20/04/06 - 26/04/06
Maoist takeover: Becoming a reality
BY DR. PRAVIN RAJBAHAK

What most people had feared in their wildest dreams is now coming closer home. A total Maoist seize of the country seemed unimaginable but as they now adopt into action Chairman Mao’s doctrine of “seizing the cities from the villages”, it seems that the mainstream political parties gave them the space, the golden opportunity and indeed their flag to carry out an operation that other countries would have dealt with overwhelming might and military power to prevent the country falling into the hands of those that believe in “eliminating the class-enemy” and one-party communist dictatorship.


Till now, the tactics has worked with remarkable accuracy. City dwellers of Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Dhangadi, Birgunj and Chitwan are amazed to see new faces in their towns pelting stones, braving rubber bullets, burning tyres, placing bolders at street centers and shouting provocative slogans. These “new faces” have all arrived from the adjacent villages and most of them are well-trained Maoist guerrillas. There are at least 3 cases of firing from on behalf of the protestors towards the policemen. On April 16 th they stoned the Pulchowk branch of the Himalayan Bank Limited. Why do protestors demanding the restoration of democracy need to vandalize the post office premises, smash cars, try to enter the private residences of police officers, and smash the windows of a bank where thousands of depositors have kept their money and valuables? The statement signed by Prachanda and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai also proves that this agitation is essentially a Maoist program merely “supported by the agitating parties.” In a BBC radio interview, spokesman of the CPN (Maoist) also clarified that this movement is a Maoist program contrary to the parties’ claim that the Maoists had not infiltrated into the agitation. While the confusion goes on, the protests have been anything else but peaceful. Dozens of policemen have been hurt, five deaths, private households are terrified with the prospect of rioters entering home and vandalizing their private property, but the so-called democracy movement goes on simply to satisfy the Maoist yearning for total power. The parties have fallen into the Maoist trap as they have given not only their flags but also their slogan and in that rigmarole, the terrorist who was about to climb atop a telephone tower in Pokhara to set it ablaze has been named as a “martyr”. If people that destroy government buildings, telecom towers and vandalize private houses are termed as “martyrs,” why not call all the Maoist rebels who have been killed in the last 10 years of the insurgency also as “martyrs”?

Everyone knows that the crowd that has gathered for the so-called restoration of democracy aren’t the cadres of the seven party alliance nor are they common people desiring competitive multi-party system in which periodic elections are held and those that rule have to be elected once in every five years. They are villagers terrified by the Maoists and “ordered” to go on a seize as dictated by their commanders. Before it used to be “orders” to attack a police post, an army base or a district headquarter; now it simply to chant slogans, burn tyres and wave flags. This time it is much easier for the crowd long abreast with living under the shadow of the gun of the Maoists. If this crowd is allowed to run amok in Kathmandu or in any major town of Nepal, it will be a repeat of the fall of Vietnam where thousands of petty bourgeois capitalists were eliminated in the name of “class enemy”.

The King in his democracy day message called for reconciliation and a dialogue with the political parties and even went ahead of offering them “responsibility” to hold general elections within the year 2063 B.S. The party leaders, as they are in a suicidal mission, discarded the call by the monarch. Here, all Nepalese must realize who is the real roadblock for a true reconciliation, peace and stability? After all, who are the political leaders? They were elected seven years ago and that parliament was dissolved by none other than the elected Prime Minister himself. Don’t they have to renew their membership of the parliament? Can democracy be restored without elections? What is wrong in at least accepting the call for a dialogue with the head of state when the party leaders themselves see before their eyes the looming Maoist threat at their doorstep? Why don’t they form an all-party government and in the first cabinet meeting recommend the reinstatement of the House? The King has no authority to re-instate a dissolved house. Why don’t they hold a dialogue with the monarch, form an all-party government and then seek ways from the Supreme Court on whether the old house can be resurrected?

