In Solidarity: Citizens' Initiative

PRESS RELEASE 22 FEBRUARY 2008

Condemnation of Maoist and State violence in Orissa

We the undersigned strongly condemn the massacre of thirteen policemen and two civilians in Nayagarh town of Orissa by armed Maoists on February 17.

At the same time we also condemn, equally strongly, the subsequent killing of thirty five alleged Maoists as claimed by the Orissa police in a desperate measure of revenge and to show they are still 'in control'. Going by past experience there are grave doubts as to who the people they have killed really are- Maoist guerrillas or innocent villagers.

Media reports about acts of wanton brutality by the Maoists, such as burning alive a policeman and castrating another – if true – is especially condemnable. There can be no justification whatsoever for such actions, especially by a political group claiming to wage an armed struggle for social justice and striving to build a new revolutionary society.

We are completely opposed to this cult of violence, even though we are fully aware that the way the central and state governments treat non-violent movements with utter cynicism, they inevitably push people towards such cults.

The Maoist atrocity in Nayagarh is particularly unfortunate as it is detrimental to the various democratic mass movements all over Orissa that are resisting the policies of land grab and diversion of natural resources to global and domestic corporations. The Orissa government
is bound to use this incident as yet another excuse to crack down on the militant but non-violent struggles of the people against unjust development policies in the state.

We also call upon the government of Orissa as well as the Indian government to stop their brazen misuse of state power to carry out arbitrary arrests, torture and even murder of innocent citizens in the name of containing the Maoists. As elected bodies bound by the Indian Constitution they are expected to adhere to the laws of the land and democratic norms instead of resorting to vigilante justice.

Finally we request the media in the state to stop labeling activists fighting democratically against state policies and oppression as 'Maoists' with no evidence to back up such claims.

Amit Bhaduri, Economist, New Delhi
Achin Vanaik, Political Scientist, New Delhi
Apoorvanand, Academic, New Delhi
Aditya Nigam, Political Scientist, New Delhii
Amit Sengupta, Journalist, New Delhi
Mamata Dash, Activist, New Delhi
Praful Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi
Rabi Shankar, Activist, Kashipur, Orissa
Sumit Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi
Satya Sivaraman, Journalist, New Delhi
Tanika Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi
Subrat Kumar Sahu, Film Maker & Writer, New Delhi

(Sent to us by Dilip Simeon. We would like to express our complete solidarity.)