Dahal said this while addressing a rally in Kathmandu held to mark International Workers´ Day, a day before the party plans to enforce an indefinite strike.
The Maoists had marched from 18 different places in the Valley and converged at Khulamuch to hold a rally. [break]
“The protest will not be called off unless these demands are met. Tens of thousands of people will hit the streets. This is a roar for peace,” said Dahal, whipping up the masses controlled by members of the Young Communist League (YCL).
Dahal also came down heavily on the ruling parties for saying that the government would not be changed though street protests. “When people have come out onto the streets, they have always won,” he said adding that people toppled the regime in 1950, 1990 and 2006 through street protests.
According to him, the late Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala had formed the High-Level Political Mechanism for the formation of a Maoist-led national government to complete the peace process and constitution drafting. “But there was a conspiracy against it,” he said.
While arguing that the responsibility for completing the peace process and constitution drafting had fallen on his shoulders, he said his party has once again gone back to the people and enforced an indefinite general strike.
The Maoist chairman also accused Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of threatening to mobilize the army after holding talks with foreigners during the 16th SAARC summit in Thimpu, and said the Nepal Army and Nepal Police would not obey him. “It is a great mistake on their part to think that they would take us under control through the deployment of troops,” he said.
He said that the security forces have embraced the changes brought about by the people, and asked the security forces to join hands with him for a new change desired by the people.
The Maoist chairman reiterated that the general strike would be peaceful and added that people would, however, not tolerate it if the government turns to violent tactics for quelling the demonstrators.
He said that the party has already won half the battle through the presence of tens of thousands of people at the rally.
Dahal requested the denizens of Kathmandu, especially the Newar community, to take part in the protest and turn it into a grand success.
Besides calling on journalists to side with the protest, he especially requested students and workers to actively participate in it and topple the government as soon as possible.
The former Maoist rebel chief also called on the international community to take the demonstration positively and not doubt his party´s commitment to a multi-party, competitive political system and peace.
The Maoists have decided to allow markets to open between 6 to 8 p.m. to let people buy essential items.
The Maoists bused in thousands of cadres from across the country, especially from the districts surrounding Kathmandu Valley, and they are currently putting up at private schools, under-construction buildings, party palaces and public places.
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