The Frankfurt chapter of the World People’s Resistance Movement interviewed Khimlal Devkot during his visit to Europe. Devkot is a member of the team from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) negotiating with the current government of Nepal. Following is an edited unofficial transcription of that 19 September interview. Received from A World to Win News Service.
WPRM Frankfurt chapter: Could you please give us a short personal introduction?
Khimlal Devkota: I am Khimlal Devkota. I am working in the people’s war movement and am presently part of the negotiation secretariat for the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). I am also a member of the central committee of the United Revolutionary People’s Council and now a member of the interim constitution draft committee.
Q: Now that you are in Europe, what is your main objective and intention here? What goal do you want to achieve with this visit?
A: We would like to share our experience throughout the world; that is our objective. Recently one organization based in Hamburg invited me as a representative of the CPN (Maoist). They wanted to know and share experiences regarding the future of Nepal. I visited Brussels and now I am here in Germany.
Q: What has been your experience with different types of people and organizations in Europe?
A: I am proud to say that I am really pleased with meeting friends in Europe. They are very interested in Nepal’s people’s war, the CPN (Maoist) and the on-going peace process in Nepal. It has been a great pleasure and a golden opportunity to say some things to friends.
Q: Tell us about the 19 days of the people’s movement in April of this year.
A: The backdrop for the 19 days movement was the ten years of people’s war. The main objective of the People’s movement was to establish a republic in Nepal.
Q: In your opinion what were the positive and negative aspects of the 19-day people’s movement?
A: In the 19-day people’s movement there were positive as well as negative aspects.
First of all I would say the positive aspects, most of the people participated in the movement. Most of the people raised their voice against the monarchy, against feudalism, against the unitary state system, and they were entirely in favour of a republic, democracy, forward-looking change and peace. They were asking the People’s Liberation Army to give them the weapons to fire the monarchy, palace and feudalism.
Now let’s look at the negative side. During the 19-day movement, the leaders of the seven party alliance [of parliamentary parties, which was brought into government as a result of that movement] should have led the movement, but it could not happen so. Only a few leaders were present in the movement. The movement could have led to a republic, but due to the lack of leadership, a golden opportunity to establish a republic and wipe out the monarchy forever from Nepal was missed. Now we question whether the seven party alliance had some hidden agreement with the palace. That was also the most negative aspect of the 19-day movement.
Q: Right now how is the relation between the seven party alliance and the monarchy?
A: Right now some of the major parties of the seven party alliance are closely related with the palace. Indirectly they are fulfilling the interests of the palace and are tools used by the palace. So they are very much distrusted by the people and no longer looked to by the people’s movement.
Q: What do you think are the difficulties and obstacles for the democratic process in Nepal?
A. There are so many difficulties. They are: first, status quo-ism; second, feudalism; third, the autocratic monarchy and fourth, the unwillingness of the seven party alliance to accept forward-looking change. We suspect the seven party alliance has some agreements with the palace. These are the main obstacles for the democratic process in Nepal.
Q: What is the current living situation of different classes in Nepal and what are their views?
A: The living situation and level of thinking of people in Nepal is very varied. There are the haves and the have nots. A small handful of people have a European standard of living, but the majority of people are living under hard and miserable conditions. They live hand to mouth, they have no medicine, no education, no employment etc. That has an impact on the level of thinking of the people. The haves are guided by feudal culture. They want to preserve the status quo, some want reinstatement of regression [a full-fledged monarchy]. Most of the people are revolutionaries and the majority of people want forward-looking change. There is a huge gap between the haves and have nots and the corresponding regressive and revolutionary thinking.
A: What are the differing agendas of the democratic, progressive, anti-monarchy forces, including the Maoist forces?
A: Firstly I think the agenda not only of these forces but the agenda of the nation is to dismantle the unitary state, feudalism and the autocratic monarchy and establish a republican federalism. Secondly, in Nepal there are many suppressed nationalities, there is gender inequality and cultural and linguistic inequality. So all these oppressed classes, oppressed genders and oppressed nationalities should be empowered and allowed the right to self-determination. These are the fundamental agendas that can democratise the nation and empower the suppressed classes, genders and other oppressed groups. In concrete, the agendas are against the monarchy, against the unitary feudal system and for the establishment of a full democratic system, a republican system and federal system.
Q: Which forces are against democracy, revolution and also against the peace process?
