Kathmandu declaration

The following was the resolution passed at the Asian Convention for Democracy and Against Imperialism held in Kathmandu by the Asian Continental Coordination Committee of ICOR on 8th,, 9th and 10th of June 2013. The resolution was passed by the parties and organizations mentioned below. We call upon all democratic parties and organizations who agree with it to sign it also and to propagate it as widely as possible.

We view with alarm the growing depredations of imperialism all over the world. Imperialism is in a deep crisis. It has clearly not been able to come out of the latest round of crisis which started with the sub-prime crisis in the US. All attempts at crisis management like giving massive bailouts have failed.

The result of this crisis is that imperialism increases its exploitation of the human and natural resources of the world with each passing day. For this all the hard fought democratic rights of the people of the world in general and of Asia in particular have to the trampled underfoot. The right of women, the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, the rights of indigenous people, the rights of so-called lower castes and strata, are all sought to be avoided. Religious fundamentalist forces are unleashed. Along with this the environment is fast being degraded to the point of no return. Nuclear power plants are being foisted upon the people of Asia by imperialism.

We recognize that the people of the whole world and of Asia in particular are putting up massive resistance against such heightened exploitation. Starting from the great peoples uprising n Nepal against unlimited monarchy, massive peoples movements in many countries like Tunisia, Libya and Egypt have resulted not only in the overthrow of despotic rulers but also in laying the basis for fundamental changes in the structure of society itself. However, in none of these countries, including Nepal have the basic structural changes actually come to pass.

In many other countries of Asia also massive struggles for democratic rights of different kinds are going on. One can see the struggle of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan against US intervention, the struggle of the people of Iran and North Korea against US threats of military engagement, the struggle of the people of Palestine against imperialist Zionist occupation, the struggle against the autocratic rulers of West Asia, the struggle for democratic rights in Indonesia, the struggle for genuine democracy in Philippines, the struggle to consolidate democracy and to make a Constituent Assembly and fight against imperialism and Indian expansionism in Nepal, the struggle in Bangladesh starting from the Shahbag struggle and now facing the struggle to hold elections democratically, the struggles of the people of India against corruption and for the safety of women. Even today the people of Turkey gather in Tekzim square to fight for democratic rights and to demand the resignation of the autocratic AP Government. We express our solidarity with all such struggles prove without doubt that the people of Asia are bravely fighting for their democratic rights by coming out onto the streets in their hundreds of thousands.

To succeed in their endeavor, all such struggles have to understand the nature of imperialism under neocolonialism. They have to recognize that imperialism today operates through institutions like the IMF, WB (or ADB in Asia), the WTO, the UN etc. They have to understand that imperialism does not need to always resort to direct military intervention to defeat the movements but in many cases can assimilate the movements into the imperialist system by making mere cosmetic changes. In short such struggles must reach to the core of the problem – the very imperialist system itself. All such struggles must overthrow the very system of capitalist imperialism in their countries if they are to achieve any real change as aspired for by the struggling masses. Otherwise such struggles are bound to remain great uprisings but without causing any real change in the miserable existence of the people.

The way to fight imperialism and expansionism is not through this or that religious tenets but through greater democracy, which can be achieved only in the struggle towards socialism. Today the possibilities exist for democracy to be extended to the very grassroots including all. Inclusive economic growth is not possible without inclusive democratic participation in governance. We call upon all the people of the world and of Asia in particular to raise the fight for their democratic rights to the level of a fight against imperialism and a fight for much greater democratic participation in government, leading towards socialism.