War is being thrust upon us, Bhattarai says

Reposted from nepalnews.com

UCPN (Maoist) vice-chairman Dr .Baburam Bhattarai has accused the government of seeking to compel the Maoists to return to war by opening fire at unarmed landless squatters in Kailali district on Saturday, killing four.

Speaking at a program in the capital Monday, he also accused the parliamentary parties of engaging in efforts to aggravate the situation and turn the country into conflict zone.

“National and international powers are conspiring to turn Nepal into another Afghanistan,” Dr Bhattarai said, adding that the Maoists are committed to the ongoing peace process and won’t let country turn into a battle ground. 

Kiran: Reject Unequal Treaties with India

Reposted from Telegraph Nepal.  Found on Revolution in South Asia blog.

Nepal Maoists’ leader explodes at India, propose SA Alliance to fight Indian Hegemony

The anger in the Maoists’ camp of Nepal towards India becomes quite evident from the remark made by one of the high ranking leaders of the ex-rebel party.

Mohan Baidya Pokharel alias Kiran, the Maoists’ Party vice chairman, spitting venom against India not only claimed that the South Asian Countries have been the victim of India’s expansionist policies but he also felt the need of the local Nationalists and the countries in the South Asian neighborhood in forming an alliance to fight against the continued Indian hegemony.

The program entitled “Foreign Interference and Nationalism” was organized by the Maoists’ Party offshoot Young Communist League (YCL), Saturday December 5, 2009 wherein Mr. Pokharel made those remarks which time permitting annoy India to the hilt.

Mr. Pokharel also opined that if need arises Nepal should ready itself to fight for restoring the State of Nepal prior to the signing of the unequal 1816 treaty of Sugauli-the Greater Nepal.

“There will be no Nepal if we fail to raise Nationalist feeling among ourselves”, said Kiran adding that, “Our Nepal will be Sikkimized sooner than later.”However, he was also of the opinion that since India cannot directly make Military interventions in Nepal as it did in the past to grab our territories, it (India) was using our own political parties and some of the leaders belonging to the UML and the Nepali Congress for Sikkimizing Nepal. “We will fight against India’s ill intentions,” he also declared.

Nepal’s Water Resources expert Mr. Ratnasansar Shrestha was of the view that the three Koirala Brothers, Matrika, Bishweshwor and Girija remained in power at different intervals of Nepali history and continued in power simply because they sold our mighty Big Rivers to India at a dirt cheap price.

“Nepali Nationalists must reject all the past unequal treaties including Pancheshwor because they are not in the interest of Nepal”, he added.

Mr. Gopal Siwakoti Chintan, a Human Rights Activist with Communist tilt, even urged the Maoists to grab weapons to institutionalize the Republican order and build what he called “New Nepal.”

Protesters Clash With Police in Nepal

Reposted from New York Times. Found on Kasama.
By MARK McDONALD

HONG KONG — Communist protesters clashed with the police and surrounded the Singha Durbar, the seat of government in the center of the Nepalese capital, as they called for the resignation of the president, local news agencies reported Thursday.

The police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters that was blocking access to administrative offices in the capital, Katmandu, and the news portal República reported some minor injuries to police officers and picketers.

The demonstrators began gathering in Katmandu before dawn, many of them arriving on buses from outlying towns and villages, according to Nepalnews.com, and thousands of heavily armed National Police officers were mobilized.

Photos of the scene showed large crowds in the streets, and some reports said tens of thousands of protesters had assembled. Signs calling for “civilian supremacy” could be seen, as well as red flags bearing the hammer-and-sickle emblem.

Most civil servants and politicians were able to reach their offices in the Singha Durbar, although local schools were closed for the day, The Himalayan Times reported.

The protesters were led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the former guerrilla fighter better known as Prachanda, who had been the leader of the 10-year Maoist insurgency that overthrew the Nepalese monarchy in 2006. The Nepalese republic was formed in May 2008.

