The peace accord signed on November 21, 2006, appears to be approaching a logical culmination, with the Nepal Army (NA) taking final control over the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), on April 10, 2012. The dismantling of the PLA has brought the process of Army integration, the major stumbling block to the implementation of the 2006 Agreement, to its final phase.
Prime Minister (PM) Baburam Bhattarai, who also heads the constitutionally mandated Army Integration Special Committee (AISC), told the Committee on April 10, 2012, that the NA was going to move into all 15 PLA cantonments, take full control, and seize more than 3,000 weapons locked in containers lying there. He added that the process would be completed by the evening of April 12. However, following reports of clashes in the cantonments, the PM met the NA chief, Chhattra Man Singh Gurung, in the evening of April 10, and directed him to implement the decisions of the AISC. NA troops took charge of the cantonments and the weapons’ containers the same day.
Nepal
Nepal
Significantly, the second phase of the regrouping process, which had begun on April 8, 2012, had vitiated the environment in the cantonments. Consequently, the process was halted on April 10 at the request of the Maoist leadership. It was, however, restarted on April 13, and, as of April 19, 2012, when it was finally concluded, there were only 3,129 former PLA combatants left for integration into the NA. A total of 6,576 combatants chose the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), and will be provided with cheques in the range of NPR 500,000 to NPR 800,000, depending on their ranks. On April 10, 2012, moreover, the AISC reiterated that the VRS option would be kept open for combatants as long as the integration process was not concluded.
In the first phase (November 18 to December 1, 2011) of regrouping, 9,705 former combatants had chosen integration into the NA. In a landmark achievement, the AISC had initiated the process of integration following a November 1, 2011, seven-point deal signed by three major political parties – UCPN-M, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and Nepali Congress (NC) – and the umbrella formation of several Madheshi groups, the United Democratic Madheshi Front (UDMF). The deal provided three options to former PLA combatants – integration, voluntary retirement and rehabilitation. A total of 16,997 PLA combatants were subsequently ‘regrouped’. While 9,705 combatants opted for integration, 7,286 chose voluntary discharge, and six combatants registered their names for rehabilitation packages. The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) had registered 19,602 combatants in the second verification conducted on May 26, 2007.
The PLA was founded in 2002 in the midst of the Civil War initiated by the Maoists in 1996, and was led by UCPN-M chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda. In September 2008, Nanda Kishor Pun was appointed new ‘chief commander’ of the PLA, after Prachanda became Nepal’s Prime Minister.
The two phases of regrouping exposed Maoist attempts to inflate the number of PLA combatants, and also deflated the Maoist demand for the integration of more than the stipulated 6,500 combatants in the Army. Worried by their weakening political control and by intra-party feuds, the Maoists had sought to increase their barraging power in negotiations by inflating the size of their combat forces.
Apprehensions of violence by restive combatants held in the cantonments for well over five years, forced the Maoist leadership to a resolution that was marked by some recent haste. Prachanda, for instance, on April 11, termed the move to hand over Maoist combatants, their arms, and the cantonments to the NA, a “bold decision” and observed, “Yesterday’s decision was made after activities aimed at disrupting integration were intensified.” Reacting on Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya’s opposition to the decision and simultaneous protests, he added, “The protests by the faction of Kiran ji was part of their responsibility. This is like their regular job. But, now petty issues should not be bickered over… Peace process has almost concluded, only certain technical issues remain. Now, we need to move forward on the Constitution writing process.” Earlier, opposing the integration process, Baidya, who according to Maoist assessments, controlled 30 per cent of the Maoist combatants, had termed the integration deal a “sell-out” and had reportedly encouraged dissent within the camps. Clashes had erupted at several Maoist camps after combatants accused party leaders and commanders of ‘corruption’ and bias in the integration process.
An April 14, 2012, AISC decision laid down that the ranks of the integrated combatants would be determined according to the NA’s, and not the PLA’s, standards. A Selection Committee would be headed by the Chairman of Nepal’s Public Service Commission (PSC) or by a member appointed by him, and a General Directorate would be created under the NA, headed by a Lieutenant General, to absorb the integrated combatants. The combatants will have to undergo between three and nine months of training, depending on their ranks. The Directorate would only be deployed for disaster relief, industrial security, development, and forest and environment conservation. On April 17, moreover, the NA stated that it could not start the recruitment process of former Maoist combatants until the structure—leadership and size—of the General Directorate had been finalised at the political level.
Conspicuously, despite reports of strong opposition from some sections of former PLA combatants and resultant clashes, as well as a degree of ambiguity on the mode of integration, the integration process now appears to have become irreversible. An unnamed NC leader thus noted, “The trigger may have been negative, but with this step, the peace process is now irreversible. For its own interest, the Maoist leadership will push through the integration process.”
