<http://keywords.oxus.net/archives/2006/04/12/naxalbari/>
Scroll to the end for a link to an article that discuss global Maoism. Of coruse, it would have been better if some of the differences has been highlighted as well...
- Kerim
On 4/30/06, mike larkin <mike_larkin2001 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060429/india_nm/india247035
>
>
>
> By Carmel Crimmins Sat Apr 29, 10:53 AM ET
>
> >From his coconut leaf hut deep in the forest, Gregorio
> Rosal, one of the Philippine's most-wanted men, smiles
> in admiration at the recent success of Nepal's Maoist
> rebels.
>
> "Their advance has been inspiring," the chief
> spokesman for the communist insurgent New People's
> Army (NPA) told Reuters. "The protracted people's war
> that Mao practiced in China."
>
> Nepal's rebels loosely aligned themselves with
> mainstream political parties and forced the autocratic
> king to cede power this week.
>
> The NPA, waging the world's longest-communist
> insurgency, wants a similar tie-up with disgruntled
> soldiers and political opposition groups to oust
> President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
>
> "We call that 'united front tactics', that is also
> what we are trying to do," said Rosal, alias Ka Roger,
> in his first face-to-face interview with foreign media
> since the 1980s.
>
> Arroyo has accused the NPA, the armed wing of the
> Communist Party of the Philippines, of colluding with
> her political foes and renegade soldiers in an alleged
> bid to oust her in February.
>
> The Philippines says the communists are its top
> security threat, ahead of Muslim rebels in southern
> Mindanao island.
>
> Rosal, who was one of 49 people charged with rebellion
> for the alleged coup, denies there was a plot or that
> an alliance exists between the NPA and disillusioned
> members of the army, the sworn enemy of the
> communists.
>
> ERSTWHILE FOES
>
> But the NPA is ready to align itself with erstwhile
> foes if it means Arroyo could be overthrown and
> replaced by a government which includes left-wing
> groups.
>
> Rosal, his M16 rifle within arm's reach in his hideout
> in the northern island of Luzon, said a more left-wing
> government could lead to the revival of peace talks.
>
> Previous discussions with Arroyo's administration,
> brokered by Norway, stalled in August 2004 when Manila
> refused to help persuade Washington and some European
> states to remove the NPA from terror blacklists.
>
> Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and Red China's
> embrace of free-wheeling capitalism, the NPA continues
> to wage an insurgency started in 1969 as successive
> governments have failed to deal with social
> inequalities and widespread poverty.
>
> Fighting between rebels and government forces has
> killed more than 40,000 people and stunted economic
> development but Rosal, who has to keep on the move to
> avoid capture and has not seen his wife in almost two
> years, still has fire in his belly.
>
> "The future is very good," said the 58 year old,
> unperturbed by China's conversion to capitalism and
> adamant that the NPA's own ideological commitment is
> steadfast.
>
> Capitalising on coup fears in Manila, the rebels have
> increased attacks on remote police stations and
> businesses since the start of the year.
>
> Rosal, who keeps up-to-date on world affairs via a
> radio strapped to his waist, puts the organisation's
> membership at around 8,000 and dismissed government
> claims that the NPA has lost 900 fighters since the
> start of the year.
>
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-- ____________________________________ P. Kerim Friedman Department of Indigenous Cultures College of Indigenous Studies National DongHwa University, TAIWAN http://kerim.oxus.net/ ______________________________