Nepal: General strike to bring down the government
Posted by Jack in Uncategorized, tags: nepal, protest, strikes
Strikers on the streets of Kathmandu
After a huge May Day rally on Saturday, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched a massive general strike aimed at forcing the resignation of the government.
Although Maoist led, the strike is supported by the majority of workers, and so far has been really successful. Strikers have surrounded the Prime Minister’s residence. They have brought thousands of the country’s poorest people to protest in the capital Kathmandu, a move which has horrified the traditional elite, unused to seeing such ethnic diversity on the street.
Nepal was traditionally a monarchy, where the vast majority lived in stark poverty, and there were sharp divisions and discrimination between different ethnic groups and castes. In 1996, the Maoists launched an armed rebellion with the aim of bringing down the monarchy and establishing a new Nepal in which there would be more direct democracy, and the government brought an end to poverty and discrimination.
Following the success of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army in fighting the Royal Nepalese Army (which is armed and trained by both Britain and the US), a peace accord was negotiated, and in 2008 Nepal became a republic. In elections held that year, the Maoists came out on top, and headed a coalition government. The results showed how much support they had built in the areas of the country that were under their control. In these regions they had seized land from absentee landlords for the benefit of the people, as well as building roads, widening access to health and education, given people a direct say in their local government and started a campaign against ethnic and caste discrimination.
Nice hat, shame about your government: Nepali Prime Minister MK Nepal
The elections were to a constituent assembly that was supposed to write a new constitution, transforming Nepal into a democratic, federal republic, in which the rights of minority peoples were recognised. However, when the Maoists tried to sack the head of the army, who is a western-educated General responsible for leading counter-insurgency operations during the war, they were overriden by the President. The Maoist led government resigned in protest.
The current government, which has not been elected, is an alliance of the centrist Congress party and other Communist parties, and is headed by Madhav Kumar Nepal. They pledged to write a new constitution for Nepal within two years, a deadline which will expire later this month.
In the meantime, Maoists supported minority ethnic groups in declaring autonomous states, and have also supported revolutionary students who have shut down 8000 private schools in protest at hikes in tuition fees. Now, with the deadline for a new constitution on May 28th fast approaching, they’ve launched a mass protest movement to demand the government resigns and the Maoists are returned to power, in order to remake the state on the lines demanded by the country’s poor majority.
The Maoists have said they do not intend to seize full power at this point, but are more interested in pushing forward the process of writing a new constitution. They have also pledged that the strike will not use violence, although strikers are prepared to defend themselves if attacked by the government. Nevertheless, if the situation continues on for several days, what happens next is uncertain. The government has already been consulting the army on the possibility of using force to crush the people, with the support of military “advisers” from India and the US. The PM declared the protests would be “suicide” for the Maoists, but his words look hollow compared to the mobilisation on the streets. One reason they haven’t been able to do this so far is that the loyalty of rank and file soldiers to their commanders is far from guaranteed if they were ordered to fire on ordinary Nepalis.
The government so far looks determined to cling to power, although how long they can do this in the face of a mass shutdown of the country by the people remains to be seen. The next few days look set to determine the future history of Nepal, and nobody is sure what will happen next.
Bonuses: A good source for keeping up to date on the situation in English is this blog, by an American Communist living in Kathmandu.
Here’s some footage of the massive May Day protest in Kathmandu:
Entries (RSS)
Fascinating article. How come the BBC hasn’t picked up on this or have I been living under a rock for about 5 days?
Thanks Euan!
I’ve not really been watching the telly news, but I think you’re right that there’s been virtually no coverage of this in the mainstream media-I know about by monitoring alternative sources on the internet. I think at least part of the reason is that, like in Thailand, when you see hundreds of thousands of people in the street it’s kinda hard to portray it as a minority movement of crazy leftists, rather than what it is, a huge, organised mass movement representing the majority of the people.
I think it’s so sweet and funny that they’re called ‘Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)’ – do the other communist parties have similar names?
And what’s the deal with the other communist parties? It says in the article that they’re part of the current unelected government – what’s the deal with that? Are they really communist at all, or are they like the Labour party here?
It’s actually quite common in Asia for Communist parties to have Maoist etc. in the name. It stems from the Sino-Soviet split (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Soviet_split) when China and the USSR fell out because basically the Communist Party in China was unwilling to be controlled from Moscow like the Communist Parties in Eastern Europe were (I’m simplifying it a bit there, check the wiki article for more info). This led to splits throughout the Communist parties of the world, particularly in Asia, where Maoism, which emphasised the importance of peasants in making a revolution, and China was near, was particularly attractive. So parties that split away from official Communist ones put “Maoist” at the end of their name to signify what made them different.
Nepal actually has loads of Communist parties, the main other one is called the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist). Basically, the Communist Party has been a hugely influential force in 20th century Nepalese history, and the struggle against the monarchy and for democracy. Along the way the original party has split several times as part of disagreements over how to take the struggle forward. At various points the old thing has happened-Communist leaders have become seduced with the idea of power and being part of the government, which in the 60s even led some to supporting a royal coup!