Earlier in the week, Prachanda warned the government that he and his supporters could be forced to “take up arms” if the government used the police and military to block demonstrations, Nepalnews.com reported.
As the head of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Prachanda was elected prime minister in August 2008. But he resigned from office on May 4 when the president, Ram Baran Yadav, overruled his firing of the head of the army, Gen. Rookmangud Katawal.

Prachanda and other Maoist leaders have charged that the general defied a United Nations-backed peace accord by refusing to integrate about 20,000 former guerrilla fighters — most of them jobless and living in United Nations camps — into the Nepalese military.

Since withdrawing from the coalition government, Prachanda and his supporters have held several mass protests demanding the resignation of the government and the removal of the president.

Nepal Maoist Protest

Maoists agree to let budget pass, The parliament will resume for three days.

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reposted from nepaltimes.com

 The Unified CPN (Maoist) party has agreed to allow the parliament to function for three days to pass the budget, the party's Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Saturday.

Last week, the Maoists had argued that their demands for 'civilian supremacy' should be met first, despite urges from the government to let the budget pass.

"As a responsible party to the country, people, security persons and other communities, we have unilaterally decided to let the parliament run for three days to pass the budget," Dahal said.

The Maoists also announced plans to launch a new round of protests beginning Sunday. The month-long protest includes plans to boycott government functions and a general strike from 20-22 December. They also threatened to strike indefinitely if their demands are not met by 22 December.

Pictures From A Recent Rally In Thamel

Pictures courtesy RJ McKay, a Brit currently travelling in Nepal. They were taken today at a rally in Thamel, one of the tourist centres of Nepal. Click to view full size.

Witness - From Bullets to Ballots two years on - Part 1 & 2

UCPN (M) for 'package solution'

reprinted from nepalnews.com



The Unified CPN (Maoist) has called for 'package agreement' on the issues it has been raising.  A meeting of the senior Maoist leaders held Thursday morning concluded that the issue of civilian supremacy and the demand for rectifying the President's move should be addressed altogether.  Maoist vice chairman Narayankaji Shrestha said the party would push for a package solution in today's three-party meeting.  The leaders of the three main parties are to meet in the afternoon.

According to, party secretary C.P Gajurel, the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML), which were not ready to change their position on the President's move earlier, have now softened their stance and are more likely to agree on a package solution.

At the meeting today, party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal informed the leaders about his three-day visit to Singapore where he discussed a possible solution to the current deadlock with Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital there.

Immediately after landing in Kathmandu airport yesterday, Dahal claimed that the current 22-party government is going to be toppled within a few days and that a new coalition will be formed. He would not elaborate.

Maoists warn of fresh stir in Nepal

reprinted from expressindia.com

Nepal’s opposition Maoists today threatened to launch a fresh anti-government agitation if their demands, including restoration of “civilian supremacy”, are not met by Friday, even as they favoured dialogue with the ruling multi-party alliance to break the political deadlock

During a high-level meeting of CPN-Maoist, its chief and ex-premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ briefed the participants on his talks with Nepali Congress (NC) President G P Koirala, according to senior Maoist leader C P Gajurel.

Maoists have been demanding restoration of “civilian supremacy” and a parliamentary discussion to rectify President Ram Baran Yadav’s “wrong” move to reinstate the then army chief Rukmangad Katwal following his sacking by the previous Prachanda administration.

Prachanda met Koirala, who is undergoing medical treatment in Singapore, recently and they agreed to resolve the political stalemate by finding a middle path on the President’s reinstatement of Katwal that had led to the collapse of the Maoist government in May.

As NC and CPN-UML, the main constituents of ruling 22- party alliance, “have softened their stand, we hope that there will be some sort of agreement among major parties regarding the key issues,” Gajurel said. “We are also looking at preparing a common resolution for discussion in Parliament.” However, Maoists warned that they would launch the third phase of their agitation if their demands are not addressed by the government within the November 20 deadline, set by the former rebels last week

Al Jazeera: Nepal Maoists in standoff with government