Nepal Maoists Call Off Protest Programme

Maoist Vice-Chairman Narayan Shrestha

This article was published on eKantipur on January 22, 2010

Maoists call off agitation

KATHMANDU:  Hours after the High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) asked the UCPN (Maoist) on Friday to withdraw its protests, the main opposition announced it had called off the entire protest programme, including the indefinite strike scheduled to begin from Sunday.

A meeting of Maoist party office bearers on Friday decided to put off its indefinite general strike for now, Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said. “We decided to suspend the agitation as efforts are being made to forge consensus,” he said.

Earlier, at the HLPM meeting, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML leaders had urged Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to call off the planned general strike to prepare a conducive environment to address Maoist demands. The meeting also agreed to give top priority to the current political deadlock. It also accorded priority to constitution drafting and the peace process.

CPI (Maoist) Calls for 72-Hour Bandh against Operation Green Hunt

Central forces in Malkangiri, Maharastra

This article was published on Express Buzz on January 24, 2010.

CPI (Maoist) calls for 72-hour bandh

HYDERABAD: The Communist Party of India (Maoist) called for a 72-hour bandh [strike] in the Central region of India from January 25 to 27 protesting against the murderous Operation Green Hunt unleashed on the Adivasis.

In a press release here today, CPI(Maoist) central regional bureau spokesperson Pratap and Central Committee spokesperson Azad called upon the people of Chhattisgarh, North Telangana, Andhra-Orissa Border region and Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra to observe 72-hour bandh.

They appealed to the people to build a mighty militant mass movement to force the reactionary rulers to stop the bloodbath in the adivasi areas. “We call upon the entire rank and file of the party, the brave PLGA fighters and the revolutionary masses to valiantly fight back the brutal offensive unleashed by the rulers,’’ Pratap and Azad said.

“It is clear that the agents of the imperialists and the business houses ruling our country are preparing to evacuate the adivasis from the entire forest belt and hand over the mineral-rich territory to their masters in exchange for fat commissions.

CPI (Maoist) Extends its Reach into Gujurat

Gujurat is in western India

This article was published in DNA India on January 22, 2010.

Red terror in Gujarat?

Ahmedabad/ Mumbai: Gujarat can be sitting on a potential Naxal-Maoist terror time-bomb. The Red forces are likely to have penetrated not just the tribal areas of South Gujarat but they seem to be striking roots in the simmering discontent among the diamond and power-loom workers.

The Wednesday arrest of Surya Devra Prabhakar, 60, the alleged in-charge of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh Naxal operations, by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has revealed that Reds are at work to set up a base in the state. Surya had been living in Mumbai but kept shifting to different 
places to avoid detection. According to reports, sustained interrogation of Prabhakar has revealed that he was a senior Naxalite responsible for drafting policies to recruit “young blood” in the Naxal movement.

During interrogation, he reportedly admitted to spreading Naxal ideology among youths in the age group of 21 and 35. “He would instruct them in Left ideology and brainwash them,” a senior official of the Mumbai ATS said on condition of anonymity. Sources said that Prabhakar had been trying to recruit the workers of the unorganised sector, mainly diamond workers. Sources said he was active in the tribal belt of South Gujarat and had established contact with the powerloom workers of Gujarat. But the exact extent of his activities is still not being revealed by the Gujarat police or the Maharashtra police.