"The working class, its role and
its mission today.
The tasks and concrete experiences of the Communist Party in the working class
and the trade union."
Brussels, 16-18 May 2008
www.icsbrussels.org , ics@icsbrussels.org
Experience of Nepal with its significance to the world working class movement
CPN-Unified, Nepal
1. Position in respect of relevance to theory
In Com. Lenin's words, without a revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement. As com. Mao has also said in respect of any political party or movement, all else is decided by whether the political or ideological line is correct or not. Communist movement today is to an extent ridden with various rifts and splits. From its very beginning Marxism has had to face challenges from outside and from within. This is, therefore, a legacy handed down from the past.
Marx, Engels and even Lenin have earned more than enough reputation. The enemies of Marxism, therefore, do not think it effective to attack them. So, in order to show them or their teachings irrelevant, they deem it appropriate to attack and vilify their sincere and ardent adherents and interpreters.
Communist Party of Nepal-Unified (CPN-Unified) is cautiously aware of this fact. Marxism is the ideological weapon or instrument of ensuring the path of progress. Not that this epoch of ours lacks in authentic interpreters of Marxism. Among such interpreters, com. Mao-Tsetung comes first and foremost in constructively interpreting and applying Marxism-Leninism. For this reason, CPN-Unified holds, Marxism-Leninism-Mao-Tsetung Thought is necessarily the guiding principle of today's revolutionary movement.
While many communists/workers' parties take Mao Thought as their guiding principle, they desperately fail to understand and implement it in a right way. For an example, CPN-Maoist, on the one hand, exaggerates it to the extent of taking it at par with Marxism-Leninism, and yet, on the other hand, abandons it in practical matters. Of course, theories are not dogmas. Yet, what will be their relevance if we do not put them into practice? Theories/principles are but configurations of concepts or ideas applied to the understanding and explanation of facts. In such matters, as in others, CPN-Maoist has made many an error. Why CPN-Maoist only? Others too are often interpreting Mao' Thought but either in an extravagant way or making it blunt and bereft of revolutionary charge.
2. Nepal: A scenario of the present and a brief flash back
In the recent Constituent Assembly (CA) election, Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) has emerged the single largest party. Beside it, other communist parties/groups too have made quite some achievements. In the all together 601 CA seats, in which 26 are yet to be filled in through consensus nomination by the government, all communists together have secured fairly enough simple working majority. Had they made a prior alliance, they would have made even better performance. Provided that these communists join hands together wisely, it may be fairly convenient for them either to form a government under their leadership or restructure the age long feudal state and frame a constitutional arrangement of their make.
Strange enough, in this era of global retreat of communist movement, communists in Nepal are gaining sufficient ground. Not only now, also in the 1994 parliamentary polls, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) had come out the largest winner and formed a government exclusively of its own.
Not so in elections only! CPN-Maoist launched its 'People's War' in 1996. Of course, this War caused many excesses and miseries. Yet, for sure, the old regime was demoralized, depoliticised and on the brink of total defeat. It retained its bare existence with the outside buttresses of India and the USA. The 1990 constitutional arrangement having been subverted, King Gyanendra staged a coup in 2005, imposing a more corrupt and autocratic regime. CPN-Maoist's red terror and the King's white terror balanced each other for some time. Other political parties which profess to take peaceful ways were virtually defunct with their prominent leaders detained or banned. It is against this backdrop that the 12- point understanding was struck between CPN-Maoist led by Prachanda and the Seven Parliamentary Party Alliance (SPA) led by Girija P. Koirala. This was the impetus that propelled the historic April People's movement of 2006, which compelled the King to bow down and reinstate the parliament previously dissolved by himself. A new government under this parliament made the comprehensive peace treaty with CPN-Maoist, which was also later inducted to the parliament and the government.
In spite of such amazing successes, we communists in Nepal, so far, have not been able to make proper transformation of society. Let alone striving for socialism, we have not even brought an end to the semi-feudal and semi-colonial condition. An obvious reason, among others, is the lack of working class base. The projects of agrarian reforms and industrialization are ever choked by external monopoly capitalism, particularly that of Indian expansionism and the comprador bourgeoisie.
The Communist Manifesto (1848) was translated and introduced exactly one hundred years after its first publication. Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) was founded the next year in 1949 under the leadership of its founder General Secretary Com. Pushpa Lal Shrestha. In spite of some success in raising the awareness among the toiling people, esp. the peasantry and winning a few seats in the first parliamentary election in 1959, it was ripped with internal problems ensuing rifts and splits.
Mainly two factors were responsible for it.
First, as mentioned above, it had no working class base and culture. Instead of healthy two- line struggle, individual ambitions and quarrels were rife. King Mahendra's coup of 1960 added enough fuel to the rifts leading to split and fragmentation.
