People's War in Nepal: The Fight for Truth

By Li Onesto

Revolutionary Worker #1141, March 3, 2002, posted at rwor.org

In 1999, I traveled deep into the guerrilla zones in Nepal. The People's War had been going on for three years and in the western districts of Rolpa and Rukum the Maoists had begun to exercise a new "people's power." I went to villages where hated landowners, money-lenders and corrupt politicians had been forced to leave. I talked to members of revolutionary organizations of women, peasants, and students. I spent weeks traveling with young revolutionaries--including many young women who shared their battle stories. And I sat and listened to the grief of relatives of those who had been tortured and killed by the police.

Back in the U.S., the mainstream press had basically ignored this story and hardly anyone even knew there was a rapidly growing Maoist insurgency in Nepal.

Everywhere I went, people told me--"Go back and tell the world about what is happening here. Tell them how the government is killing, torturing and arresting us. And let people know how we are fighting as part of the world revolution."

It is now three years since my trip. February 13, 2002 marked the sixth anniversary of the start of the People's War in Nepal. And the struggle continues to get the truth out about this revolution.

For most of the last six years, the mainstream press in the U.S. has taken the approach of ignoring and censoring news about the People's War in Nepal. But in recent months the escalating and intensifying conflict there has forced the U.S. government and media to speak out about the situation. And now after 9- 11, the U.S. is using its global "war on terrorism" to carve out new freedom to spread lies about the Maoists in Nepal.

Disinformation has always been a basic pillar of U.S. foreign policy. In 1964, the U.S. fabricated the "Gulf of Tonkin incident"--claiming that the North Vietnamese had fired on U.S. naval ships. This was the pretext and justification for giving President Johnson power to expand the U.S. War in Vietnam. In the 1980s, U.S. Army "psyop" units broadcast radio and TV programs into Nicaragua intended to undermine the Sandinista government. During the 1991 U.S. War on Iraq, numerous false news reports were released--like the completely fabricated story that Saddam Hussein's forces had taken babies out of incubators in Kuwait and left them to die.

In Peru, all kinds of lies have been used to try and slander the Maoist revolutionaries waging a People's War. For example in 1992, it was widely reported that Elena Moyano, who had been killed by the Maoists, was simply a progressive feminist and working class leader who had set up a community soup kitchen to feed the poor. This was a lie meant to turn off anyone who might support the revolution. In fact, Moyano was an unrepentant police informant who helped the military organize reactionary armed death squads. And Moyano's soup kitchens had been used for counter-insurgency by the political police.

And now, as the U.S. "war on terrorism" begins to spread to different corners of the earth, the Pentagon has created a new "Office of Strategic Influence"--which among other things, will provide the foreign media with completely false information and lies, to serve U.S. interests. For the U.S., "the truth is whatever we say it is and whatever is useful to us."

When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently visited Nepal he made it clear that the U.S. supports the Nepalese government and its fight against the People's War. Powell and the press made a point of calling the Maoists in Nepal "terrorists"--treating the conflict in Nepal as part of the U.S. overall "war on terrorism." And while there were a few comments about human rights, Powell covered up the fact that since the government declared a "state of emergency" at the end of November, the Royal Nepalese Army has been carrying out a murderous "search and destroy" campaign in the countryside, killing, torturing and arresting hundreds of guerrillas and villagers accused of being Maoist sympathizers.

All over the world, there are struggles against reactionary governments and U.S. imperialism. Many of these struggles are led by forces that don't represent the real interests of the masses of people. But in Nepal the armed revolutionary struggle against the government, led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), is a genuine people's war of liberation. It is a struggle with the power to inspire poor and oppressed people around the world. And it is important to spread the truth about the progress and character of this revolution--especially now as a huge disinformation campaign is being used against the revolution.

There is a long history of the U.S. slandering revolutionary forces they take seriously. This is done in order to justify all means of brutal counterrevolutionary measures. It is done to discredit the revolution and spread confusion about the actual nature of the struggle. It is meant to undercut protest against human rights abuses against revolutionaries and their supporters. And it is aimed at turning off people who might support such an insurgency.

The Nepalese government has just extended its "state of emergency" for another three months. The Royal Nepalese Army is continuing its murderous "search and destroy" campaign in the countryside and all kinds of constitutional rights remain suspended. Many hundreds of people have already been killed. More than a thousand have been arrested. There is blatant censorship and repression of journalists and a steady stream of disinformation.

A recent bulletin put out by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) points out that, "Disinformation has been a major weapon of unjust war waged by imperialism and its lackeys all over the world. The Nepali reactionary ruling classes are no exception to this."

