|
|
home / subscribe / donate / tower / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events
|
SHOULD SCOOTER LIBBY'S LAWYER BE DISBARRED? Law school dean Lawrence Velvel says, Maybe he should, if he sat idly by while client Libby spouted lies. What lies at the core of Zionism? Michael Neumann tortures Alan Dershowitz, without a warrant! "Sex-mad adulterer from British aristocracy claims to have 'revolutionized' philosophy." Yes, Bertrand Russell, they mean you! Alexander Cockburn on Smearing 101 in the British press. Get the answers you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
|
November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
November 7, 2005 Dick Reavis Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Eli Stephens David Swanson M. Junaid Alam Matt Reichel Naima Bouteldja Jeff Halper Website of the Day
November 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Diana Johnstone Roosa / Nevins Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Ross Mike Whitney Mark Engler Juliano Mer-Khamis Ron Jacobs Jill S. Farrell Missy Comley
Beattie Mitchel Cohen Evelyn J. Pringle Reza Fiyouzat Charles Sullivan Zachary Richard Ben Tripp St. Clair / Vest
November 4, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Dave Lindorff Phillip Cryan Christopher Brauchli William S.
Lind Daryl G. Kimball George Beres Peter Montague
November 3, 2005 James Petras Saul Landau Rep. Cynthia McKinney Michael Dickinson Joshua Frank Remi Kanazi Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
November 2, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Robert Oscar Lopez John Walsh Brian J. Foley Ramzy Baroud M. Junaid Alam Todd Chretien Bruce K. Gagnon Website of the Day
November 1, 2005 Ron Jacobs Gary Leupp John Ross Bill Quigley Joseph Nevins Dave Lindorff Linda S. Heard Heather Gray Michael Dickinson Jeffrey St. Clair
October 31, 2005 Elaine Cassel Mark Weisbrot Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Farooq Sulehria Nicole Colson Madis Senner Paul Craig
Roberts
Cockburn /
St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Tim Wise John Chuckman Steven Higgs Brian Cloughley M. Shahid Alam Nikki Robinson Ralph Nader Joe DeRaymond Joshua Frank Laura Santina Fred Gardner Michael Dickinson Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Vanessa S. Jones Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
October 28, 2005 Jared Bernstein Virginia Tilley Phil Gasper Jennifer Matsui Manual Garcia,
Jr. Monica Benderman Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff
Saul Landau Stuart Hodkinson Ingmar Lee Lila Rajiva Ilan Pappe Niranjan Ramakrishnan Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Cockburn / St. Clair
October 26, 2005 Kathy Kelly Gary Leupp Mike Marqusee Eric Ruder Patrick Cockburn Joshua Frank J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Website of
the Day
October 25, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Ken Sengupta / Patrick Cockburn Conn Hallinan Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Jackie Corr Robert Day John Sugg
October 24, 2005 Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Bill and Kathleen
Christison
October 22 / 23, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Billy Sothern Saul Landau Ralph Nader Behrooz Ghamari Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Fred Gardner Lee Sustar Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen James Petras Joshua Frank Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Michelle Bollinger Missy Comley
Beattie Kona Lowell Ben Tripp Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Day
October 21, 2005 Dave Lindorff Winslow T. Wheeler Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Madis Senner Michael Donnelly
Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Jeremy Brecher
/ Patrick Cockburn Kevin Zeese Ross Eisenbrey Randy Shields Justine Davidson After Lucas
Cranach Joe Allen
Subscribe Online
|
Weekend Edition An "Unholy Alliance"?The Nepal PactBy GARY LEUPP The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has in the last week signed a pact with the alliance of seven parliamentary parties that have united in opposition to King Gyanendra and his dictatorial regime. They will, in the words of former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, soon "launch a movement to end the tyrannical monarchy and hold constituent assembly elections under UN supervision." This pact ushers in a new phase in the Nepali revolutionary process. In essence, the Maoists have agreed to lay down their arms (although not immediately) in exchange for the parties' support for a constitutional convention to replace the current one and hopefully produce a republican form of government. This doesn't sound terribly revolutionary, and indeed so solidly Establishment a figure as Kofi Annan says he "welcomes and is carefully studying" its details. The mainstream Kathmandu Post editorializes that "the Maoists have shown immense political maturity and responsibility towards the country" by concluding the agreement. The Defend Human Rights Movement-Nepal, a coalition of over two dozen leading rights groups, welcomes it. But it must worry U.S. Ambassador James F. Moriarty, who has called the Maoist threat "terrific," and who recently said that Washington "strongly caution[s] the political parties against considering any kind of formal relationship with the Maoists, unless and until the Maoists firmly renounce violence, put down their weapons, and commit to supporting the democratic process." King Gyanendra for his part calls the pact an "unholy alliance" (maybe thinking of the Holy Alliance that gathered in support of monarchy and religion in Europe against republican ideals in 1815). The agreement should be understood, in any case, in the context of the "Prachanda Path," or the strategic thinking of the Maoist chairman Prachanda. According to this, the Nepali revolution will combine the Chinese People's War model with the Bolshevik urban insurrection model. The latter phase may be in the offing. The People's War, initiated in 1996, has brought about 80% of the country under Maoist control, and in recent years the guerrillas