Citizen's group appeals for violence-free panchayat poll

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 3. The Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) has made an appeal to everyone not to disrupt the coming local body polls in the State. ``The unending discourse of violence which has been engaging the State and the naxalites from the past several years has obscured the basic issues of people. People have become passive spectators or fell victims to the progressive brutalisation of society,'' the Committee observed.

``A smooth conduct of the Panchayat Raj polls sans any violence is necessary,'' was the fervent plea of the 15-member body of intellectuals, academicians and civil rights activists at a meeting with various political parties to give a fillip to the efforts to reduce spiralling violence and the resultant `human suffering' in the State. Representatives of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, the Opposition Congress, CPI, CPI(M), BJP, CPI-ML (New Democracy) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) attended the meeting.

The Committee formed four years ago as an independent initiative to mediate between the warring State and People's War Group (PWG) naxalites expressed its anguish over both the camps going back on their assurances to stop armed combat. This had effectively reduced several parts of the State into killing fields.

Violence continued unabated resulting in the death of 350 people in 2000 and as many as 200 in the first half of this year. ``There is no change in the approach of the State. Nor has there been any qualitative change in the attitude of the PWG,'' the Committee Convenor and former civil servant, Mr. S.R. Sankaran, told presspersons after the meeting.

The PWG had released a hit list, ``issuing death threats and openly threatening to liquidate some public representatives. It has also declared a ban on political parties, particularly the TDP and BJP.'' ``These arbitrary actions are a reproduction of the culture of the State which was indulging in lawlessness and physical liquidation of people and would harm the cause for which the movements claim they are fighting for. These will lead to shrinkage of democratic space for mobilisation and direct participation of people.''

``We commenced work four years back with a firm belief that there is still democratic space in Andhra Pradesh, one that could be tapped to restrain the lawlessness of the State and the violation of people's right to live by the revolutionary movements. We intervened from time to time, but the frequency of the killings had increased so much that our appeals tended to become rituals,'' he said.

Asked about the prospect of a meeting point ever between the State Government and the naxalite groups amid growing violence, Mr. Sankaran exuded confidence that the twain shall meet sooner or later. ``So long as the end objective is a better society for both of them, there can be a meeting point,'' he affirmed. Towards that end, he renewed the appeal for an immediate cessation of armed combat for a specific period, perhaps a year.

He said the Committee was prepared to re-open its talks with the naxalites whenever it was possible. ``We will definitely go if they invite us. We haven't lost hope as yet though the State and PWG failed to cut down the violence,'' he said.

As a part of the efforts to reduce the growing violence, the Committee members had met the top brass of the PWG in 1998 besides holding discussions with the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, twice.

On lifting the ban on the PWG, he categorically stated that ``any ban is undemocratic. We stand for a democratic and open society.'' He pointed out that the Government failed to stop encounters despite repeated assurances.

The Committee appealed to people and political parties to bring about ``moral pressure on both sides for immediate cessation of armed combat and beginning of the peace process.'' The Committee and representatives of the political parties decided to meet again after the Panchayat elections and continue the initiative for a violence-free State.

Prof. Haragopal, Prof. Jaishankar, Mr. Potturi Venkateswara Rao, S. Jeevan Kumar and other members of the Committee were also present.

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