Hands Off Asia Conference Begins in Colombo, Nepal's Prachanda Addresses Opening Session

Colombo. The three-day Hands Off Asia international conference organized by the International Peoples' Assembly (IPA) has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Addressing the opening session of the conference as the chief speaker, Nepal's and Coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' seriously discussed the historical victories of the communist movements in Asia and the difficult lessons learned in this process.

He presented the political outline of non-alignment policy and socialist construction as the most important goal (horizon) for oppressed nations today, even amidst the changing global scenario and intense pressure from superpowers.

In the conference, Sri Lanka's Cabinet Environment Minister Dr. Damika Patabendhi shared her views on the concrete and harsh realities of how to pursue a pro-people path while facing the strict discipline and conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lender program.

World-renowned Marxist writer, historian, and coordinator of 'Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research' Vijay Prasad, connecting the expanding militarization worldwide, the sovereign debt crisis, and the rise of the far-right, depicted the detailed global situation, stating that all these developments are symptoms of a struggling imperialist structure.

Discussions on various thematic political issues will be held during the three-day seminar. As part of the conference, former Prime Minister Prachanda, who is in Sri Lanka, has a schedule of bilateral and multilateral meetings with various communist and leftist leaders of Asia. Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the conference, he held important meetings with top leftist leaders from Latin American countries including Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil.

In the second session of the conference, Nepali Communist Party leader Balram Baskota presented his special ideological views on 'The Role of Imperialism in the Division of Leftist Forces' on behalf of the International Peoples' Assembly (IPA), the organizers informed.