Ram Chandra Poudel, leader of the NC Parliamentary Party, observed, further, “It (PLA’s integration into the NA) is a very important step towards the transformation of the Maoist party into a civilian party.” The peace process is now expected to be expedited, as the main demand of the two major non-Maoist political formations – CPN-UML and NC – has now been met. Parties also believe that the Maoists, minus the combatants, will have to be more flexible about contentious issues that have blocked the drafting of the constitution.
tl;dr: Maoists about to add a whole 3k-odd people to an army of 100k+, who have to go through mandatory training, and everybody else who fought is just going home. woo.
jools posted:
what would have made this unsuccessful
if the PLA shot all the NA guys in the face. or they all ran off with the party's hard left and overthrew the government again.
Cycloneboy posted:jools posted:
what would have made this unsuccessfulif the PLA shot all the NA guys in the face. or they all ran off with the party's hard left and overthrew the government again.
what would have been unsuccessful about that????
source is http://www.eurasiareview.com/24042012-nepal-consolidating-the-peace-analysis/
Nepal Maoists to change ideology, hint at giving up anti-India stance
In a major policy shift, Nepal's ruling Maoists will adopt a new path to socialism through capitalism and may also give up their anti-India stance at the upcoming national convention of the party.
Some 2,500 delegates of the ruling UCPN-Maoist will attend the six-day general convention, to take place after a gap of over 20 years, starting on Saturday in central Nepal's Hetauda Municipality in an attempt to revamp the guerrilla group-turned-mainstream political party.
"We will follow 'the path of capitalism' to achieve communism instead of pursuing 'New Democracy' as propounded by chairman Mao Zedong," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, vice-chairman of UCPN-Maoist and deputy prime minister.
"Opposition to India cannot be a basis of national politics," Shrestha said, hinting at a change of the Maoists' anti-India stance of the past.
"Good relations with our neighbours India and China could be maintained without compromising national independence and securing our authority to decide our fate by ourselves", he said.
The Maoists took up arms in 1996 to fulfill their 40-point demands. Their demands included scrapping of the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 and banning Indian vehicles and Hindi cinema in Nepal.
Shrestha underlined the need to reorient the ideological course of achieving "socialism through new-democracy" as propounded by Mao in China to achieving "socialism through capitalism".
"We have come to the conclusion that it was not possible to achieve socialism via the model of new democracy in the current global political context," Shrestha said.
As the society has preferred capitalism the party has decided to change its ideological course, he said.
"To achieve this national policy and programmes should be framed and implemented as per the social democratic way while maintaining the spirit of communism," Shrestha said.
"We need to maintain the communist spirit, but programmes should be social-democratic so that we can achieve socialism through capitalism," the Maoist vice-chairman said.
The first central committee meeting of the CPN-Maoist after its seventh general convention has decided to expedite preparations for an ‘ urban revolt .’
The party has set up local structures accordingly and asked cadres to make preparations for an urban revolt by concentrating on areas near the major cities. The nine-day central committee meeting that ended on Tuesday also agreed to transform the party’s youth wing, the National Volunteers, into a military wing, though it has decided to keep the decision a “secret.”
The general convention of the breakaway Maoist party ended on January 16 by adopting the line of ‘people’s revolt on the foundations of the people’s war.’ Cadres had highlighted the need for the revival of conflict-era structures, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to complete the ‘outstanding revolution’ and transform the country into a ‘people’s republic.’
The central committee has decided that ‘ urban revolt ’ will be the party’s top priority, a leader told the Post on Tuesday, adding that organisational structure and cadre mobilisation have been planned as per the policy. “In the first phase, we will expose traitors, mafias, smugglers and corrupts. Cadres will concentrate on city areas under this campaign,” the leader said.
Source claimed that the party could even get back to preparing for an armed struggle if the state suppresses the party’s campaigns against ‘political and social malpractices.’ The central committee has kept open the option to return to armed struggle, the leader claimed.
getfiscal posted:i bet american maoists cream their jeans when they read shit like that. it's like yes finally i was betrayed and can write a bunch of denunciations.
this is way more general though. anytime someone fucks up its open season.
Goethestein posted:nationalism is so funny. grr we're nepalese and we're really mad at the indians! like anybody in the world not from one of those two nations could tell the difference
*puffs pipe*
maybe... dear goatstein... that is precisely the problem!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/world/europe/marxist-group-claims-attack-on-us-embassy-in-turkey.html?_r=0
ilmdge posted:ISTANBUL — A Marxist group with a history of political violence in Turkey claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide bombing at the American Embassy in Ankara the day before, releasing a statement calling the United States “the murderer of the peoples of the world.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/world/europe/marxist-group-claims-attack-on-us-embassy-in-turkey.html?_r=0
didn't the bomber chicken out at the checkpoint?
wasted posted:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3528378
I'm not okay with condemning the populace of Mali to a horrible fate to assuage the white guilt of D&D posters, sorry.
