The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : PW seeks `simultaneous ceasefire' for talks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

PW seeks `simultaneous ceasefire' for talks

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERBAD, JUNE 15. The CPI-ML People's War (PW) has said that announcing a "simultaneous ceasefire" is an essential prerequisite for holding any negotiations with the State Government.

In an obvious response to the Home Minister, K. Jana Reddy's statement asking the PW to come out on the issue of talks, the party indicated for the first time today that its State Committee members would hold talks with Ministers once the modalities were worked out by its yet-to-be named emissaries with Government representatives.

The PW response indicated that once the simultaneous ceasefire was agreed upon and announced, a `committee' should be formed to enforce the `ceasefire agreement' and examine violations of the agreement, if any. The Maoist party also expressed willingness to name the emissaries but that would be done only after the simultaneous ceasefire came into effect.

The PW's response came in the form of a three-page statement signed by the party State committee secretary, Ramakrishna, and the Politbureau member, Prakash. The PW leaders appealed to the Government to respond to the party's offer, and hoped that different political parties like the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the CPI, the CPI(M), the MIM, the BSP and democratic sections of people would respond positively.

The PW leaders were critical of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy's statement that he had indications that the PW would give up armed struggle if people's problems were solved. They said the statement smacked of `cheap tactics' and advised Dr. Reddy to show some political acumen.

They said if the Government was sincere in its attempts to establish peace, it should immediately end governance by the police department, order a judicial enquiry into all the encounter killings, lift the ban on PW and its mass organisations, withdraw rewards on naxalites and arrest `private gangs like the one led by Naeem'. Disagreeing with the observation of the Chief Minister that naxals should confine themselves to the forest areas, the leaders reminded Dr. Reddy of the fact that revolutionaries lived amid people like `fish in the sea'. "We like to reiterate that naxalism is not a problem but a solution to problems." The PW sounded a note of caution to the Government if policemen were sent to villages there was every likelihood of the `Ajmapur' incidents being repeated in future too.

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