Revolutionary Worker #1166, September 15, 2002, posted at http://rwor.org
In issue #1165, page 3, the article "A Time to Resist" erroneously reported that the U.S. State Department had placed the Maoist party in Nepal on its "terrorist list." To be clear: The U.S. State Department has not put the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on their official list of "terrorists."
The People's War in Nepal is a genuine war of liberation--that has nothing in common with groups like al Qaida. But the Nepalese government and the Indian government have officially labeled the CPN (Maoist) terrorist. And the rulers of Nepal have packaged their plea for foreign help to fight the insurgency as part of the "global fight against terrorism."
Again, the U.S. State Department has not put the CPN (Maoist) on their official list of "terrorists." But the U.S. government--along with Britain and other imperialist powers--are all supporting the Nepalese regime's campaign against the Maoists, in which hundreds of people in Nepal's countryside are being killed; many more, accused of being "Maoist sympathizers," are being rounded up and jailed; and all kinds of constitutional rights have been suspended.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell went to Nepal in January to meet with the King, Prime Minister and head of the Royal Nepalese Army. President Bush invited Nepal's Prime Minister Deuba to the White House to talk in May and then asked Congress to approve $20 million in military and economic aid for Nepal. Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, testified to the House International Relations Committee that "The Maoists [in Nepal] have shown themselves to be a ruthless enemy by their tactics in the field and through terrorist attacks against both government targets and innocent civilians." And the U.S. government has given special training on "resistance against Maoist terrorism" to Nepali officials.
This is another example of how the U.S. declares "terrorism" to be "anything we say it is," and how its "war on terrorism" is being used to attack any force--including a genuine war of liberation--that threatens U.S. interests.
The People's War in Nepal has widespread support throughout the country. In liberated base areas, the Maoists have established revolutionary forms of government where millions of peasants are exercising a "new people's power." And battles against the Royal Nepalese Army have involved, at times, several hundred, even thousands, of peasants.
The growing involvement of the U.S. in supporting the counterrevolution in Nepal is an example of how the "U.S. war on terrorism" is being used as a cover to justify war on any and all insurgencies which threaten U.S. interests--including genuine revolutions aimed at overthrowing oppressive governments.
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