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JALPAIGURI (Indo-Nepal-Bhutan-Bangladesh Border), July 24: Over 165 Maoist cadres are being trained in Bhutan at present, as Bhutan has been included in the future Maoist country, ‘Dandkaranya Desam’. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) are imparting the training. A senior leader of the Standing Committee of a Maoist outfit confirmed this to the South Asia Tribune.

NEW DELHI: India said on Monday that it was keen to keep Iran's nuclear issue within the ambit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The decision was immediately hailed by the Left parties. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Left parties, which have been pressurising the government not to vote against Tehran at the November 24 IAEA meeting in Vienna, that diplomatic efforts were on not to refer Iran's controversial nuclear programme to the UN Security Council. "The government informed the Left parties of the progress made through diplomatic efforts. It was noted that the government's intention was to...

NEW DELHI: The Marxists have a radically different agenda. While describing the (former) Vajpayee government as “pro-imperialist”, they make no reference to the challenges posed by global terrorism. They fault the NDA for supporting the US in its “war on Afghanistan”. They would like us to end all military cooperation with the US and demand its withdrawal from bases in our neighborhood. They oppose any nuclear weapons program for India. By espousing the denuclearisation of South Asia they’d like us to abandon our longstanding policy of seeking nuclear disarmament on a non-discriminatory and universal basis. Their endorsement of proposals for...

The CPI(M)[Communist Party of India - Marxist], at its congress today, adopted a resolution condemning ‘‘Israel’s brutal occupation since 1967 of Palestinian territories’’ and demanded that the Indian ‘‘government ceases its military cooperation with and all military procurement from Israel’’. The resolution was moved by none other than West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The party probably wanted to dispel majority opinion outside Left circles that Bhattacharjee is not exactly a hardliner and is charting out a pragmatic economic course in his home state. The resolution was seconded by senior Kerala-based leader M.A. Baby. Advertisement Citibank That apart, the resolution...

New Delhi, Apr 12 (Prensa Latina) In its 28th congress, India´s Communist Party approved a solidarity resolution with Cuba demanding the end of illegal US aggressions against the Island. It similarly claimed the removal of the US economic blockade on Cuba and the annulment of the Helms-Burton Law, which bans the country´s regular trade relations with other nations. "Cuba is a strong inspiration for all people fighting imperialism. Despite its proximity to the US and all sorts of aggression, it has maintained independence for over 45 years, and achieved outstanding results in the economic, social, and technological spheres," the text...

Hyderabad April 3: With peace talks between the government and Maoist guerrillas shattered in Andhra Pradesh, the body count is steadily mounting amid fears that this could turn out to be bloodiest year in recent times. After eight months of peace last year, the state is again caught in a web of killings and counter killings. Not a single day passes without Maoists killing a suspected police informer, a political activist or a policeman. ‘ And when their guns are silent, the police kill Maoists in gun battles. Maoists then go on the rampage. This cycle of violence and counter-violence...

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday urged the central government to reject the US offer of sale of F-16 fighter jets as this would trigger an "arms race with Pakistan". A statement by the CPI-M politburo said that accepting the US offer would affect India-Pakistan ties. "India should reject the proposal to join the infamous National Missile Defence System as joining it will be tantamount to becoming a junior partner of the USA," the politburo warned. "Acceptance of these offers would also adversely impact India-Pakistan relations." "The game of the Bush administration is clear....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The Communist Parties in India cannot be accused of inconsistency. They have a track record of advocating foreign and national security policies designed to make India a surrogate or protectorate of one or another external power. Throughout the years of the Cold War, the Communist Party of India (CPI) took its directions from Moscow and wanted India to follow a policy of strident criticism of the US and western world. This line continued till the mutual dislike between Mao and Stalin led to a widening Sino-Soviet rift. When China and the...

Is it not ironical that the hearts of communists and Samajwadis should bleed for democracy in the ravaged kingdom of Nepal? Should they decry the "loss of democracy" in the neighbouring country when democratic institutions and values have been made dysfunctional in states ruled by them - whether in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh or Bihar? The Left and Samajwadis scream blue murder when a nominated prime minister and his team is dismissed in a foreign country. But they shamelessly acclaim the sacking of an elected State Government (Goa) after it wins the vote of confidence. Do communists have the moral...

The election process in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, scheduled for February 2005, has been brought under serious threat by an abrupt escalation in Left Wing extremist (also referred to as Naxalite) violence in these states. The newly integrated Communist Party of India - Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has given a call for the boycott of the elections, and has been mobilizing people against participation in the polls, both through mass contact and distribution of pamphlets, as well as through direct intimidation. The Maoists have also made it clear that police and paramilitary forces deployed for elections will be specifically targeted...

South Asia - New Phase of ResSouth Asia - New Phase of Resistance in Bangladesh - Soumitra Bose Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation international team A tiny hamlet in the southern part of Bangladesh, woke up shivering on a broad daylight. A minor Hindu girl is being raped by more than 10 very well known strong and powerful men of the neighbourhood. The entire village saw the act, the entire village knows the perpetrators better than they ever know their own family members. They have tied the elderly mother, tortured them, killed the father and the brother, tied up...

With Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu narrowly escaping an attempt on his life on Wednesday, October 1, the spotlight is once again on the Naxalites, their ideology, and their violent movement. We present a brief primer: Who are the Naxalites? The Naxalites, also sometimes called the Naxals, is a loose term used to define groups waging a violent struggle on behalf of landless labourers and tribal people against landlords and others. The Naxalites say they are fighting oppression and exploitation to create a classless society. Their opponents say the Naxalites are terrorists oppressing people in the name of...

MUMBAI: Coming down heavily on US military campaign in Iraq and globalisation, the World Social Forum (WSF) began here on Friday night with a pledge to launch campaign for a new international order ensuring social justice at all levels. Speakers from different countries urged the US and its allies to stop their show of power in various parts of the world and hand over Iraq to Iraqis while Indian anti-globalisation leaders criticised growing fundamentalism in the country in the context of post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Captain Laxmi Sehgal, the INA veteran, said globalisation was a danger and should be fought...

The series of claymore mine blasts triggered by the outlawed People's War that nearly killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in October has provoked the central government to set up a special security unit to check the Naxalites. The decision followed a Union home ministry report that said Left-wing extremist groups are responsible for the second largest number of violent incidents and killings in India. Terrorism in Kashmir takes the top slot. A senior government official told rediff.com that the special security unit will be raised out of the Central Reserve Police Force. "We will give special training...

As the chief minister of one of the world's last communist governments, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is determined not to give in to loneliness. Instead he points to a resurgent China and what he sees as the inherent contradictions of a world dominated by the United States as evidence that socialism will rise again. "We are fighting an opposite current. The opposite current is very powerful. But this cannot be the last word," he told Reuters. "Contradictions are bound to start." Bhattacharjee heads the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, which has run the Indian state of West Bengal for the last...

The communist movement is long dead in India, and yet a large number of Maoists continue to thrive there. They have little hope of ever getting to the level where policies are made, and make no pretense of programmatic work; violence is their stock in trade. According to a recent report by New Delhi's Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), violent incidents committed by the Maoists and related deaths have climbed steadily in the past two years. As before, India's Maoism is an international movement: the difference now is that the international connections are exclusively to violent Mafia-like outfits, including gun-running...