M&M’s personal & political blog…

Excerpt in English from a speech by Comrade Prachanda, former Nepalese Prime Minister and leading member of the UCPM-Maoist. He spoke in London on Monday, August 10, 2009 at an event organized by Nepali Samaj UK. Prachanda talks about creatively applying Marxist-Leninist and Maoist strategy to the revolution underway in Nepal.

Please find below the transcription of this video kindly provided by OSP, a collaborator of KASAMA Project, at this link: http://mikeely.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/prachandas-london-talk-transcription/

Prachanda speech at Woolwich Town Hall, London August 10, 2009

We are completely aware, we are fully aware that we have a very big responsibility and we have real historical opportunity and challenge right now we are facing. And we understand the concern of our fraternal comrades in other parties and institutions, that they are very much concerned about the future of the Nepalese revolution.

Either it will go ahead in a very creative and a very scientific way, or it will deviate from (inaudible) fundamental theory and fundamental ideology. I am very clear in my mind that we will not deviate because we are trying our best to apply this theory according the conditions of 21st century.

We understand the whole dynamics of 21st century, and we in Nepal, together have leading a very special, very specific type of revolution. Although there are so many ups and downs, and twists and turns in the process necessarily, but ultimately we are trying to lead this revolution according to the changed condition.

And we derived, I think when we were in the war, (inaudible) just after 5 years of the initiation of people’s war, we tried to understand the whole lesson of 20th century, all the revolution and counter-revolution, all the positive and negative lesson of the revolution. And we came to a new understanding. We came to a new conclusion that, we had to develop some new strategy and tactics we cannot copy the insurrectionist strategy of Lenin, and mechanically we cannot copy the whole theory of protracted people’s war according to our conditions.

Therefore, we tried to develop something new, and we tried to something new although in fundamental sense, in basic sense.

We are clear that we fighting against feudalism and imperialism, and we are leading the New Democratic revolution. We have not any kinds of doubt in these basic questions.

But to lead this revolution, we should have to develop some new strategy and new tactics according to the (inaudible) situation, therefore we developed this competitive politics, you know?

We developed some new kinds of military strategy at that time, and we with the fusion of this protracted people’s war and insurrectionist tactics. We tried to create something new,a series of tactics.

At that time we said we would have to demand for the election of the constituent assembly just after 5 years of the people’s war. We developed this series of tactics.: (Inaudble), constituent assembly, republican state, and overall restructure of the state. And (inaudible), just after the synthesis of our ideology and the series of ideas, we departed on the Prachanda Path according to the concrete path of the Nepalese revolution.

We never advocated that this is the path for all the proletariat all over the world.

What demanded at that time, and what we concluded that we should have to develop some series of ideas, and this idea led us for the peace negotiation and the struggle on different fronts. And we derived that revolution cannot be repeated, it can only developed.

One method problem with the communist movement: We try to mechanically follow the strategy and tactics of the Russian revolution or Chinese revolution.

But a revolution cannot be repeated, it can only be developed.

Paris commune could not be repeated in October socialist revolution of Russia, it can only be developed. If Lenin had not been able to develop this ideology to the level of Leninism, Russian revolution could not succeed. In the same way, if Mao Tse-tung would not been able to develop this ideology to the level of Mao Tse-tung Thought first and Maoism in the second period, mainly during the period of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese revolution could not succeed.

Therefore, we communists in Nepal, we understand our responsibility, our proletarian duty. We have not deviated from our fundamental duty, but we are trying our best to develop this ideology, to develop some new strategy and tactics according to the situation, and we are fully confident that we will lead the revolution to success.

And we want to contribute something new, per the new (inaudible), per the whole communist movement and all the revolutions.

We are fully aware of this duty of the proletarian internationalists.

Therefore I want to assure you, let us come to the debate, let us come in a very creative interaction, because the Nepalese revolution has created something new!

Maybe there are some sort of comments, maybe there are some negative lessons, maybe there are.

But in an overall sense, we think that we are trying to develop our ideology according to the situations of the 21st century because we are fully confident that the 21st century will be the century of the world revolution. We are trying our best to contribute to this revolution from this small country.

Thank you very much. Thank you.