From: "cpimllib" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 22:56:52 +0530 To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;@tonto.eunet.fi> Subject: [L-I] [ INDIA ] ML Update, Vol : 4; No . 23; 6- 6- 2001. ML Update A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine Vol.-4; No.-23; 6-6-2001 Palace Coup in Kathmandu The Himalayan kingdom has once again turned turbulent. This time the turbulence spread from within the royal family. Seldom has modern world history witnessed a tragedy like what happened inside the royal palace in Kathmandu on Friday, June 1. Cryptic, conflicting statements have so far been issued by the palace and the Koirala government of Nepal on the incident that happened on the fateful Friday evening. Prince Dipendra had first been blamed for the massacre. Subsequently, it was told that the automatic killer rifle had gone off accidentally. The people of Nepal are certainly not satisfied with these figments of fiction. They are vocal about their right to know the truth, the whole truth based on hard facts and not any pulp fiction. A comatose Prince Dipendra who was earlier announced as the new king has succumbed to his injuries. And Dipendra's cremation has coincided with the coronation of Gyanendra, brother of the late King Birendra even as protesters fought pitched battles with the police in parts of curfew-bound Kathmandu. Gyanendra was away from the scene of the massacre. His wife escaped 'miraculously' with a minor finger injury. And his young son, Paras, who has already earned enough notoriety as a spoilt royal brat, had probably left the palace minutes after the shootout. The people of Nepal and equally the world people at large cannot be blamed for smelling a major intrigue behind the shocking incident. The event has already been termed a palace coup. What remains to be unearthed is the political dimension of the coup, the script of the power game behind the stunning sequence of events. The world has certainly moved away from monarchies. Yet monarchies have not exactly become things of the past. They survive in many countries including some of the most advanced capitalist countries of Europe. They survive not just as relics of a medieval, royal past but as an intriguing 'modern' institution symbolising some kind of national identity and continuity with a limited auxiliary role in matters of statecraft. The royal family in Nepal probably still enjoys power far in excess of this decorative or ornamental minimum. The powerful democracy movement which ended the partyless panchayat rule in Nepal and restored parliamentary democracy a decade ago did not go to the extent of sweeping away the royal arrangement. On his part, King Birendra was however perceived to have gracefully accepted the measured dose and pace of democratisation. Yet the transition in Nepal has been far from smooth and tranquil. Communists constituted the dominant force of the pro-democracy movement and despite splits and other weaknesses they still occupy a key slot in Nepal's mainstream politics. While the fledgling constitutional democratic arrangement of Nepal has tolerated communist-led governments, the mysterious death of legendary communist leader Madan Bhandari is attributed by many in Nepal to nothing short of a conspiracy. And over the last few years, the Maoists have launched a major offensive in Nepal which, some strategists believe, can only be met by a powerful monarchist consolidation. Has the 'soft' Birendra been eased out to facilitate such a consolidation? Are we seeing the beginning of a monarchist backlash in Nepal? How will the United States and China respond to the events in Kathmandu? Is there any external imperialist dimension to the fateful Friday evening's shootout in the royal palace? These questions are naturally uppermost in the minds of all keen observers of Nepal, especially who sympathise with the cause of democracy and progress in Nepal, who are concerned with the future of the communist movement in Nepal. As we wait anxiously for the truth to emerge, we in India must remain alert. As Nepal's closest neighbour in terms of both geography and history, India has a special standing in the eyes of Nepal. The omissions and commissions of New Delhi have always been a subject of major controversy and national debate in Nepal. As Nepal comes to terms with the palace coup in Kathmandu, Indian foreign policy must be one of strict non-interference. As for the people of India, especially the Left and democratic opinion, the cause of democracy in Nepal has always found tremendous support in this country. Any setback to democracy in Nepal, any symptom of recationary monarchist consolidation in the possible shadow of imperialist tutelege, will be deeply resented by the friends of Nepal in India. Central Committee Resolutions (28-30 May) On proposed Indo-Pak summit talks: The CC welcomes the move to have a summit-level talk between India and Pakistan. Such a talk was long overdue and along with other peace-loving forces on both sides of the Indo-Pak border the CPI(ML) has been consistently pressing for such a dialogue. However, uncertainty still hangs heavy on whether the talks will really be held and on the outcome of such a dialogue in case it is really held. The suspicion is strengthened by the experience of the NDA government's politics of cease-fires preceding the talks. In Kashmir, the cease-fire has been terminated and most of the Kashmiri organisations have been antagonised by the Centre's half-hearted and fraudulent politics of cease-fire and dialogue. We call upon the central government to resume cease-fire and restore peace and human rights in Kashmir and reject the American bid to mediate and meddle in Kashmir. On a comprehensive solution to problems in the North-East: Like in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP's fraudulent politics of ceasefire has come unstuck in the North-Eastern states as