In this context, it is worthwhile to gaze the tremendous amount of conspiracy against the Nepali state by one section of the international community. In the guise of helping democracy, human rights and press freedom what they and their sponsored INGOs have done is fragmented the Nepali society in which everyone distrusts the other side. A country that never surrendered to the British Empire has now been punctured within by some elements of our own society. What is essentially a Maoist seize of the urban areas of Nepal has been falsely termed as a popular uprising against the monarchy. Nationalist Nepalese must understand that Nepal’s geo-strategic location in between India and China is one of the most vital and critical in the world and thus is the amount of conspiracy to turn it to another Lebanon or Afghanistan or Sikkim. That is why the world-wide war against terrorism led by the United States stops in Nepal and the threat of Naxalites in Indian states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand has no impact even if the Maoists takeover Nepal. India wants the Maoists of Nepal to be brought into the mainstream of politics but its own Prime Minister threatens not to “have a dialogue” with them until they lay down their arms. This clear double-standard has now been clearly exposed. Some Indian newspapers are already talking of a military intervention in Nepal not realizing the same fate that they may meet as that of the IPKF in Sri Lanka.

All sensible Nepalese must rise to the occasion and understand that democracy is not important than the nation itself. They also ought to understand the gravity of threat against the very survival of the nation. Or else, “democracy” may never be there nor an independent Nepal.

(Dr. Rajbahak is a pediatrician and can be reached at

People's News/Commentary



Dear Friends and all those who love Nepal,

This article was out some week before King Gyanendra gave the power. But it is still relevant because there is still more to happen in Nepal and may make a drastic difference in our lives requiring mass migration !

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I DO worry about the possibility that these goons might come to power..

The number one enemies of the country are the king and his cronies including this pediatrician who wrote the above article and the one who posted it here. People have been fighting monarchy and they will not put up with any other totalitarians whether they come from the right or the left. But you cronies are trying to raise your head by giving the scare of a Maoist take over. That's just a bogey and will eat you morons ultimately. This Bineet guy, how much are you paid by Gyane's chamchas to spread the propaganda? You guys still have enough left overs from Kamal Thapa's 5 lakh a day known loot and bilions under the rug not to mention Gyane and his goons' loots of years. But people are not going to tolerate it any more. Understand?

lonely1 I think you are really lonely in life !

Anybody who supports the king, the self-proclaimed avatar of Vishnu(what a joke), ought to be shot. It is the most humanitarian thing to do.

lonely and humanitarian why do you have to bring king here. We cannot overlook what is happening now. Forget about king , he is out of picture at the moment. I honestly believe these parties are catering too much too the wills of maoist. Maoist like a insisting wife keeps on demanding and govenment like a henpack has been providing whatever they wish for. This doesnot augur well for nepal.

bineet,
Every time you post here, you make me laugh. One more time! Haha, what a joke. The cities and villages of Nepal have shown who is lonely, I who support the aspirations of the milions of Nepalis or those few morons who are already set aside by the current of history and who are in the process of being distant history. Are you Sacchit Shamsher's or Tulsi Giri's relative or paid vigilante? No offense. they also said a similar thing on BBC interviews and see what happened now. Make no mistake. I have my own mind to think and only support what is right and that is, the people of Nepal have the right to make decisions about anything including the king and the Maoists. Not like some who can't stand change because their life/existence is predicated on an anachronistic feudal limbo and are so worried about their future by the impending and inevitable collapse of their narcicistically halloed source of power, albeit in reality hollow.

bidhan,
You have western higher education and still maintain such a sexist langauge and mindset! This is the reason why Nepalese can't progress. This is the mindset that is also corrupting the parties you are talking about. I talk about king because he sysmbolizes this exclusivist, feudal, anachronistic, anti-progress sources of power in Nepal. You just carry it. The problem with the parties is that they are also not free from the same hangover.

Lonely-

I am not sure why you are denying to look at the bigger picture here. It is your personal opinion that you hate gyne and no one here or the above article is trying to change your mind. I think the article speaks the truth and it sounds like it has come from the honest heart of someone who loves NEPAL. We Nepalese have a heredity habit of just criticizing others. We all just want to look smarter than the others. If someone like you (I would assume that you have some education & I see that you are at least a computer literate) have such a tiny mentality, I can't imagine how millions of poor Nepalese in the villages who may not have had opportunity learn and educate, may think about the Nation and the much needed strong/good leadership.

