Author: Sonu Chhina
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: November 1, 2004
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=58084
Away from the talks table in Hyderabad,
Andhra's Naxal outfits, whose cadre strength had dwindled during the crackdown
by the former government of Chandrababu Naidu, have been going ahead with
recruitment and are busy stocking arms.
Confirming this, intelligence sources
said Naxal ranks have doubled in recent months. The Y S R Reddy government,
on the other hand, has muzzled the state police.
The Greyhounds, an elite police
force of 3,000 commandos created to tackle the Naxal menace, have been
called back to Hyderabad. All Superintendents of Police, including those
who know sensitive districts like the back of their hand, have been reshuffled.
''We have stopped all combing operations.
Even if we see Naxals carrying illegal arms, we have been told to remain
non- confrontational,'' said a senior officer.
With the fate of peace talks on
shaky ground - the state government has not succeeded in getting the People's
War Group to disarm - seasoned police officers are predicting a bloody
outcome.
''This peace is temporary, deceptive.
We are certain that if hostilities resume, the result will be really bloody.
The new (Naxal) recruits are not trained to fight,'' said an officer who
is just settling into his new posting.
''The problem is with the talks.
We have lost the psychological advantage. We have been pushed back four
years. We feel ditched (by the government). A lot of sacrifices have been
made,'' he said, referring to the over 500 men lost and a similar number
injured in anti-Naxal operations over the last 30 years.
''Without really consulting the
police, the political powers have gone to the negotiating table. We were
given a fait accompli: talks have to happen, it was on the poll manifesto
and all our reservations were overruled... They are playing their political
game and the police have been made a scapegoat,'' he said.
''It is really confounding. On one
hand, you want to be comfortable, keep law and order and be safe. On the
other hand, you are trying to talk to people who say carrying arms is their
core competency. Their demands are just not valid in this day and age.
Andhra is not the feudal society it was 30 years ago,'' said another officer.
A state intelligence official said
that new recruits have been shipped to non- affected zones. ''Imagine the
effect outside Andhra. The ceasefire gives a cue to the Naxals outside
the state.'' The united Maoists have created a corridor from Andhra all
the way up to Nepal. ''YSR does not want to feel politically isolated at
this stage. Before anyone asked him to, he went to the table. Now he is
looking for the first exit,'' said another officer.
''The talks are a boost to the other
cadres. You will find increasing attacks on MLAs, politicians, railway
stations, police stations. They would want the other governments also to
fall in line and acknowledge them as a force to reckon with,'' said a senior
officer in Hyderabad.
The officers have express instructions
not to talk to the media. Director General of Police S R Sukumara has maintained
throughout that he will back the ceasefire and provide a suitable environment
for the talks.
The only time he erupted was when
Naxals demanded a higher salary for constables during the first round of
talks. ''It's none of their business,'' he shot back.
The Maoists are trying their best
to push the government into a corner. Varavara Rao, poet and emissary of
the People's War Group (PWG), does not mince words during the lull between
two rounds of peace talks with the Andhra government: ''We support the
Nepal Maoists' cause. If the Indian and the US governments back off, they
will definitely succeed in their struggle in Kathmandu.''
The bigger picture of international
security is the last thing on the CM's mind. Right now, all he is doing
is to ask armed naxals to stop planting red flags in big farmers' fields
across the state. He doesn't know how he will get them to lay down arms
during the next round of talks. And he doesn't know how his panel will
figure out the Naxals' sweeping demand for land reform.
The Maoists are withering in their
contempt. The government, they say, does not have a roadmap for peace.
And they have publicly said they are using the ceasefire period to regroup,
recruit, train and rearm. Meanwhile, the policemen stand at ease.
