Maoist rebels in eastern India call off ceasefire

[News_Editor]

Maoist rebels in eastern India call off ceasefire

2011-11-15 16:49:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal have called off their ceasefire in a letter to the state government, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

The rebels said the state-appointed interlocutors and the state government led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee have not kept any of the promises they had made. The letter, addressed to human rights activist Sujato Bhadra and other members of the six-member interlocutor team, was dated October 31 and reached the media on Monday.

"The ceasefire period has ended as neither you nor the state government kept any of your promises," Akash, state secretary of the banned Community Party of India-Maoist, said in the letter. "Despite being encircled by the joint forces, we met you twice and have kept all the promises we made during those meetings. But have you managed to keep your word? You haven't, because neither the state government nor the Center wants peace."

The rebels said they were willing to meet the interlocutors only if the state government completely halted anti-Maoist operations by the state and central police forces. They also slammed the interlocutors for favoring the government, saying that they have not criticized the "terror unleashed by the ruling party and security forces."

However, the interlocutors said all was not lost. "We don't think the peace talks have ended with this letter. The situation is tough. It would have been better had the ceasefire period been increased," Bhadra told the Hindustan Times.

The Maoists had unilaterally declared on September 30 that they would maintain a ceasefire for the duration of one month to let peace talks take shape. The ceasefire started on October 3, but the state government never officially reacted to the proposal.

The ceasefire only applied to the eastern state of West Bengal as attacks continued in other regions. On October 21, six Indian policemen were killed and three others were injured in an ambush by Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

More than one-third of India's 626 administrative districts are affected by the Maoist insurgency. At least 1,170 rebels, troops and civilians were killed in insurgency-related incidents in 2010 alone. The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people in the country's poorest regions.

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