PM Prachanda intensifies political consultation

With the end of Dashain festivities, Prime Minister Prachanda has intensified political consultation with leaders of various political parties from Saturday.

He held discussion with Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam to review the current security situation in the country.

PM Prachanda reached the residence of CPM (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal at Koteshwor to discuss the formation of political committee that advises government on daily works. Nepal is likely to lead the political committee.

He also met with general secretary of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandi Devi) Sarita Giri this morning. According to Giri, they discussed the current political situation while PM Dahal called on the parties to support the government.

Giri, who reached Baluwatar to deliver invitation of her party’s general convention, said the PM informed her that the government will be expanded before Tihar.

PM Prachanda also met with general secretary of CPN (Masal) Narayan Kaji Shrestha to discuss the party unification process.

Later today, PM Prachandal is scheduled to meet with leaders of Janamorcha Nepal and CPN (UML) for expansion of the current cabinet.

Army integration to begin soon

Prime Minister Prachanda said the current government will be expanded before the next big festival of Tihar and integration between the two armies will begin.

Prachanda Friday morning, the delay in giving final shape to the government has delayed integration process.

The government would form a special committee to work out modalities and processes of the integration. Nepali Congress and few other parties have raised objections against the induction of politically indoctrinated combatants into national army.

Similarly, the two leaders also discussed on unification process of the two parties.

Shrestha said a unification committee will soon be formed to expeditethe process.

CPN Maoist postpones Central committee meeting for a month

Kathmandu, Oct 7 (ANI): The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) on Tuesday postponed its Central Committee (CC) meeting for a month.

It was decided at a meeting today, which was held for a short time, Maoist Chairman Prachandal gave brief answers to the questions raised by the central members on the political report tabled by him.

“The meeting has been deferred for a month in view of the intensive discussions on People’s Republic, federal democratic republic, army integration and new working strategy,” Kantipur quoted Maoist spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur Mahara as saying.

He also informed that the meeting was deferred for a long time due to Dashain and Tihar.

According to media reports, there was strong debate between the hardliners and moderates over the issues of federal democracy and people’s republic.

Central member Devendra Poudel informed the media that the meeting has decided to make decisions on issues such as future direction, organisational structure and government operation through deliberations at the national convention.

Meanwhile, Maoist leader Mohan Baidya ‘Kiran’ said that a better democratic system can be taken as a people’s republic.

“Taking lessons from the examples of failure of communism in European countries, we should take democratic system to a new height so that the democracy deals with the people’s problems properly,” he said. Source ANI)

Finance Minister Bhattarai headed for United States to meet World Bank

Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai is leaving, Tuesday, for Washington DC, the United States to attend the annual meeting of the board of governors of the World Bank

Dr. Bhattarai will brief the World Bank officials regarding the new government's plan for economic revolution in Nepal.

He is leading a three-member Nepali delegation, which includes Finance Secretary Rameshwore Khanal and chief of Foreign Aid Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry Krishna Gyawali.

Dr. Bhattarai will hold talks with other visiting Finance Ministers of different countries while in Washington DC

Communist Party of Nepal Maoist to hold national conference on Nov 10

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The central committee of the Maoists ended, Tuesday, after deciding to hold national conference on November 10.

"The central committee meeting ended and we have now decided to settle all the issues through the National Conference, which will be held on November 10," Barsha Man Pun Ananta told Nepal FM.

Ananta said that the national conference will forge party's future action plans and strategies.

At the CC meeting, Prime Minister Prachanda is said to have proposed to go for National Conference to settle debates on what sort of "People's Republic" the party wants to establish, among others.

According to Ananta, party chairman will present a political document at the conference for discussion.

PM directs govt's talk team to reach out to armed Terai groups immediately

Prime Minister Prachanda has directed the government's talk team headed by peace minister Janardan Sharma to initiate the dialogue process with armed insurgent groups operating in Terai.

The PM gave this direction during a meeting with minister Sharma in Baluwatar Sunday morning. Sharma informed the PM that preparations were underway to bring the armed groups to the negotiating table "within 2-3 days".