well. The ceasefire and repeated talks with NSCN have proved infructuous and no solution is in sight. The talks initiated with the Bodo organisation and the subsequent alliance of the BJP with ABSU smacked only of political expediency. Now that the AGP-BJP combine has lost the poll and Congress has returned to power, it is obvious that the central and state governments will only be playing political football with the autonomy movements and long-neglected aspirations of the North-Eastern communities for democracy and development. Escalation of tension with Bangladesh, resulting primarily from a major failure and fiasco on the part of higher-ups in the Ministries of Home and External Affairs, and the opportunist politics of horse-trading as exemplified by events in Manipur have only added to the North-Eastern mess. Against this backdrop, the CC demanded fresh initiatives on the part of the central government to work out a comprehensive package of solutions to the long-standing problems in the North-Eastern region. On the Centre's support for NMD: The CC condemned the NDA government's ill-advised support for the NMD programme of the Bush administration. While the entire world has denounced this blatant bid of the US to institutionalise its military hegemony in a unipolar world, India under NDA rule has rushed in an unseemly manner to welcome this latest version of Star Wars. The NMD is directed particularly against China and it can therefore only have a disastrous spiralling effect on Asia by fuelling arms race in all directions. The CC appealed to all patriotic and peace-loving forces in India to exert united pressure on the government for an immediate reversal of the NDA's policy of strategic subservience to Washington. On Balco and Enron: The privatisation of Balco and surrender to the preposterous terms of Enron in the controversial Dabhol Power project have triggered two major mass resistances to the ongoing neoliberal economic agenda. While Balco witnessed a heroic 67-day-long strike before the Congress government of Chhattisgarh climbed down and betrayed the workers, in the case of enron, the Congress-NCP government has been forced to adopt a seemingly tough posture following the highly successful Maharashtra bandh of April 25 called by all trade unions. Instead of getting embroiled into the legal wranglings over the controversial agreement with Enron, we should demand outright nationalisation of the Dabhol power plant. The Balco and Enron agitations also exemplify the danger of depending upon state governments and thus highlight the paramount importance of waging unrelenting popular resistance against such brazen acts of privatisation and appeasement of foreign capital. This lesson needs to be kept in mind in building a countrywide popular agitation to stall privatisation of the defence industry and anti-worker amendment of labour laws. On the CBI case on Demolition of Babri Masjid: While the term of Liberhan Commission has been extended by another six months, the CBI has dropped the case against senior BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharati. The case has apparently been rendered invalid due to loopholes in the original notification issued by the UP government soon after the demolition took place in December 1992. UP was then under President's Rule and the loopholes in the notification issued by Governor Motilal Vora have not been corrected by any subsequent government. The present Rajnath Singh government of UP has of course refused to issue a fresh notification and the case has thus been dropped. This wilful abuse of law and the resultant travesty of justice mark a clear mockery of the Indian republic and the principle of the rule of law. Secular democratic opinion must denounce this mockery in no uncertain terms and pressurise the central and UP governments for resumption of the CBI case. This is yet another example of the inherent weaknesses of the Indian state on the issue of communalism and the fight for secularism must therefore be carried to the point of a radical transformation of the Indian state into a secular people's democratic republic. Central Committee on National Political Situation On the whole, the situation continues to be fluid. While the NDA continues to lose ground, there is still no major sign of revival of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh even as the party has emerged as the main beneficiary of the recently concluded Assembly elections. The fledgling People's Front too is yet to acquire any significant momentum. This fluid developing situation provides an ideal setting for intensifying popular democratic struggles against the NDA government on a whole set of issues concerning the disastrous impact of the neoliberal and communal fascist agenda of the BJP. While remaining open to any possibility of developing political cooperation with the Left parties and other constituents of the PF, we must accelerate our independent initiative and efforts to develop cooperation with locally available Left and democratic forces instead of waiting for any breakthrough at the national level. The call for ouster of the Vajpayee government had already been issued in the wake of Tehelka disclosures. The call has already been translated into periodic exposure and agitation campaigns on different fronts. This should be continued and stepped up as the NDA's crisis intensifies and the stage gets set for the forthcoming UP elections. Depending on the results of the UP elections and other related political developments, the country will probably also face another mid-term elections as chances of an alternative government do not look all that bright within the given parliamentary arithmetic. While preparing for UP elections we must remain prepared for any such eventuality at parliamentary level. The Party and all mass organisations will observe the coming August 9, the Quit India day, through intensive rasta