Today the biggest parties in Nepal are (roughly in order) CP (Maoist), the Congress (a centrist/liberal party), and the CP Unified Marxist Leninist. The CP-UML basically takes the line that Nepal needs to develop under capitalism before their can be socialism, and has become part of the establishment as an official political party. They were opposed to the Maoists launching an armed struggle for the transformation of the country in 1996.
The Maoist party also doesn’t think that there can be full socialism straight away, as much of Nepal is peasant occupied countryside with virtually no infrastructure. The difference is that they want development to take place on the people’s terms, with direct democratic control. Congress and the CP-UML have stated that the Maoists could become part of the establishment as well, if they disband their army and their youth wing, i.e. abandon their means of taking action against the traditional elite and become part of the establishment, as the CP-UML have done.
The current unelected government came to power after the coalition government led by the Maoists resigned, and Congress and the CP-UML formed a new coalition. However, the Maoists are now saying that since they were the biggest party in the last election, and the other parties have proved themselves incapable of writing a new constitution, then they should lead a new government to get the job done.
Dear editor,
Due to the incompetent prime minister and the leaders of so-called big party, Nepal is in danger position.
Whom and why the Maoists are going to disturb the people with protests and strike in Katmandu. It is unanswered. It is necessary for all to understand the facts. Nepalese people do not want any kind of communist authoritarianism, they aspire only full democracy. The concerns of the people are political stability, peace and good governance. A democratic political system is always put at the highest echelon. It is because only a good and well-established political system can lead the public mass by determining appropriate social and economic management of the state through concrete policies and programmers. But, mainly the so-called three bigger parties– the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Maoist – have been sucking blood of the people like the vampires by sharing power and position only amongst themselves.
The Maoists are opening a ‘Pandora’s Box’ (evils collections) in the name of so-called- ‘people’s supremacy’ in another word- ‘one party communist anarchism’. We, Nepalese people are suffering from the notorious activities of
Nepalese traitors as well as UNMIN. Nepalese people had expected that the UN’s role would be impartial. But the UN could not remain neutral. The main cause of the crisis in Nepal is UNMIN, because the UNMIN listens only to the Maoist rebels and the corrupt leaders of Congress, UML and Maoist leaders. UNMIN totally disregarded the aspiration of majority of the Nepalese people. Nowhere in the world, would a country be able to protect its sovereignty by making the national army weak and powerless? The national army can’t compare with Maoist’s army. Due to the suspicious activities of UNMIN, now, in Nepal, we have two kinds of army- the national army and the Maoist’s army. Can we imagine two kinds of army in a country? Why UNMIN is not responsible for the overall management and supervision of Maoist army and their movement?
The Delhi 12 points agreement 2005 has been the major cause to create the crisis and desintrigate. Now, Nepalese Maoists, RIM and COMPOSA have been joining the hands for one-party anarchist-Communist rule. The Nepalese and Indian people are not secure. The situation is being very dark. The Maoists proposal is just like a poisonous wine in a new bottle. Without analyzing the assumption, the Indian leaders supported the Nepalese Maoist’s hypocrisy. ‘Crows are never the white for washing.’
It was these corrupt people who drained the state coffer yesterday, and today also these are the very ones. Nepal will not become firm without punishing them. Nepali NC, UML and Maoist leaderships and the agreement 24 April 2006 with the King has already failed. So, there should revive the King’s proclamation 20 Apr.2006, according to the 1990 constitution and form all party cabinet including the foreigners who want peace and democracy in Nepal. From that a path should be searched with Everyone’s agreement to save the nation. I request- the entire democratic world also should think positively, how to save the peace & democracy in Nepal?
Thank you.
Dirgha Raj Prasai
Kathmandu,Nepal
Dear Jack,
You may be ‘here’ but having been ‘here’ for over 20 years, those that the maoist party say they are working for are no better off today than they were 20 years ago. Yes, the elite continue to be educated. But within my large host of Nepali friends, they remain the most biased against each other. And that includes castes against castes, ethnicities against other ethnicities, and gender bias is as rampant as ever. The big ’show’ of women in the CA is just that – a show – but they are not represented in any negotiations for example.
This place is suffering from a phenomenal ability to identify problems, making them someone elses problem, but an equally phenomenal INability to create or implement any solution – to ANY problem. I too received my education from a foreign country so I consider myself an elitist in that sense. However, sadly, my hope is that when my parents pass away I am able to depart this country which does not seem to be able to be anything but a political basket of snakes. The only hope for my country is for business people to be elected with no party affiliation in the next phase of our democratic history. Like the US and UK, when politics becomes your ‘job for life’, the people being represented lose.
Hi Nepalese readers!
Firstly, I think you might have picked up the wrong end of the stick – I’m not in Nepal, but stuck in much less exciting Scotland I’m afraid.
I do wonder how representative of the opinion of the mass of the population you both are though, given that a) you both have internet access and b) there are so many hundreds of thousands of people in the street supporting the Maoists. To me the views of the majority are pretty clear, as expressed through elections and mass mobilisations.
