The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Government silent on ceasefire extension

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 17, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Government silent on ceasefire extension

By K. Srinivas Reddy

HYDERABAD, DEC. 16. An uneasy calm prevails in several districts of Andhra Pradesh, where Maoists' presence is felt, as the Government continues to maintain a studied silence over extension of the ceasefire period which ended today.

The Government is reluctant to officially commit itself to a ceasefire extension and is arguing that there is no such "formal agreement" earlier and hence no necessity to extend it.

The seven-month-long truce period was a result of the understanding with the Maoists. A semantic dispute over the very use of word "ceasefire agreement" seems to be in the offing with Maoists' representative taking objection to the Government's contention.

"The Government had agreed to all but one clause in the terms of ceasefire agreement. The clause number 7 pertaining to movement of armed naxalites was the bone of contention. But in respect of other clauses, the Home Minister, K. Jana Reddy, had given it in writing that the clauses were acceptable to the Government," P. Varavara Rao, who represented the Maoists, argued.

Government strategy

The Government strategy, sources say, is to prevent the visits of naxalites to villages while not appearing to be pursuing them.

Police teams have been on the move for the last one week or so with instructions that they should make every effort to effect an arrest if they came across a naxalite squad.

But with both sides being extremely paranoid about their security, possibilities of exchanges of fire are more, police officials admit. Tension is gradually building up in villages abutting the forest areas and in forest tracts in the absence of a categorical announcement on extension of the truce period.

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