Face to face, with Maoist leader Prachanda
It was a small room deep inside a desolate village surrounded by forests accessible only after a 10-km trek. Inside, on a simple cot, which occupied half the room, sat one of South Asia?s most wanted men ? unarmed and unguarded.
Prachanda ? or the fierce one ? is a quiet person with twinkling eyes. The ferocity lies in his ideas and his rebellious instincts. The soft-spoken veneer hides a ruthless commander who has the loyalty of 10,000 battle hardened guerrillas.
In an exclusive interview, his first ever face-to-face meet with any media organisation, chairman Pushpakamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) spelt out his party?s strategy and the impact of the ?people?s war? that it launched in 1996. Prachanda said his party would confine its ??people?s war?? to the kingdom. He added,
??We have only ideological ties with Indian Maoists. We have no plans to launch any joint armed struggle. We do not consider people?s war as a commodity for export or import. But we will certainly spread our experiences across the globe.??
The 51-year-old guerrilla is one of the world?s most wanted men. While India and Nepal have outlawed his party, the US has put it on the list of terrorist groups under watch. Besides, there is an Interpol red-corner notice against him.
In 2001, Kathmandu announced a cash reward of Nepalese Rs 50 lakh (over Rs 30 lakh in Indian currency) for his capture.
Prachanda admitted that he had met Communist Party ...
...of India (Maoist) chief Ganapathy recently. The last time they met each other was in 1997, a year after the Maoist insurgency began in Nepal. He denied the existence of any??compact revolutionary zone?? formed by Indian and Nepalese Maoists across the two countries. ??This was created by the media of the Indian government,?? he said.
Prachanda said his party would have captured Kathmandu by now if countries like the US, India and the UK had not extended military support to Nepal?s ??tottering?? feudal rulers. He said India, as a champion of democrcay, should not arm the royal army.
?Won?t start talks with Nepal King?
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