Dear friends, The message forwarded here has been part of a document from CPI(ML) Liberation relating to the present phase of repression and ban against Maoists in WB; apologies for the inadvertent omission of this in my message posted earlier.
With the hope that debates will follow, (Venu) On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Venugopalan K M <[email protected]>wrote: > *Lalgarh’s **Battle for Dignity and Justice * > > A concerted paramilitary campaign is now underway in Lalgarh and > surrounding areas in the tribal-dominated western region of West Bengal > bordering Jharkhand and Orissa, ostensibly to flush out Maoists and > restore the authority of the state. The campaign though being carried out > by the state government is being actively guided and sponsored by the Union > Home Ministry. The Union Home Minister has warned that the operation may > take longer than expected and has appealed to political leaders and civil > society organizations not to visit Lalgarh while the operation is on. > Mamata Banerjee has called for declaring the three districts of West > Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia a disturbed area. The Union Home Ministryhas > meanwhile included the > CPI(Maoist) in the list of unlawful associations under the recently > amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. > > Chidambaram’s appeal against civilian visits to Lalgarh, coming apparently > after a group of Left Front MPs wrote to the Prime Minister seeking his > personal intervention to this effect, clearly shows that the government > wants to keep the operation beyond the purview of public scrutiny. This is > as good as an indirect admission about the real nature and purpose of > Operation Lalgarh – a brutal war on the adivasis who had been offering > such a determined resistance to state repression. In the absence of > independent investigations, the actual extent of casualties and injuries > inflicted by the ongoing operation is not really known. But hundreds of > people have already been forced to flee and there are disturbing reports > that the paramilitary forces are forcing local adivasi youth under duress to > locate mines and explosives – under threat that they will be arrested as > ‘Maoists’ if they refuse. > > Lalgarh had first shot into national prominence in November last year when > the local adivasis in their thousands revolted against police atrocities > following an unsuccessful Maoist mine attack targeting the Chief Minister’s > cavalcade. The resistance has since continued unabated and during the > recent elections the state had to negotiate with the People’s Committee > against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) which is spearheading the resistance,for > setting up polling booths outside the resistance area. The > state was obviously waiting for an opportune moment and pretext to go for > a crackdown. The opportunity came when Lalgarh recently erupted again > against provocations by local CPI(M) leaders and Maoists made tall claims > regarding their leading role in the Lalgarh resistance and dared the state > to intervene. > > At the heart of it, Lalgarh is a typical adivasi revolt against repression > and injustice. The entire history of our anti-colonial struggle is replete > with many such instances and the Indian state today has no problem > recognizing the leaders of those revolts as popular heroes. In the eyes of > the oppressed and deprived tribal people the Indian state in all these years > has not really changed much and retains many of the colonial era trappings > of utter insensitivity and unbridled brutality. But when the inheritors of > Birsa Munda, Sidho-Kanu and Tilka Manjhi revolt against this contemporary > reality, our post-colonial democratic system knows no other way but to > declare a virtual war on these seekers of justice. It should be noted that > the allegations of police atrocities made by the PCAPA have been found to > be true by a senior official of the West Bengal government (Backward Classes > Welfare Secretary RD Meena) but instead of taking adequate corrective measures > as demanded by the PCAPA the state government has only announced meagre > compensation of only a few thousand rupees to the eleven women victims of > police repression! > > > > For the UPA government and its belligerent Home Minister who managed to win > the recent election by administratively converting defeat into victory, > Lalgarh is a test case to unleash a new pattern of governance in which > paramilitary forces will become the custodian of constitutional niceties. > There is also the larger political gameplan to trap the ruling Left of West > Bengal in an increasingly repressive role while the Congress plays the > benefactor and monopolises the mask of welfare measures! > > > > For the people of West Bengal, Operation Lalgarh is a political eye-opener. > During the recent elections, Mamata Banerjee claimed to champion the cause > of the struggles in Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh and the TMC-Congress > combined reaped a bumper electoral harvest. Elections over, it is now time > to thank the people and what could be a more suitable gift than Operation > Lalgarh! Mamata Banerjee now says that the TMC expelled the PCAPA chief > Chhatradhar Mahato two years ago when it came to know about his Maoist link! > Chhatradhar says he was never expelled but quit the TMC when he found it > incapable of meeting the tribals’ needs. He then recalls how following the > killing of three PCAPA members in police firing in February, Mamata > Banerjee had visited Jangalmahal, shed tears and said, ‘If these people > are Maoists, then I too am a Maoist.’ “We never doubted her sincerity > then”, says Chhatradhar. But he realizes that the circumstances have now > changed: “after the elections, the same Mamata Banerjee got a Cabinet > post, joined the government at the Centre, which in turn sent paramilitary > forces to Lalgarh. Therefore, it is quite natural for Banerjee now to link > me with the Maoists.” > > It is also important to look at the doublespeak of the CPI(M) leadership. > Prakash Karat says the Maoists need to be politically isolated from the > people they are mobilizing even as Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee demands more > central forces and Sitaram Yechuty asks the Prime Minister to demonstrate > his seriousness in tackling what his government claims to be the biggest > threat to internal security! On the one hand, the government spearheads a > paramilitary operation, and the MPs seek personal intervention of the Prime > Minister to prevent political leaders from visiting the operation area, and > on the other hand the party talks of fighting a political battle against > Maoists! If the CPI(M) thinks that all this can be justified by invoking > the party-government distinction and that the Centre-state or > Congress-CPI(M) cooperation in ‘restoring the authority of the state’ in > Lalgarh could help check the TMC’s advance, it is only deceiving itself. > > As for the Maoists, they have only once again demonstrated the > incompatibility of their ideas and actions with the needs of any radical > people’s movement. With their penchant for exclusive and sensational > military actions and aversion to the mass political process, they ultimately > only produce a dampening and disruptive effect on any powerful people’s > movement while letting the Mamata Banerjees reap the political benefit of > people’s struggles and sacrifices. > > We join the democratic opinion of the country and the justice-loving > people of Lalgarh to demand an immediate end to the paramilitary offensive, > withdrawal of paramilitary forces and a negotiated resolution of the > conflict through fulfillment of the just demands of the Lalgarh people and > quick redressal of all their long-standing grievances. We also do not > support the idea of banning the CPI(Maoist) as a terrorist organization. The > Maoists are anyway an underground organization and the experience of states > like Chhattisgarh and Orissa where they have been banned for years clearly > shows that the ban has been ineffective from the point of view of checking > Maoist military actions. The ban is actually a weapon to terrorise the > common people and stifle the democratic voice of protest. The case of Dr. > Binayak Sen is a clear instance and for every Binayak Sen case that comes to > the limelight, there are always hundreds of lesser known activists and > ordinary men and women whose human rights continue to be brutally trampled > upon. > > Victory to Lalgarh’s glorious battle for dignity and justice! > > * * > > A concerted paramilitary campaign is now underway in Lalgarh and > surrounding areas in the tribal-dominated western region of West Bengal > bordering Jharkhand and Orissa, ostensibly to flush out Maoists and > restore the authority of the state. The campaign though being carried out > by the state government is being actively guided and sponsored by the Union > Home Ministry. The Union Home Minister has warned that the operation may > take longer than expected and has appealed to political leaders and civil > society organizations not to visit Lalgarh while the operation is on. > Mamata Banerjee has called for declaring the three districts of West > Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia a disturbed area. The Union Home Ministryhas > meanwhile included the > CPI(Maoist) in the list of unlawful associations under the recently > amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. > > Chidambaram’s appeal against civilian visits to Lalgarh, coming apparently > after a group of Left Front MPs wrote to the Prime Minister seeking his > personal intervention to this effect, clearly shows that the government > wants to keep the operation beyond the purview of public scrutiny. This is > as good as an indirect admission about the real nature and purpose of > Operation Lalgarh – a brutal war on the adivasis who had been offering > such a determined resistance to state repression. In the absence of > independent investigations, the actual extent of casualties and injuries > inflicted by the ongoing operation is not really known. But hundreds of > people have already been forced to flee and there are disturbing reports > that the paramilitary forces are forcing local adivasi youth under duress to > locate mines and explosives – under threat that they will be arrested as > ‘Maoists’ if they refuse. > > Lalgarh had first shot into national prominence in November last year when > the local adivasis in their thousands revolted against police atrocities > following an unsuccessful Maoist mine attack targeting the Chief Minister’s > cavalcade. The resistance has since continued unabated and during the > recent elections the state had to negotiate with the People’s Committee > against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) which is spearheading the resistance,for > setting up polling booths outside the resistance area. The > state was obviously waiting for an opportune moment and pretext to go for > a crackdown. The opportunity came when Lalgarh recently erupted again > against provocations by local CPI(M) leaders and Maoists made tall claims > regarding their leading role in the Lalgarh resistance and dared the state > to intervene. > > At the heart of it, Lalgarh is a typical adivasi