A: There are internal and external forces. Within the country, the palace and the army are against democracy, against revolution, against change, and against the state and people. Externally, most of the imperialist forces are against change, against Nepal and against the Nepalese people. They are also very much against democracy, forward-looking change and especially against the ongoing peace process.
Q: Could you briefly tell what role they play?
A: They are all the time creating a hindrance to the peace process. Let’s say the seven party alliance and the Maoists already agreed and signed a 12-point agreement, an eight-point agreement and also a five-point agreement. But they are all creating hindrances to execute, implement and translate these agreements into practice. When the Maoists and the seven party alliance signed the eight point agreement, the very next day the imperialist forces, the royal palace and the Royal Army were preparing a knot of conspiracy against the implementation of the eight-point agreement. Not only this, they also wanted to disturb the peace process by supplying arms even during the phase of the peace process.
Q: In the coming year, what do you think is going to happen in Nepal?
A: I think the peace process will go in a positive direction after the interim constitution is proclaimed, an interim legislature will be established, and parliament will be dissolved. The interim government will declare elections for a constituent assembly. Hopefully within one year a new constitution will be drafted by the constituent assembly and the peace process and democracy will be consolidated.
Q: If things do not go in the positive direction you describe, what are the alternative options?
A: If this positive direction is delayed, within one year most of the people will definitely come out in the street once again to protest and resist not only for 19 days but if necessary 29, 39, or even 49 days. At that time the people’s movement will be raised. This people’s power popular movement will compel the regressive, status quo-ist forces to return to the negotiation table and hold elections for a constituent assembly, restart the peace process and restructure the state.
Q: Do you think that the people are ready to go into the streets again if the peace process goes in a negative direction?
A. Yes, definitely. The people of Nepal are peace loving, and very much in favour of forward-looking change, peace and justice with democracy. If the status quo-ist forces do not translate this into practice, most of the people themselves will come out in the street and call on the Maoists to lead the movement. I am very confident that they will definitely come out into the street.
Q: Let us change the subject little bit, we heard that comrade Gaurav has been re-arrested. What does that mean, in your opinion?
A: It is as usual things done by the imperialist forces, status quo-ist forces and those forces who do not want success for the peace process in Nepal, who do not like forward-looking change and who are obeying the command of the US. Nowadays the US interferes not only in Nepal but also in India, and it is a very petty position on the part of India in my opinion.
Q: WPRM in Europe launched different campaigns for the urgent release of comrade Gaurav, comrade Kiran and other Nepali Maoists being held in India, China etc. Did you hear about these campaigns in Nepal? If yes, what are your views regarding these campaigns?
A: Yes definitely. I heard WPRM has done a very good and effective job to free comrade Gaurav, comrade Kiran and other comrades being held in India, but still now they are in jail in India. I think WPRM and other organisations, institutions and groups must launch another, more effective campaign which can free all our comrades.
Q: We have been hearing that different mass organisations in Nepal, like youth, student, workers, and women, are organising congresses one by one these days. Could you please tell us what are their intentions and what are they preparing for?
A: First of all I would say that it is their routine to hold conventions. They have to hold national conferences, conventions and congresses. That is the regular duty of all mass organisations. The second thing is that they are very angry with the regressive and status quo-ist forces who are hindering the peace process and not holding elections for a constituent assembly. The third thing is that if the regressive forces are not ready to hold elections for a constituent assembly, the mass organizations have to reorganise a popular movement. That’s why they are also preparing for that. Also, if objective reality demands another type of revolt or revolution, they are preparing themselves to fulfil that need, too.
Q: What do you hope people here in Europe will do for success of the peace process, democracy, revolution, the abolition of the monarchy and especially in favour of Nepal and the victory of the Nepalese people?
A: First of all, the success of the peace process in Nepal would be a great message to the imperialist forces of the world. The success of the peace process in Nepal is not only for the people of Nepal; it would be a symbol of victory for the progressive forces of the world. So it becomes the prime duty of people in Europe to play a vital role in the success of the peace process. Second, progressive people in Europe with ideas of change have to launch more effective campaigns to crush all the hurdles created by the imperialist forces to hamper the ongoing peace process in Nepal. Thirdly, I would like to request the people in Europe to make their best initiative to insure the success of the ongoing peace process.
Good to see this blog active again. Especially re. the rev. in Nepal it's an excellent source of info!
