Monday, August 30, 2010

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE FROM COMMUNIST PARTY OF AFGHANISTAN

On the Occasion of Martyrdom of Comrade Azad:

Expressing solidarity with Communist Party of India (Maoist)



Comrade Azad, spokesperson for Communist Party of India (Maoist), was murdered on July 1st 2010. Let us honour his memory and continue on his path!
Comrade Azad was a member of central committee and also a member of the politbureau of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). His death is a big loss for the CPI (Maoist), the Indian revolution, the revolutions of the region, and also the global revolution. He would have played a very critical and decisive role at the current juncture: at a time when the reactionary Indian state on one hand has mobilized more than 250000 police and mercenary forces against the Maoist peoples war within the framework of a large military campaign called Operation Green Hunt, and on the other hand it is espousing a deceptive propaganda about "peace talks" and "ceasefire." His murder at the hands of Andra Pardesh's special forces, and that even in another state, which is even illegal under the laws of the Indian state, illustrates the fact that the reactionary state is using the false propaganda around "ceasefire" and "peace talks" as a façade for hiding its anti-people brutal repression and for this purpose they would even break their own laws. The resistance of the masses under the leadership of CPI (Maoist) against "Operation Green Hunt" that spreads across twenty states out of 28 Indian states is a resistance against the comprador policies of the reactionary Indian state which is making possible the vast plunder and pillage of the natural resources of India by multinational corporations. In the process of the ongoing resistance, which continuously expands and spreads, the masses of people are selflessly giving sacrifices and also give tough blows to the vicious and repressive forces of the reactionary state. The officials of the reactionary Indian state and at its helm the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, since the last few years is continuously declaring that the Maoist peoples war is the biggest threat to the Indian state.
The armed struggle and the current peoples war in India that is being led by CPI (Maoist) is the continuation of the Naxalite uprising that began a few decades ago in that country. Now this revolutionary war has spread across the vast and populous country and directly affects the lives of hundreds of millions of Indian masses, the martyrdom of comrade Azad, as one of the central and top leaders of the movement is considered an important success for the reactionary and atrocious Indian armed forces. But, among the hundreds of millions of the revolutionary Indian masses, there are many more `Azads' and many other `Azads' will join the battle. The people's war in India can and should successfully overcome this loss and continue ahead until the total victory of the revolution.
Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan on the path of struggle for starting the peoples war in Afghanistan, whose specific character at the current juncture is the people's revolutionary national war of resistance against the imperialist occupiers and their puppet regime will commemorate comrade Azad and expresses its solidarity with CPI (Maoist) and the peoples war in that country on the occasion of this loss.

Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan


July 15, 2010

Declarations of the Maoist Communist Party of China (MCPC)

