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My Word
Nepal Maoists
The
American Connection and More
by Rajinder Puri
The
Maoists hold the key to Nepal’s future stability. Their declared goal
does not differ from that of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA). They simply
do not trust the King. They are dragging their feet until elections to a
new constituent assembly actually occur. Comrades Prachanda and
Bhattarai, Chairman and Convener respectively of the Communist Party of
Nepal (Maoist), stressed that their agitation would remain peaceful.
They announced a three-month ceasefire. The SPA has indicated that the
interim government will speedily elect a constituent assembly to make
the new Constitution. The main problem would be to persuade the Maoists
to give up arms. The Royal Nepal Army has already indicated its
readiness to recruit Maoists in the army. If Prime Minister GP Koirala
with his known tact succeeds in persuading the Maoists to enter the
democratic mainstream they would become a major, if not dominant, factor
in Nepal’s politics. If that happened, what would be the result for
India?
In the mid-nineteen nineties the Maoists formed their own group to
separate from other communists who participated in elections. The
Maoists committed themselves to revolutionary change through armed
struggle. The organizational structure and nomenclatures they adopted
were inspired by the Chinese model. They established their own Peoples’
Liberation Army (PLA) with its own Central Military Commission (CMC).
Analysts tended to conclude easily therefore that Nepal’s Maoists were
and are controlled by China. The truth may not be that simple.
Interviewed by Charles Haviland for BBC World on 13 February this year
Comrade Prachanda was asked: “Fighting a war is very expensive. If
your supporters are mainly in poor rural parts of Nepal, where are you
getting your money from?”
He replied: “We are certainly fighting for the rights of poor people
in Nepal. We are the children of Nepali citizens. The main source of our
income is the same people we are fighting for. As a secondary source, we
used to extract from our enemies; but now, our main source is the
support from the people…. It's been well established that no government
anywhere has financially supported our revolution…. We are free to make
decisions.” No government, perhaps. But what about others?
The Maoists have 40,000 armed activists. Comrade Prachanda may well be
speaking the truth. But if he were getting arms and money from outside
powers, would he admit it? He could be right, though, about his power to
take independent decisions. Regardless of outside support any group
engaged in armed struggle enjoys far greater freedom of action than its
counterparts engaged in traditional politics. All politics today,
including revolutionaries and NGOs, has become corporate activity. It
matters little if money comes from governments, agencies or business
houses. What matters is the agenda that is followed. The tendency to
hide sources of funding arises from coyness associated with conventional
morality. In a decade or so such coyness might disappear. Internet and
the InfoTech age could introduce a kind of transparency that renders
secrecy impossible.
From the beginning the Maoists have been closely associated with the
Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) with its headquarters in
Chicago, USA. On February 1, 1998 the RIM Committee wrote: “The
participation of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) in the
Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, the concern and assistance
given by your Party to the advance of the Communist movement in the
South Asia region and throughout the world, even at difficult moments in
your struggle, inspire us. The Committee of RIM and the CPN (M) will
continue to march forward as in the past -- united by our all-powerful
ideology.” In 2001 Prachanda responded: “The present rapid pace
of development would have been inconceivable without the support of
Communist revolutionaries, particularly the Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement, during the period of the historic initiation
of the People's War.”
The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) is the US political arm of the
apex international body, RIM. Mr Robert Avakian heads both RCP and RIM.
Other fraternal members of RIM, apart from Nepal’s Maoists, include
Peru’s extremist party Shining Path. RIM is strongly opposed to China’s
economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Its leaders endorse China’s
Cultural Revolution. To evade arrest after a White House demonstration
against Deng Xiaoping in 1981, Mr Avakian and other RCP leaders fled the
US to live in France. While Mr Avakian directs affairs from France, RCP
is led by Mr Clark Kissinger in the US. The RCP spokesperson is a former
convict, Mr Carl Dix, who firmly believes in world revolution through
violence.
The puzzling fact is that the US State Department has designated Nepal’s
Maoists as a terrorist group. Despite this, RCP’s Avakian supports the
Maoists. He condemns the US for describing Nepal’s CPN (M) as a
terrorist group. And yet, both RIM and RCP continue to function in the
US. How? After 9/11 the Bush administration’s security measures have
been extreme enough to provoke allegations of even converting America
into a police state!
It would therefore be reckless to identify which foreign inspiration, if
any, guides the Maoists. If there is indeed covert US support for the
Maoists it may or may not be in cooperation with elements within China.
The economic advantages accruing to China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA)
for decades through commerce with the US were not unnoticed. In 1996
reputed columnist Abe Rosenthal wrote in New York Times: “Wake up
America! Wake up to the truth that the Republican leaders are partners
with the Democratic leaders in building up the Chinese armed forces.”
In 1997 he wrote: “The great part of US business in China is with
companies and cartels controlled by the Chinese military.”
Instead of speculating about the foreign links of Maoists, India would
do well to focus therefore on its own interests in Nepal. Nepal and
India have the closest of historical and cultural links. Nepal’s Maoists
have interaction with India’s Maoists. They could influence their Indian
comrades to enter the electoral mainstream. India and Nepal have
enormous economic potential to explore. With Indian funding and
technology, the two can utilize all the estimated energy of potentially
50,000 megawatts still available and untapped in Nepal. That would
spectacularly transform the economies of both Nepal and India’s
heartland. If the Maoists remain difficult, India can shut the door and
let Nepal fend for itself.
The Maoists want both China and India to have close relations with
Nepal. That would be welcome only if China granted autonomy to Tibet and
opened it to India. India’s foreign policy should be dictated by two
simple axioms. First, it must welcome democracy everywhere. Secondly, it
must insist on reciprocity in all international relationships.
May 3, 2006
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My Word
The Week of April 30, 2006
Nepal
Maoists: The American Connection and More by Rajinder Puri
India's Reservations Controversy by Dr.
Subhash Kapila
America's One Trick Pony of Band-Aid Policies by
Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Is Sonia above Law? by V. Sundaram, IAS (Retd)
The Education Crisis : Private Vs Sarkari by
Usha Kakkar
Charisma Vs Caste by Usha Kakkar
Are you Safe on Network? by Ruchi
Gupta
Women and War by Dr. Prasenjit Maiti
The Rising by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Human Limitations: Is it possible to overcome
them ? by TA Ramesh
Banishing Poverty & Illiteracy: Instant Solutions
by Swachid K. Rangan
Europe: The Ageing Continent by Mehru Jaffer
Mahabharata – The Harvest of Hatred by Satya
Chaitanya
Are You the Right Man? by Dr. Krishna
Saksena
A Trip to Self Realization by Surjasikha
Ganguli
How to Choose the Right Book for your child?
by Garima Gupta
Hysteric about Headache? by Dr.
Savitha Suri
The Food-Mood Tangle by Neeta Lal
Remembering Zimbabwe of Old by Dr. Amitabh
Mitra
Trip to the rainbow nation South Africa –
Johannesburg by Jayati Chowdhury
Kenya: Killing her Softly for Playing by
Kwamboka Oyaro
Self-made Stithprajna by J. Ajithkumar
When I was Humbled by Arya Bhushan
Jacky's Gruesome Death by P. Mohan Chandran
An Actor and a Cause – Comparison by MH Ahsan
Re-Evaluating Gulshan Nanda by Satish Chandra
Singh
Pyaasi Ghaggar by Kusum Choppra
What makes Rats Perky and Dinosaurs Tardy?
by VK Joshi
Positive Blip on HIV Radar by Nitin Jugran
Bahuguna
If : A book review by G. Swaminathan
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