(Below is the text of the message delivered by CPI(ML) General Secretary to the 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), CPN(UML), held at Butwal, Nepal, from February 16-22.)
Dear Comrades,
On behalf of the Central Committee and entire membership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), we extend warm revolutionary internationalist greetings to the 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). We hope this Congress of yours will play an important role in consolidating the historic gains secured by the communists and other republican forces of Nepal and carrying the society forward towards greater democratisation and progress. We wish you every success in this direction and assure you of our fullest support in this momentous march of the communists and fighting people of Nepal.
Your Congress is taking place at a time when global capitalism is facing an unprecedented crisis, with the US and many other developed economies mired in an acute recession that is likely to prove quite prolonged and deep. The collapse of Wall Street has sent shock waves throughout the world of speculative finance and re-energised the working class movement and socialist forces in the developed world. In many countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the people are seething in anger against imperialist globalisation and the US-led global war and popular resistance is advancing through various means.
We are of course aware that imperialism always seeks to wriggle out of its crisis through heightened economic exploitation and plunder and increased political and military intervention. Even as the people of the US have voted out a hated Presidency and expressed in unequivocal terms their disapproval of the Bush legacy of war and economic crisis, there are still no signs of change in the US policy of hegemonic intervention in different parts of the world. The US-Israel axis is on a rampage in Gaza, and following Afghanistan and Iraq, the US military-intelligence establishment is now seeking new bases in South Asia. As an integral part of their domestic battle for democracy, socio-economic progress and peace and welfare, communists in South Asia will therefore have to sharpen the struggle against imperialism in every possible way.
Nepal and India have age-old ties of mutual exchange, cooperation and friendship. We are sure the new republican milieu in Nepal will help strengthen these relations further on the basis of mutual equality, respect and reciprocity. If harnessed properly, the shared natural resources of Nepal and India, especially water, can go a long way in meeting the growing energy requirements of both countries. But any lapse on this score could prove disastrous as testified yet again by the unprecedented Kosi floods that ravaged large parts of Bihar and Nepal in August last year. We can assure you that the democratic and progressive people of India want Nepal to emerge as a vibrant and prosperous people’s republic, and revolutionary communists of India will never endorse any policy or measure of the Indian ruling classes that militates against the just aspirations and interests of republican Nepal.
Comrades, the warm relation between our two parties is rooted in a long history of protracted struggles and relentless quest for advance defying momentary defeats and setbacks. It has been nurtured through our shared revolutionary experiences and unswerving commitment to the principle and practice of learning from each other while fully respecting each other’s independence. We are sure that our comradely ties will continue to grow in the coming years as we scale newer heights in our shared struggle against imperialism and for freedom, democracy and revolutionary progress in our own countries.
Once again, we wish you every success and assure you of our sincere support.
With warm greetings of proletarian internationalism,
Comradely yours,
(Dipankar Bhattacharya)
General Secretary