roko/jail bharo programmes so as to press for the NDA government's ouster. Politics of "Conversion" Backfires in Manipur BJP's fond dreams of having Manipur as the first saffron-governed state in the north-east shattered to smithers and ultimately the state had to be brought under President's rule. Though the State assembly has been kept in "suspended animation" to exploit any "favourable" development in the situation, it does not seem likely that the BJP would get another chance to grab this hot potato, for most of the "converts" who turned saffron three month back have again opted to get out of the "Party with a difference". In fact, in the 60-member Manipur Assembly BJP had only 6 MLAs in 2000. The single largest party was Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) with 23 seats, followed by Congress (12). MSCP formed government with the help of Federal Party of Manipur (4) and independents (9). In less than one year, 11 out of 12 Congress MLAs led by Koijam "converted" to Samata Party, which incidentally got its first elected MLA only on the day of being voted out of power. Simultaneously, 20 MLAs led by Dorendra Singh left MSCP and got "converted" to BJP. In an attempt to repeat the UP experience, BJP agreed to let Samata head its first govt. in India. But halving the period it waited for in UP, it planned to topple its partner's ministry and have its own instead. Even in face of Samata threat, they rigged up a PDA and vainly tried to strike a deal on having the Speaker of Assembly as chief minster. Although governments in the Centre and Jharkhand are in danger no more, Samata must learn a lesson. Thief don't pick another thief's pocket, but that is not so in the saffron book of politics. Jobless "Growth" in 1990s There were 4 crore job-seekers registered with employment exchange countrywide at the end of 1999. That was little more than 10% of the country's total workforce, which is growing at the rate of 2.5% annually. Even though the economy reportedly grew at the rate of 6.4% annually, the average annual growth of employment in the organised sector was a mere 0.8% through the '90s. Assuming that the employment grew at the same rate in the unorganised sector, India added jobs at the rate of 30 lakh a year in the '90s. In the coming decade, however, 1 crore people will enter job market every year. If the economic growth-job ratio remains the same, the country will add 7 crore jobless over the next decade. In 1994 agriculture employed 23.9 cr. people. By 2000 it had came down by 30 lakh. Manufacturing sector output grew by 5.5% over the past decade but employment there grew by a shade over 1%. Direct employment has been static at about 2.5 lakh over the last 3 years. Public sector employment is down by 3 lakh to 18.5 lakh. Central Govt. staff has remained static at 33 lakh all through the '90s. The total number of govt. employees in the States/UTs, local bodies, schools and colleges has stagnated at 1.94 crore since 1994. Much expectation is raised by IT enabled services. It can employ upto 15 lakh over the next 10 years. That is like pulling out a bucket of water from a pond. Besides unemployment, there is under-employment in rural areas of 76% of the workforce. The guess estimate puts the number of under-employed also at 4 crore.By the end of the decade, 50% of our people are expected to be in the cities. Our labour force will grow at 2.5 times the avenues of job creation. This is really a time bomb indeed! Footsteps of an 'Improved' Left? "The alternative to the Left in West Bengal is an improved Left". This was the refrain of the CPI(M)'s successful election camapaign in the Assembly elections this summer. Faced with the spectre of a TMC-Congress 'alternative ', the Left and democratic opinion in West Bengal has once again rallied behind the Left Front. For many activists and well-wishers of the Left, the smiling new chief minister of Bengal possibly evokes some new hope of a genuine Left revival in this 'Red' bastion. Here are some utterances Buddhadev made in Delhi last week. Addressing a press conference on Friday (1 June) he said he was in favour of friendly relations with the Centre. Elaborating on his perception of an improved Left, he explained, "It is a better organised, more responsive and more business-friendly Left Front". Insisting that militant trade unionism is no longer the bane of Bengal, he remarked, "When it comes to industrial strikes Gujarat is now topping the list, we come eleventh." He even admitted to the inevitability of the globalisation process despite certain reservations. "We support it", he candidly said. Buddha said that his government would intensify its effort to attract private foreign investment in the state. He felt since there was no alternative to the Left from other political forces in Bengal, reforms should come from within its fold. (Based on reports published in The Times of India, New Delhi, 2 June, 2001) CPI(M)'s Election Review The CPI(M) election review about Kerala has identified arrogance, partisanship and luxurious lifestyle of persons holding responsible positions at various levels of the party and the general lethargy among a large number of party workers as major organisational factors that contributed to the alienation of the masses from the CPI(M) and its defeat in the Assembly poll. The report calls for a self-critical introspection by party cadres and leaders on whether the CPI(M) has been functioning like a working class party. ... The report admits that in many places individuals started convassing for party tickets for the Assembly election . . Virtually admitting the practice of benami contractors executing work in place of people's committees in local bodies, the report has demanded to know whether such things are happening in local bodies controlled by CPI(M). The report notes that the UDF has carried out a widespread campaign to paint CPI(M) as a bourgeois party, that it