Press Release
Tags: Maoist talks, Citizens Initiative for Peace, Government of India, Human rights, Peace talks, Constitutional rights, Ceasefire agreement, Security forces withdrawal
Related Issue: Right to Life and Personal Liberty, Right to Equality, Freedom of Speech and Expression, Right to Assemble Peacefully, Freedom of Movement, Right to Seek Redressal, Freedom of Association, Right to Dignity
We welcome the reports that the Government of India and the CPI (Maoist) are agreeable to the idea of talks. In the present situation talks are the only way to come to a resolution of any problem, however difficult it may be.
We reiterate that the talks should be unconditional, and that they should be held at the central level. We propose the following steps to expedite the dialogue:
Security forces should not move forward and should cease all operations
Maoists should cease all operations
This ceasefire should take place immediately
In order to enable villagers to resume their normal life the security forces must withdraw from schools, dispensaries and other civilian buildings, as recommended by the NHRC. The Maoists must also give a commitment that government institutions like schools, ration shops etc. will be allowed to function.
We hope and trust that both sides will carry on the talks with an aim to finding solutions to the concrete problems faced by the people of the affected regions. Any disagreement in the first round should not lead to the breakdown of talks. There should be a series of talks to arrive at mutually agreed solutions.
Rajindar Sachar Manoranjan Mohanty
(on behalf of CIP)
Members of the Citizens Initiative for Peace include: Rabi Ray, Rajindar Sachar, Mahasweta Devi, Rajni Kothari, K G Kannabiran, Admiral Ramdas, Ajit Bhattacharjea, Kuldeep Nayar, PB Sawant, Muchkund Dubey, Surendra Mohan, B K Roy Burman, D. Bandyopadhyay, B D Sharma, S R Sankaran, Binayak Sen, Amit Bhaduri, Randhir Singh, Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Annie Raja, Sumit Chakravartty, Sujato Bhadra, Teesta Setalvad, Lingaraj, Manoranjan Mohanty, Ramachandra Guha, Sandeep Pandey, G Haragopal, KB Saxena, Harsh Mander, D Narasimha Reddy, Meher Engineer, Pushkar Raj, Shabnam Hashmi, SC Behar, Bhagabat Prasad Rath, Swadhin Pattanayak, Harivansh, Himanshu Kumar, Praful Samantara, Kavita Shri vastava, Saraswati Swain, Rabindranath Sahoo, Madhu Sarin, Nandini Sundar, Ravi Hemadri, S.R. Darapuri, Sudhir Pattnaik, Suhas Borkar, Satya Sivaraman, Apoorvanand, Ajay Dandekar, and many others.