This document is posted here as it is appeared on Kasama Project, and as declared by Kasama below the authenticity of this document has not yet been independently verified.
Kasama Declaration: The following document reportedly comes from an underground organization within China. Little is known about them (including their size or influence) other than what has been shared here. Kasama is posting it because of its obvious interest, without being able to independently evaluate its authenticity. Thanks to Iseul for making it available.
The Ten Declarations of the Maoist Communist Party of China (MCPC)
22 March 2009
1. We strongly condemn the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party and its policy of secretive suppression of our party!
On 26 December 2008, our party gave out the pamphlet “To all the people of China” that declares that “the peoples of China have the right to rise up against the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party” in the central districts of cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. By doing this we have “dared to touch the tiger’s ass”!
Afterwards we engaged in more propaganda online and in other cities. This revolutionary action of our party has resulted in a strong political wave against the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party, and managed to beat down the arrogant air of the revisionist ruling bloc.
This is the clarion call for a great revolutionary movement among the Chinese proletariat against capitalist restoration; this is the signal flare to mobilise the people to strike against the crimes conducted by the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc; to peel away the false skin of the revisionists, and to engage in a people’s revolutionary war through both words and actions.
The pamphlet of our party “To all the people of China” not only received great attention within China, and to a great extent served to wake up and stimulate the Chinese proletarian class, but it also triggered a lot of international political responses. “Radio Free Asia” and “Voice of America” all made reports about us. Reactionary forces both inside and outside of China immediately felt threatened by our pamphlet, and started to attack our party and offered strategies to the ruling regime of China.
They used slogans such as:
“Shocking, going against Hu Jintao in favour of Mao Zedong, the sons and grandsons of Mao have created the Maoist Communist Party of China”
“Without completely getting rid of the legacy of Mao we will surely be breeding problems for the future”
“We strongly propose that the portrait of Mao be removed from Tiananmen”
“We demand that the Chinese government discard its communist coating” and
“If the CCP does not destroy the MCPC fast, it will surely die in its hands”…it’s almost as if chickens and dogs are flying apart!
The traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party pretends to not hear anything, but in practice they have began to utilise police forces to pursue our party. They are keeping the locations where we hand out our pamphlets under careful supervision, and are checking the CCTV images of the days when we are active. Through the internet police they are pursuing suspicious personnel. They want to destroy our party while it is still in its infancy.
We strongly condemn the actions of the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party!
We strongly demand that all secretive suppression of our party by the regime completely cease immediately!
Our party follows the democratic political principle of “the virtuous person uses their mouth not their hands”, but we also follow the iron revolutionary law of “if the petty reactionaries use force, we shall do likewise”.
The pamphlet “To all the people of China”, as well as the Ten Declarations here, shall act to mobilise everyone in China to start considering the big events of our country. We firmly oppose the utilisation of fascistic “white terror” by the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party! If the revisionists stubbornly carry on with their actions, and drag the people of China into bloody wind and rain, then we will surely accompany them to the very end! We shall not stop until every single anti-Maoist reactionary has been removed from China! We shall not cease our struggle until every single traitorous revisionist that dares to embark on the capitalist path has been utterly destroyed!
2. We shall give thanks to the understanding and support shown to us by the people
Chairman Mao once said:
“What is the real ‘bronze wall and iron shield’? It is the masses, the masses who wholeheartedly support the revolution. This is the real ‘bronze wall and iron shield,’ something that cannot be destroyed by any kind of force. The counter-revolutionaries cannot destroy us, but we shall destroy them.”
The creation of our party and the release of the pamphlet “To all the people of China” have received the support of the majority of the masses who know what this really meant. The masses who got into touch with our party not only felt happy at our party’s creation, but also offered a lot of support both spiritually and materially. Especially ever since the first great political line struggle in the first three months of the short history of our party, more and more people who learned the truth about us started to show their understanding and support. Those who did not wish to join our party at the start, now actively wished to join; those who did not decide to support our party at the start, now started to offer a lot of help…
For this, we shall offer a revolutionary salute of the highest degree to all those who understand and support our party! We shall give thanks to the understanding of the people! We shall give thanks to the support of the people!
Some people are concerned that the continued activities of our party will cause more retaliations by the enemy. In fact, the more active our party becomes, the more support it will get from the masses, and the more support it has, the safer our party will be.
Without doubt, the existence and actions of our party has caused the ruling bloc to feel uncomfortable. They hate the fact that they cannot destroy our forces in one go.
But the enemy by habit tends to under-estimate the power of the revolutionary people, and by habit tends to wrongly judge the wisdom and courage of the revolutionary masses. Since our party fits in with the wishes of the masses of people and the majority of the ordinary party members of the Chinese Communist Party, because our party has only emerged through taking in nutrients given out by the masses, our party has deep roots within the people.
Therefore, when the anti-restoration revolutionary situation arrives, our enemy would be confused – they would not be able to know how many people and whom they can trust on to follow them on the route towards counter-revolution, and furthermore they would not realise exactly how many people and whom would be prepared to overthrow them in a revolution. Therefore, there is no suprise in the fact that the ruling regime cannot really do much to our party.
3. We declare that the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party is the top enemy of the peoples of China
History has shown that if the revisionists get into power, then the workers and peasants shall be cast down. If the revisionists control the government, then the proletariat would lose their political power. If the revisionists engage in the so-called “opening-up reforms”, then the labouring masses of the country will be exploited for the second time.
All of the disasters that have been brought upon the country and our people by the so-called “opening-up reforms”, are directly caused by the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party. Globally, the Chinese revisionists also share responsibility for the disasters imposed upon countries that have been invaded by imperialist powers!
Therefore, the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party is clearly the number one enemy of the peoples of China. The capitalist right-wingers are also attacked by us, but our main enemey is no doubt the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party.
Chairman Mao once said:
“To negate the basic principles of Marxism, to no longer acknowledge the universal truths of Marxism, such is called revisionism.”
At the same time he points out:
“Revisionists deliberately try to white-wash the differences between socialism and capitalism, and dampen down the fundamental distinction between the dictatorship of the proletariat and the bourgeois. What they propose is not really the socialist path, but the capitalist path.”
The representatives of the bourgeois class within the party, such as Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, are all counter-revolutionary revisionists. They wish to white-wash the distinction between socialism and capitalism, to confound the two together; but in their actions they completely pursue the capitalist line; they all deliberately destroy the fundamental difference between the dictatorship of the proletariat and the dictatorship of the bourgeois, and in action they are completely capitalist. In one phrase, they all oppose socialist revolution and proletarian dictatorship.
Chairman Mao teaches us:
“The rise to power of the revisionists means the rise to power of the bourgeoisie. And indeed it is the worst kind of capitalism, it is like fascism. If one day the Chinese Communist Party no longer serves the interests of the people, then the people should rise up to overthrow it!”
Today the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party is indeed in power, and therefore should be overthrown.
4. We declare that the Maoist Communist Party of China is a proletarian revolutionary party
The Maoist Communist Party of China is a proletarian revolutionary party armed with Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, it is the faithful heir of the will of Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party during the Mao Zedong era, and it is a vibrant revolutionary vanguard organisation composed of the advanced layers of the proletarian class.
The Maoist Communist Party of China was formally created on 28 November 2008. The creation of the Maoist Communist Party of China is the sign that the new generation of Chinese Communist Party members have now completely broken with the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc; it is the sign that the era of the second socialist revolution has arrived in China; it is the sign that the great revolutionary struggle against capitalist restoration by the peoples of China has formally began!
The basic political line of the Maoist Communist Party of China is to completely overthrow the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc within the current Chinese Communist Party and the restored bureaucratic-capitalist class, so that Maoism shall gain victory over revisionism, and socialist society will win against capitalist society. The ultimate objective of our party is to achieve communism.
The basic method of the Maoist Communist Party of China is to follow the proletarian revolutionary line first laid down by Chairman Mao, and use Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as the theoretical basis and the general strategic guideline. We will widely mobilise and organise the people, and rely on the power of the masses.
In a methodical and organised manner we shall engage in China’s second socialist revolution on the basis of the first socialist revolution and under the conditions where bureaucratic capitalism has been restored and the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party has obtained political power.
The first mission of this revolution is to win back all of the rights that the masses of people have lost, and thereby re-establish the dictatorship of the proletariat.
The method through which this political mission can be accomplished is to initiate a great revolutionary movement against the capitalist restoration of the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc within the Chinese Communist Party, and to engage in a people’s revolutionary war through both words and actions, and in the end acquire complete victory.
The central work of the Maoist Communist Party of China in 2009 is to engage in public propaganda, to ideologically arm the masses, to develop our organisations, and to engage in concrete political struggles. We shall use Maoism to arm the entire party, the entire army and the entire people of China, so that we can actively develop a cadre and the various regional branches, and collect the funds required for our revolutionary work. We will engage in struggles against our enemy and support the various struggles for basic rights conducted by the masses of the people. Through this we will lay down the basis for the height of the revolutionary movement against capitalist restoration that will gradually arrive.
5. We declare that we will firmly embark on the road of the second socialist revolution in China
As Chairman Mao clearly stated,
“when the revisionists get into power, that’s the same as when the capitalists get into power”.
Mao also clearly said:
“the antagonism between the proletarian and the bourgeois classes need to be resolved through socialist revolution”.
