Govt rejects pre-condition by Maoists for talks

Responding to the ceasefire offer by Maoists, the Union government on Tuesday made it clear that it will not accept any pre-conditions for talks with "ifs and buts" and asked the militants to come out with a simple statement saying they will abjure violence.

"I would like no ifs, no buts and no conditions," Home Minister P Chidambaram said in a statement, a day after the CPI(Maoists) made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the Government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks. He said Government has seen many versions of a statement reportedly made by the leaders of the CPI (Maoist). "In the absence of an authentic statement, Government is unable to respond to these versions," the statement said.

Nevertheless, in order to clear the air, the Home Minister said, "I would like a short, simple statement from the CPI (Maoist) saying 'We will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks'". Chidambaram said he would like the statement to be faxed to Home Ministry number 011-23093155. "Once I receive the statement, I shall consult the Prime Minister and other colleagues and respond promptly," he said.

Last night, top Maoist leader Kishenji told the media over phone from an undisclosed place that "state governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocated by Maoists". He was responding to Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours, the government would be ready for talks with them.

Hours after offering a conditional 72-day ceasefire to the Centre and West Bengal government, Maoists attacked the Kantapahari camp of the security forces in West Midnapore district, leaving one person dead. The attack took place on Feb 22 night in the Naxalite stronghold of Kantapahari. Superintendent of Police Manoj Verma said Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) members assembled near the Kantapahari camp of the forces and fired, prompting the jawans to challenge them. In the ensuing gunbattle, one person, believed to be a PCPA member, was killed. The Maoists had killed 24 securitymen in West Bengal, and another 12 villagers in Bihar in the past week.

A.S. Gill, former chief of the CRPF that is the leading anti- Maoist force, said he believed the 72-day ceasefire seemed like a "very, very conditional kind of an offer". It appeared to be aimed at buying time to consolidate, he said. In Hyderabad, Maoist sympathiser Varavara Rao said, "The ball is now in the Centre's court."

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has condemned the killing by Maoists in the past week of 24 Eastern Frontier Rifle jawans and also the subsequent strike on villagers in Bihar’s Jammui district for allegedly harbouring police informers.

- Asian Tribune -