[A group of Kolkata intellectuals - mainly comprising film/TV and theatre artistes - who had played a verycrucial role to expose state atrocities in case of Singur and Nandigram and mobilise public opinion visited Lalgarh today ignoring the advice of the state administration and talked to Chhatradhar Mahato among others.
They have reported widespread panic in the area as regards ongoing and forthcoming police actions. They - Aparana Sen, Saoli Mitra and Kaushik Sen - found Chhatradhar Mahato "sandwiched" between the Maoists and the state. Too scared to distance himself from the Maoists in a long interview to the TV channel Star Ananda. They have deplored all violence from all the sides and appealed to both the state administration and the Maoists to observe cease fire till July 14, the next scheduled day for talks between the state and the PCAPA (led by Chhatradhar Mahato). Appealed to the Maoists to desist from doing anything which would make the common people even more vulnerable.] I/II. http://blog.taragana.com/n/lalgarh-people-flee-security-forces-arrest-three-maoists-roundup-88285/ * Lalgarh people flee, security forces arrest three Maoists (Roundup)<http://blog.taragana.com/n/lalgarh-people-flee-security-forces-arrest-three-maoists-roundup-88285/> June 21st, 2009 LALGARH - Hundreds of villagers in this West Bengal area fled as security forces Sunday started combing operations and arrested three suspected Maoists. A group of visiting intellectuals demanded an immediate ceasefire to facilitate talks and complained that women and children were being tortured. On the fourth day of the security operation launched by the state government to flush out Maoists from this troubled zone of West Midnapore district, the forces nabbed the three rebels at Chakadoba village under Belpahari police station after sporadic clashes since Saturday. “We have found a lot of Maoist literature and other materials from them,” Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS in Kolkata. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel suffered injuries on his hand when he was hit with a sharp weapon during a clash at Chakadoba Sunday before the arrests. Another trooper was rushed to a hospital in Midnapore after he fell sick due to the oppressive heat and humidity, Kanojia said. One trooper had died of sunstroke Saturday. Divided into small teams, the security forces have started searching nearby villages for weapons, Maoist rebels, as also leaders of the tribal body People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), which has been the face of the seven-month old agitation that made the area a virtual free zone. A day after reclaiming this headquarters of the Binpur Community Development block from the Maoists, a second team of central and state security personnel reached this area - 200 km from Kolkata - from Sarenga in Bankura. A group of intellectuals including filmmakers, theatre personalities and writers opposed to the Left Front government - met PCAPA leader Chhattradhar Mahato and people in some villages during a day’s tour of the affected zone. “From conversations with the people, we could gather they are afraid. In the interest of the people, we will make a very sincere appeal to both Maoists and the administration to lay down arms,” said filmmaker Aparna Sen. Pointing out that the administration and the PCAPA are already scheduled to hold the next round of discussions July 14, Sen said: “It is very important to have a ceasefire there until then.” She added people were getting caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and police. Theatre personality Shaonli Mitra said some villages seemed empty, and in some others there were complaints that children and women were being beaten up. “We have been told that women are being molested, and water has been contaminated in some villages. People are living without food and water.” Following instructions from Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee, two central ministers from the party, Mukul Roy and Sisir Adhikari, set off for the affected zone with relief but were stopped by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists at Salboni. “There was an obstruction. But we removed it,” said Kanojia. Minister of State for Rural Development Adhikari and Minister of State for Shipping Roy alleged that around 20,000 villagers from various areas in Lalgarh were fleeing their homes due to the atrocities by security forces. The state government appealed to central and state ministers, NGOs, intellectuals and journalists to stay away from the troubled zone of Lalgarh saying it was not in a position to provide security to them in view of Maoist activities in the area. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the core group formed to monitor the progress of the security operations, Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty appealed to the Maoists to lay down arms and help in restoring normalcy. “We have decided that the health centres and ration shops will have to be reopened as early as possible,” Chakraborty said after the meeting in which Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was also present. Lalgarh has been on the boil since last November when a landmine exploded on the route of the convoy of Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada. Complaining of police atrocities after the blast, angry tribals launched an agitation virtually cutting off the area from the rest of the district. In recent days, the agitators have torched CPI-M offices, driven away the ruling party’s supporters and forced the police to leave, thereby establishing a virtual free zone. Maoists are active in three western districts of the state - West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. They also backed the Trinamool Congress-sponsored movement against the state government’s bid to establish a chemical hub at Nandigram in East Midnapore district. II. http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090621/818/tnl-anti-left-intellectuals-ask-for-peac.html Anti-Left intellectuals ask for peace in Lalgarh Sun, Jun 21 07:41 PM Lalgarh (West Bengal), June 21 (IANS) A group of intellectuals - comprising filmmakers, theatre personalities and writers - Sunday visited the troubled Lalgarh area of West Bengal and alleged that the security forces were torturing women and children here. The intellectuals, under the banner of Swajan, have been bitterly opposed to the state's Left Front government. The group also met agitating tribal body People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) leader Chhattradhar Mahato and the common people in some villages during a day's tour of the affected zone. 'From conversations with the people, we could gather they are afraid. In the interest of the people, we will make a very sincere appeal to both Maoists and the administration to lay down arms,' said filmmaker Aparna Sen. On the heavy police presence, she said: 'We are seeing police everywhere. I have never seen in my life so many police in one area.' Pointing out that the administration and the PCAPA are already scheduled to hold the next round of discussions July 14, Sen said: 'It is very important to have a ceasefire there until then. 'We came to see the situation for ourselves. We wanted to see whether the common people were getting food and water. We do not believe in the politics of violence and counter-violence. We found that the people are getting caught in the cross fire between the Maoists and the police,' she said. Theatre personality Kaushik Sen said: 'Just as we don't support the Maoists, similarly we condemn the disgusting role of the administration.' He said members of Swajan will meet Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi to apprise him of the situation. 'We have visited some interior villages and spoken to the people. We also spoke to Chhatradhar Mahato. People are living in danger. They are very afraid that police may beat them up,' said theatre personality Saonli Mitra. She said some of the villages seemed empty, and in some others there were complaints that children and women were being beaten up. 'We have been told that women are being molested, and water has been contaminated in some villages. People are living without food and water.' The group arrived here a day after top Maoist leader K. Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji appealed to them to come to Lalgarh and take the initiative for finding a solution to the problems of the tribal people here through a dialogue between the rebels and the administration. Kaushik Sen said they also wanted to talk to Kishanji but a meeting could not be organised. After the meeting with the group, Mahato said he was opposed to violence and did not support Maoist activities. 'We want truce, we want talks,' he said. Mahato said the security forces were looting and torching people's houses. 'In the name of searching for Maoists, they are torturing innocent villagers.' Meanwhile, the visit of the Swajan delegation raised the hackles of intellectuals close to the ruling Left Front and its major constituent Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). 'A part of their brain works for (Trinamool Congress Chief) Mamata (Bannerjee). The other part does not work when the houses of CPI-M supporters are torched,' said writer Abul Bashar. Alleging that Mahato was involved in the plot to assassinate Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in a landmine explosion at Bhadutala in November, Bashar said: 'Mamata Banerjee has asked these intellectuals to go there. It's a simple equation.' Lalgarh has been on the boil since Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada were attacked. Complaining of police atrocities after the blast, angry tribals launched an agitation virtually cutting off the area from the rest of the district. During the last few days, the agitators have torched CPI-M offices, driven away the ruling party's supporters and forced the police to leave, thereby establishing a virtual free zone. Maoists are active in three western districts of the state - West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. Indo Asian News Service * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