The traitorous revisionist ruling bloc in the Chinese Communist Party today is just a variation of the capitalist class. They are the running dogs and servants of imperialism.
As Chairman Mao correctly pointed out:
“The presence of capitalist influences is the fundamental domestic cause of revisionism; to bow down to the pressures of imperialism is the external cause of revisionism.”
The basic antagonism between the Chinese proletarian class and the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc within the Chinese Communist Party today is equivalent to the antagonism between the proletarian class and the bourgeois class. The way to resolve this contradiction is to engage in a socialist revolution against capitalist restoration.
The concept of the second socialist revolution is formulated on the basis of the conscientious summarisation of the 27 years of socialist revolution that Chairman Mao personally led, as well as through the careful consideration and research of the contents and strategies of the new socialist revolution. It originates from the formal creation of our party, and the objective conditions that are now mature enough in terms of ideological, theoretical and active elements for us to embark on the road of a new socialist revolution.
Therefore it is called the second socialist revolution.
The general political direction of the second socialist revolution is to firmly follow the leadership of the Maoist Communist Party of China, to firmly carry out the political line, methodology and policies of our party, to firmly engage in the struggle to replace the capitalist system with the socialist system, to firmly engage in the proletarian political struggles against the bourgeois to eventually establish a dictatorship of the proletariat, to firmly focus our efforts to build a real modern, prosperous and strong socialist state, and to firmly and diligently struggle for the genuine realisation of communism.
Only through firmly holding onto this general direction, can we victoriously achieve the glorious mission that history has bestowed upon us. Only by firmly holding onto this general direction, can we realise what Chairman Mao required of us:
“United in consciousness, united in policy, united in planning, untied in leadership, and united in action”.
Otherwise, even if we come out of the crematorium as ashes and continue to embark on endless arguing, it would be to no avil, as we cannot solve the problem of how to become “united in consciousness”, nor can we become united in the other areas. Therefore, to firmly hold onto this general political direction, is to firmly hold onto a general political line that fits in with Maoism and is objectively correct under the present conditions of capitalist restoration in China.
6. We declare that a great revolutionary movement against capitalist restoration among the peoples of China will be enacted
According to the principles of Maoism, to defeat the great project of capitalist restoration of Chinese bureaucratic capitalism, we must engage in an anti-restoration great revolutionary movement of the Chinese proletariat to match against it. We must enact a great revolutionary movment against capitalist restoration among the peoples of China, and to engage in a people’s revolutionary war in both words and actions!
Without doing this we shall not be able to overthrow the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party; without doing this we cannot re-establish the proletarian dictatorship and the new socialist system; without doing this we cannot realise the wills of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries like Chairman Mao and Primier Zhou; without doing this we cannot honestly face the thousands of revolutionary martyrs who have given their lives for the interests of the proletarian class; without doing this we cannot contribute properly to the international communist movement as Chinese proletarians!
The basic nature of the great revolutionary movement against capitalist restoration by the peoples of China is the struggle between Maoism and modern revisionism, the struggle between the Chinese proletarian class that has lost its political power and the bureaucratic capitalist class that are in power, the struggle between socialism and capitalism.
The feature of this great revolution is to have a bottom-up people’s revolutionary theoretical struggle under the present conditions of ideological confusion among most layers of the population. The spearhead of this struggle is pointed towards the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party and the die-hard counter-revolutionary right-wingers that support them.
The method of this struggle is to first arm people ideologically, and then gradually increase in levels, ultimately resulting in complete victory. And the sharp weapon that is to be used to win this war is Maoism.
Chairman Mao pointed out:
“Imperialists and all other reactionary forces are nothing but paper tigers. Revisionists are also paper tigers.”
Superficially it seems as if this revisionist ruling bloc controls everything: the law, the army, the armed police, the police force; it is as if they are powerful beyond recognition. But in reality, due to the reactionary nature of its politics and the corrupt state of its life, it has already become very weak. The emergence of the Maoist Communist Party of China indeed foreshadows the death of this ruling bloc.
At this stage our party focuses on theoretical struggle rather than military struggle, this is a very realistic approach. From a military perspective, our current plan also fits in with the revolutionary military principles of “avoiding the strength of the enemy, while striking at its weakness”. Our efforts and actions now should be mainly focussed on mobilising and motivating the people around the country to engage in the great revolution against capitalist restoration. We need to mobilise the people, unite the people in solidarity, so that the masses of the people will voluntarily act. Only through this can we continue to the next step.
Chairman Mao once remarked that the Cultural Revolution was a conscientious military exercise. Today it is clear that this “conscientious military exercise” has prepared us for our real struggles today.
At present, the domestic and international environment is very conducive to the Chinese revolution. The economic crisis of global capitalism is continuing to deepen, and there is no way for the Chinese bureaucratic capitalists to pull out of it themselves. The economic and political rule of the ruling bloc has been shaken from both sides. Against the rising revolutionary situation, the ruling bloc is already utilising ways to satisfy the people in a limited manner to appease the public, as well as strengthening their control on the army and the police to protect their wavering rule.
Looking ahead towards the future, as the revolutionary consciousness of the masses continue to improve, the economic struggles to protect their own interests will continue to rise to the level of political struggle to change the social system. Our party and other revolutionary organisations will increase in power, and countless revolutionary leaders with political foresight, a great sense of altruism, an ability to achieve concrete objectives, a willingness to sacrifice themselves for political goals, as well as a great understanding of the art of struggle, will flock into our party, and various pseudo-leftists will be weeded out through real revolutionary struggles. The various opportunists and dogmatists both within and outside the party, due to their unwillingness to part with their petit-bourgeois world view, will become depressed when faced with the unexpectedness of the struggle situations, to the extent that some may even degenerate and become shameless traitors of the revolution. Those who only care about their status within the party would become sidelined more and more as the revolutionary situation continues to develop. But the genuine members of the Maoist Communist Party of China will sing the Internationale and firmly stand on the front lines of the great revolution against capitalist restoration. No setbacks or problems would stop their advance. They shall, one step at a time, lead the people to fight the great struggle against the counter-revolutionary revisionist ruling bloc to its complete conclusion!
Regardless of whether or not there has ever been a prior instance in the history of world communism in which a revisionist ruling party has been overthrown, we shall not follow the demise of the former Soviet Union, we shall complete our struggles one day before the “red flag” drops down onto the ground! We shall certainly report to Chairman Mao: “Chairman, we have won!”
7. We declare that Maoism is the powerful ideological and theoretical weapon one can use to gain victory over the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party
Maoism is the epoch-making continuation and development of Marxism-Leninism, and the comprehensive and systematic summarisation of Mao Zedong Thought in general. Maoism has raised Marxism-Leninism to a new height, it is the third great milestone in the history of the proletarian revolution. Maoism is the soul and fundation of the Maoist Communist Party of China, it is a great artifact to defend oneself against the various types of capitalist thoughts and opportunism within the party, and it is the great ideological and theoretical weapon that one can use to acquire victory against the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party.
Chairman Mao pointed out:
“The correct ideologies that represent the advanced class, once they have been absorbed by the masses, would then become the material force to transform society and transform the world.”
The purpose for us to hold onto this ideological weapon, is to let it become the material force to transform human society and the natural world. We do not use our weapon to merely shake the counter-revolutionary government that is in power today, but to completely overthrow the counter-revolutionary government.
To arm the people’s thoughts with Maoism, our struggles would definitely become victorious; without using Maoism to arm the thoughts of the people, all of our revolutionary struggles could only ever stop at the stage of superficial slogans and would never gain actual victory. Therefore, we must give the sharp weapon of Maoism to the people, and use every method we can use to spread the information that tells people about the truth of the ruling bloc to every region in China. We shall lead the masses of the people to strike together comprehensively, continuously and fiercely against the revisionist ruling bloc. This is indeed the glorious mission of every party member and supporter!
8. We declare that we shall remove all the erroneous thoughts among the left, so that a road to the great revolutionary movement of the proletarian class can be opened up
How to counter the great restoration of capitalism, the various tendencies within the left in China have continued to argue without resolution. For a long time the research into how to solve the problem of capitalist restoration was limited to debating “the various means to kill a pig”. Ideas that have been raised include “go back to Jinggang Mountain, re-establish a revolutionary foothold, and acquire political power through guerrilla warfare”, “the struggles against the capitalist restoration of the ruling bloc is not just a matter of “fighting against revisionism”, but the struggle against bureaucratic capitalism”, “the capitalist restoration has been completed, today’s revolution is no longer anti-revisionist”, “our revolution now should be a democratic revolution primarily”, “we should go to the countryside and establish collective enterprises”, “we should form friendships among the grassroots layers, and increase our numbers”, “we should engage in struggles within the framework of the law, and make the central government turn left”, “split up the country through armed force and directly conquer cities” etc. The sheer number of various “revolutionary strategies” that have come forth is numerous enough to make people dizzy.
Although all of these views are right in their wishes, objectively they are all partial, dogmatic and metaphysical. Some fundamentally reject the fact that the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc within the Chinese Communist Party exists at all; some do not see the restoration methods of modern revisionists; some partially emphasise on a particular point but neglect the whole and the essence; some don’t even seem to have a basic understanding of class nature and class struggle.
As Lenin once pointed out:
“They all call themselves Marxists, but their understanding of Marxism is degenerate to the extreme. The determining factor of Marxism, the revolutionary dialectics of Marxism, they have no understanding of at all.”
These people don’t even understand the essential meaning of the great Maoist teaching:
“The correct ideologies that represent the advanced class, once they have been absorbed by the masses, would then become the material force to transform society and transform the world”.
Some don’t even grasp the essential nature of this revolution, is this not very stupid and laughable indeed?
