Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has reportedly condemned the Maoists’ guerilla attack on the security forces, describing it as an act of cowardice. The fact is that there is nothing especially "cowardly" about "guerilla attack" *per se*. It is as legitimate as a frontal attack in a war as long as the "attack" itself is legitimate. This is also a slap in the face of Chidambaram who had just issued a certificate to the Chhattisgarh government to the effect that the "situation" there has "improved".
Yet at another level, this would only further strengthen the resolve of the Indian state and also the pressure on it to crush the insurgents through armed offensive, triggering more and more bloodshed. Such large-scale casualties would also help to legtimise such gory blood spill in popular mind as a legitimate, and even necessary, response. That way, it may very well turn out to be a Pyrrhic "victory". But it'd be equally foolhardy and criminal on the part of the government to fall in that easy trap and refuse to use this gory tragedy to do a rethink on the whole strategy of trying to quash violence with greater violence and thereby trigger more violence. It is the task of the common citizens to raise their voices in favour of sanity and urge the warring parties to cry an immediate halt to this endless blood spill and compel the government to address the the legitimate and longstanding grievances of the people in the affected regions and also elsewhere on topmost priority to generate confidence in its intentions. Sukla http://news.in.msn.com/internalsecurity/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3784483&page=0 <http://news.in.msn.com/internalsecurity/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3784483&page=0> 06/04/2010 Govt admits 'element of failure' in Naxal operations New Delhi: The government today ruled out use of air power in the fight against Naxalites and admitted obviously some element of failure in the operations led to the killing of 75 security personnel in Chhattisgarh today. In a brief statement, the Home Secretary said that there were some element of failure in the operation. "Preliminary reports indicate that the CPI(Maoists) had planted pressure bombs in surrounding areas where the security forces might take cover. As a result of this bulk of the casualties have taken place," he said. Pillai said all the 82 personnel who had participated in the operation have been accounted for and none has been captured by the Maoists. Elaborating on goverment stategy to take on the Naxals, the home secretary said, "I don't think we need to use air power at the moment (in the anti-naxal operation). We can manage with what we have. Our strategy is unfolding and we should be able to manage without air power," Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai told reporters here. However, he made it clear that the air power will be used only for evacuation and for mobility of troops. Pillai called the Maoists "murderers" and said the government's resolve was strengthened and it would continue to tackle the Maoist menace as planned. The home secretary said the CRPF personnel returning to its base camp after two days of operations when the early hours of this morning it came under fire from hill features just about four kilometres from its base camp. "As of now 74 CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant and an Assistant Commandant and a Head Constable of state police force have died. Seven injured have been brought to Jagdalpur," he said. He said those who have gone from the base camp -- to rescue the attacked team, also came under fire. "One of the helicopter which has been dispatched to bring in the injured personnel also came under fire from the Maoists," he added. "The death toll is 75 of which 74 are from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one from the state police force. Seven others are also injured," a senior CRPF official said here in Delhi. "The security personnel from the 62nd battalion of the force were on regular patrolling when they were ambushed by the Maoists," the official added. The officials refused to say how many personnel were missing after the attack in Dantewada in Bastar region. The number of missing personnel could be high as a company usually comprises 100-120 men. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting with Chidambaram, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and the three defence chiefs. Though officials are terming it as a scheduled meeting, the Maoist attack is likely to top the agenda. After news of the Maoist attack, a shocked Chidambaram expressed distress over the massacre as reinforcements were rushed to evacuate the wounded and save survivors of the CRPF team that had gone looking for Maoists. Chidambaram, the spearhead of a nationwide anti-Maoist campaign called Operation Green Hunt, said the CPRF seemed to have walked into a Maoist trap. "Something has gone very wrong," Chidambaram told reporters. "They seem to have walked into a trap set by the Naxalites. I am deeply shocked. This shows the savage nature of the CPI-Maoist, the brutality and savagery they are capable of." In what appeared to be a meticulously planned operation, hundreds of Maoists -- one report put the number at about 700 -- bombed and fired at the