Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

PWG initiative on peace talks

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD May 31. The initiative for organising talks between the Government and the CPI-ML People's War Group (PWG) received a further fillip on Friday when the extremist party named revolutionary writer, P. Varavara Rao, and balladeer, Gaddar, as its representatives for `determining the modalities' for holding talks.

The carefully worded two-page statement issued by the PWG State Committee secretary, Ramakrishna, on Friday merely said that Mr. Rao and Mr. Gaddar would take part in `determining the modalities,' but he did not categorically state as to who would be participating in the talks after the modalities are finalised. The PWG has also suggested the Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) headed by S.R. Sankaran 'should be the observers during the talks.'

Tracing the incidents of some intellectuals and democrats fighting for democracy who were 'killed by Government's legal police as well as armed mercenary gangs,' Mr. Ramakrishna expressed the apprehension that the lives of Mr. Varavara Rao and Mr. Gaddar were now in danger. "Thus, the Government has to take responsibility for their security,'' he asserted.

Mr. Ramakrishna explained that the PWG chose these leaders since they had stood on side of the oppressed masses for the last three decades with their participation in democratic and revolutionary movements in general and revolutionary literary and cultural movements in particular.

The PWG had recently announced a month-long ceasefire from May 10 to June 10 following the initiative taken by the CCC. The initial ceasefire from the PWG side which came into effect in mid-February was withdrawn by the extremist party after the Tupakulagudem incident in which eight naxalites were shot dead in an encounter in Warangal district.

Subsequently, after the PWG announced its second spell of ceasefire, the Government, too, responded positively and announced its resolve to create conducive atmosphere for holding talks, though it did not use the word `ceasefire.'

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