have been able to paralyze the capital city of Kathmandu by bandhs (strikes) and highly effective road blockades. Over a year ago they declared that they had entered the stage of "strategic offensive"-the last stage of the war. But in September they announced a unilateral three month ceasefire, which they may extend when it expires December 2. Prachanda hasn't promised that yet, declaring, "Our party is yet to take a concrete decision whether to break the ceasefire or to extend it. The Party HQ will make a decision after considering the overall situation. . . We have done enough discussion with the parties regarding this. Therefore, even if the ceasefire is broken, it will not have any effect on the understanding." There have been two earlier ceasefires, from June to November 2001 and January to June 2003. These were bilateral, and occurred while the Maoists negotiated with governments headed the prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, and Surya Bahadur Thapa. In both instances, the talks deadlocked over the question of a constitutional assembly. After the second round failed, the Maoists declared that they were no longer interested in parlaying with such politicians but rather demanded to negotiate with the monarch himself. Gyanendra, frustrated with the failure of successive prime ministers to solve the Maoist problem, seized power on February 1, 2005, dismissed the cabinet, imprisoned leading politicians, muzzled the press and imposed draconian new laws that alienated the political establishment. The king then offered to conduct talks with the Maoists, but the latter declared the offer too late and commenced secret talks with the mainstream parties. The seven parties, representing over 90% of the membership of the last parliament, include most importantly the Nepali Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist. The former recently withdrew its programmatic support for the monarchy. The 12-point agreement states that "CPN-M has expressed firm commitment to acceptance of [a] competitive multiparty system," something the Maoists have been saying for some years. But that doesn't mean they've become liberal democrats, or will step back from the radical reforms implemented in the regions under their control, or disavow Mao's dictum that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. They're dedicated, ultimately, to establishing a socialist society, but they seem to reckon that in the immediate future they can lead that effort within a multiparty democracy. In March CPI-M leader Baburam Bhattarai wrote that his party believes in "the historical necessity of passing through a sub-stage of democratic republic in the specificities of Nepal." He called for the "realization of this democratic republic through a Constituent Assembly," likening Nepal to Spain in 1873 and citing Friedrich Engels' remark at the time that "Spain is such a backward country industrially that there can be no question there of immediate complete emancipation of the working class. Spain will first have to pass through various preliminary stages of development and remove quite a number of obstacles from its path." Marxists (as well as the Buddha, born on the border between India and Nepal, for that matter) teach that everything that exists is in a state of constant change. Nothing, including forms of government or social systems, is forever, and certainly there's no such thing as "the end of history." The question is how long will the Nepali "sub-stage" last? The pact specifies that "after ending autocratic monarchy" the Maoists as well as the Royal Nepali Army will disarm under UN or other international supervision. So as long as the king is in place, and his army extant, the Maoists will retain their weapons. Meanwhile, the seven parties will redouble their efforts to topple the king through illegal demonstrations in Kathmandu. Prachanda has said that the Maoists will not at this time participate in the street protests, and Congress Party leader Koirala says "We will be fighting the monarchy from separate fronts." But presumably the Maoists are organizing separately for action in the city and will join in decisively when the moment seems right. At some point, like the Shah, Marcos, and Mobutu before him, the king will be forced to flee. The Maoists and the seven parties disagree on what happens next. The only point of disagreement indicated in the 12-point pact is this, the second point:
Quite likely, a leader of the Congress Party will head up a provisional government, a sort of bourgeois-democratic government committed to what the document calls "absolute democracy" but divided on such key issues as land reform and caste discrimination. The seven parties will wish to undertake the disarmament of the Maoists and RNA (which will now just be the "Nepali Army") as soon as possible, while reinstating parliament as their power base before a constituent assembly can be formed. The Maoists may press for a national conference prior to disarmament, and perhaps have the political clout to make this happen. Possibly, after some months of drift, dissatisfaction with the provisional government and pace of change will produce a second urban uprising, led by the Maoists and supported by new allies. In other words, following the Russian model, a February Revolution succeeded by an October Revolution. That could happen even if disarmament's been carried out. In 1917 Lenin didn't have a military. But as we speak the People's Liberation Army surrounds Kathmandu. It may still be there as the Russian model meets the Chinese model, and the red star long hidden below the historical horizon reappears, this time in the Himalayan sky. Gary Leupp is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion. He is the author of Servants, Shophands and Laborers in in the Cities of Tokugawa Japan; Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan; and Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch's merciless chronicle of the wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, Imperial Crusades. He can be reached at: gleupp@granite.tufts.edu
|
from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