CRPF personnel as they entered a hilly stretch of forest where the rebels have held sway for decades, running a de facto state. According to the sequence of events, after receiving information about Maoist presence, a small CRPF search party was sent into the jungle. The troopers came under attack from the rebels and a gunfight ensued. Reinforcements were sent for, which comprised a 120-strong contingent that went in a vehicle and was ambushed by the rebels. The incident took place about 450 km south of Raipur. Dantewada is considered a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says has emerged as the biggest internal security threat. "A massive contingent of heavily armed Maoists ambushed a CRPF team in a hilly stretch. They first triggered blasts from all directions and followed (it) with indiscriminate firing," Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan told IANS. He said one chopper had been sent from Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district, to move the injured to hospital. A strong contingent of state police force had rushed to the site. Many security personnel are reportedly missing, and two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters looked for them in the forests, police sources said. The attackers made away with weapons. CRPF Director General Vikram Srivastava and senior officers from New Delhi are reviewing the situation in the state. The air force has also asked its attack Mi-17 chopper and transport aircraft AN-32 to remain on stand by. Choppers from the central paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) are involved in search and rescue operations. It was the worst massacre since Maoists stormed an isolated police post in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in March 2007 and killed 55 policemen. Former Punjab police chief K.P.S. Gill described the anti-Maoist operation as "flawed". "It has been a flawed operation, it still is," said Gill, a former security advisor to the Chhattisgarh government. "Their basic concept is flawed," he told Times Now television. Other experts said the dead men Tuesday had violated the basic principles of anti-insurgency operations by travelling in large numbers in vehicles, providing an easy target for the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). "There is a clear-cut instruction for paramilitary as well as police to not use vehicles for any offensive in forested interiors. They are to go only on foot and also not in groups," said one officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The CRPF men grossly neglected the manuals and finally paid the price." While Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar blamed the killings on intelligence failure, Chief Minister Raman Singh said: "We need to review our strategy every day. We need to have better coordination." Chhattisgarh's mineral rich Bastar region has 40,000 sq km of land area but is among the poorest in India in economic development. It is dominantly home to impoverished tribals, many of whom work for the Maoists. Bastar has witnessed a string of deadly attacks since 2005 that has claimed over 1,600 lives. On Sunday, Chidambaram visited Lalgarh, a Maoist hub in West Bengal. There, he called the rebels cowards and then gave a virtual clean chit to the Chhattisgarh government, saying the situation there had improved vis-a-vis the Maoists. *'Troopers ignored warfare manual in Maoist den'* Raipur: It would appear that the 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers who were killed mercilessly Tuesday by Maoists were seized with a death wish as they ventured "blindly" into the Maoist den ignoring all warfare guidelines they were taught. The bloodbath in Dantewada could have been avoided if the troopers had abided by the 48-point warfare manual they have been instructed to strictly follow during anti-rebel operations in the dense jungles, a counter-terrorism official said Tuesday. The contingent of 120 paramilitary CRPF that was attacked virtually staged a "dress rehearsal" of the July 12, 2009, incident in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh when the personnel walked into a Maoist booby trap while riding on vehicles - something strictly "disallowed" in the landmine-strewn jungle interiors. Twenty-nine policemen included an Indian Police Service officer were killed in the attack then, and Tuesday the CRPF men committed the "same blunder" by ignoring the warfare manual rules and lost 75 men. "I have always stressed that policemen should never ride in vehicles on jungle roads and should always carry de-mining squads and sniffer dogs trained in detecting improvised explosives devices (IEDs) while going on operations," B.K. Ponwar, director of the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC) based in Bastar's Chhattisgarh, told IANS in an interview. The Chhattisgarh government set up the elite warfare college in 2005 to train policemen to fight "a guerilla like a guerilla" and also on "how to survive flash attacks in hilly terrain where the enemy is strategically perched higher up and can see any movement easily". A senior official at the police headquarters here expressed surprise that the CRPF contingent "blindly" ventured into the forest on vehicles. "It seems they were desperate to kiss death. It hurts the entire