getfiscal posted:i bet american maoists cream their jeans when they read shit like that. it's like yes finally i was betrayed and can write a bunch of denunciations.
flowery third worldism is the new post post soviet union opportunist trend
its very exiting though it would be nice if they were at least organised enough to organize some functional parties like the trots did
It's on: revolutionary openings in Nepal
06 April 2013
A profound legitimacy crisis has emerged for the anti-revolutionary forces of Nepal. As we go to press, 33 political parties, led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, are launching a national general strike (known as a bandh, a tactic where workers and militants surround and force the closure of all businesses) throughout the entire country beginning tomorrow, April 7. Let's rewind a bit and understand the root of these strikes and the crisis surrounding them.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries on the entire planet. It is one of the few places in the world that has never been formally colonized. Its monarchies more or less prevented a direct British conquest of the country (losing two-thirds of its territory in the process). The ruling army of Nepal is unlike the state of other oppressed countries where the state is usually directly integrated into global imperialism. In Nepal, the state has historically been of a feudal-nationalist type (one that bitterly oppressed the people while resisting integration into the imperialist world system).
Through a ten year long protracted people's war (liberating 80% of the country’s territory!) and torrents of revolt in the capitol city of Kathmandu, the old monarchy of Nepal was toppled in 2006. The leading revolutionary party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), emerged as the largest political party in the Constituent Assembly elections (a post-revolutionary electoral body) following that rebellion. While this was viewed as a victory inside of the party, there were very different lines inside of the party about how to approach this victory.
Some viewed the Constituent Assembly as a place to expose the limits of this form, and to prepare the minds and organization of millions of people for a new national armed insurrection. They based themselves on the millions of poor peasants and Nepal's small urban proletariat, organized in dozens of mass organizations and the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary). Others, notably Bhattarai and Prachanda (two counter-revolutionary leaders of the party), viewed the Constituent Assembly as an end in itself, and aligned themselves with powerful international imperialist forces, NGOs, and urban middle classes.
The movement split in 2011 after a deal that brought Baburam Bhattarai to the position of prime minister in Nepal. Bhattarai had gone to the state of India (and the United States), and promised India increasing ownership of Nepal’s natural resources and industries in an agreement known as BIPPA. He had promised the Indian state to integrate 10,000 fighters from the south of Nepal (Terai) where many are pro-India secessionists. This was meant to curtail the feudal-nationalism of the Nepal Army and place it more directly under imperialist control. He ordered the handover of the arms of the People’s Liberation Army, and the dissolution of that revolutionary army. And yet, in the face of all of this, the revolutionaries of Nepal have regrouped.
They have regrouped into the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist. They have been in preparations for a new “People’s Revolt” – a national armed insurrection aimed at bringing about a new revolutionary road in Nepal. This strategic orientation has been the plan of their party when it entered the cities from the countryside, and they are creatively innovating and investigating how to make it a reality.
The BIPPA agreement did not go well for the Bhattarai regime. This agreement was even more reactionary than anything ever proposed by the old bourgeois political parties of Nepal, who were not fully on-board with it. The Bhattarai regime’s central promise to Nepal was to write a new constitution and stabilize the country. Two years later, it has failed, providing only a new corrupt bureaucracy. The CPN-Maoist describes the new form of oppression as neo-colonialism, meaning a colonized society ruled by local oppressors (like South Africa). There is no new constitution, the country is in chaos, and Bhattarai has been exposed as a counter-revolutionary who has betrayed the people on a profound level.
In this context, Bhattarai’s ruling party, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), handed over the government to Nepal’s chief judge, Khilraj Regmi, who is now the completely unelected prime minister of the country. Regmi along with the political parties that handed power to him claim that this is a preparation for “fair and democratic elections.” But millions of people say it is a part of a larger coup, meant to impose a new, even more reactionary form of oppression on the people. They point out that these elections do not even claim to guarantee the replacement of Regmi as Prime Minister of Nepal.
CPN-Maoist militants have seized the land of the prime minister, and re-distributed it. They have, together with 33 other political parties, brought the country to a halt. They say this is a preparation for “People’s Movement III.” People’s Movement I was a national rebellion that forced Nepal’s monarchy to hold elections in 1991, and People’s Movement II was the country-wide revolt that toppled King Gyanendrah in 2006. More militant actions and confrontations are coming.
Meanwhile, the government has demanded that the CPN-Maoist’s security officers hand over the remaining arms that are used to protect the party’s leadership. Responding, CPN-Maoist General Secretary Thapa said, "We don’t' need the old rusted weapons, we will submit it and take new ones to the houses of people… New arms are being made in the factory… They will come to the homes of the cadres."
Let’s be alert, and prepared to stand in solidarity with Nepal if future revolutionary openings (or extreme repression of revolutionaries) emerge.
