BANNEDTHOUGHT
The Current Crisis Situation in Nepal
Documents, Articles and Commentaries
Nepal has been in a state of political crisis for many decades, but this crisis has reached a new level of intensity recently. It seemed to many that with the ending of the People’s War in 2006 that the resolution of the long-running crisis might come peacefully. The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won by far the largest number of votes for any party in the Constituent Elections, and briefly led a govenment. But they were prevented by the Nepal Army and reactionary ruling classes from actually taking full control of the government and society. Since then there have been ineffective governments led by other parties, and now once again by the UCPN(M). But this unstable situation which has characterized Nepal since 2006 has gradually grown more and more severe. It seems the ruling bourgeois and feudal classes, and the serious problems in the UCPN(M) itself, have blocked all hopes for revolutionaries to come to real power through peaceful means.
The views on this crisis by the UCPN(M), and its leaders, as well as the views of the new party which split away from it in 2011 (the CPN-Maoist are included on other pages on BANNEDTHOUGHT.NET. Below we are starting to collect the views of other people and groups, including the bourgeois/feudal ruling classes in Nepal, and the views of revolutionaries and others both within Nepal and in other countries. Many articles about the situation in Nepal are also available at websites specializing in up-to-date revolutionary news from around the world, such as: Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle.
The most recent documents are at the top within each section. If you know of additional documents or statements which should be posted here, or have any comments or suggestions, please contact us at: freespeech@bannedthought.net
Views of Nepalese Revolutionaries and Progressives [other than the leadership of the UCPN(Maoist)]:
- “UCPN (Maoists): In Contradicting Speeches and Actions”, by Bisham Nepali, translated from the Nepali language publication �ikyabadyata, probably from early 2010, 6 pages. PDF Format (380 KB) MS Word Format (49 KB)
Views of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Developments in Nepal:
- “Open Letter to Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) from the Communist Party of India (Maoist)”. This is the revised and finalized version of this important 24-page document, dated July 20, 2009. PDF format (539 KB); MS Word format (156 KB)
- “The political crisis in Nepal is the result of Indo-US conspiracy! Oppose the attempts by Indian expansionists to meddle in the internal affairs of Nepal! People’s democracy can be established in Nepal only by smashing the old state!!”, press release by Azad for the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee, May 5, 2009. PDF format (228 KB); MS Word format (36 KB)
- “Interview with Comrade Azad, spokesperson of the CC, CPI(Maoist) on the present developments in Nepal”, from the CPI(Maoist) Information Bulletin, #2, May 10, 2008. PDF format (419 KB); MS Word format (78 KB)
- “CPI(Maoist) Statement on Nepal Election”, a press release by Azad for the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee, April 24, 2008. PDF format (110 KB); MS Word format (34 KB)
- “Not Comrades Anymore: Indian Maoists have Nothing but Scorn for Nepal’s Revolutionaries”, news report in Nepali Times, Nov. 9, 2007, 3 pages. [This of course is not an official expression of the views of the CPI(Maoist).] PDF Format (92 KB) MS Word Format (58 KB)
- “Paper Presented by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on the Occasion of the International Meeting of Maoist Parties & Organisations Held From December 26, 2006”, The Worker, No. 11, July 2007, pp. 39-47, published by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). HTML format; PDF format (269 KB); MS Word format (69 KB)
- “A New Nepal Can Emerge Only by Smashing the Reactionary State! Depositing Arms of the PLA under UN Supervision Would Lead to the Disarming of the Masses!!”, a press release by Azad for the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee, Nov. 13, 2006. PDF format (79 KB); MS Word format (36 KB)
- “Joint Press Release of CPN(Maoist) & CPI(Maoist)”, on recent debates between the two parties and against the Israeli attack on Lebanon. Signed by Azad for the CPI(Maoist) and Satya for the CPN(Maoist), Aug. 8, 2006. PDF format (88 KB); MS Word format (31 KB)