According to the principles of Maoism, the living soul of Marxism is the ability to have a concrete analysis of concrete situations. Many people understand this, but few can really apply it. Both opportunists and dogmatists treat Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as abstract and narrow formulas to impose on all sorts of situations. They refuse to investigate the transformation of contradictions and the special circumstances of different contradictions. In this instance they do not consider the actual history of how bureaucratic capitalism came to be what it is like today, they do not recognise that the special nature of the bureaucratic capitalists in China is that they are in the form of revisionism. They only look at the phenomenon, but not at the essence.
They only grasp a singular point, but not the rest. They only care about historical experience, but have no ability to be creative according to the circumstances. When they see a lame person they want to treat his/her leg, but they don’t see that this is caused by a stroke, and do not recognise that as long as the stroke is not treated, the leg will forever remain lame. So despite shouting about going back to Jinggang Mountain, to this day there isn’t a single person there; despite some friends calling for people to go to the grassroots layers to enact changes, to this day there has been no real changes at all. The names of collective enterprises like Nanjie Village are indeed quite famous, but they cannot even harm a single hair of the revisionist ruling bloc, nor can they block the great waterfall of capitalist restoration. All of these, are in the end what Lenin called “dodging this way and that, like a cat around a hot meal”.
The relation between the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc and bureaucratic capitalism is the relation between cause and effect. If the “cause” is solved, the “effect” will be solved directly. If there is no correct understanding of the “cause”, then there is no way to solve the “effect”. Therefore, if we directly sort out the “effect” but don’t examine the “cause”, then not only can we not find the thread within a confused mass of strings, we are not doing things according to the objective laws of their development either. Therefore, to under-estimate the importance of theoretical revolutionary struggles under the rule of revisionism is very incorrect, and is a severe violation of the revolutionary dialectics of Marxism.
In addition, electism in politics, liberalism in thought, dogmatism in theory, opportunism in form, and sectarianism in action etc, are all like stumbling blocks in front of the great revolutionary movement of the Chinese proletarian class against capitalist restoration. These stumbling blocks and those mistaken views, all objectively obstruct the positive development of the anti-restoration revolutionary movement. Their existence can only cause delays in the revolutionary movement. If we can transform these negative influences into positive ones, so that the entire left in China think along the same lines and utilise their efforts in the same direction, then what difficulties would there be to take down the current regime within the next three years? It would be as easy as a chef cutting up cucumbers. Therefore, all leftists who consider themselves Maoists and the members of our party have the responsibility to set a high standard for themselves in the areas of political thought, revolutionary theory and actual practice, and self-consciously sweep away all of the mistaken thoughts and obstructions that block our way! Only through this, can we open up a way for the great revolutionary movement against capitalist restoration! Only through this, can we embark on the road of historical progress by the people!
9. We declare that the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc of the Chinese Communist Party must be cast down
As Chairman Mao pointed out:
“The truth of Marxism cannot be resisted, the masses of the people will certainly engage in revolution.”
As the great revolutionary situation against capitalist restoration continues to develop, the internal conflicts within the revisionist ruling bloc will also gradually change. This kind of change is caused by external factors and will gradually begin to have an effect. The wind of revolution will be blown into the army barracks, and the consciousness to rise up would sweep across the army. Every soldier will think about his/her own political stance — the majority will side with the revolution, only a tiny minority will go to the side of counter-revolution. The division within the army would become a necessity. Obstinate revisionist leaders and reactionary officers within the army will be gradually isolated. The heads of the ruling bloc will either be “fired” from their positions by the waves of strikes across the country by workers and students, or be directly overthrown by the revolutionary forces of the proletarian people, or be forced to engage in passive negotiations with the people’s revolution and be pressurised to resign. Regardless of how they would go, they must go, of this there is absolutely no doubt at all!
Our party, in this first phase of the anti-restoration great revolutionary movement, calls on the heads of the counter-revolutionary ruling bloc to resign voluntarily. As the old Chinese saying goes: “The truly capable and virtuous understand the requirements of the times.” The earlier you voluntarily come down, the more active you are. The later you come down, the more passive you become. If you resign as a result of negotiation, then it’s the most wise choice, by giving up your power early you have let the pressure off yourself early, and can then live in peace. This way not only can you leave yourself with a relatively respectable path ahead, but also you leave behind a way towards the light for your descendants and families. If on the other hand the ruling bloc refuse to repent and engage in mass slaughter, then your crimes will increase by a thousand-fold, not only would this leave a bad name for a thousand generations on yourself, but it would also bring about the complete destruction of your clans. As for the proletarian class, it would just be experiencing another round of revolutionary baptism through blood and fire.
10. The basic political programme of the Maoist Communist Party of China
1 We call for the overthrow of every big and small capitalist-roader and corrupt bureaucratic elements. We shall remove the captialist constitution and law that has been imposed upon the peoples of China by the traitorous revisionist ruling bloc. We shall establish people’s supervisory councils, so that everyone takes part in the management and supervision of the state, army and government, so that the people are guaranteed to become the real rulers of the country.
2. Every single publicly owned work-unit established before 1977 will be completely restored. Every unemployed worker who used to belong to one of these work-units will unconditionally get their post and salary back. All of the possessions that have been taken away from every publicly owned work-unit will be chased back and re-constituted.
3. Every monopolistic state-owned joint-stock enterprise formed after 1977 will be given over to the people.
4 People’s communes will be restored in the countryside. Concretely for each particular village, we shall respect the choices of the masses, those who wish to embark on the collectivist path the state shall give support, those who wish to keep things as they are will also be allowed to do so.
5 The military ranking system would be removed, the army will be reformed. The revolutionary modernising construction of the army will be resumed. The army will be prepared always to hit hard against any foreign invaders and pirates who dare to violate our country.
6 Every primary and secondary school, as well as every university and college, shall become completely free apart from the costs of basic textbooks. The universities will offer free food and free accomodation, as well as a certain amount of financial assistance to those students that require them. The education system will be primarily geared towards creating socialist new people that are both “red” and “expert”. Jobs for all graduates shall be guaranteed for everyone.
7 The quality of service in every people’s hospital and traditional Chinese hospital will be fundamentally improved. New hospitals will be constructed in every town and city in China. All rural and urban residents in China, as long as they are citizens of the People’s Republic of China, will receive free healthcare apart from the basic costs of medication. The basic cost of medication will be regulated directly by the state, and some medication will also be provided on a needs-basis. Chairman Mao’s political command of “let the weight of the medical and healthcare sectors be transferred to rural areas” will be enacted. The people’s communes in rural areas will establish new hospitals, and clinics will be built in every single village area. Every single person will be guaranteed to have convenient and cheap healthcare. The current sad state of poor people “wait on with a small illness” and “wait for death with a big illness” will be changed forever.
8 All old people who have lost the ability to work, regardless of whether he/she is an urban or rural resident, will receive a state pension. Every disabled person who has lost the ability to work will be taken care of by the state. All concerns regarding the care of elderly and disabled people will be gone.
9 Every adult who is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China can choose his/her line of work through application. The state will be in charge of the overall plan of job allocation. The socialist distributive principle of “each according to his/her labour” will be enacted.
10. All privately owned enterprises and companies that do not rely on selling out the state, opportunism or gross exploitation, and do not harm the welfare of the public, can carry on running as before. At the same time, the law of the state protects the right of every person who wishes to engage in small-scale private businesses and will provide help when necessary.
11 Every adult citizen of the People’s Republic of China will be guaranteed to have a living place that belongs to himself/herself.
12 The procedures to join the party and promotion within the party will be set according to the charter of the Maoist Communist Party of China. Sometimes they will be very rapid for certain people.
13 All those who have sided with the reactionary side during the counter-revolutionary capitalist restoration phase, all those who have beaten the drums for the coming of the “opening-up reforms”, and all those who have sided with the revisionist ruling bloc, shall never be allowed to have any leadership post within any department in the entire country. All those who have managed to divide a line between themselves and the ruling bloc and fight back against it during the anti-restoration great revolution will be pardoned from their former political crimes.
14 All those who superficially seem to actively and diligently join the revolution during the great anti-restoration revolutionary movement, but in reality only care about how to acquire private interests for himself/herself, will not be qualified to hold any kind of leadership post within the party or the country.
15 Revolutionary cadres are the servants of the people. Apart from the guards and necessary assistants for the main leading cadres of the party and the state, every cadre is not allowed to have any personal secretaries, doctors, chefs, drivers or any other service personnel.
16 The salary levels of every cadre and leader in the party must never exceed the highest salary level of the workers in the country. Their living spaces cannot exceed 150 square metres.
17 All cadres who have taken apart in embezzlements, briberies, and have done things contrary to the interests of the masses of the people, and do not act according to the people’s wishes, will be removed from their posts.
18 Necessary and comprehensive special care will be given to the families and descendants of revolutionary martyrs, as well as all those who heroically help others at the expense of their own safety.
19 All corrupt officials who have escaped overseas with large amounts of money, will be chased down and arrested no matter where in the world he/she has escaped to! Those who refuse to repent for their political crimes, no matter where they are located in the world, will be executed at any cost.
20 Every counter-revolutionary right-wing element who has risen up against the second socialist revolution and who opposed the proletarian dictatorship will be forcefully re-educated under supervision. Those counter-revolutionary elements who have an especially malign and reactionary attitude will be suppressed without mercy!
Our detailed programme does not stop here.
We believe that in the not-so-distant future, the people will work for faith and honour, their thoughts and lives will experience a thorough transformation. The banal and corrupt thoughts and lifestyles of the bourgeois class will be completely abandoned, and a new socialist society will emerge to become an example for the historical development of all humanity. A new modern, socialist, prosperous, and powerful state will firmly rise up in the eastern world and become an “oriental pearl” in the real sense.

