Nepal: Ring The Bell Now!

This was first published by Kasama (click here).

By Mike Ely

To put this as bluntly as I can:

The Nepali Maoists are preparing right now (I mean over the next few weeks) for what-may-be a decisive military/political confrontation with the reactionary government and army.

The insurrection they have been preparing so carefully and so long may take place over the next two months.

The Maoists are seeking to mobilize the people (based on the understanding that their enemies will be wanting to act closely with Indian intrigues, and can be isolated by exposing those intrigues.) Their Indian, Nepali and American enemies understand this. Their revolutionary core base knows this. And we need to know it.

I will be ringing this bell loudly, and more loudly… and I want you to join me in ringing this bell.

Everyone we know and meet should start to consider how they can discuss and explain this important revolution in (what may be) its most bold and desperate hour.

The endgame is now taking shape in Nepal, perhaps in the next month or two, as the Maoists sum up their repeated “dress rehearsals” in Kathmandu and evaluate when (exactly) to go for a seizure of power.

It is (of course) possible that, when they do their summations and evaluations of forces, they will decide not to go for the final revolution this spring.

But more likely (at this point) is that, through tremendous efforts and unexpected events, they will now rise in a test of strength — and fight for a peoples democratic Nepal — the birth of a Nepal on the socialist road. It may be the first serious (and potentially successful) attempt at communist revolution in decades.

With the utmost respect, I would like to disagree with the following claim:

“With the spearhead directed against India, the PLA [Maoist Peoples Liberation Army] is looking to the south, rather than being readied to do battle with the Nepal Army and the other repressive forces of the state.”

This misreads the situation. The reactionary/monarchist Nepali Army’s limited-but-real popular prestige in Nepal has been precisely based on their history of (supposedly) upholding Nepali independence against India.

In their moves to isolate and then defeat that National Army, the Maoists (and their Peoples Liberation Army) are politically claiming that national banner (AWAY from the monarchists’ army) in order to expose, divide and defeat that National army as Indian puppets and collaborators (which they are).

The Maoist discussion of Nepali national indpendence is is not some diversion from the preparations for power — It is one important way the Nepali Maoists are dividing their enemies and winning over intermediate forces (including in and around that Army itself), precisely as the Maoists work to sum up a series of dress rehearsals for power.

We need to be preparing ourselves (here in the U.S.) for a political offensive of popularization and exposure — with teach-ins, outreach, and the active organization of all who can be won to such an effort. And for us to play our role, we need to clearly understand that we may (from now to spring) be facing the key time for “speaking on another plane” and to much wider audiences (as the Maoists own actions push them into the headlines).

For more information on the situation in Nepal, please read the following articles:

Stand With Nepal
FIRE Interview About Nepal and India (video)
Signs of Indian Invasion of Nepal
War Criminal Leads Nepal Army
Did the Maoists Ban Strikes?

Also visit these websites:

Democracy and Class Struggle
South Asia Revolution Project
Kasama
FIRE
Nepal News