Revolutionary Worker #1199, May 18, 2003, posted at rwor.org
We received the following from A World To Win News Service:
5 May 2003. A World to Win News Service. By 1 May, the U.S. administration had published two lists of the organizations in the world it considers "terrorist." The first list consists of 38 organizations, the second 37. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is on the second list. Even though previously U.S. officials used the term "terrorists" in speaking of the Nepali Maoists, up until now they had not put the CPN(M) on the "terrorist" list.
It has almost been a fashion for U.S. imperialism to list as "terrorists" parties and organizations that oppose imperialism and reaction. For instance, they call the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) "terrorist" for demanding their homeland, but for them government Sinhala soldiers are not "terrorists" even though they killed thousands of Tamil people, systematically raped women, and set ablaze villages and the main Tamil library. In a well-known case, they developed a notorious proverb, "Take out the tiger and fill the woman with a Sinhala lion"--which means rape pregnant women, rip out their infant and then kill them. But for the U.S. the Sinhala government of Sri Lanka never became terrorist. All Palestinian people are labeled "terrorists." José Maria Sison and the Philippine Communist Party he founded over 30 years ago have been branded "terrorists" for fighting for a New Democratic revolution against feudalism and imperialism. But all the dictators of these countries have been called most "democratic" by the U.S. Not to mention, even governments that pose problems for the U.S. are now labeled "terrorists." For instance, U.S. officials now say that the North Korean government is a "terrorist regime."
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been leading the People's War since 1996, in order to overthrow semi-feudal, semi-colonial domination and make the Nepalese people the sovereign power in their country. In the course of the revolutionary war, the Nepalese people have developed their own people's army and established base areas, and huge numbers of Nepalese people have been exercising revolutionary political power in the vast countryside. The reactionary Nepalese system is confined to military and administrative headquarters and the big cities.
In the course of the revolutionary people's war, the reactionary system terrorized the Nepalese people who had been asking for peace and bread, stability and development, and democracy and livelihood. The system has also tortured people, raped women, blazed houses and killed around 6,000 of the best sons and daughters of the Nepalese people. But that government was never counted as terrorist by the U.S. Furthermore, in support of these heinous crimes, the U.S. has funded the Nepalese government, received these criminal leaders, sent American weapons and issued several statements trying to intimidate the Nepalese revolutionary people.
These have been tumultuous years in Nepal's history. The reactionary system of Nepal called the revolutionary party leading the people "terrorist," placed a bounty on the head of its leaders, and issued a "red corner notice" through the international police (Interpol). But even then, the U.S. had not put the Maoists on its terrorist list. There were days of turmoil in the country when on the one hand the king dismissed the parliament and sacked the prime minister, and on the other after some time took all the executive powers for himself. All the political parties were marginalized, and still they are political orphans. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) waged a fierce People's War, which went from the stage of strategic defensive to strategic equilibrium. Still the U.S. did not put CPN (Maoist) on its terrorist list.
Now, the political scenario is different. There has been a truce for three months. When the truce was declared, the U.S. hailed the step. Events have developed further. A code of conduct between the government and the Maoists has been issued, and one round of dialogue has taken place. The CPN (Maoist) has explicitly put forward its political alternatives to the reactionary system. This has been met with applause from all around. Even Britain hailed the dialogue. And now, the U.S. put the CPN (Maoist) on its terrorist list. [ RW note: This is after the Nepalese government withdrew the terrorist label on CPN (Maoist) as part of the conditions of the ceasefire and peace talks.]
This act raises a lot of questions. Why did the U.S. put the party on its terrorist list at this very moment? What made the U.S. most terrorized at this time?
The conclusions are very simple. First of all, the imperialists never want peace and a better livelihood for the people in the world. In one hand they always hold a flower of peace while in the other they have a knife to stab peace in the back. The U.S.'s welcome of the cease-fire between the Maoists and the government was a flower in its one hand, but putting the Maoists on its terrorist list is a stab in the back. Mao Tsetung said, "Imperialism is the source of wars in modern times. The imperialists alternatively use a deceptive policy of peace and a policy of war."
From this action it is clear that U.S. imperialism does not want people's democracy and stability in Nepal. It wants to create turmoil in the country and foment an atmosphere for direct or indirect military intervention to further its strategic aims in the region. India, too, is against the negotiation process.
What most terrorizes U.S. imperialism? It is obvious that it is genuine people's democracy, complete power in the hands of the people, and revolutionary politics that the U.S. is really afraid of. During the seven years of People's War, the U.S. did not feel the necessity of putting the Maoists on the terrorist list. Even when the reactionary old system delayed in naming a negotiations committee and the process was in doubt, the imperialists didn't take this step. But when the Maoists tabled political agendas in the dialogue with the government, proposing a roundtable discussion, an interim government and a constitutional assembly --and when the party's proposals were widely supported throughout the country--that really bothered the U.S.
The fact of the matter is that the more the masses of people in Nepal take power into their hands, the more the possibility of a country-wide genuine people's New Democratic government becomes concrete, the more it is dangerous "terrorism" for the imperialists. Their putting the Nepali Maoists on their terrorist list at this particular time has proved this. That is the reason the U.S. had put the Communist Party of Peru, the Communist Party of Philippines and many national liberation movements on its terrorist list.
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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