Bihar: 7 policemen killed in 14-hr-long maoist encounter

Lakhisarai, Bihar: A night-long encounter between security forces and Naxals in Poona-Dih village of Bihar's Lakhisarai district has finally ended after 14 hours. According to reports, seven policemen have been killed in the encounter.

11 security personnel were injured in the attack and 11 others are missing. The injured were taken to the Sadar Hospital in Lakhisarai.

The encounter began on Sunday evening when the Naxals attacked a police party searching the area. The search party included personnel from the Bihar Military Police, State Auxiliary Police (SAP) and the CRPF.

Naxals kill five security personnel in Chhattisgarh

SOURCE- REDIFF

Over 100 armed Naxals attacked security forces conducting search operation in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on Sunday morning, killing five personnel, including three from the Border Security Force, and injuring one, the police said.

At least three naxals are also believed to have been killed in the exchange of fire, Additional Director General of Police Ramniwas said.

He said 77 security personnel comprising officers and jawans from the BSF, the district police and special police officers were out in the jungles for “area domination” exercise.

Naxals opened fire as soon as the security personnel reached the forests near Bhuski village killing five of them, he said.

The security forces retaliated, forcing the outlaws to flee. He said the police who searched the area where the exchange of fire took place came across a pool of blood indicating there could be many casualties on the part of Naxals as well.

However, the police were able to spot only three bodies being taken away by the naxals.

An SPO sustained a bullet wound in his leg and has been admitted to hospital.

Superintendent of Police of Kanker Ajay Yadav said the Naxals have taken away arms of the five security personnel after killing them.

He said additional police force has been deployed in the area following the incident.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Vedanta’s Orissa project nixed

source - livemint

After five long years of court hearings, violent public protests, Centre-state wrangling and media coverage, the government denied permission for bauxite mining at Niyamgiri in Orissa, settling the dispute in favour of the tribe that’s indigenous to the area.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s announcement on Tuesday will mean that an integral part of the Orissa Mining Corp. Ltd-Sterlite Industries India Ltd project will have to be scrapped. Sterlite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed company, which also owns Vedanta Alumina Ltd, operator of the Lanjigarh alumina refinery, which was to have been fed by bauxite from Niyamgiri.

The Orissa government can move the high court or the yet-to-be-established green tribunal.

In 2005, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Orissa and Vedanta to set up the complex, including the alumina refinery and a captive power plant. It also included the supply of 150 million tonnes (mt) of bauxite for Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, for which the state had identified the Niyamgiri mine as the initial source of the material’s supply to the extent of 78 mt.

“There have been serious violations of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and the Forest Conservation Act (FCA),” Ramesh said. “We have also issued show-cause notices to the company. This is not an emotional decision. There is no prejudice and no politics. This is not because Niyamgiri is sacred (the hill with the bauxite deposits is held sacred by the primitive tribal group known as the Dongria Kondh). This is purely a legal approach.”

According to the firm’s statement released after the decision: “As at 31 March, Vedanta had invested $5.4 billion (`25,272 crore today) in its aluminium projects in Orissa. Around 10,000 people are employed at the Lanjigarh alumina refinery plant. Vedanta is currently operating its alumina refinery with outsourced bauxite.

The company said the state government is trying to make sure that it can supply bauxite from alternative sources.

“In view of the ongoing delay in approval of the Niyamgiri mining, the government of Orissa is actively considering allocation of alternate source of bauxite to Vedanta’s alumina refinery, from the state of Orissa,” said the statement.

The state government could not be reached.

“In response to the certain allegations raised in the report, Vedanta Resources reconfirms that there has been no regulatory violation of any kind at the alumina refinery,” the statement added.

The company said in a revised statement that it sent out later, “We are not in possession of Niyamgiri mine and no mining activity has been or will be undertaken till all approvals are in place.”

On Tuesday evening, Sterlite lost 3.97% to end at `152.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The key Sensex fell 0.53% to 18,311.59 points. Vedanta closed 7.07% down in London.

The environment ministry has relied on a recent report by former bureaucrat N.C. Saxena, the recommendations of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) and the attorney general’s opinion, according to Ramesh.

The Saxena report, in its investigation of the implementation of FRA, found that the legitimate claims of the Dongria Kondh have been discouraged and denied without the due process of law, which is illegal on part of the district or sub-divisional committees. The report further said that the Orissa government is not likely to implement FRA in a fair and impartial manner since it has gone to the extent of forwarding false certificates.

Under FRA, rights (individual and community) of tribals and forest dwellers have to be recognized and settled, and consent must be taken from the concerned community before any project can go ahead in the area.

Ramesh, however, clarified that the environment ministry was not taking congnizance of this. “The Saxena committee made a number of observations on state officials. I don’t agree with that and believe that they were acting to the best of their ability. There will not be any witch-hunt,” he said.

The committee report also found serious violations by the company’s alumina refinery in its illegal expansion from 1 million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity to 6 mtpa. The report said that “this amounts to a serious violation of the provisions of EPA” and “is an expression of the contempt with which the company treats the laws of the land”.

The environment ministry has issued two show-cause notices to the company. One asks it to explain why environment clearance for the 1 mtpa alumina refinery should not be revoked. The second asks why the terms of reference (ToR), which are equivalent to approval for a project, for the environment impact assessment report for the expansion should not be withdrawn. Ramesh added that ToR and the appraisal process for the expansion stand suspended.

“This seems like a full stop for this proposal. But the refinery issue still remains,” said Ritwick Dutta, an environment lawyer. “The pollution problem from their operations still needs to be resolved. We’ve stopped something that was about to happen, but haven’t undone the illegalities already done.”

The panel’s conclusions and recommendations, which were accepted by FAC and forwarded for the final decision, also mention instances of violations under FCA. Mint reported this on 24 August.

The ministry’s note on the factors that have dictated its decision said that the Saxena panel went into great detail highlighting various instances of violations under FCA.

“All these violations, coupled with the resultant impact on the ecology and biodiversity of the surrounding area, further condemn the actions of the project proponent. Not only are these violations of a repeating nature, but they are instances of wilful concealment of information by the project proponent,” it said.

The environment ministry is in the process of examining what penal action should be initiated against the project proponents for the violations. Moreover, the Jharkhand mines from where the refiner is sourcing the bauxite do not appear to have the necessary clearances, the ministry said.

Regarding the other high-profile project awaiting the environment ministry’s approval—the Posco integrated steel plant in Orissa—Ramesh said he has asked the Meena Gupta panel to submit its report by September-end, after which he will consider the case.

Successful NPA ambush in Samar, a legitimate act of war

PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today hailed the successful tactical offensive launched by the New People's Army in Catarman, Northern Samar last August 21 and at the same time assailed Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles for saying that the Samar ambush "will make the way forward (to peace) more difficult."

The CPP replied that "the Aquino government should stop making excuses not to resume formal peace negotiations."

"The Samar ambush, as well as other tactical offensives of the New People's Army (NPA), have all been carried out with the objective of advancing the struggle for national liberation and social justice, especially in the interest of the oppressed masses," said the CPP. "All these are being conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law and war conventions."

"Secretary Deles' claim that the police unit was just doing law enforcement work is pure hogwash," said the CPP. "The ambushed police unit was dispatched to a revolutionary base, heavily armed and fully aware of the presence there of the NPA and with the primary objective of attacking the revolutionary forces," the CPP pointed out.

"The police unit, however, proved to be of no match to their target NPA forces with their revolutionary dedication, full support of the masses, advantage of guerrilla tactics and mastery of terrain," said the CPP. According to reports issued by the Efren Martirez Command of the New People's Army (NPA-EMC), its unit in Catarman was able to wipe out the attacking eight-man police unit.