Posted by: Alex | November 12, 2006 at 08:15 PM
I didn't post the most informative piece. The recent interview with Prachanda from an Italian news magazine I just read on LeftSpot is far more informative. I'll have it up later tonight or tomorrow.
http://www.leftspot.com/blog/?q=node/167
Posted by: the burningman | November 13, 2006 at 08:36 PM
India to prepare for all out war with China- by Kautilya Hegel
World Press Club, Tuesday, November 14, 2006 8:00 PM, Washington DC. (1) MILITARILY DEFEND HINDU NEPAL: The Maoism and Maoists of Nepal and India presents greatest threat to Indian security. India should deploy troops in Nepal to restore Hindu Monarchy and Hindu-Buddhist Rule in Nepal. Nepali Maoists are enemies of India and India should fight Maoists in Nepal before they capture political power in Nepal. India should deploy retired Gurkha soldiers and Nepali citizens residents of India to take up arms to militarily defeat Maoists in Nepal. Foreign conspirators that profited by heroin production of Burma’s golden Triangle, has now made profits in Heroin opium Golden Crescent in Afghanistan. The Opium heroin Mafia seeks to make Nepal the new world center for the production of Opium and Heroin.
(2) MILITARILY SUPPORT THE BUDDHIST REVOLUTION IN TIBET: India should openly support the Tibetan Buddhists and all minorities in the hilly regions of China that account for 65 percent of landmass of China but only 15 percent of the population of China. India should promote Buddhism for the secession of Buddhists from Communist China to create a Buddhist China.
(3) MILITARILY SUPPORT BUDDHIST FALUN GONG: The Falun Gong represents Mahayana Buddhists and their supporters number over 100 million in China. India should provide political, military and economic support to Falun Gong activists in China to engineer the partition of China on grounds of Religion. Chinese Buddhists do not want to live under Communist Rule in China.
(4) MILITARY LESSONS OF KARGIL WAR: The Kargil War established the primacy of High Mountain warfare stating that the camouflaged sharp shooters entrenched high up in mountains can bring the vehicular traffic to stand still. The Kargil War doctrine would allow Tibetan revolutionaries to stop the vehicular traffic in Tibet and entire Mountainous regions of China that account for 65 percent of total landmass of China but only 15 percent of population of China.
(5) TRAITOR MENON BM KAUL: India lost the 1962 War with China because of the treason of Krishna Menon and General B.M. Kaul. Now India has a patriotic sikh as a prime Minister and a sikh as the Chief of Army in India. Sikh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must prove that he is a patriotic India by leading India to victory to wipe out the sin of Congress Party that treason committed by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 did to India.
(6) GENERAL MOBILIZATION OF INDIA: President should declare the State of emergency and order the compulsory military draft for the entire adult population between the age of 20 and 30 years. Every India must serve free for five years compulsory military service.
Professor Kautilya Hegel, Director- Election Watch, Inc.,
[email protected],
http://360.yahoo.com/kautilyahegel;
http://360.yahoo.com/electionwatch
http://clearblogs.com/kautilyahegel
http://indiatalking.com/blog/kautilyahegel
Posted by: kautilya hegel | November 14, 2006 at 08:20 PM
Hindu fascist propaganda rarely breaks the mainstream in the USA. It's always novel to see the same paranoid, violent and exclusivist visions in a culture different from one's own. I pity the world the imposition of OUR fundamentalists.
The Hindu variety is virulent, and has governed India at both the state and national level to destructive, evil effect. The Gujarat pogroms and nuclear arms being only the most obvious evils.
Good to see the nutjobs posting here, means the word is getting out.
If anything, it speaks volumes about what the non-sectarian, non-communal South Asian Maoists are facing. The India/Pakistan clash of barbarisms will be defeated by revolutionary communism. The people need not fight each other at the manipulation of their ruling classes. They can be overthrown by People's War.
Workers of the world unite.
Posted by: a rare treat | November 14, 2006 at 08:34 PM
Here are the key points of the agreement in early November between the CPN(M) and the seven parliamentary parties:
(1) An interim parliament is being formed now with 330 members, 1/3 of which will be representatives of the CPN(M) and allies.
(2) Elections for a Constituent Assembly will be held in mid-2007 with some proportional representation. This will be the leading body for a democratic republic.
(3) By November 21, the Maoist armed forces will be grouped in camps and all their weapons locked up under UN supervision. The only arms allowed will be for camp security.
(4) By November 21, the Nepali Army will be confined to barracks and a "similar quantity of arms" will be locked up under UN supervision. (What will happen to the rest of their arms?) Elements of the Nepali Army will continue
to perform "security" duties at the borders, banks, government institutions etc.
