Agnivesh proposes 72-hour ceasefire with Maoists

KOLKATA - Welcoming the Maoist offer for a three-month ceasefire to begin talks, social activist Swami Agnivesh Wednesday proposed an initial three-day truce between the government and the guerrillas as a confidence building measure.

“It’s a forthright decision by Communist Party of India (CPI)-Maoist politburo member Kishenji. It is a befitting response to the president and prime minister’s call for talks in their Independence Day speeches. I welcome it,” Agnivesh told IANS over phone.

Agnivesh, who blamed the central government for the July 2 killing of CPI-Maoist spokesman Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad that allegedly scuttled peace talks, said the rebels wanted a communication in black and white from the authorities, accepting the three-month ceasefire proposed by them Tuesday.

“Then a member of the CPI-Maoist politburo should give a specific date from when there will be no hostilities from their side for 72 hours. The government should also declare a 72-hour ceasefire from that date,” he said.

Agnivesh’s comments came a day after Kishenji, who only months ago was rumoured to be seriously wounded or even dead, told a section of the media through an audio tape that the rebels were ready for talks and proposed the three-month truce offer.

The offer was made two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort in New Delhi asked the rebels to come for talks.

The CPI-Maoist also proposed the names of Swami Agnivesh or Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee as possible mediators between the government and the rebels. Home Minister P. Chidambaram had also earlier asked Agnivesh to play the role of a mediator.

Agnivesh, who said he was “always there” to act as a facilitator between the two sides, suggested that if the initial 72-hour ceasefire was successful, then both sides should give a letter of invitation for talks.

“Then the talks can resume. And why three months, the ceasefire can continue for six months, nine months and so on. There should be no hostilities so long as the talks continue,” he said.

Agnivesh said he expected to meet the prime minister on the issue. “Then I will convey to him Kishenji’s offer”.

The social activist will also apprise the prime minister of his observations about the situation in trouble-torn Lalgarh in West Midnapore district where he addressed a rally Aug 9 alongside Mamata Banerjee and social worker Medha Patkar.

The West Bengal-based Kishenji Tuesday night insisted that the ceasefire should be a bilateral move by both the government and the rebels.

The CPI-Maoist top gun also referred to writer Arundhati Roy, Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman, human rights activist Gautam Navalkha and B.D Sharma as the other facilitators for the talks.

Kishenji’s dramatic announcement followed repeated savage attacks by the Maoists on security forces mainly in central India, resulting in a nationwide crackdown by police and paramilitary forces.