revolt against repression > and injustice. The entire history of our anti-colonial struggle is replete > with many such instances and the Indian state today has no problem > recognizing the leaders of those revolts as popular heroes. In the eyes of > the oppressed and deprived tribal people the Indian state in all these years > has not really changed much and retains many of the colonial era trappings > of utter insensitivity and unbridled brutality. But when the inheritors of > Birsa Munda, Sidho-Kanu and Tilka Manjhi revolt against this contemporary > reality, our post-colonial democratic system knows no other way but to > declare a virtual war on these seekers of justice. It should be noted that > the allegations of police atrocities made by the PCAPA have been found to > be true by a senior official of the West Bengal government (Backward Classes > Welfare Secretary RD Meena) but instead of taking adequate corrective measures > as demanded by the PCAPA the state government has only announced meagre > compensation of only a few thousand rupees to the eleven women victims of > police repression! > > > > For the UPA government and its belligerent Home Minister who managed to win > the recent election by administratively converting defeat into victory, > Lalgarh is a test case to unleash a new pattern of governance in which > paramilitary forces will become the custodian of constitutional niceties. > There is also the larger political gameplan to trap the ruling Left of West > Bengal in an increasingly repressive role while the Congress plays the > benefactor and monopolises the mask of welfare measures! > > > > For the people of West Bengal, Operation Lalgarh is a political eye-opener. > During the recent elections, Mamata Banerjee claimed to champion the cause > of the struggles in Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh and the TMC-Congress > combined reaped a bumper electoral harvest. Elections over, it is now time > to thank the people and what could be a more suitable gift than Operation > Lalgarh! Mamata Banerjee now says that the TMC expelled the PCAPA chief > Chhatradhar Mahato two years ago when it came to know about his Maoist link! > Chhatradhar says he was never expelled but quit the TMC when he found it > incapable of meeting the tribals’ needs. He then recalls how following the > killing of three PCAPA members in police firing in February, Mamata > Banerjee had visited Jangalmahal, shed tears and said, ‘If these people > are Maoists, then I too am a Maoist.’ “We never doubted her sincerity > then”, says Chhatradhar. But he realizes that the circumstances have now > changed: “after the elections, the same Mamata Banerjee got a Cabinet > post, joined the government at the Centre, which in turn sent paramilitary > forces to Lalgarh. Therefore, it is quite natural for Banerjee now to link > me with the Maoists.” > > It is also important to look at the doublespeak of the CPI(M) leadership. > Prakash Karat says the Maoists need to be politically isolated from the > people they are mobilizing even as Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee demands more > central forces and Sitaram Yechuty asks the Prime Minister to demonstrate > his seriousness in tackling what his government claims to be the biggest > threat to internal security! On the one hand, the government spearheads a > paramilitary operation, and the MPs seek personal intervention of the Prime > Minister to prevent political leaders from visiting the operation area, and > on the other hand the party talks of fighting a political battle against > Maoists! If the CPI(M) thinks that all this can be justified by invoking > the party-government distinction and that the Centre-state or > Congress-CPI(M) cooperation in ‘restoring the authority of the state’ in > Lalgarh could help check the TMC’s advance, it is only deceiving itself. > > As for the Maoists, they have only once again demonstrated the > incompatibility of their ideas and actions with the needs of any radical > people’s movement. With their penchant for exclusive and sensational > military actions and aversion to the mass political process, they ultimately > only produce a dampening and disruptive effect on any powerful people’s > movement while letting the Mamata Banerjees reap the political benefit of > people’s struggles and sacrifices. > > We join the democratic opinion of the country and the justice-loving > people of Lalgarh to demand an immediate end to the paramilitary offensive, > withdrawal of paramilitary forces and a negotiated resolution of the > conflict through fulfillment of the just demands of the Lalgarh people and > quick redressal of all their long-standing grievances. We also do not > support the idea of banning the CPI(Maoist) as a terrorist organization. The > Maoists are anyway an underground organization and the experience of states > like Chhattisgarh and Orissa where they have been banned for years clearly > shows that the ban has been ineffective from the point of view of checking > Maoist military actions. The ban is actually a weapon to terrorise the > common people and stifle the democratic voice of protest. The case of Dr. > Binayak Sen is a clear instance and for every Binayak Sen case that comes to > the limelight, there are always hundreds of lesser known activists and > ordinary men and women whose human rights continue to be brutally trampled > upon. > > Victory to Lalgarh’s glorious battle for dignity and justice! > > > -- > http://venukm.blogspot.com > > http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur > > http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com > -- http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
