The hostage crisis in Odisha worsened on Sunday, as the abductors of Italian tour operator Bosusco Paolo responded negatively to the Naveen Patnaik government's swap offer and demanded a clarification on their 13 demands.
In an audio tape released to the media, Sabyasachi Panda, secretary of the Odisha State Organising Committee of the CPI(Maoist), said the government should facilitate the release of all seven persons whose names he had given, and not five persons as it had announced.
Mr. Panda said that of the five names, only three figured on the list given by him. And the government should make clear how many prisoners were going to be released along with their names.
He also wanted the government to clarify before the media how many of the 13 demands had been accepted by it. Among other things, he had demanded a halt to Operation Green Hunt, lifting of the ban on various mass organisations and ending the visit of foreigners to tribal areas as tourists.
Mr. Panda's statement came as a disappointment as the negotiations between the two mediators and three government officials for the release of Mr. Paolo ended on Saturday after they reached an agreement that the government would release five of the six persons whose names were given by the interlocutors.
On the other hand, Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka remained in the hands of militants of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the CPI(Maoist), which on Saturday demanded the release of five more persons to free him.
Legal aspects
Meanwhile, Mr. Patnaik held an emergency meeting to examine the demands of both the groups. Talking to journalists later, he hoped that the confusion over the names of the persons to be released for the freedom of Mr. Paolo would be cleared soon.
As for the fresh demand of the AOBSZC, Mr. Patnaik said the legal aspects were being examined. In the case of both kidnappings, the Maoists have set April 10 as the deadline for the government to meet their demands.
I think it's time to go for a surgical strike and plan a good military
crackdown at these Maoists who are no less than terrorists. The
viewpoint of the army that these are our own people and we cannot act
against them is really baseless. Didn't the army conduct Operation
Blue Star at "its own people". I think they are just running from
their responsibilities. The argument that innocent people with "Human
Rights" will be killed is countered by the fact that the Maoists are
killing government officials and policemen on a daily basis. Aren't
they innocent ? Don't they have Human Rights ?
Although it is neccesary this time to meet the demands of maoists, but rather than solving, it will worsen the situation more.If the Patnaik govt. go upto the demands tabled by the them. The maoists will find themselves in high spirits.So the govt must take a lesson from such incidents and rather than crying on federalism structure and opposing anti terrorism bills like NCTC.The govt must take a firm stand to fight with insurgency and extremism.
When a war takes place the soldiers are sent to the front to fight the
enemy,knowing fully well that there will be loss of human life on both
sides.Nobody can avoid such losses.Not fighting back is also a blunder
because the enemy will not only conquer,but also destroy/eliminate the
entire opposition.This is the fact.The menace of Maoism must be viewed
through this prism.There have been abductions before and there will be
more in future.This is the time for all the states together with the
central government will have to formulate appropriate strategies and
counter the menace head on.This is not the time for squabbling about
federalism and/or autonomy of states.The lack of unity of policy and
intent among the centre and states can only give more courage and
confidence to the enemy that is the Maoists.Statistics will show that
Maoism has only increased during the past years and become
bolder,because,despite their atrocities, they have earned an element of
sympathy
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