Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or CPN(M) is a Maoist political party and military organization founded in 1994 and led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal (referred to as 'Chairman Prachanda'). It was formed following a split in the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) and it used the name 'CPN (Unity Centre)' until 1996. It launched what it refers to as the "Nepalese People's War" on February 13, 1996, and now controls much of the country. Its main goal is to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with what they call "New Democracy" — that is, the Marxist concept of collective ownership of the means of production. A leader of the group has disputed that it intends to establish a one-party dicatorship, which most of their opponents claim.

Related Topics:
Maoist - Political party - 1994 - Pushpa Kamal Dahal - Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) - 1996 - "Nepalese People's War" - February 13 - Marxist

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They follow the Maoist guerrilla strategy of people's war in which they attempt to take gradual control of the countryside to encircle the cities, only fighting with government forces on their own terms when they can significantly outnumber their enemy.

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In 2001, the Nepalese Army began a military campaign against the Maoists, especially in the western areas of the country, although there have been intermittent ceasefires.

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Supporters of the Maoists claim that they are liberating the population from the caste system, giving women equal rights, and overthrowing an oppressive monarchy. Critics of the Maoists point to their well-publicized human rights abuses such as many extrajudicial killings, alleged rapes, and conscription at gunpoint as proof that the Maoists are capable and willing to use violent and despotic means on their own part. At the most extreme they have been characterized as an incipient Khmer Rouge-like movement, which implies that their ascension to power would be disastrous and bloody.

Related Topics:
Caste - Extrajudicial killings - Conscription - Khmer Rouge

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The CPN (M) is a member of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement and the Co-ordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia.

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The U.S. Department of State has placed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on its list of Terrorist Organizations, and has sent $20 million in aid to the government of Nepal. In August, 2005, the European Union condemned CPN(M) for using children as soldiers in the civil war of Nepal. It claimed that about 400 child soldiers had died in the country's civil war.

Related Topics:
U.S. Department of State - August - 2005 - European Union - Civil war

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