The Nepalese government has officially put a "terrorist" label on the Maoists and declared its own "war on terrorism." This is being used to unite the Nepalese ruling class-- which had been fraught with infighting over whether to unleash the RNA against the guerrillas. And it is being used to build international support for the Nepalese government's fight against the Maoists. In the name of "fighting terrorism," India has been sending truckloads of weapons to the Nepalese government. Powell met with top military leaders in Nepal and a senior U.S. official announced that Washington might help Nepal fight the Maoists by offering training, military exchanges and surplus U.S. equipment.

Meanwhile, the Nepalese government is trying to completely control the media --dictating in detail what can and cannot be published. Offices of newspapers sympathetic to the Maoists have been raided-- their equipment has been confiscated and revolutionary journalists have been arrested. Editors of mainstream newspapers have been hauled in for interrogation after publishing quotes from Prachanda, the Chairman of the CPN (Maoist). According to news reports in Kathmandu, at least 59 journalists have been arrested under the State of Emergency.

Journalists have not been allowed to go into the areas where government soldiers are carrying out their "search and destroy" campaign. And much of the mainstream press in Nepal has been simply repeating "official reports" issued by the government. These news reports, full of inaccuracies and outright lies--have been repeated in the international press.

On November 23, 2001, Maoist guerrillas carried out daring military actions in the Dang district, in the western region of Nepal. This was the first time that the People's Liberation Army attacked a well-fortified barracks and arms depot of the Royal Nepalese Army. A successful raid was also carried out in the western town of Sangja. And then on November 25, the guerrillas carried out another bold action in Salleri in the east, and thousands of other actions all over the country. Government forces suffered dozens of casualties in these actions and on November 26, the Nepalese government declared a "state of emergency."

When I heard about this exciting new development, I scrolled through pages and pages of news reports on the internet, trying to find out whatever I could. But I was cautious. I remembered when I was in Nepal, reading the mainstream Kathmandu Post, which carried reports on battles between the police and Maoists--that were frequently very inaccurate.

The Nepali press was reporting that the Maoists had suffered at least 200 casualties in Salleri. This figure was repeated in some of the international press. And then I came across another story that immediately seemed suspicious. Government officials in Nepal were reporting that the guerrillas had beheaded or mutilated their fallen comrades in order to conceal their identity. There were also news reports that some top Maoist leaders had been killed or captured. And some articles claimed there were "hardliner" and "softliner" factions among the Maoists and a big rift between the political and military leadership of the party. In the following weeks, there was discouraging news that many guerrillas were "surrendering."

As it turns out, all these stories were outright LIES.

A news bulletin from the CPN (Maoist) revealed that in Salleri, the total number of casualties suffered by the Maoists was 17, while 33 from the other side--27 police-men, four army men and two bureaucrats--were killed.

The story about beheadings and mutilation was also a complete fabrication. The CPN (Maoist) wrote in their bulletin: "Why should we tell lies about the number of fallen heroes on our side? Moreover, why should we commit such heinous crime as to behead or mutilate a fallen comrade? Everybody knows we revere and honor our fallen heroes and heroines and do not shy away from but take pride in the great process of revolutionary martyrdom."

And while the Nepalese government continued to report success in their "search and destroy" operation, the real truth was that the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) was having a difficult time penetrating the stronghold areas of the Maoists. According to information from regional commanders of the People's Liberation Army, the RNA had not been able to go into the main Revolutionary Base Areas and had only made sporadic aerial attacks from helicopters in different parts of the country.

There was also a different reality behind the stories of so-called mass "surrenders." The RNA were massacring unarmed villagers in the peripheral areas around the Maoist base areas. Hundreds of innocent people and Maoist sympathizers were rounded up. And under the butt of a rifle, many people were being forced to sign false papers of "surrender."

The bulletin from the CPN (Maoist) revealed that contrary to reports from the Nepalese government (repeated in the press), the RNA were mainly staying in heavily fortified barracks in the district headquarters or urban areas, venturing out in units of 300-500 soldiers and then rounding up villagers at random, killing and arresting some and then returning to their barracks before sundown. Meanwhile, the People's Liberation Army had been able to carry out a number of successful ambushes and other military actions.

When I was in Nepal, I met so many revolutionary fighters who had been teachers in their villages. My translator for the month I traveled through Rolpa and Rukum was a peasant who had farmed his land in the morning and evening and taught a high school class during the day. He told me how he had given up his small plot of land, a two-story house and several buffaloes, goats and chickens, to join the revolution. In Rolpa I interviewed a teacher who had been arrested and tortured for being a Maoist sympathizer. In Rukum I met with a group of revolutionary teachers who were doing underground, illegal work, as well as working in legal teachers organizations. Everywhere I went I met teachers who were part of the revolution.

