- Com. Basanta
History has made an irony on May 17,
2018, in the Communist Movement of Nepal. The duo: KP Oli and PK Dahal,
by dissolving their respective parties, the CPN (UML) and CPN (MC), have
built a new party through a joint meeting held at Prime Minister’s
residence, Baluwatar. Party formation has been declared from a ‘Party
Unity Declaration Programme’ organised in City Hall, Kathmandu. New
party has been named as Communist Party of Nepal. The printed and
digital media have publicised that a two-membered Chair, a 9-membered
Secretariat, a 45-membered Standing Committee and a 441-membered Central
Committee has been structured. The 6-point declaration issued jointly
by KP and PK says that ‘Socialism-Oriented People’s Democracy’ will be
their future political programme. And, Marxism-Leninism has been adopted
as their guiding principle. Obviously, Maoism has been dropped.
This event has created debate in the
whole political landscape of Nepal, in general, and the left political
circle, in particular. The rival parliamentarian party, Nepali Congress,
seems to have been scared of this unity and the vote it garners. Some
of the people have weighed up this unity as a carrier of their fortune
builder. There is no much enthusiasm on the part of general masses that
support communist parties in Nepal. People, who have already seen
governments formed by the erstwhile parties, are not so optimistic of
this party unity. The one-sided rhetoric that the unity is a way towards
stability and prosperity of the country and people has caused some
confusion among the general masses. The cadres of Maoist Centre seem a
little more enthused and those of UML seem to be sceptical of this
unity.
In the history, the CPN (Maoist) and CPN
(UML) were two different parties standing at opposite poles. The CPN
(UML) had been pursuing right revisionist line since before its fourth
congress and followed the path of peaceful competition under
constitutional monarchy and parliamentarian multiparty system after 1990
mass movement. The CPN (Maoist) was a revolutionary party since its
formation and engaged in revolutionary struggles against parliamentary
system to establish new democratic republic in Nepal. In 1996, it
initiated protracted people’s war and led the people’s liberation army
to establish new democratic state power in Nepal. Quite the reverse, the
CPN (UML) was involved in repression upon Maoists to defend the
parliamentary system in force of the reactionary state army. UML leaders
had signed blindly in the paper that the Congress government had
proposed bounty on the heads of Maoist leaders. Many people in Nepal are
aware of it. In short, these two parties were standing just at opposite
poles since long before.
Whatever has been said before is not any
subjective allegation of my own. The Maoist documents portray a clear
picture of how did the Maoists look at the CPN (UML) yesterday. In a
booklet named “Historical Documents” published by the CPN (Maoist)
writes in page 71, paragraph 2, “In the situation when the right
revisionist UML clique, which has degenerated into reaction but has not
been exposed among the masses, on the one hand, and our party, which has
appeared as a revolutionary alternative but has not yet been
established practically among the people, on the other, the thing that
draws special attention here is that Masal and the liquidationist groups
are now attempting to confuse people along the same line as the right
revisionist UML clique had done before.” This excerpt is self-evident
and does not need any further elucidation.
A question arises, what made these two
parties standing at diametrically opposite poles before arrive at one
point now? In order for this to happen, either one of these two
conditions — one, the UML has through a revolutionary transformation
reached now to previous Maoist position or two, the Maoist Centre has
through a counter-evolutionary degeneration reached now to previous UML
position — was necessary to be fulfilled. Bluntly speaking, how can two
pedestrians, who are walking towards two opposite directions, turn up
along the same direction unless one of them makes a U-turn? It is an
important question to take note of.
We come to hear that these two parties
have arrived at one point because the political revolution has been
completed with the establishment of republic in Nepal and what is now
necessary is to collectively work for economic prosperity. It is an
utter nonsense. Have the workers and peasants and the oppressed masses
including, women, indigenous nationalities, Dalits, Madhesis, Muslims
etc. got emancipated from the exploitation and oppression perpetrated by
their domestic enemies: the bureaucratic and comprador bourgeoisie and
feudal class? Has our country Nepal got liberated from the imperialist
and expansionist oppression? Has Nepal come to witness the establishment
of People’s Republic, which was said to be a minimum program of the
erstwhile CPN (Maoist)? Has Nepal been free from the yoke of
semi-feudal, semi-colonial and neo-colonial socio-economic condition?
