Kamala Sarup: Communism Or Terrorism?

I will define terrorism as "the murder of innocents", i.e., non-military, non-police, and non-politicians. Thus defined, perhaps communists/maoists in some countries practice terrorism, e.g., Peru and Columbia, but not all. I don't associate the former Russian and East European brands of communism with terrorism. The separatists in Ireland and Spain are terrorists, but not communists. Muslim terrorists are not communists, generally. Radical Muslim terrorists are not communists, generally. I don't see the connection between the two terms. But It is widely known that why communism meant in practice bloody terrorism and forced labor?.

On the other hand, we have much evidence that a communist economic system is associated with an authoritarian government system, which means that a government elite enhances its economic, judicial and political freedoms and suppresses those who are led by them. There is no theoretical reason for communism to be associated with authoritarianism, but in fact it is and has always been that way. Democratic-communistic societies have always been very small and very short-lived, so I have no hope that one will ever exist for very long in the future anywhere.

If the leaders (meaning the government) of countries promote education and values that emphasize national and international identification rather than ethnic, religious, tribal or clan identification, then the ethnic, religious, tribal and clan conflicts will diminish, in the long run. If they promote sufficient economic, judicial and political equality, then the people at the bottom of the ladder will not want to topple those at the top. The results of reducing conflict are that when people engage in production and art rather than war, then the killing and maiming are reduced and the general living standards are increased and people are more satisfied. However, people are ignorant, aggressive and acquisitive, so some conflict will always remain.

However, some internal conflict, including wars, will always exist in a country. If we study U.S. or any European country history, we will find continued bloody and non-bloody conflicts. However, since 1945, the end of WW II, they have been relatively peaceful, both internally and externally. Will they remain so for the indefinite future? We and our children will see!

After the communists took over power by destroying democracy and monarchy, Combodia, Ethiopia, and Afganistan became weak economically and politically. Nepal has to learn from these countries. Now, the situation in Combodia is getting better because the Cambodian people brought back multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy by ousting the Maoist Khmer Rouge.

Twenty-nine years after the communist took over the power in Ethiopia and the King, Jahir Shah, was sent out of Afghanistan, the people have suffered immensely.

What I am saying about the Maoist guerrilla issue is that the question should not be which government system is better, mine or yours." Trying to answer this question will only lead to chaos and hatred, death and destruction, violence and murder. Why take that deadly path? A better and more practical way to approach this problem by first realizing that all people everywhere on earth need to focus on loving their country (wherever that country may be). Similarly they should have respect for their leaders and governments, and on having a greater pride in the land in which they live and call home.

This world's economy revolves around and even depends upon stable governments everywhere. If each individual was to do his or her civic duty by honoring his or her home country, then economies would be built up in the process. For example, exercising their voting rights by voting in greater numbers during elections, increasing their loyalty to their companies by looking for more ways to being productive, and most importantly, honoring their father and mother, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors are ways to make up a better nation.

An effective way to deliver a just government system is by building one that possesses a mature checks and balance system, one that limits the effects of corruption and therefore helps to protect the civil rights of every citizen of the country. It's time for the people to stop looking in envy to other lands to satisfy their idea of a desirable place to be, to stop looking to other countries to find their ideal home. It's time for the people to look to their own homes, their own families, and their own communities to realize how valuable and precious their own land really is.

Six million Ukrainians two million Cambodians, millions of North Koreans, millions in Zimbabwe and in Tito's Yugoslavia are starving to death right now. The total population of Cambodia, Turkey, Iran, or Argentina had to lose their life or suffer from starvation, malnutrition and undiagnosed or mistreated illnesses. Millions are uncounted for, incarcerated and have starved to death or died due to exposure. Communists believed that Marxism would bring about the greatest human welfare and power must be used to tear down the feudal or capitalist order but in practice, this system did not improve the lot of the average person, instead it usually made their living conditions worse.

It is really sad to know that some 100 million people worldwide lost their lives to the ideological scourge of communism after 1917. They include the victims of Stalin's terror, victims of the Chinese Cultural Revolution; victims of the Cambodian genocide; victims of the Latin American and Cuban civil wars; East and Central Europeans dying in the uprisings of 1953, 1956 and 1968 against their communist rulers. Communists also committed genocide. Genocide is the killing of people because of their ethnicity, race, religion, or language.

A Combodian citizen stated to local media that "Khmer Rouge said they were creating a utopian nation where everyone would be equal but while the entire population was dying of starvation and disease, the Khmer Rouge soldiers and the communist party members were able to choose any woman or man they wanted to marry. In addition to limitless food, they were also crazy about gold, jewelry, perfume, imported watches, western medicine, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, silk, and other imported goods. I cannot forget how one woman was forced to cook her husband's liver, which was cut out while he was still alive. Women were raped before execution. In fact, every day, every minute the communists step on the rights of people like us, debase our values and restrict our freedoms. Communism and terrorism have a mutual aim."

Most deadly of all communist countries has been Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. They killed some 2 million Cambodians. The Soviet Union appears to be the greatest murderer of all, apparently killing near 61,000,000 people. Stalin himself is responsible for almost 43,000,000 of these brutal killings. Most of the deaths, perhaps around 39,000,000 were due to lethal forced labor in the gulag and transit there to.

As most communist governments underwent increasing liberalization and a loosening of centralized power in the 1960s through the 1980s, the pace of killing dropped off sharply.

If people cannot honor and love their country then their country cannot love them. Therefore, the other half of the approach for answering this question is that governments and their leaders must honor and respect their people as well. They can do this by publicly declaring the democratic freedoms (such as the freedoms of speech, press, and religion) that their countrymen possess and by transparently and consistently honoring these freedoms all the time. One way that governments may do this is by establishing and developing stable and fair legal and courts systems.

Now, many Nepalese want peace at any price. We don't know how high the price was that we have to pay for the Maoist's peace?.

( Kamaal Sarup is editor of http://peacejournalism.com/ )

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