The CPP dismissed claims by the military and police officials that the police personnel were shot one by one "execution style." "The police unit was immediately crippled with the use of a legitimate command-detonated explosive. The police personnel were called upon to surrender. However, as they insisted on firing their weapons against the NPA fighters, a close quarter battle ensued."

The NPA unit seized at least seven pistols and four M16 rifles. Reports that personal effects of the police were also taken by the NPA unit are being looked into. "If there were any taken for safekeeping, these items will be accounted for, secured and properly returned to the concerned families," added the CPP.

The CPP disputed claims by military and security officials of the Aquino regime that the use of command-detonated explosives is prohibited under international rules of war. "Their use is perfectly legitimate under the Geneva Conventions, that serves as the frame for international rules on warfare."

"The sterling military victory in Samar shows how the people's war that is raging throughout the country is vibrant, advancing in strides with more and more victories, and bound to win in the end," The CPP declared.

The revolutionary forces under the leadership of the CPP are presently pursuing a program to achieve, in five years, a leap of the people's war it is waging, from the present stage of strategic defensive to the strategic stalemate.

Report on New York & California protests against Operation Green Hunt

Sanhati, a forum for solidarity with peoples' struggles in India, successfully organized a protest demonstration in front of the Indian Consulate in NYC on August 13 against Operation Green Hunt to coincide with India's independence day on 15th August . The protest demonstration was endorsed by the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia and was attended by individuals from Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas representing diverse South Asian and international organizations like SASI (South Asia Solidarity Initiative), ILPS (International League of Peoples Struggles), ISO (International Socialist Organisation), RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) USA, FRSO (Freedom Road Socialist Organization), WWP (Workers World Party) and others. A legal observer from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) was also present during the protest.

The demonstration continued from 11 am to 1pm and was marked by chanting of slogans, distributing pamphlets to passers-by, making speeches in support of peoples' struggles in India, singing songs of resistance and finally submitting a signed petition registering a strong protest against the government's military offensive in the regions populated by the indigeneous (adivasi) people. The text of the petition is appended below for reference.

Sanhati Collective
———— TEXT OF PETITION ————–
To: Consul General
Consulate General of India
3 East 64th Street
New York, NY 10065
Petition against Operation Green Hunt in India)
Dear Sir/Madam,
We, the undersigned, would like to register our strong protest against the Operation Green Hunt, the Government of India's (GOI) deliberate move to escalate military intervention against the indigenous people in the forested regions of East-Central India. Such a military campaign already will endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of the poorest people living in those areas, resulting in massive displacement, destitution and human rights violation of ordinary citizens, especially the indigenous people.
We are acutely aware of the fact that the geographical terrain where the GOI's military offensive is taking place, is very rich in natural resources like minerals, forest wealth and water, and has been the target of large scale appropriation by several Indian and foreign corporations. The desperate resistance of the local indigenous people against their displacement and dispossession has in many cases prevented the government-backed corporations from making inroads into these areas and has thankfully impeded the setting-up of ecologically disastrous industries. We fear that the government's on-going military offensive is an attempt to crush such popular resistances in order to facilitate the entry and operation of these corporations and to pave the way for unbridled exploitation of the natural resources and the people of these regions.
We feel that it would deliver a crippling blow to Indian democracy if the government tries to subjugate its own people militarily without addressing their grievances. As has been witnessed in the case of numerous peoples' struggle around the world, such military campaigns end up in enormous misery for the common people.
Therefore, we demand -
1) An immediate end to the Operation Green Hunt and withdrawal of all armed forces from these regions
2) The GOI should engage with the civil society mediated initiatives for negotiations with representatives of peoples' movements in order to address the grievances of the common people.
3) All Memoranda of Understanding (MoU-s) signed with different corporations, for the extraction of natural resources from the vast areas of East-Central India, must be revealed and immediately cancelled.
4) All draconian laws like Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, Armed Forces Special Powers Act should be immediately repealed. Ban on political organizations should be withdrawn and all political prisoners should be released.
5) All state-assisted vigilante groups like the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh and Harmad Bahini in West Bengal should be immediately disbanded and the concerned criminals associated with these organizations, including government officials, should be brought to book.
San Francisco, California:
On Friday, August 13, an action of solidarity with the people in India and Kashmir–a protest of the Indian government's "Operation Green Hunt" and the repression of the resistance of Kashmiri people's struggle–took place at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.
It was endorsed by the Sanhati Collective, and participants included US and South Asian solidarity activists from the Bay Area and elsewhere. The demonstrators held signs with clear messages:

* Stop Operation Green Hunt!

* Stop the War on People in India!

* Solidarity with the Resistance of Tribal People in India!

* Support the Just Struggle of the Kashmiri people!

The protestors handed out information about Operation Green Hunt: an Indian government offensive of over 200,000 soldiers directed against the areas populated by tribal peoples in eastern and central India–and why it must be opposed by concerned people around the world. A number of Indians coming to the Consulate for visas or other business had already heard about Green Hunt and wanted more information. This will be the first of many actions and educational events opposing Operation Green Hunt in the Bay Area.
www.icawpi.org

Monday, August 16, 2010

‘We were angry. We wanted to do damage. Someone in the crowd said, leave it to us...’

BY PARTHA DASGUPTA, tehelka



THE COLLISION of the Jnaneshwari Express with a goods train just after midnight on 28 May near Jhargram killed 148 passengers and dealt a severe blow to the public image of the Maoists. The West Bengal CID named Monoj alias Bapi Mahato and Umakanto Mahato, members of People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), as the prime accused. Sections of the media claimed that Bapi had confessed to masterminding the incident.

TEHELKA has now obtained exclusive possession of handwritten notes which Mahato has written from Midnapore Central Jail, in which he denies the CBI charges. To establish his innocence, his ‘Open Letter’ gives a blowby- blow account of what unfolded on 28 May.
In a second letter titled ‘Plea to the Inhabitants of Jangalmahal’ Bapi denies having given any testimony to the CBI, which lauded the West Bengal police for arresting him. TEHELKA cannot independently verify the authenticity of the letters, signed in both English and Bangla. But the contents of the letter may lead investigators to an entirely different narrative. Here are the translations in full.


AN OPEN LETTER FROM A PRISONER TO THE PEOPLE OF WEST BENGAL

Prison blues Bapi Mahato at the time of his arrest soon after the 28 May tragedy and (below) facsimiles of the handwritten notes in which he gives blow-by-blow accounts of his movements

In our village, the PCAPA was formed on 25 December 2009. Around March this year, I was made responsible for 20 villages. The primary objectives of this committee were [establishment of people’s] rights, non-cooperation with the fraudulent-murdererrapist- liar (West Bengal) government and an all-round development of the rural society with mass support and mass involvement. It is this development work that irked the local Harmads (armed CPM cadres) and powerful CPM leaders and they planned to harm the committee.

As our committee grew in strength and number, the atrocities perpetrated by the Joint Forces increased proportionately. I was exasperated at the regular complaints by villagers against Joint Forces’ atrocities and could not take it anymore after the torture became unbearable around three days before the train tragedy. So, I took stock of the situation in the villages of Guimara, Sitabhuna, Shalpatra, Murabani, Amrashol, Baimanabandh, Indrabani and Barbigha with 8-10 of my comrades from the PCAPA. We found that around 3,000 members of the Joint Forces and 117 Harmads, who came from Chandra, unleashed horrible torture on the villagers. Angry at this, I organised a meeting with my comrades at Murabani [on 27 May, the eve of the Jnaneshwari tragedy]. From there I telephoned my leader (Umakanto) and conveyed the problems that we were facing. Umakanto suggested (on my phone, which was on loudspeaker mode) a bandh or road-blockade or damaging of government property.