Has not Modi’s recent trip to Nepal helped uncover the national
capitulationist behaviour of the Nepalese ruling parties and former’s
expansionist attitude towards Nepal? However, the fact is that the
internal and external oppression is getting terrible. Country’s economic
dependency is doubling each day and quadrupling each night. The trade
balance is skyrocketing and the export to import ratio is as high as
1:15. All this shows that a political revolution has not been
accomplished but has become an urgent need to get rid of the challenges
noted above.
What everyone knows is that UML was a
reactionary party, neck deep in parliamentarianism, and it is so even
today. It has not made any change in its previous ideological and
political position. Regardless of this, unity has taken place between
these two parties. How is it possible? It clearly means it is the result
of the Maoist Centre embodying UML path. In other word, this unity has
been possible only after the Maoist centre arrived at upholding UML
position. It is the outcome of ideological degeneration of Maoist centre
into UML, nothing other. The Maoist party that had raised arms against
the reactionary state yesterday has now started speaking the language of
repression upon revolutionaries by deploying the same army and police
it had fought against in the past. This too, clarifies the question
further.
Now a question arises, is it that the
Maoist Centre has adopted UML line right now? No, it had begun before,
but has been openly revealed to public now. The erstwhile CPN (Maoist)
had started gestating UML line from the very day it had placed in party a
document named ‘Democracy in the 21st century.’ It had
already started pursuing the UML line by adopting Democratic Republic in
the Chunwang meeting. Later, the election of constituent assembly,
restructuring of state, 12-point understanding etc. had been the events
that had laid one brick each to the process of Maoists embodying UML
line. While arriving at the so-called comprehensive peace agreement,
disarmament of the People’s Liberation Army, declaration of the end of
people’s war, submission of the PLA into Nepalese army and the
promulgation of reactionary constitution from the second constituent
assembly, the course of Maoist Centre transforming ideologically and
politically into UML had essentially completed. Since then, two parties
MC and UML had existed only in name sake. The present unity is only the
revelation of their common essence in open form. It is the open
manifestation of Prachanda’s degeneration into reaction. This whole
process has again justified Mao’s assertion that in the final analysis
the revisionism is reaction.
The leadership that had portrayed a
revolutionary image in the past has now submitted into a reactionary
party through this unity process. No revolutionary the world over had
wanted it to happen. But now, there is no way to deny it. In fact, this
unity has logically brought to an end the state of affairs through which
Prachanda could confuse honest cadres and people by showing the
sacrifice he had made in history. Now, he will not be able to take
benefit of the sacrifice he had made in the past and confuse the
revolutionary people anymore. In the days to come, none will hear the
terminologies like Maoism, people’s war, new democracy, revolution etc.
in his speeches. He has made a rupture to the form that resembles with
his essence. Now, no revolutionary people will be confused with him. He
has clarified his side. In this sense, he must be thanked and this is
the positive aspect seen in the unity between the MC and UML.
Our country is a very fertile land for
communists. History is a witness; the Nepalese people have always stood
in favour of revolution and change. Notwithstanding this, the leadership
who had a revolutionary history has betrayed revolution and liquidated
the party. Maoism does not remain a guiding ideology for this newly
formed party and it has stopped talking about communism and proletarian
internationalism. An abstract programme: “Socialism-oriented People’s
Democracy” has been projected as their political goal. They have
declared that peaceful parliamentarian struggle is their path of
struggle to attain this target. The conscious Nepalese people who have
been waging relentless struggle for new democracy, socialism and
communism will not stand by this regression. Sooner or later, they will
be exposed among the masses.
Finally, it points towards a possibility
of new polarisation and broader unity among the revolutionaries, which
is good for genuine Maoists and new democratic revolution in Nepal. The
Maoist parties must take it seriously and work hard to bring entire
revolutionaries into a single fold. The chances of revolutionary
transformation remain more tangible during crisis and in the midst of
enemy offensive, not in normal situation. The confusion spread by
reactionaries does not last long. Their doom is not far. Let us grasp
this, work hard and rise up to change this challenge into possibility;
the future is bright.
May 17, 2018
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