Accodring to Comrade Alastair:
“This news is especially positive since there have been reports in the past of some members of the UCPN (M), including leading ones, making homophobic remarks. That said the Maoists have since shown in practice that this is a thing of the past – when in government they enacted progressive legislation in support of LGBT rights.As I wrote in January this year in my article “Nepal – A Revolution in Progress“;
Despite the endless deadlocks caused by the resistance of its coalition partners, the Maoist government has still managed to enact some progressive social change. It has abolished slavery, banning the Haliya system of bonded agricultural labour.”
This is good news for those of us who see the Nepal revolution as an important next step in Marxist revolution. This is the first Marxist revolution to take place since the fall of the Soviet Union. Even though Marxists of the 1970s were experimenting with new ideas on mixing pluralism, democracy and Marxist revolution, the fall of the stagnant Soviet system through the entire left into disarray as many Marxist and semi-Marxist governments scrambled to find new allies in a one superpower world. Many, such as the Sandinistas of Nicaragua and the Freelimo party of Mozambique have aligned themselves with the Social Democratic Parties of Europe.
So the Nepal Revolution, led by the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is especially relevant for those of us who hope that we can find an alternative to the ridiculously conservative and undemocratic empire we now call the United States. Most people would expect any political movement in Nepal to be riddled with backward ideas, since the country has had such a backward government for so many years. Their acceptance of gay rights is welcomed news.
What a great resource!
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