On hearing this, the local leadership, comprising Samir, Manik (from Murabani), Tapan (from Amrashol) and Altaf (from Shalpatra) gathered the villagers and asked me for direction. The meeting was mainly conducted by Manik, Samir, Tapan and others. An estimated 1,500 villagers attended the meeting. I suggested felling of logs with hacksaws [to put up a rail blockade with those]. Hacksaws were collected. But a little later, the plan was rejected. Then the villagers suggested that the CPM party office at Sardiha and the local committee office be ransacked. This was also rejected.

Suddenly, a few people from the audience stood up and said, “We’ll do whatever needs to be done. You people don’t bother.” They got busy in collecting tools [sledgehammers, pickaxes]. When they were equipped with these tools, Manik [Manik Mahato, ex-CPM cadre, who joined the PCAPA recently but had not made it public through a poster, as is the norm] asked me to get a pick-up van. Without further delay, I called for a pick-up van. I, along with eight others (none of whom were known to me) and Khagen [the owner of the pick-up van], was sent to Indrabani from the ‘Shib Mandir’ [the Shiva temple in Murabani where the meet-ing was held]. Around 250 villagers had already gathered in front of Indrabani School (Indrabani is my area). Around half an hour later, Samir and Manik led a 1,000-odd strong contingent [from the earlier meeting] on foot to Indrabani.

I was made a sentry at the meeting point of Barbigha, Murabani and Indrabani. Manik, with around 20-25 people from his area boarded the van and they went off via Sitakula and Barbigha. I had no clue who they were, where they were heading and for what purpose. All of us waited till midnight for them to come back, but the Joint Forces came instead for patrolling. Seeing their big searchlights, we dispersed. [Curiously, no one was arrested from such a large gathering in an area which was under Section 144]. Around 12.30 in the night, I got a call on my phone saying the mission has been accomplished [TEHELKA has come to know who made the call — a resident of Barjudihi, he is popularly known as the ‘Jamai’ — son-inlaw of Murabani. Strangely, the police and the CBI are silent about the number from which the call was made and about who made the call].

Later, we came to know that our wait was futile because no one from our village (Indrabani) went there. Next day, on hearing the news of the accident, I tried to find out who were there at the site and were responsible for the tragedy, but could not get hold of anyone. No one was at home. 20-25 villages were devoid of male population. Everyone had fled for fear of the Joint Forces.

Tragic denouement (Left) Aftermath of the train derailment, which left 148 dead and many more injured. (Right) Villagers and paramilitary forces came to the rescue. Later, villages nearby were abandoned for fear of reprisals

Four days after the incident, Sanjay, Joydeb [Bapi’s neighbours] and I were taken [by the Maoists] inside the dense forests of Chandri on the pretext of a meeting. We were tied up for four days and were interrogated. I told them exactly what I have written above. No one was in a mood to believe me. After four days, we were untied by a sympathetic member of the squad. We were spared our lives. I was asked to stay in the forests for six months, but for fear of dear life, and taking advantage of their weaknesses, I fled. My family and studies were also on top of my mind. I took a trekker from beside Raj College to Gidhni, and from Gidhni I went to Tatanagar to my brother-inlaw’s place. I was arrested from there. The police beat me up mercilessly in the SGM and Adityapur police stations. Even my elder sister and brother-in-law were not spared. We were also subjected to tremendous mental torture. They threatened to shoot me. The police kept on asking which political party I supported.

The police have arrested only the members of opposition like Bholanath, Hiralal, Gokul and Sudarshan from my village and have tortured them. Hiralal [a Class IX student] was tortured the most.

MY MISTAKES

• I put Umakanta on loudspeaker of my phone and it was for everyone to hear, including the new committee formed under Manik Mahato. I also asked them to take action.

• I used my phone to call the pick-up van. Another phone was used to organise sledgehammers.

• I let the others supersede my decision of rail blockade by logs. I also never enquired about the alternative plans that were being hatched and who would be involved in the execution (since the people were not from my area, I was not concerned).

• I and my folks from Indrabani could not imagine in our worst nightmares that an incident of such a scale would occur. I can assure one and all, not a single person from my area boarded the van.

I am ready to accept a death sentence by hanging in front of the audience present in that day’s meeting if I am really guilty of masterminding the incident.

A FEW ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF OUR INNOCENCE

• Not a single person who boarded the van was known to me.

• In spite of patrolling by the Joint Forces, the van was allowed to go scot-free and was not intercepted [the van had many people, they were supposedly ‘armed’ and the entire stretch is under Section 144 — again, a curious thing].

• The pick-up van was sent back 1 km from the accident site.

• The Jnaneshwari driver has testified that he saw 10-15 big torches after the accident. PCAPA members would never light torches in the night.

• Nobody returned [to Indrabani] after the incident. I still don’t know what happened.

• I believe the tools that were taken from Murabani were not adequate to engineer an incident of this scale.

• And finally, I am confident that this is a planned conspiracy.

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

On the eve of the tragedy, a ‘Harmad training camp’ was inaugurated in Barjudihi Primary School [Barjudihi is the hamlet nearest to Sardiha, where the tragedy occurred] by minister Susanta Ghosh. Senior party functionaries from the locality like Dahar Sen, Hiralal Mahato (of Manikpara), Dhruba Sannigrahi, Arjun Mahato (of Lalitashol), Karuna Mahato (of Jaljali), Tarun Dey, Hari (who runs a radio repairing shop in the station) and Rocky (who runs a tailoring shop in School Bazar) were present. The meeting was also attended by around 50 young persons [age group 15-25 years] from Lalitashol and Barjudihi. The meeting took place from 9 to 11 in the night. One of my class friends present in the meeting [TEHELKA has come to know his identity — a mason, who stays in Barjudihi] later told me that they had planned the train sabotage in the meeting to harm Mamata [Banerjee]. I have learnt that a few leaders of PCAPA were also present there. The [panchayat] pradhan of CPM Palit babu and Bimal Das, the moneylender from Lalitashol promised to finance the sabotage. (If Bimal’s house is raided, one would find at least 500 passbooks, 500 ‘fund-books’ and plenty of valuables including gold chains).

Sd/-
06/07/10
Monoj Mahata@Bapi
C/o Sudhir Ch Mahata
Vill Rasua [Kuspara]
PO Jhantibandh — 721513
PS Jhargram
Dist. Mednipure [Paschim]

PLEA TO THE INHABITANTS OF JANGALMAHAL

I AM AN active member of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). I have not given any testimony to the CBI. And neither have I given any interview to the media. Whatever is coming out in the media in my name is untrue. The report that came out in Ekdin [a Bengali daily] on 25 July [a Maoist internal investigation report with the heading ‘We want Bapi’s punishment’] is utter nonsense, as it has hinted at my meeting with Dahar Sen [a senior CPM leader and husband of ex-minister Nandarani Dal, three-time MLA from the infamous Keshpur]. I left for Tatanagar by the Gidhni Local on 8 June. So, where did I meet Dahar Sen? Besides, even today, I do not know what he looks like, let alone have a discussion with him. The decision to shift us from Midnapore to Kolkata is just another ploy of the administration.

I request comrades of my locality not to issue any statement to the media without thoroughly checking the facts from the locality. They should also protest against false news published in the media. For example, the fact that Bartaman [another Bengali daily] carried a news article on 25 July, hinting at the banning of PCAPA for its alleged involvement in the Jnaneshwari tragedy amply proves it is a conspiracy hatched by the CPM, as it could then use this tragedy to see that the PCAPA is banned.

The reality is that I did conduct a meeting at Murabani, where it was decided to obstruct the rail tracks with logs. Never was any train sabotage planned. And I had no links with the Maoists. I do not know any Maoist. Samir [Samir Mahato of Forward Block, who is also in the same jail arrested under a relatively weak section of the IPC], told me while in jail that Hiralal Mahato and Arjun Mahato (senior CPM leaders) came to him to get posters written [PCAPA posters that would claim responsibility for the tragedy], but he refused. In my testimony to the court I have not mentioned any Maoist.