Lonely, You need to stop believing on everything that Madhav kumar or GPK say. I agree with millions of other Nepalese that peace/ Nation's sovereignty is more important than anything else...even the press freedom. I know that in your little brain ' every Nepalese who supports peace are Gyane's chamcha". I think you just need to grow up a little more. Question for you, what are you going to do with your democracy if your own family doesn’t get to live to enjoy it? Therefore, most important factor here to LIVE AND LET LIVE. It may not have hit you directly YET but I’m telling you that if this continues each and every one of us will suffer really badly. By then it will be too late to change anything. The damage will ready have done and you will not be able to change back the time.

Bineet, seems the ultra Royalist in the sense protraying the Article on possible Maoist stronghold as the best article. Who are Nepalese? and whom they belong to? Who are parties and whom they belong to? Who are Maoists and whom them belong to? How stupid are people that easily disintegrate Maoist, royalists, Armies, Police, NC, UML and so on. At the end all are Nepalese, aren't they? What we have to understand this time is that there are differences and diversity among Nepalese. These diversities and differences are for the shake of change. It means what is being practiced now is not sufficient. We need change, but every body knows: there is not defined solution. Then what? We need to go through many trials and errors. In my opinion, that is how any political process works unlike a solicited theoritical analysis of famous writer, leader and any opionist like me. Because the peoples orientation and movement is not predictable.

I totally agree with the Bineet, Lonely 1 , u have to understand that in democracy everyone has right to express their views, i am shocked by the attitude if someone tries to bring their views they r declared mandale. don't do that.
If u love nepal, so do I and others too . Basically Bineet and Dell r trying to speak the truth, but u have equal rights to disagree. Disagree it in more Gentleman's way.
One thing what I do want to tell is revolution doesn't come so easily, I have seen these 7 parties doing dharna for 2 years and how come suddenly lost of people were in streets, and there shouldn't be any doubt they were maoist guerrillas.
bineet, I agree with you but what I think is this is the most important time for maoist, if they fail now thats it never there will be second time for them.so they will do what ever needs to come down . baburam and prachanda has to know one thing, international politics is different, King G made blunder when he vetoed in Bangladesh against India for China but he didn't have any other option. Now the question comes how far USA will support India, they will for a while, coz iIndia has 104 Billion dollars in Forex reserve and One estimate is India will be buying 18 Billion dollars Weapon( that includes F-16s block 60 , scorpene submarines, Awacs, Patriot missile) and this will coz a hundred and thousand of job opportunities .One way in shift of USA policy is Emeregence of LTTE in Sri Lanka too and every one knows who is responsble for. as India refused to sell arms to Sri Lankan force.
Prachanda very well knows its against USA interest maoist coming down to power In Nepal and so he wants to bargain as much as possible. In their heart both Prachanda and Baburam knows if they won't be able to place their armies in their proper position it can back fire, My own estimate is Maosit party itself will break down at somepoint of time sooner or later, its just matter of time coz GUn culture can lead u forward very fast like maoist party but will also back fire.
Definitely Now Nepal has enter the most vital period , not because we are throwing away the monarchy, because real chess game is about to begin . So many will loose but I wish My Nepal can win.

It is not about the king anymore, it is about maobadis taking over. Forget about the king or the mandales or even SPAs. They held very little ground in the scenario when the maobadis take over, who is there to stop them? And why do you think they won't do it? If the RNA is neutralized who is the next force-maobadis. Believe it or not they are running the show now. They have not changed their ideology nor what they want to accomplish in Nepal. They have not stopped extortion and I am sure there numerous deaths and extortions going on in the country side where is too remote to notice anything and they do not get reported. How many times we have heard "Ban ma gayekho thieyo- farkieyana, bahagyo hola."