As per the mandate of the Palungtar plenum, the center committee (CC) meeting beginning Friday will formulate the party´s action plan in the peace process and take up the sharp ideological differences among the top three leaders -- Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai who represent three separate factions in the Maoist party.[break]
Leaders belonging to each of the three factions were busy till late Thursday evening, holding meetings within and among factions to narrow down differences and to thrash out strategy.
The influential Baidya faction has vociferously demanded that the party change its methods and tactics to achieve the goal of peace, "people´s constitution" and formation of a national army. The faction has demanded that the party give primary importance to "street movement" and secondary importance to talks.
"We also want peace and constitution, but we are only saying that the party should change its methods and tactics to achieve the goal of peace, national army and People´s Federal Democratic Republic. Giving primary importance to talks last year was a waste of time, and this should not be repeated this time around," says Maoist politburo member Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma, someone close to Baidya faction.
The hard-line faction is also of the view that the protracted political deadlock should be ended through talks, but pushes for a "people´s revolt" to force the other parties to agree to the Maoist demands.
"If the party goes on lingering like this, the ground prepared by the People´s War and Janaandolan-2 would be weakened," says Bishwakarma.
However, leaders close to Dahal and Bhattarai argued that there is not much dispute over the action plan and said the party will leave the broad ideological differences to a general convention or a national conclave.
"In the action-plan, the party will field the people onto the streets for peace, constitution and national sovereignty. There is no dispute about it," said a top Maoist leader close to Bhattarai.
The Bhattarai faction is of the view that the party will change the wordings of the action plan so that it would be acceptable to all. "For example, we can write ´movement for national sovereignty´, instead of stating directly that ´India is our principal enemy´ and we are launching struggles against that country," said the leader.
The CC meeting will also take up the broad ideological disputes surfaced at Palungtar plenum, which includes assessment of the party line since Chungwang meeting, naming the party´s principal enemy, and the interpretations of the international communist movement and ´character of imperialism´.
Accommodating the views expressed during the week-long plenum and the documents of the two vice-chairmen, Dahal is supposed to present his new political document at the CC meeting Friday.
Both Bhattarai and Baidya factions have stated that they would register dissent against Dahal´s document at the CC. While the party has stated that all the disputes would be resolved at a national conclave or a general convention, Baidya faction has demanded that the CC took up the issues and resolve them.
"How can you go to the battlefield without knowing who is your enemy?" So there are some ideological issues which must be resolved first," states a leader close to Baidya.
The top three leaders are at loggerheads over several ideological issues. While Bhattarai and Dahal share the view that the party should work for institutionalizing the political achievements made so far, Baidya says the party should prepare grounds for an immediate revolt to establish a "People´s Federal Democratic Republic".
Similarly, Dahal and Baidya are for declaring India the party´s principal enemy, while Bhattarai argues that the party should not launch struggles against India at this juncture and should instead go after "domestic feudalism".
The Maoist CC meeting will be watched closely as it will have a bearing on the constitution drafting and peace process. Besides, the meeting is also likey to deliberate on the power-sharing and take some decisions on reshuffling the responsibilities of party leaders.
Bhattarai leaving for Sweden Saturday
Maoist Vice-chairman Bhattarai is leaving for Sweden on Saturday to attend a seminar on constitution-drafting, to be organized by Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), according to Bhattarai´s aide Bishwadeep Pandey. Maoist leader Devendra Poudel, Hisila Yami, and Barsaman Pun are also accompanying Bhattarai on the four-day trip. Besides, leaders from other political parties will also attend the seminar.
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