police force when troopers get killed in such a foolish manner. I can't understand why they completely ignored warfare guidelines,'' the officer wondered. He added: "Policemen are flouting warfare rules over and over again... What was so urgent to ride on vehicles and enter the thick jungle roads planted with landmines all around. It's great neglect of the basic guerrilla warfare rules which they have been briefed about before being posted in red terror land," he said. A police officer based at Dornapal area of Dantewada district remarked: "Tuesday's bloodbath will dampen the morale of the thousands of police force deployed in Bastar (on anti-Maoist operations).'' On Tuesday, hundreds of Maoists -- one report put the number at over 700 -- bombed and fired at the CRPF personnel as they entered a hilly stretch of forest land in Dantewada, killing 74 men from the 62nd battalion of the CRPF and a state police officer. More than two dozen personnel were injured. The incident took place about 450 km south of Raipur. Dantewada is considered a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says has emerged as the biggest internal security threat. It was the worst massacre since Maoists stormed an isolated police post in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in March 2007 and killed 55 policemen. *PM speaks to Chidambaram over Chhattisgarh massacre* Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday spoke to Home Minister P. Chidambaram and sought a detailed report on the killing of 73 troopers by Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh, minutes after getting the news of the worst massacre of security personnel in the country. The prime minister was outraged by the massacre and sought updates from the home minister, government sources said. The issue will be discussed in greater detail when the National Security Council meets later in the evening. In what appeared to be a meticulously planned operation, hundreds of Maoists -- one report put the number at about 700 -- bombed and fired at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel as they entered a hilly stretch of forest where the rebels have held sway for decades, running a de facto state. The massacre took place about 450 km south of the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. Dantewada is considered a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, which the prime minister says has emerged as the biggest internal security threat. It was the worst massacre since Maoists stormed an isolated police post in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in March 2007 and killed 55 policemen. *Maoist attack creates terror among iron ore miners* Businessmen, especially iron ore miners, in Chhattisgarh are a terrified lot after the deadly Maoist attack Tuesday in the state's Dantewada district in Bastar region, described as the "key to India's steel sector growth". It is in Dantewada district where India's largest iron ore producer and exporter in the public sector, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), produces nearly 80 percent of its annual iron ore output. "The NMDC production has been unaffected Tuesday in Dantewada but there is absolute panic," S.P. Himanshu, company deputy general manager based in Dantewada, told IANS. He said: "NMDC has been routinely suffering big losses as Maoists stop iron ore transportation from NMDC Bailadila mines to Visakhapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh at will". "This brutal attack has terrorised iron ore miners to a great extent. I always maintain that Bastar, which has nearly 20 percent of India's iron ore stocks, is fast slipping into Maoist hands and now it is up to the Indian government do something urgently," Raju Nehlani, a private iron ore miner, told IANS. Nehlani said though private miners were hardly ever targeted in Chhattisgarh by Maoists, they often burn mining equipment and transporting vehicles. Also, employees work under extreme tension and all the time fear attacks from rebels. But another private miner said: "I pay Rs.42 per tonne to Maoists as extortion money and the rebels raise the sum annually by 20 percent". "The growing activities of Maoists in Bastar are threatening iron ore mining in the sprawling forested region. The iron ore miners fear that the authorities will lose control over the area in the next five years and growth in the steel sector will suffer," said Ashok Surana, head of Mini Steel Plant Association. *Was Chhattisgarh attack intelligence failure, asks Congress* Terming the killing of 75 security personnel in Chattisgarh by the Maoists as an act of terror, the Congress Tuesday said "there might have been an intelligence failure and the reason for this should be ascertained". "This is very unfortunate that we have lost a number of precious lives of security personnel in a brutal attack. Those behind this terror attack should be firmly dealt with," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told IANS after 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were massacred by the Maoists in the forests of Chhattisgarh. The Congress also asked the government to take measures to prevent such attacks. -- Peace Is Doable -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an 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.
