On March 31 the
Nepalese Maoists joined a coalition government with bourgeois parties. From
armed struggle they have gone to ministerial portfolios. Now the masses will be
expecting something concrete for themselves, real economic and social
improvement. But will this be possible in such a Popular Front coalition?
While the Nepalese Maoists and other left forces are
involved in talks over a Constituent Assembly and have accepted to put down
their arms in exchange for seats in parliament, social unrest is brewing in the
country as the recent Terai riots clearly demonstrate. Not having taken power
when it was there for the taking, the Nepalese Maoists are leaving room to
reactionary forces to manoeuvre behind the scenes.
From a position of
enormous strength, controlling 75% of Nepalese territory, the Maoists have
agreed to form a coalition government, integrate their guerrilla forces into
the bourgeois army, and limit their goal to achieving some kind of Republic in
the future. But this will not solve any of the fundamental economic and social
problems facing the Nepalese masses.