— Bapi

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Azad killing was murder: Mamata

LALGARH: Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee lived up to her reputation of being a maverick politician at a rally in Lalgarh, West Bengal, on Monday.

Putting herself at odds with her own government’s assessment that Naxalism is India’s biggest internal security threat, Mamata Banerjee on Monday questioned the killing of a Maoist leader and virtually offered them an olive branch. "Give me a date and time for the talks. Let this politics of murder and terror stop. If need be, the joint operations have to stop during the negotiations," she said.

Referring to the encounter death of Maoist chief spokesman Cherukuri Rajkumar, popularly known as Azad, in Andhra Pradesh on July 2, Mamata described it as 'khoon (murder)'. "Azad’s killing was not right. Swami Agnivesh has told me they want to talk again."

Mamata clearly does not mind if her comments raise eyebrows in Delhi. She is ready to bear with the unease — as long as it serves to mobilize people against the ruling CPM in rural West Bengal.

Five farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha in three days

source - DNA

Five debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide in last three days in Vidarbha region.


They have been identified as Eknath Madavi of Wandali (Chandrapur), Chandkant Mesharam of Sarali (Bhandara) Dilip Kumare of Nimboli (Wardha ), Prahlad Rathode of Grampoha (Washim) and Shankar Gujarkar of Sawra (Akola).

All the victims were already debt-ridden and their financial woes compounded as they lost standing crop due to the recent heavy rains, Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) said in a press release today.

In Chhattisgarh's war zone, no value on an Adivasi's life

Aman Sethi, hindu

After ‘encounter,' police try to buy villagers' silence with Rs. 3,100 and packets of biscuits, chivda

The monsoon skies have cleared over this village in Dantewada district, but a cloud of doubt still lingers over the site of last week's encounter between the police and suspected cadres of the CPI (Maoist).

On August 4, according to the official version, the Koya commandos spent 18 hours combing through the rain-soaked forests near Kutrem, during which they broke through a Maoist ambush, engaged in a fierce gun battle lasting several hours and ultimately recovered the body of a uniformed Maoist fighter, a 12 bore shotgun and two improvised explosive devices.

The Koya commandos are a specialised police team largely comprising surrendered Maoists or Adivasis whose families have been targets of Maoist violence.

“We were ambushed deep in the jungle and fought the Maoists for about four hours,” said a policeman who was part of the operation, “We fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition … and killed six Maoists, but could recover only one body.” The corpse was identified as Kunjami Joga, a 23-year-old resident of Kutrem.

At Kutrem, however, the villagers have a very different account of the circumstances that led to Joga's death.

About 11.30 a.m. on August 4, the villagers say, a party of the Koya commandos cordoned off Kutrem and took positions outside several houses in its Kotwalpara neighbourhood. Kunjam Hidme, 40, sat quietly in her house when she suddenly heard a policeman scream, “Hold your fire, don't shoot!” followed by a burst of automatic fire.

“Kunjami Joga was stepping out of his sister, Karti Budri's house, when he was shot,” said Hidme. He was unarmed, and was wearing a blue shirt. “I could hear him shouting ‘Ma, Ma' as he lay on the path.” Hidme says the commandos hurriedly dumped the body on a wooden cot they took from one of the houses and left the village soon after.

On August 5, the Chhattisgarh police conducted post-mortem, initiated a magisterial inquiry and handed over the body to Joga's parents. “When I got back his body, Joga was naked except for his underclothes,” said Joga's father, Kunjami Lakhma, “He had a bullet here [pointing to the small of the back near the kidneys] and knife marks on his chest.” As per custom, the body was cremated the same day.

On August 7, the villagers say, the Koya commandos visited Kutrem again, this time with a carton of biscuits and sachets of Haldiram's mixture. “The force called a public meeting outside the primary school,” said Kunjami Aiyte, Joga's aunt, “They said, ‘If the press comes, tell them that Joga was killed in the forest, not in the village'.” Aiyte says the police then gave Rs. 1,100 to the gathered villagers for “food and alcohol.” The biscuits and mixture were distributed among the children.

“The Koyas gave me Rs. 2,000 and told me to keep quiet about Joga's death,” said Kunjami Lakhma when asked whether he had been given any compensation.

Senior police officers expressed surprise when The Hindu questioned them about the money paid to Kunjami Lakhma. Sources refused to come on record, citing the sensitive nature of the allegations and the ongoing magisterial inquiry.

“No one has authorised this [payment],” said a senior policeman speaking on background.

“It is hard to keep control of the Koyas once they are sent out on operation,” continued the source, “The wireless set is our only link to the patrolling companies.” On the day of the encounter, this link was severed by heavy rain and inclement weather. Police officers said the Koyas were not supposed to go to Kutrem at all.

“We were just supposed to go up till Hiroli,” admitted a policeman involved in the operation, “But at Hiroli we received information that a Maoist company was moving between Gumiapal and Kutrem village.” The patrolling party tried to radio headquarters for permission to pursue the Maoists; when the wireless set stopped working, the patrolling party chose to press on moving to Kutrem without waiting for permission.

9 Telangana districts ‘backward'

source - hindu

Three in Rayalaseema and one in Coastal Andhra also listed by Centre

Thirteen districts of the State have been identified by the Central government for inclusion in the backward regions grant fund (BRGF) for the current financial year.

All the districts of Telangana, barring Hyderabad, and three Rayalaseema districts, except Kurnool, have been included the backward districts' list by the Centre. Vizianagaram is the lone district from Coastal Andhra to figure in the list submitted by Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain Aditya in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Nalgonda and Khammam in Telangana, Chittoor, Anantapur and Kadapa in Rayalaseema and Vizianagaram in Andhra regions would get Rs. 348.28 crore out of the Rs. 4,670.04 crore earmarked under the BRGF for the current financial year.

Interestingly, the Central government has included Karimnagar district, which has been recording high foodgrain production since the past few years surpassing East Godavari, in the backward regions list, while Srikakulam and Prakasam, perceived to be backward due to lower literacy levels, poor infrastructure and low rainfall do not find a place. The announcement assumes significance in the light of series of presentations being made before Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee on the backwardness of Telangana.

Supporters of separate statehood made several presentations to the panel arguing that the region had been ignored by successive governments in the development process and the latest announcement by the Centre bolsters their claim.

Ministers and elected representatives from other regions, however, claimed that Telangana had, in fact, witnessed more development than Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra in terms of health, education, agriculture and other sectors.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Naxal ambush in Dantewada; 3 killed, 75 missing

source - rediff
Three Chhattisgarh Police personnel have been killed and 75 are missing after Maoists ambushed a combined search party of the state police's Special Task force, Dantewada district police and Koya commandos on Tuesday afternoon.

Around 200 Maoists cornered the personnel inside Gumiapal in Dantewada district while they were returning to the base camp after a routine search operation in the forest area, 17 kilometres from the Bailadila mining area.

Sources in the state police, however, said as many as 25 policemen could have been killed.

The fierce exchange of fire, which started around noon, is continuing till reports last came in.

"A massive encounter is going on. A team of police personnel had gone into the area in pursuit of a Naxal commander and his associates," Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwaranjan said.

Reinforcements have been sent to the encounter spot, sources said, but heavy rains have hampered their progress.

On April 6, 75 CRPF personnel and a state policemen were killed in Dantewada after over 100 Naxals ambushed the patrol party and looted weapons.

In another incident on June 29, a large number of heavily-armed Maoists, perched on a hilltop, had opened fire with automatic weapons on a 63-member security contingent which was returning on foot from road opening duty, killing 26 CRPF personnel in Narayanpur district. The dead included a CRPF Assistant Commandant Jatin Gulati.

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