A cabinet meeting had on Friday formed the three-member talk team. Local development minister Ram Chandra Jha and education minister Renu Yadav are other members of the talk team.

The government's initiative for talks comes following declaration of ceasefire by some of the armed groups in view of Dashain festival. While declaring ceasefire they also stated that they were ready for talks, but it is not known if the government will hold separate talks with all of them. Around a dozen armed groups had met in Indian state of Bihar and agreed to come under a single organisation.

Prachanda at the New School, New York 26th September 2008 - The Videos

Prachanda at New School: Intro from samudaya.org on Vimeo.


Prachanda at New School, part 2 from samudaya.org on Vimeo.


Prachanda at New School, part 3 from samudaya.org on Vimeo.

Democracy and Class Struggle was pleased to hear the voice of our US Comrades The Poor Righteous Party of the Black Nation speak in support of Comrade Prachanda and Prachanda Path at the New School Meeting

“On behalf of the Poor Righteous Party of the Black Nation we congratulate PM Prachanda, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Nepali people for your success. The poor oppressed Afro-American workers of the US stand in solidarity with the Nepali people in your fight to build a New Democratic Nepal. Long live Prachanda Path!”

Sovereignty still at risk, says PM Prachanda

Hours before his party's central committee meeting began in the capital Friday, Prime Minister Prachanda said there is still threat to national sovereignty and unity.

Addressing a function organised by indigenous groups in Kathmandu Friday,
PM Prachanda claimed that some elements are still trying to weaken national sovereignty and disturb communal harmony.

Prachanda added that these elements are taking advantage of the country's transitional phase and political instability.

He called on all sides to take this opportunity to strengthen nationality as the country transforms from one political system to another - monarchy to republic. He stressed that consensus among all stakeholders would be crucial in drafting new constitution, and admitted that to complete this task would be a litmus test for this party.

PM Prachanda also assured that the commitments made earlier would be incorporated in the new constitution and his party is conscious towards addressing the demands raised by different sections including indigenous groups.

On the occasion, he promised that government would formulate necessary laws for implementation of the ILO convention (169) on rights of indigenous people, which has already been ratified by the country

We are being encircled by the reactionaries

by Indramohan Sigdel ‘Basanta’,

Central Committee Member, CPN (Maoist)

The CPN (Maoist) is now at the stage of peaceful revolution. Revolution in itself is meant to politically overthrow the enemy from state power. How can you recognize your enemy at this peaceful stage?

Generally speaking, the revolution is meant to violently overthrow the class enemy from the state power. However, one must not one-sidedly understand that the revolution necessarily takes a violent form all through its course. The form of struggle is determined not by the subjective wish of the struggling forces but of course by the objective condition and the balance of forces at the given period. At a certain juncture and certain condition, the revolution can develop in a peaceful way. Our participation in the two negotiations in the past and the present peace process are examples of peaceful development of revolution. Nevertheless, it is wrong to categorically separate revolution as two distinct stages, the violent or peaceful, as your question points to.

The enemy, at any particular juncture of revolution, is not determined by whether the revolution is developing in a violent or non-violent way but by which class, in the then socio-economic condition of the given country plays a decisive role in the state power. Nepal is a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country. Although, the feudal institution, the monarchy, has been abolished but feudalism, which is strongly present in petty production system and culture of the Nepalese people, is by no means over. However, the bureaucrat and comprador bourgeois, through which imperialism and mainly the Indian expansionism penetrate into our country, and, which stands against the Nepalese people’s aspiration of democracy, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity at the present juncture, this has been the principal enemy of the new democratic revolution in Nepal.

Has the CPN (Maoist) identified the nature of struggle at the present phase of revolution? Is it civil war or national liberation war?

After the accomplishment of constituent assembly election and declaration of federal democratic republic of Nepal, the political equation has changed to a great extent. Without a decisive victory against feudalism and imperialism, mainly Indian expansionism in our case, no new democratic revolution can triumph in semi-feudal and semi-colonial Nepal. Now, the Comprador bourgeoisie has come at the forefront of the class struggle in Nepal. Therefore, the national aspect of the New Democratic Revolution has become principal at present.