(5) The interim cabinet will carry out the "monitoring, integration and rehabilitation
of the Maoist combatants'; it will also carry out a detailed action plan for the "democratisation of the Nepali Army."
(6) The people's government and courts in the liberated areas will be dissolved; all confiscated properties will be returned.
(7) Nationalize the properties of the king; the fate of the monarchy will be determined by a majority vote of the Constituent Assembly
(8) A Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be formed (with no mention of prosecution of the Nepali army for massacres, torture and other war crimes)
******
My view is that this agreement, if implemented, will be a huge setback for the revolutionary movement and for the overwhelming majority of the people of Nepal. While this agreement will aboish the monarchy, the Nepali Army, police and other essentials of reactionary state power are left standing.
In an interview with The Rising Nepal on July 2, 2006, Prachanda gave his view on this dividing line question:
"With the formation of an interim government,
both the armies should be unified. It is not appropriate to keep two armies under different commands. That means, both the armies should
be managed under a single command. This should be mentioned in the interim constitution. The Prime Minister will be the Supreme
Commander of both the armies. However, the field command will be different. And the government will provide for the expenses. This
will help the process of monitoring weapons to a large extent. The entire process would help democratize the Nepal Army. And in the long-
run it will develop a unified and disciplined culture in the army."
Thus, this agreement will disband the Maoist armed forces and government in the countryside, and enmesh the CPN(M) in a bourgeois democratic system with no prospect for uprooting feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism and imperialism, much less for achieving socialism.
The CPN(M) leadership is betting on a final, peaceful stage for the "revolution," and the people of Nepal will pay the price.
Posted by: independentmaoist | November 16, 2006 at 11:13 PM
Setbacks? Or the way this real world revolution is moving forward?
I think the key proviso of the agreement, that places sovereignty in the masses of Nepalese people themselves is:
"(2) Elections for a Constituent Assembly will be held in mid-2007 with some proportional representation. This will be the leading body for a democratic republic."
This leading body will constitute the state, and re-constitute the state appratus.
It should be noted that the communist army is not dissolving, and that the final shape of "organized bodies of violence" will be decided, if all goes according to agreement, at the constituent assembly.
Control over this army will remain with the CPN-M, both practically and ideologically. Both armies will be in barracks through this process.
This is, in a world where such things are considered well impossible, an act of tremendous good faith. But they aren't stupid. Operational control of the people's army rests with the CPN-M.
The constituent assembly is the revolution. The issue of concern then appears two-fold:
1) What is the gameplan for the Consituent Assembly?
2) Will the feudal elements, the political class in Katmandu and foreign imperialism allow this assembly to go forward?
If Boucher's words are to be taken seriously, they are shitting their pants.
Posted by: the burningman | November 17, 2006 at 03:10 PM
Prachanda said today was a victory that ended centuries of feudalism.
What is their program for the constituent assembly? That seems to be the big issue.
Will Prachanda emerge as head of state?
Will the CPN-M act as a vanguard party or as a parliamentary party?
Would that have significance either way for the Indian Naxalites?
Will they continue treating the UN as a neutral institution, when it is anything but?
More questions than answers. Our movement needs reporters over their. I mean
Posted by: formal peace? | November 21, 2006 at 08:19 PM
Our Comrades in Nepal deserve our unconditional support. I hate to see Sparts and Trots and Anarchists take cheap shots at the Communist Party of Nepal. Once they're ideology leads a revolution, we can talk. 'Till then, solidarity.
That said, the reformist position they took is quite troubling. I assume they know what they're doing though.
Posted by: LeftyHenry | November 21, 2006 at 08:33 PM
Certainly, when the Trots lead a revolution somewhere on this planet someday (i.e. never) then they can boast about it in their hundreds of insignificant papers instead of cheerleading for "deformed workers' states."
But I must say I've definitely felt pretty frustrated about recent events in Nepal.
We have a duty to keep studying, to support our comrades who waged 10 years of peoples' war, and yes to criticize if we really feel they've veered into bourgeois democracy.
So the parliament will be 1/3 CPN(M). And then what? I'm still wondering why the CPN(M)'s leadership has temporarily ruled socialism, i.e. a state where the proletariat led by its vanguard is in power, NOT sharing power with its exploiters, off the table. Clearly the Maoists are the most determined force fighting the hated monarchy, and they have power in 80 percent of the countryside.