The illiteracy rate in Nepal is very high, especially for females. In some areas up to 60% of the people cannot read or write. But in the areas where the Maoists had control, I saw how they are building schools, developing adult literacy programs and supervising teachers to improve education in the villages. I will always remember the teenage woman platoon member who told me how her family had forbid her to go to school--but after joining the people's army, for the first time, she was learning to read and write.

These memories from my trip to Nepal clash with news reports that have come out in recent weeks.

The USA Today wrote on January 20 that, "The rebels have attacked civil servants, including schoolteachers, whom they have maimed by cutting off their hands." There have been reports of the "execution-style killings and maiming of scores of teachers." One article I read claimed a teacher was killed simply because he went against the Maoist demand that teachers stop teaching the old archaic Sanskrit language. And Amnesty International issued a statement saying that a teacher who was also a member of AI--was killed by Maoists, supposedly because he was a member of a teachers association affiliated with the ruling Nepali Congress Party.

Such claims make it seem like the Maoists in Nepal are ruthlessly attacking teachers and are somehow against education. Such stories would have people think that the Maoists are fanatics like the Taliban who cut off people's hands and are against progress. But this is another grotesque lie.

In a letter to Amnesty International, the International Department of the CPN (Maoist) expresses deep concern at AI's "one-sided and exaggerated reporting." The letter points out that "the royal army has been massacring dozens of unarmed and innocent persons every day in fake encounters and the media and human rights organizations have been strictly barred from visiting the sites for independent verifications." The letter then says:

"As regards to specific cases of execution of some persons who also happen to be teachers by Maoists, you seem to give the impression that they were executed because of their political affiliation to Nepali Congress Party or its mass organizations. In this regard, we would like to once again reiterate that CPN (Maoist) is against violence per se. However, having said that, we would also like to remind you that we do not hesitate to use violence as a defensive measure when the state uses its coercive instruments against the people.

"It is here that when any person whether a teacher, or a student or an intellectual, or manual worker, or anyone irrespective of his occupation or political affiliation is found repeatedly abetting to this fascist state in carrying out massacre of the people, that he is punished according to the revolutionary law.

"Mukesh Adhikari, who also happened to be your local representative, was one such person with long record of anti-people activities and proven charges of an informer leading to the massacre of a number of innocent people by the royal army in Lamjung."

The truth here seems, once again, to be quite different from what is being reported in the mainstream press.

When I was in Nepal I heard stories of "enemies of the people" who had been killed by Maoist guerrillas. Sometimes they were members of the ruling Nepali Congress Party, or another party in the government. But these people were targeted not simply because of their political affiliation or because they held a government office. They were targeted because they had done very specific things--and usually repeatedly--that had resulted in the death, torture and arrest of Maoist guerrillas, party members and sympathizers.

The first members of the people's army that I met were murdered because of an informant, who I heard was later killed by the Maoists. These young fighters in their teens and twenties were in a cultural squad which gave performances in different villages to build support for the revolution. The squad included several young teenage women who told me about the cruelty of feudal oppression--which subjected them to arranged marriages and prevented them from going to school, owning land or getting a divorce. One young woman told me:

"500 police raided our village and arrested just about everyone--even the children and old people. My mother was arrested and I was also arrested and kept in custody. There was so much repression by the police, so I joined the cultural team of the party. And because of the exploitation and oppression of the poor masses, and especially that suffered by women, I was inspired to find a way to free the masses from such a situation. I found this was being done by the CPN (Maoist) so I joined the party."

About a week after I met these guerrilla fighters, seven from this squad were murdered by the police- -including some of the young women I had met. I remember reading the news story in the Kathmandu Post which reported that the "Maoists were burned to death as the bomb they hurled at the police exploded among themselves..."

Again, the truth of the incident was way different from what was reported in the news. I learned that what really happened is that the squad had been surrounded and refused to surrender. The police had then set the house on fire and when the guerrillas were forced to run out, they were shot in cold blood.

I also learned that the murder of these guerrillas was due to the spying and informing of a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML)--a phony communist party that is part of the government. And people told me this was hardly the first time that a politician had directly helped the police target, hunt down and murder revolutionaries.

I thought back on this incident when I learned that the Amnesty International teacher--who had been widely reported as being unjustly killed for simply being a member of the ruling NC party--had in fact been an informant responsible for the massacre of many innocent people.

*****

Those who fear the success of the People's War in Nepal will spread the most outrageous stories, even knowing that they will be quickly disproved. They hope that if they put out enough lies they can discredit the Maoists and generate broad public opinion against the revolution. And by using the "terrorist" label, they want to declare certain struggles "illegitimate"--even something like the People's War in Nepal which clearly has the support of millions and millions of poor peasants.

The people cannot let the U.S. and the rulers in Nepal get away with their vicious campaign of disinformation. We need to expose their lies. We need to spread the truth about the People's War in Nepal. And we need to stand with the masses in Nepal who are fighting to be free.

This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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