was motivated primarily by the urge to amass wealth. (The Hindu, 5 June 2001) JSM Body Met in Delhi The extended meeting of office bearers of Jan Sanskriti Manch was held in Delhi on 31 May. It was attended by, among others, general secretary Ajay Singh, Ramji Rai, BB Pandey, Sudhir Suman, KK Pandey, Bhasha Singh, Radhika and Dr. Manager Pandey. The meeting decided to hold four one-day seminars on the theme "Politics of Criticism" within a span of one year. The meeting also decided to initiate publication of Samkalin Janmat quarterly. Ramji Rai will be its chief editor and Sudhir Suman the editor. KK Pandey will be the managing editor. A five-member advisory body including Dr. Manager Pandey was also formed. Left Students Against US Militarism About 8,000 leftist students shouting "Yankee go home" marched throughout downtown Seoul on 3 June in one of the largest anti-US demonstrations here in recent months. Thousands of riot police blocked the march as it headed towards the U.S. Embassy. The protesters said that reconciliation process between North and South Korea that began with a milestone summit a year ago is at risk because a missile defense system pushed by President Bush. Before starting the mile-long march, they burned Bush in effigy. Traffic along an eight-lane boulevard came to a virtual standstill as the students began a sit-down protest on the pavement. Workers Clash with Police over Daewoo Thousands of South Korean workers clashed with riot police in Seoul on June 2, to protest against police violence against Daewoo Motor workers in April. Some 10,000 members of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) rallied in the capital to protest against government-initiated economic restructuring, which resulted in massive layoffs. Separately, about 700 workers from the country's metal industry union protested at General Motors' branch building in Korea, pelting it with eggs and shouting their opposition to the sale of Daewoo Motor to GM. KCTU declared an all-out struggle to demand for suspension of restructuring, withdrawal of layoff and rise in wages. To this end, polls on the strike will be conducted among local unions from June 4 to 11 and solidarity strikes will be staged on June 12. KCTU said that it would lead the struggle centering on over 200 unions including 114 metal workers unions, 29 health workers unions, 35 unions under the federation of public transport and service trade unions and five unions of the federation of banking office clerks unions. Cubans Demand US Navy Out of Puerto Rico At least 100,000 Cubans rallied in front of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana May 26 to support the struggle in Puerto Rico to demand the U.S. Navy stop its bombing and war training on the island of Vieques. The demonstrators called on Washington to free the dozens of people who have been tried and jailed for entering the Navy's firing zone in Vieques to protest bombing practices carried out by U.S. forces in late April. The demonstration coincided with a May 23-25 regional seminar held in Havana by the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. Held at the Jos� Mart� Anti-Imperialist Tribune, the rally was led by President Fidel Castro and other Cuban revolutionary leaders, including Jos� Ram�n Fern�ndez, vice president of the Council of Ministers. Argentine Workers March, Strike Hundreds of striking workers marched on 31 May, in Argentina's industrial heartland, commemorating the 32nd anniversary of three-day "Cordobazo" labour uprising and calling attention to the nation's economic slump. More than 4,000 police looked on as the demonstrators made their way downtown in a peaceful protest. The 36-hour strike left thousands of Cordoba commuters stranded. Power company workers also took to the streets to pressure Cordoba's provincial government to abandon a plan to privatize the local utility, EPEC. In Buenos Aires, more than 1,000 jobless people blocked traffic on routes leading to the capital and the neighboring city of La Plata. The unemployment rate in Argentiana remains stuck at about 15 percent. Disgruntled workers peacefully occupied the Buenos Aires headquarters of Aerolineas Argentinas, the country's flagship airline. They were demanding settlement of a bitter labour dispute over threatened layoffs and the company's failure to pay April salaries to 7,000 workers. Peasant Movement Sweeps Peru A massive peasant strike, participated by 1.7 million, began on May 22 in Peru's countryside to demand increased government credits, an end to the privatization of the water, and finalisation of land reform of 1969, as the former land owners or their descendents are preparing for a legal offensive to reverse the distribution of those lands. Peaceful protests spilled over into roadblocks and there were clashes with the police on the first day of the indefinite strike. The May 22 strike is a sign that whoever wins in July 28 presidential elections will face a social crisis. FARC-EP Free their Comrades in Columbia While talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) have stalled over the government's refusal to move on exchanging prisoners of war, the FARC-EP took matters into their own hands on May 7. In a bold action, a FARC-EP unit blew open the gates of a prison in Caloto, freeing 68 of their comrades. The massive operation brings the total number of political prisoners and prisoners of war freed by the FARC-EP to well over 120 this year alone. The FARC-EP has been engaged in talks with the Colombian govt. for over two years. The revolutionary group has demanded that the government negotiate an exchange of prisoners. The FARC-EP holds hundreds of government soldiers and police officers who have been captured in raids and attacks. Mail to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cpiml.org _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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