Are the Seven Parties and their social base really that strong and that anti-Maoist? Or am I missing something?
And what does Prachanda mean when he often alludes to their party having learned from "the history of the 20th century" and applying this analysis of theirs by fighting for genuine democracy of some sort? Is this merely a progressive step in a country like Nepal, given its feudal character and it being surrounded by hostile mega-states?
Or is this an example of some K. Venu slipping into a real revolution that has inspired so many of us up to this point?
Posted by: Pablo | November 22, 2006 at 02:57 AM
I think the key fact is the coming constituent assembly. There are other, democratic political forces in Nepal – and just sweeping them aside through armed force, pushing the middle classes into exile and presiding over ruins is not what the CPN-M is choosing to do.
Socialism was a brittle force in the 20th Century. In power, it spent tremendous amounts of time acting as if the state under the control of a CP was synonymous with a dictatorship of the lower classes – and in turn the party itself became the vehicle of capitalist restoration.
To view revolution as a magic trick whereby all other political forces vanish would be a mistake.
This movement, led by the CPN-M is seeking a republican society. They are not immediately aiming for socialism – and have said this repeatedly and for some time now, going back to the initiation of the People's War.
This is what revolution looks like. Prachanda has repeatedly said that the monarchy is coming down, that a constituent assembly will constitute the society anew – including the armed forces, and the ENTIRE state apparatus.
Reading the bourgeois press accounts, they see the CPN-M becoming a "mainstream, parliamentary party." That is NOT what is happening. They are constituting what can only be called a "new mainstream," not defined by its defense of privilege.
They are not disarming, and retain exclusive control over their weapons. They are being monitored, as are the guns of the old army, to ensure that thuggery does not stand in for political debate – and in this interim they are growing rapidly, recruiting broadly and transforming themselves into a political party cabable of governing.
I'd like to very much agree with one of the comments above that we need reporters over there. Reporters, not regurgitators seeking to "proof-text" events to fit their ideological "needs."
There are few reliable reports on politics in the countryside, among the Nepalese proletariat in India, in the sectoral and nationalities movements.
The need for a deeper investigation of what's happening on the ground is great. The plethora of interviews with leading members of the CPN-M, and the challenging content of The Worker (#10) promise great things. The living relationship between the party and the people is profound – and that combination, too, means that these questions are not scholastic in nature.
In the meantime, I am disposed to not only giving the CPN-M the benefit of the doubt – in their sober audacity and total refusal of orthodoxy.
They are not our proxy. They are engaged in struggle, with real lives on the line. That they choose not to eliminate other political trends, and to take the issue to the people as a whole means they understand that revolutions can't be made FOR people. They are made BY the people or they are not what all the fighting was about in the first place.
Maoists are not militarists. That is an incorrect understanding of the distinctions. Revisionists, liberals and others use armed struggle. The issue is where political power is located.
Posted by: the burningman | November 22, 2006 at 11:41 AM
http://revcom.us/a/070/ideasBA-en.html
Posted by: further reading | November 22, 2006 at 11:42 AM
Possibly the worst part of the agreement is "The people's government and courts in the liberated areas will be dissolved; all confiscated properties will be returned."
They're going to return seized properties of the bourgeoisie and compradors??
They're also going to lay down arms (while the state, in the form of the military will keep "some" arms).
This is a complete reversal of 10 years of gains.
The Maoists' power rests on their guns, which they are putting down, and the workers and farmers.
The state will remain, and those it represents will be strengthened when the land seized from them is given back.
This is terrible.
Posted by: CommonSenseCommentator | November 22, 2006 at 09:13 PM
It seems to me that any denunciation of the CPN(M) is premature.
As our host has mentioned, many of the CPN(M)'s public statements, and their practice of 10 years, has been unquestionably revolutionary (if somewhat challenging to the orthodox).
Let's see what happens here. Political agreements look one way on paper, the real test is what they look like in reality. Let's not forget that, formally, Chiang Kaishek was the supreme commander of the Communist Party of China's armed forces during the war against Japan.
Posted by: Lurigancho | November 23, 2006 at 01:34 AM
Is there a good run-down of all the recent events somewhere?
A link list to necessary readings?
Posted by: lazy researcher | November 23, 2006 at 12:48 PM
The 'Learn from Nepal' website has a lot of information:
http://nepal.singlespark.org/?id=worker10
Posted by: Alex | November 25, 2006 at 12:20 PM