriya Janashakti Party, Independent MP Baban Singh and other fringe parties, including his own party NC. Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal did not take part in the voting today.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, Baburam Bhattarai, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 4 Comments »
Posted by kasama on August 24, 2011
Sabin, fighter in Nepal's Peoples Liberation Army. Photo credit: Zack
The following piece was written from Nepal’s remote Rolpa district as part of the Winter Has Its End revolutionary journalism team.
“During the battle, some of the Royalist Nepal Army soldiers left the camp. Some crawled into the toilets to save their own lives. That was the condition of the RNA.”
“If the revolution does not succeed, it will be very difficult for us.”
Introduction and Interview By Jim Weill
For ten years, the Maoist fighters of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) waged a guerrilla war for power starting in now-famous rural base areas in the Rolpa and Rukum districts of western Nepal. They fought first against the Armed Police in the rural countryside, and then against elements of the Royalist Nepalese Army (RNA).
After negotiations in 2006, both major armies were regrouped in specific areas – the NA in its barracks and the PLA in new bases called “cantonments.” Over the ensuing years, the political focus of the opposing forces has been in the capital, Kathmandu, where the king had been overthrown and where different class forces put forward contrasting proposals for a new Nepal. Part of the controversy has been what to do with the two opposing armies – with reactionaries demanding the disbanding of the PLA, and the revolutionaries demanding the subordination of the NA to popular rule, and with both sides calling their opposing proposals “a process of integrating armies.”
We met Sabin, a platoon commander of the PLA, during a visit to Rachibang commune, in the Rolpa district. Sabin is also a district committee member of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and is on leave from the Dahaban cantonment due to his wife’s pregnancy.
* * * * * * * * * * *
How did you become involved in the PLA?
People in Rolpa were quite oppressed and politically conscious. The government suppressed the people, so we were always in favor of revolution and destroying the monarchy. When the new party was formed by 1994, we were quite affected by its plan and the demands that the party brought. We thought this (CPN Maoist) should be the revolutionary party. I joined by 1996. Later I actually participated in the birth of the party, being involved in Young Communist League (YCL) and organizational work. At that time I was a part-timer. Then my organizational work was in the YCL and the student revolutionary front. In 2002 I became a full-timer in the PLA.
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Posted in >> analysis of news, communism, Jim Weill, Maoism, Nepal, peoples war, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 1 Comment »
Posted by Mike E on August 23, 2011
Photo Credit: Thomas Van Beersum
This first appeared on the Winter has its end journalist blog.
By Liam Wright
Walking down the wet street through Swayambhunath, a part of Kathmandu where the famous monkey temple resides, we passed a number of Nepali people who were going about their day to day; brushing their hair in the street, selling their wares, playing with the one domesticated dog I’ve seen so far (compared to the strays you see around every corner).
I’ve been in Nepal for two and a half days now, having just joined the Winter Has Its End team.
Today is my first interview.
We’ve been invited to attend a Marxist school. We’re told that it isn’t specific to any faction of the Maoists, or in fact any Marxist party. But instead the school is meant to educate young people in the basics of Marxism. It focuses in particular on those who have not yet been politicized but are curious. It starts from a beginners course, with intermediate and advanced levels yet to be developed.
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Posted in communism, Liam Wright, Maoism, Marxist theory, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist), winter has its end blog | 4 Comments »
Posted by kasama on August 18, 2011
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| A wall of books, all by one author. photo credit: Eric Ribellarsi |
The following first appeared on the Winter Has Its End journalism blog.
By Eric Ribellarsi
Nepal is a classic border region – to the south lie the humid, densly populated plains of India. To the North, over the ice-peaks of the Himalayan ridge, is the Tibetan plateau, today dominated harshly and uneasily by the expansive new Chinese powerhouse.
So bookstores here in Katmandu, the main city of Nepal, are entwined with geo-politics, and are often consciously implanted to influence the direction of events.
For example, Tibetan bookstores are everywhere in Kathmandu. They have many purposes. First, they are there to promote the claims that the Dalai Lama (and the apparatus of Buddhists monks) have on the political future of Tibet. They are there to connect with Kathmandu’s tourist trade, and keep the issues of pre-communist Tibet before them. And they are also there as a kind of projection of power: Because the base area of the Dalai Lama’s forces is to the South, across the Nepal-India border, in India. And Tibet itself lies to the north, across the Nepal-China border. And for over fifty years now, the Lamaists have used Nepal as a forward base area – from the CIA-backed guerrilla attacks into China during the 1960s, to the monk demonstrations against the Chinese control in the 1990s.
When I walked in, the bookstore was full of Buddhist works and new-age white people. Of course, most prominently featured are the works of the Dalai Lama. Two entire walls in the store are dedicated the writings of the Dalai Lama. One book is entirely dedicated to photographs of the Dalai Lama.
I thought to myself that “the Dalai Lama’s cult of personality is large enough to make Stalin blush.”
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Posted in >> analysis of news, China, Eric Ribellarsi, India, Nepal, Tibet, winter has its end blog | 1 Comment »