If the class struggle has not ended, then why does the Party Chairman and Prime Minister Com. Prachanda repeatedly talk about keeping a harmonious relationship between worker s and management?

We are now at the stage of New Democratic Revolution not the Socialist one. So, resolution of the basic contradiction, which is made up of the broad peasantry and patriotic forces on the one hand and feudalism and imperialism on the other, is the necessary precondition for the accomplishment of New Democratic Revolution in Nepal. Hence, it is clear that the contradiction between worker and the national bourgeois is not the principal contradiction right now so the need to maintain a harmonious relation between them is obvious.

What do you mean by maintaining equidistant relationship with the two neighbouring countries, India and China?

Nepal lies between two giant nations India and China. In the past, it had been an erroneous practice that one section of the reactionaries played the China card while the other played the India one to grab a bigger share in the reactionary power. But given our geo-political situation, we cannot sustain and prosper both politically and economically unless we maintain an equidistant diplomatic relation with these countries.

Is the forthcoming full central committee meeting going to take up some important decisions about demarcating the roles and responsibilities between the Party and the Government?

With the successful accomplishment of Constituent Assembly election our Party, the CPN (Maoist), is now participating in the government. Our participation is a political tactic aimed at accomplishing the new democratic revolution by restructuring the state power. Therefore it is one of the fronts of class struggle.

However, in the present situation when the tasks and responsibilities of our party are mainly on how it can play a revolutionary role from the government have not been concretely defined. Some confusion has arisen among the ranks, the revolutionary masses and the international communist movement as well. It is the party which leads the government not vice versa. With this in mind, the forthcoming central committee meeting is going to concretely define and assign tasks and responsibilities to the government, our comrades present in the constituent assembly and the entire party ranks and the mass organisations. Not only this, the party is going to develop concrete policy, plan and programme to centrally command and coordinate all of the fronts of struggle including the government.

Do you think it is necessary to review the party document regarding 21st century democracy?

The 21st century democracy is our new concept of democracy related to the post-revolution period of democratic and proletarian dictatorship under the new democratic and socialist stage respectively, not the pre-revolution one. We have not yet accomplished revolution. So what have we been practicing now is not in consistent with our concept put forward by the document regarding the 21st century democracy. However, the need to review the concept of the 21st century democracy and develop it further may arise in the days to come when we will be practicing new democracy and socialism on the way to communism.

Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has told about the budget that he made as socialism oriented budget. Is it democratic socialism oriented or communist socialism oriented? What do you find when you analyse its characteristics?

Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, one of the senior leaders of our party, has brought out a budget on behalf of the present coalition government under our party leadership. It is true the budget is progressive and it has attempted to address the basic problems of the oppressed class, sex, nations and regions. For that reason one may find a few aspects of socialist economy in it. But the budget alone cannot be a criterion to make it a new democratic, socialist or capitalist. As part of the communist party’s comprehensive ideological and political line, it is the political and economic programme that makes the economy new democratic or socialist depending upon the stage of revolution.

The present budget has been brought out on the basis of common minimum programme agreed upon by the coalition partners that have no common economic and political understanding. In this sense, it is better to term this economy as the economy suitable for the present transitional condition in which a revolutionary and status quo forces in the coalition are contending for their ultimate goals.

Many of the Party leaders accept that the CPN (Maoist) is being encircled by the reactionaries around. What are the Party policies and programmes to break encirclement to achieve the goal?

The new democratic revolution in Nepal is at the crucial juncture of seizing central power under our party leadership. The reactionaries and the opportunists the world over do not want the revolution to succeed in Nepal. Therefore it is true that we are being encircled by the reactionaries to make the revolution abort before it takes its birth.

However, despite their effort, the CPN (Maoist) and the oppressed Nepalese people are equipped with a scientific ideology, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Prachanda Path and can make the entire encirclements and conspiracies fail and so the success of new democratic revolution is inevitable. The forthcoming central committee meeting is going to bring out concrete policy, plan and programme to achieve this minimum strategic goal.

September 29, 2008

First Published in Red Star - Paper of The CPN Maoist

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Questions and Answers with Prime Minister Prachanda in New York - Part 2 of Prachanda at International Action Center