- “There is Need for Caution With Present Tactics”, an interview with CPI(Maoist) spokesman Azad by People’s March, end of June, 2006. PDF format (295 KB); MS Word format (94 KB)
- “Message from the CC(P), CPI(Maoist) On the Occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Initiation of People’s War in Nepal”, a press release from Feb. 10, 2006. HTML format
Views of Other Foreign Revolutionaries and Progressives about Developments in Nepal:
- “The Nepalese Revolution in the Clasp of Reformism and Revisionism”, by the TKP/ML. This is the revised and improved English translation of this important paper, dated October 2012, 14 pages. [Page numbers have been added at the bottom of each page.] PDF Version (400 KB); MS Word (40 KB)
- “Which Way Forward for the UCPN(Maoist) and the Nepali People’s Revolutionary Struggle?”, by the MLM Revolutionary Study Group in the U.S., April 4, 2010, 21 pages. This important paper discusses the current crisis in the Nepal revolution from a revolutionary Maoist standpoint. It examines and criticizes the political line and course of the UCPN(Maoist) since the end of the People’s War in 2006. It also critiques the arguments put forward by both Nepali and foreign supporters of the current UCPN(Maoist) policies, and compares the situation in Nepal with various partially similar circumstances in the revolutions in China, Russia and other countries. Link to PDF version (598 KB) on www.mlmrsg.com Link to MS Word version (104 KB) on www.mlmrsg.com
- “The New York Times on Nepal: Skewing the Himalayan Revolution”, by Gary Leupp, Professor of History at Tufts University, 6 pages. This is a good summary of the development of the present crisis situation from a point of view sympathetic to the policies and line of the UCPN(Maoist). PDF Format (216 KB) MS Word Format (50 KB)
- “Democracy, Multi-Party System & the Withering Away of the State, Under Proletarian Leadership”, edited by the Scientific Socialism Research Unit, London, UK, (London: Second Wave Publications & Distribution, October 2006), 96 pages. Searchable PDF Format (1,436 KB)
- “On Developments in Nepal and the Stakes for the Communist Movement: Letters to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, 2005-2008, with a Reply from the CPN(M), 2006”. These documents were made public by the RCP in March 2009.
- The entire 131-page package in PDF format [418 KB], from the RCP’s website (http://revcom.us/). This one file consists of 4 polemical letters from the RCP to the CPN(M) [now renamed the UCPN(M)], one letter of response from the CPN(M), two appendices of talks on the topic by RCP leader Bob Avakian, and a long article from the RCP’s newspaper, Revolution, recapitulating the RCP’s criticisms.
- The five letters only [PDF: 1,087 KB], in an 80-page pamphlet published by the Kasama Project.
Views of the Bourgeois/Feudalist Ruling Classes in Nepal:
- “Getting Out of the Quagmire”, by Sukhdev Shah, MyRepublica, Dec. 20, 2009. This outrageously reactionary article openly calls for a military coup by the Nepal Army, military intervention by the Indian army, and the emergence of a “strongman” (dictator) of the sort of Pinochet in Chile! Shah is a former Nepali Ambassador to the U.S. and is also a U.S. citizen. Three pages. PDF Format (250 KB) MS Word Format (39 KB)
Other Views about Political Developments in Nepal:
- “Nepal Releases Thousands of Former Fighters as Part of Peace Deal”, New York Times, Feb. 3, 2012, 1 page. The lament of a quoted Maoist fighter is especially poignant. PDF Format (69 KB) MS Word Format (32 KB)
- “Nepal’s Leaders Must Move Peace Process Forward, Says UN Political Chief”, UN News Centre, March 12, 2010, 2 pages. PDF Format (124 KB) MS Word Format (33 KB)
- “Maoists Need to Renounce Violence as a Political Instrument”, reporting the statements by the U.S. Ambassador-designate to Nepal, Scotte H. DeLisi, IndianExpress.com, Feb. 4, 2010, 2 pages. PDF Format (25 KB) MS Word Format (33 KB)
- “Nepal Political Crisis”, by Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal, a “specialist on state terrorism” at JNU in India, Dec. 26, 2009. Has some interesting things to say about the role of India in the Nepal crisis. Seven pages. PDF Format (164 KB) MS Word Format (52 KB)
- “Slavery Abolished in Nepal by Maoist-Led Government”, two news articles about this development from Sept. 8, 2008, 3 pages. PDF Format (81 KB) MS Word Format (182 KB)
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