Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Prachanda, Order Your Cadres To Live


When Prachanda finally surfaces, this dude is going to make world headlines. He is likely the most mysterious political figure on Planet Earth right now. Some major media outlets of global repute to this day think Padma Ratna Tuladhar is the real Prachanda. I mean, he could be anybody, right? Poor Padma Ratnaji.

The seven parties have finally woken up. And the balls are rolling. The clouds are gathering.

Prachanda is in a rather unique position to bring peace into the country. And this is not going to be a false peace. This is going to be a true peace that is accompanied by progress.

And to do that all Prachanda has to do is to do things he has himself, without external convincing has already long pledged to do. He has to execute his own plan. That is all.

The Maoists have been this rigid, hierarchical organization. Maoist fighters have willingly died because the party asked them to. You have to really wonder about that. Girija Koirala could not even order his party cadre to shut up.

But now Prachanda has to oder his cadres to live!

I hope Prachanda will do what only he can do, what he has already pledged he will do.

I would like to see a Prachanda leading his party in the national parliament competing with the very best of them to bring forth some of the most progressive legislation so as to strike at the foundations of social injustice and poverty that have plagued Nepali society.

As I have said before, steps 3,4,5 and 6 are already worked out. I hope Prachanda will not sacrifice those future steps by refusing to get creative and flexible with steps 1 and 2. He will have to make room for the fact that the seven parliamentary parties for one are inefficient. They also have mixed records from the 1990s. They have not been the most diligent when it boils down to doing homework.

The more leadership Prachanda shows now, more will be the dividends he and his party will stand to reap once peace descends upon the country.

What do I mean by being creative and flexible?
  1. If the Maoists were to unilaterally declare a ceasefire, and make it clear it will hold unless the RNA goes on another military offensive against them, do you think that will limit the RNA's options? In case you have not noticed, the RNA has fought the "image war" much more vigorously than it ever fought the military war. They will not want the world to see they breached a unilateral ceasefire announced by the Maoists.
  2. Outdo the RNA and this regime in terms of cooperating with the UN human rights people who are active in the country. Put the RNA to shame.
  3. Unilaterally engage the local cadres of all seven parties in dialogue in all the villages in the country. You don't need the permission of the leaders of those parties to do that.
  4. Codify your fundamental departure from classic Maoism. You are not sacrificing your progressive thinking. What might have been good for Mao in the China of the 1930s might not be the best stuff for Nepal today. Your already stated goal of a peaceful transformation of the state is new thinking within the communist camp. Make it official.
  5. Retrain all your local level cadres to your new thinking. The more of this you do, larger your party will be once peace is achieved. They are going to have to win hearts and minds the peaceful way. These seven parties are your potential comrades now and your future competitors within a peaceful space later.
This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure Prachanda can come up with a much longer list of things to do in his capacity as the Maoist supremo.

Between Drinking Water And Helicopters
Logic For The Maoists
The Two Extremes
Caste Discrimination Leads To War
Proposed Democratic Republican Constitution
Project Take Over Tundikhel: Draft 1
Alliance Gathering At Queens Bridge Park
Amnestry International Report: Nepali Children Caught In Conflict
Senator Leahy To US Congress On Nepal
To: Koirala, Nepal, KC, Pokharel, Tripathy, Mahto And The Rest
Gagan Thapa Case Taken To The United Nations
2005 Young Republican National Convention (US) Resolution 1 On Nepal
Tom Daschle
UN Security Council Needs To Enforce Human Rights On A War Footing
Loktantra: Pahilo Patak
Possible Framework For A Maoist-Democrat Alliance
Kunda Dixit In Jackson Heights
Political And Military Stalemate: Democrats Stand To Tip The Balance
Seize The Moment: Match The Maoists
The Road To The White House Goes Through Nepal
Getting Interviewed By A Cornell University Student
40% Of Americans Can't Point Out The Pacific On A Map
Op-Ed Piece Sent To The New York Times
Nepali Maoists, Bihari Maoists
Power Through Political Dialogue
CPI (M), CPN (M)
Prachanda's Meaningful Statement
Constituent Assembly Will Still Be A Lot Of Work In The Form Of Political Dialogue
Sangram Morcha: A New Political Party (1993)
ICG Report: Lasting Peace
The Hardliner Democrat Approach
The Bombing Of A Bus
Power Does Not Necessarily Flow Through The Barrel Of A Gun: Maoists
The Maoists And The Democrats Giving The King Veto Power
Rabindra Mishra, An Unprofessional, Disrespectful Journalist
Prachanda Press Statement
Common Minimum Program: Constituent Assembly
Baburam Bhattarai Press Statement
The Lake Freezes At 32 Degrees Fahrenheit Like Magic
Maoist Military Victory Vs Roundtable Conference With The Maoists
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The Emotional Structure Of The Conflict
Phone Talk With Hridayesh Tripathy
Comrade Gonzalo Of Peru: A Profile
The Maoists Have Been Reading My Emails, Blog Entries
Dinesh Prasain Tour: Report
100 Reasons To Revive Parliament
Baburam: Prachanda's Best Bet, Litmust Test, And Only Option
Madhesi Rights: Abhi Nahin To Kabhi Nahin
Pradip Giri: DaMaJaMa
Prachanda's Letter Bomb Of 5/1
The Seven Dwarfs
Girija, Deuba, And The Rest Of Them Clowns
Email From Arzu Rana Deuba
Tibetans And Madhesis
Changing Gears
The King Will Only Respond To Internal Pressure
Prachanda: A Profile
How To Move Towards A Common Minimum Program?
The Nepali Diaspora Contradiction: Would You Like Some Tea?
Prachanda Is Angry
Hindu International (HI)
The Dinesh Prasain US Speaking Tour
The Twins Gyanendra And Prachanda Are Watching Closed-Circuit Television
Uttar Ram Tamata
I Don't Feel Sorry For The King
A Victory For The Democrats, Monarchists, Maoists
Nepali Maoists And The US Perspective
Reviving Parliament: Not An Option
This Inadequate, Improper, Insufficient 1990 Constitution
Phone Marathon II
Phone Marathon: Called Up Delhi
Koirala Disappoints: He Is The Same Worn Out Record
The Monarchists, Not The Maoists, Are Like The Al Qaeda
Online Coverage Of The Maoists
Nepal Communist Party (Progressive)
The ICG Report
To: Prachanda, Baburam, Mahara, Badal And The Rest Of The Maoist Leadership
Prime Minister-Elect Prasain: "You Have The Power!"
Doing Business With Baburam Bhattarai
Shaubhagya Shah: Autocracy 101 At Harvard
"I’m sorry Mrs Sunuwar"
eDemocracy, 4S Campaign, 24/7 Vigil For Democracy: Take Over Tundikhel
Baburam Bhattarai On A Democratic Republic
Time For The Nepali Congress To Take A Stand On The Constituent Assembly Question
Response To The Panchayati Ghost Tulsi Giri
Finally The Democrats Make Sense
Ideological Overture To The Nepali Maoists (2)
Comrade Ramesh Nath Pandey And World Revolution
Democracy: The Third Wave
Dinesh Prasain's Possible US Tour In April
Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari's Daughter Speaks Out
Human Rights ----> Political Platform ----> Full-Fledged Movement
Democrats, Imagine The Worst From Monarchists/Maoists
Ideological Overture To The Nepali Maoists
Sought eDialogue with Dr. Baburam Bhattarai
Towards a Democratic Republic of Nepal

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