From: Luis Quispe <lquispe-AT-blythe.org>
Subject: Leader of People's War in Nepal.
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 21:13:52 -0400 (EDT)


                 THE PEOPLE'S WAR IN NEPAL

Interview with Comrade Prachanda, Chairman of the Communist Party
of Nepal, a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Party leading the People's War
in Nepal.

[Editor's note: This interview was translated from the Nepalese
weekly journal "Janadesh."  Chairman Prachanda is the most wanted
political figure in Nepal because the Party, under his leadership
is waging a protracted People's War which was launched on February
13, 1996, against the old State of Nepal. According to recent
information available, 7 out of 75 districts in the country are
affected by guerrilla warfare. Sources close to the Communist Party
of Nepal, report that up to 4,700 armed actions have been
successfully carried out against military targets, landlords,
corrupt government officials and state banks. The remote mountain
districts such as Holpa, Rukum, Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Sindhuli,
Jajarkot and Baglung are at the forefront of guerrilla warfare.]

MAGAZINE JANADESH: What is the justification for the People's War
in Nepal?

CHAIRMAN PRACHANDA.  The present reactionary government under the
influence of imperialism, and especially Indian expansionism, have
generated a series of crises against our national sovereignty. 
Also, the people are facing many problems such as unemployment,
price hikes, food and goods shortages, massive corruption and state
terror.  The Nepalese people tried to solve all these problems be
peaceful means, but the brutal Government never responded
positively to the people's demands which were presented before it
peacefully for more than 5 decades.

It is well known that Nepal is categorized as one of the poorest
nations by the World Bank Report.  It would be shameful and
cowardly not to respond to the Government's activities when the
regime is corrupt; when the regime has surrendered Nepalese
territory to the reactionary government of India.  So, in these
circumstances the People's War in Nepal is inevitable and timely to
save the national integrity and to save the people of Nepal from
all types of hardships.  We declare that only the People's War can
save people from starvation, malnutrition, unemployment, inflation
and state terrorism.  The People's War is also a tool to defend the
national interest against all forms of imperialist exploitation.

JONADESH: May we know your opinion regarding the impact of the
People's War on different political parties?

PRACHANDA: It is becoming clear that the People's War made a
definite demarcation between the political parties working in favor
of the Nepalese people and those against the people.
Even limited actions during the People's War tear the mask off the
so-called democracy and human rights propaganda of the reactionary
regime in Nepal.  More than 50 people were killed by the Government
army in different parts of Nepal without any reason.  The people
killed ranged in age from 11 to 72; some were sleeping in their
beds, others were working in their fields, some of them were also
killed in custody.  About five thousand people have been I taken
into custody accused of being "Maoists".  But the government is
unable to prove they are Maoists.

This shows that to be a communist is a very big crime in Nepal for
the reactionaries. On the other hand, the revisionists and
reformists in the communist movement are also working as spies
against the People's War.  At present, the support of the People's
is overwhelming in Nepal, the people wave proudly the red flag and
conduct the struggle for emancipation from all kinds of
exploitation. Nothing is more powerful in the world than people!

JANADESH: Would you like to clarify the situation of the fighters
and people in the districts of Rolpa, Rukum, Jajarkot, Sindhuli,
Kavre and Gorkha where the Government is intensifying its
counterinsurgency activities against the People's War?

PRACHANDA: Before answering your question, on behalf of our Party,
I would like to salute all the comrades and people who are making
strenuous sacrifices for the benefit of our nation and for the
cause of a just war against the enemies of the people.  Needless to
say, the revolution could not achieve its goal without any
sacrifice.  Revolution is not an easy process like a dinner party. 
We can see very clearly that the situation in these districts is
developing rapidly in favor of the People's War, regardless of the
brutal killings of our people by the regime.

The people in these districts, who at first didn't want to be
involved in the political struggle, are now joining our party, the
People's War and are fighting against the Government forces.  The
murderous Government is trying to suppress the revolution, killing
randomly many people in these areas.  Dozens of human rights
activists representing different human rights organizations in
Nepal have recently visited some of the districts where the
People's War has started a few months ago. They published a report
stating that the Government army and police are brutally killing
innocent people without any evidence and right to trial. Lastly,
they drew the conclusion that if the Government doesn't abide by
their present constitution of Nepal regarding human and civil
rights, the situation will deteriorate further and the civil war
will intensify.

JANADESH: Comrade Prachanda, you seen so confident about winning
the People's War in Nepal.  Could you give evidence with which we
can trust your confidence?

PRACHANDA: The people, and only the people are the means of
historical change.  Only the people are able to make history.  As
long as we continue working and are committed to sacrificing our
lives for the cause of people's liberation from all forms of
social, religious, ethnic, political, feudal and imperialist
exploitation, and we have hundreds of thousands of cadres and
millions of supporters, we believe that we will win the war.

The Nepalese people are equipped not only with guns, but also with
another more powerful weapon which we call Marxism-Leninism-Maoism,
the ideology of the international proletariat.  The latter is one
of the most powerful weapons, more powerful than any other weapon
developed in the world.  All the reactionaries in the world are
very afraid from this weapon that the Nepalese people have.

JANADESH: Could you please tell us the impact of the Nepalese
People's War on the international communist movement?

PRACHANDA: The Nepalese People's War has made a significant
contribution to the worldwide communist movement by providing
active support for the PEOPLE'S WAR IN PERU, the armed struggle in
India being launched by the People's War Group and the Maoist
Centre; armed struggle in Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran and
so on.

The Nepalese People's War is also disseminating its message around
the world making its contribution to the launching of armed
struggle against feudalism, capitalism and imperialism.  The
People's War of Nepal is hope for the hopeless around the world. 

We are also coordinating the worldwide communist movement through
the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM)*.  We believe
that some member parties of RIM are seriously preparing for the
launching of People's War against the reactionary regimes in their
countries. Thank you.

August 1996.

[Editor's Note: Both the Communist Party of Peru and the Communist
Party of Nepal are members of the RIM, but they sharply criticize
the revisionist leadership of the Committee of the RIM (CO-RIM)]


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