“Centre not sincere about peace talks with Maoists: Swami Agnivesh”
KOCHI: Social activist Swami Agnivesh on Sunday accused the Centre of not being sincere about its proposed peace negotiations as it had not ordered a judicial probe into the death of CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Azad.
“The government is using me as a pawn to deal with Maoists”, Agnivesh, who is a mediator in brokering talks between Maoists and the government, told reporters here on sidelines of the World Religious Congress here.
He said he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 20 seeking a judicial probe into the killing of Azad, but nothing had happened so far.
“”Azad’s killing a setback to peace talks: Swami Agnivesh””
NEW DELHI: Swami Agnivesh, who is the peace negotiator between the government and Maoists, has said that the killing of the ultra-Left leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad is a setback to the peace process. Agnivesh claimed that Azad’s response to his initiative for peace talks was positive.
“His killing is a very big shock, the greatest shock of my life. I had written a letter to him, appreciating his steps for peace talks and also the steps I wanted him to take. Perhaps, this letter could have made him feel that the government is softening its stand. As a result, he might have been a bit relaxed on his security front. (He) might have laid down his guard that led to his killing,” Agnivesh told reporters on his arrival in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Earlier, the government had responded positively to the Maoists’ demand for ceasefire, he said. “Azad said he wanted the mutual ceasefire to be signed by both sides. Home minister P Chidambaram was also open to the idea. But, he was asking for a date for the ceasefire since he insisted that in order to implement it he had to make certain preparations. For instance, it requires 72 hours to facilitate the ceasefire,” said Agnivesh.
“”Azad was working towards ceasefire, say Maoists (Raipur, July,2010)””
In May this year, social worker Swami Agnivesh served as the medium for an unlikely exchange of letters between Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Azad regarding the possibility of a ceasefire.
The letters, now available online, suggest that Azad’s death came at a time when the Central government and the CPI (Maoist) were contemplating the broad contours of a possible ceasefire.
In his letter dated May 11, 2010, Mr. Chidambaram asked that the CPI (Maoist) “say that they will not indulge in any violent activity beginning a specific date, say, June 1, 2010.” In return, the Home Minister promised that the Central government would come up with a response that included an invitation for talks. To quote from the letter, the government “would closely observe whether the CPI-Maoist will maintain the position of ‘no violence’ for 72 hours … during the said period … the security forces will not conduct any operation against the CPI-Maoist” after which talks would begin.
On May 31, 2010, the Maoists replied at length. In a letter signed by Azad, the CPI (Maoist) indicated its willingness to consider talks if there was “ceasefire or cessation of hostilities by both sides simultaneously instead of asking one side to abjure violence.” Azad also asked the government to “initiate measures to release party leaders as a prelude to the release of political prisoners and … stop all its efforts to escalate the war, including the measure of calling back all the paramilitary forces deployed in the war zones.”
In an indication of the advanced nature of the process, on June 18 Swami Agnivesh sent out an email inviting the media to a press conference “to announce the peace process that has been initiated by me between the Government of India and the CPI (Maoist).” However, the press conference was called off at the last minute without any explanation.
“Swami Agnivesh was going to unveil a concrete proposal and a firm date regarding a possible ceasefire,” said Gudsa Usendi, spokesperson for the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist). “But the press conference was called off under pressure from the government.”
Asked for their response to this charge, North Block sources denied applying any such pressure.
They also played down the importance of Swami Agnivesh’s aborted press conference and dismissed a possible link between the proposed ceasefire and Azad’s death. “Why would the Government of India want to scuttle someone’s initiative for peace,” asked a senior official. “It is to be encouraged.”
The Hindu was unable to contact Swami Agnivesh for his comments on the ceasefire.
On July 2, Azad was shot in an encounter in Adilabad, leaving the possibility of a ceasefire in tatters. “For us [CPI-Maoist], comrade Azad was the central figure involved in the possibility of a peace