We’re socialists, and we’ve got no shame about being upfront about wanting to see socialism in Nepal. I don’t get the impression that’s a goal you guys share. I’m not really clear what either of you are proposing, apart from perhaps a return to the monarchy (out of the question in my view) or a government of “independent” businessmen, which sounds a hell of a lot like a capitalist crappy technocracy, which is something I would have to oppose all out as well.
Also, I don’t see how something can be a “one party communist anarchy”. Surely a one party anarchy is a contradiction in terms?
Keep watching Jed Brandt’s blog, he’s bringing amazing coverage from Kathmandu. http://jedbrandt.net/
Yesterday apparently strikers filled the entire ring road that surrounds the city in a human chain that was 28 kilometres long, and had two, and in some places four, rows of people! He estimates 18 marches of roughly 20,000+ each! Amazing stuff.
Hello Mr. Jack !
OK, I think, you can understand the democratic aspiration. It is our understanding- without democratis sense we never gain socialism .
Please, read once more the reality of Communism and the condition of Nepalese soil.
There is no uniformity on who are communists and how did they come up in different countries around the world. In Russia, the communists came up because of poverty and not of nationalism. In China, there was rise of communism because of poverty as well as threat to nationalism. In Nepal, the rise of communists is not due to poverty but because of nationalism. When the communists stood up against India in 1951 AD., the communist party was banned and the ban was lifted five years later by King Mahendra. But the Nepalese communists that used to oppose and criticize India have become servile to India and have become their agents. The tug-of-war on dogmatism among international communists and due to useless conflict and the in-fighting the source of Nepalese nationalism has become weak. In additional, Nepalese communists are confused. Some are in parliamentary politics, some support communist dictatorship and some think being communist means they can kill, resort to violence and loot and seize other’s property.
A study of the history of communism and communists tells us that they are still obsessed with murder, violence and revenge. But there is no situation now for the communists to cast their influence and impression by violence, intimidation and destruction. A political museum near Phnom Penh in Cambodia contains human skills and the inscription says 3,314,768 people were killed by the Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot from April 1975 to January 1979 in the name of strengthening the communists. Similarly, more than a million were killed in Russia in two yeas from 1918 to 1920 to create a classless society. In addition, 3.5 million more were killed by the communists led by Stalin from 1934-1939 in former Soviet Union in the name of communization of property.
Not only that, even those no matter how much they had contributed in establishing communist regime were killed if they differ with Stalin. Stalin died when the rampage of killing and terror was at its peak in 1953. After Stalin Khrushchev came to power and he exhumed the body of Stalin and was dragged across the street to portray Stalin as traitor of Soviet Union. In the same way, million of Chinese were killed from 1949 to 1965 in the name of consolidating communism and communist rule in China. Now, China has reformed the communist ideology and its regime and is trying to take human freedom and discipline together. It is also getting international recognition for this.
Nepal is a country sandwiched between China and India. Because of its geo-political situation Nepal’s sovereignty has always been very sensitive. Nepal has no threat from China in the north as it has always remained in favor of Nepal’s sovereignty and independence. China does not support any kind of outside interference in Nepal. But Nepal has always been in awe from India’s interference and plots. Like diplomat Keshar Bahadur KC and The Congress leader BP’s son Prakash Koirala says if it was not for China, Nepal would have lost its independence. For Nepal, its successful foreign policy is to maintain a balance between China and India. But the Indian side never thinks this way. The fundamental of Nepalese unity is monarchy, being a Hindu Kingdom and Nepali as its national language. The Kings of Nepal and Nepalese nationalists have not allowed it to be disrupted. Now, it is time for the nationalist and progressive forces should come together to save this country from corruption and foreign interference. They should come up with plans and programmers that would improve the economic and social conditions of the regions and the people that are poor and undeveloped.
Four years ago, Maoist Chairman Prachanda said that there should be a new kind of unity between the Maoist and the nationalists who support monarchy. He also said there are nationalists around the king who love this country very much. May be power brokers on behalf of foreigners and those who are for foreign intervention opposes this idea but this is a welcome and positive statement from the Maoist leader. This is a way to safe land this country from Indian intervention and clutches. This, however, is possible only in an arrangement in which the king and the political parties work together. But, Maoists are not clear in their thinking. It is now all the more clear that this country cannot protect its sovereignty without monarchy. Now, when the King has been totally misused and ignored the Terai witnessed such a spate of violence and anarchy that had never happened before, can this country remain one if there is no king?
What the Communists should understand is that had the Ranas, during their 104-year-long rule not maintained monarchy even if in the form of a figurehead the existence of Nepal would have finished. But the traitor Krishna Sitoula- the most culprit & nonsense person of Nepali Congress, who has been accused by his own Nepali Congress party as a RAW agent, opposes that monarchists can never become nationalists. Our question to the traitor-Sitoula and other hangers-on like him is, are only those agents of RAW nationalists? In Nepal, monarchy and Royal institution is taken as a reserve and protective force and the present situation of total chaos, disorder and anarchy can only be brought to an end if the communists and the nationalist of all party accept monarchy and, Hindu Kingdom and ethnic diversity under the umbrella of Nepali language and join hands with the monarch and the monarchists. Thank you.
Dirgha Raj Prasai
Reply me.
dirgharajprasai@gmail.com