|
|
Pushpa Kamal Dahal: Not exactly. But we did see the place where Lenin stayed, and this certainly made me think about our revolution but this wasn't exactly the right moment to write a thesis.
What about the discussions on security sector reforms?
We had memorable discussions at the Democratic Forum for Control of Armed Forces in Geneva. Their main understanding was DDR [demobilisation, disarmament, and rehabilitation] like in other countries. But we were able to convince them that we are not going from armed struggle to politics, but that politics and armed struggle are related. We tried to explain to them our position on the political revolution we are embarked in and how it is possible to have a political transformation in Nepal.
How do the European governments and people look at the Maoist uprising in Nepal?
Europe is positive. It doesn't want the peace process to collapse. Neutral Europeans are even more positive about the Maoist uprising. I told the press conference that if the Europeans don't come forward the peace process could be disturbed because the superpowers don't want peace in Nepal. I said this could lead to a big crisis. I appealed to the Europeans to take the lead.
Can Europe cross out the Americans?
I don't think so. But even so, the Europeans have their own culture, tradition, and ideology and they could make a positive impact.
So what were the main achievements of your visit?
We managed to dispel some of the falsehoods about the People's War and the CPN-M. The fact that we first went to Switzerland sent a message to Europe and to the world that we don't want to be mixed up in any geopolitical blocs. We learnt about how to engage in development and political transformation by looking at a country with similar topography to ours. We gave a fitting reply to those who call us terrorists.
Did you find any confusion about the Maoists?
Yes, there is some confusion. Some people seemed to think that we don't want the constituent assembly elections. We cleared up that confusion. Baburam Bhattaraiji's visit to Oslo for an international meeting was also useful in clearing confusion. All in all, we made a positive intervention in Europe.