The second, but more important factor was the vertical cleavage in the international communist movement. More splits and fragmentations occurred. Personal envies, bickerings and tailism, rather than principles, were the conspicuous factors.
CPN-Unified was reorganized last year by the unification of three revolutionary streams in the Nepali communist movement. It is the perpetual successor of the initial party, CPN of 1949. With Marxism-Leninism- Mao Thought as its staunch guiding principle, it is of the opinion that present problems in the world communist/workers movement are caused first and foremost by the failure to make concrete analysis of concrete situation. It also holds that we Nepalese communists have not yet been able to round up the workers who lie scattered in other different parties and groups. Adequate work remains yet to be done, for which CPN-Unified is committed. Its programme is to bring about new democracy under the leadership of the proletariat in nearest alliance with the peasantry, other strata of toiling people, and also with the national bourgeoisie which is opposed to the comprador bourgeoisie, feudalism, imperialism and colonialism.
Larger sections of the world's peoples striving for emancipation consist of those struggling against feudalism, neo-colonialism, racism, caste-apartheids and other similar types of oppression, which are all under the vicious protective umbrella of imperialism. Therefore, it is necessary that all revolutionary workers and communist should forge real and practical unity in struggle with them.
While struggles in electoral fronts can not be ruled out, main emphasis, however, needs to be laid on arm struggles. CPN-UML has betrayed the cause by taking a parliamentary road under the sign of the so called 'People's Multi Party Democracy'. Such deviation has also impelled it to betray the national cause by capitulating to Indian expansionism. CPN-Maoist, on the other hand, has made mistakes by relying merely on armed struggle and taking a militarist line. National as well as international constraints have compelled it to come to the peaceful stream, thanks to which it has come as the largest single party in the CA election that is already mentioned above. As Lenin has rightly remarked, all 'Left' opportunists get bugged down in the Right opportunist mire. This has ever been true in Nepal as elsewhere. Now, CPN-Maoist is also showing the signs of Right deviation. CPN-Unified is always cautious of such extremes. It earnestly calls upon all such deviants to come to the right line.
3. A tip of the ice-burg
This long account of Nepal might seem unnecessary and tiring. But the pertinent point is that Nepal's is not a single isolated phenomenon. It is just a tip of the ice-burg, the part beneath the surface is the larger slice of the global condition. Here lies the real hubris, a tragic flaw.
Once the hub of the communist movement, the USSR has collapsed together with the rest of East Europe. Revolutions have failed in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia and a number of other socialist and socialist- oriented countries. Cuba and Korea are under constant threat of US imperialism. So are the cases of Venezuela, Bolivia and Zimbabwe. Nicaragua now seems to be loosing ground. China and Vietnam, in spite of their economic progress, have their own problems and contradictions. Accusing fingers raised towards them with the questions "Are you upholding socialism, or taking a capitalist path?" may not be considered totally unjustified.
Of course, there are complicated problems. Are we, or are we not taking some wrong paths in the name of such problems? This is the crux of various problems before us. CPN-Unified is, therefore, of the opinion that flirtations in ideological matters do not help us to make concrete analysis of concrete facts. As with the ostrich burying its head in the sand, exactly so, avoiding the burning issues and being self complacent does not save us from the consequence of our mistakes.
In matters of theory, practice and modes of action, there need to be some coordination among us all revolutionary workers and communists. After the dissolution of the Third International, there has remained a lacuna in it. Of course, communist/workers' parties of all countries are independent in themselves. They can not be thought of being controlled or directed from outside. But a mechanism of exchange of views, experiences and solidarity is a felt necessity today. Some extreme groups have formed some organs of the likes of RIM and CCOMPOSA. Ours cannot be like those. Yet, we could make better performances if we too had devised some organ meeting the appropriate necessity.
4. A sum-up in capsule
Much grateful as we all are to the Workers' Party of Belgium (WPB) for organizing this program annually, many a communist or worker party of Europe now seems to be merely formal and like religious preachers. Talking of and demonizing capitalism and imperialism is not enough. We need to devise and design some militant ways to defeat them in our respective countries and regions. In view of the great history and heritage of Europe in all sorts of progress viz., the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Scientific and Industrial revolution, growth of Marxism and socialist revolution, making some more expectations from Europe and you comrades here may not, if I am not mistaken, be totally unjustified. Also, trying to ameliorate the conditions of workers in the developed capitalist countries is not wrong itself. The point, however, is only that it is not enough and can not be enough. If we ever have to over throw capitalism in real sense, we need to be a little more militant and action oriented in our struggle for the emancipation of humankind.
NB : Dear comrades, we understand that this mail is delayed. Even so, it is necessary that this paper should be put in website. Hence, we earnestly request you for the same.
Sincerely Yours
Tej Prasad Kanel
Department of International Relations
C P N (Unified)
Kathmandu, Nepal
cpnunified.international@gmail.com
28 / 05 / 2008