Maoists offer 72-day conditional ceasefire

The Maoists on Monday night made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks.

"State governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocated by

Maoists," top Maoist leader Kishenji said over phone from an undisclosed place.

He was responding to Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours the government would be ready for talks with them.

In New Delhi, a Union Home ministry official said the government was "studying" the Maoist offer and will come with a response at an "appropriate time".

Another official said if the offer is unconditional then the government may consider it.

Kishenji said, "This is not a problem of 72 hours rather it can take 72 days to solve the problem."

Appealing to intellectuals and human rights organisations to come forward as mediators, he said: "We appeal to all the intellectuals, human rights organisations and mass organisations, the organisations which understand the cause of the people and want to stand by their side to mediate with the government and negotiate with the government."

"As long as state sponsored terrorism and violence remains stopped we will renounce our revolutionary revenge," Kishenji said.

"We will cease violence hour wise and day wise considering the state's reciprocation. They will have to take the initiative first," Kishenji said after a two-day Central Committee meeting in deep jungles on the Bengal-Jharkhand border.

"The Centre and the state should stop their non-stop violence on the common people in the name of Maoists and we assure to renounce violence."

"If the state and central government without killing innocent and poor tribals concentrate on development of the people in the villages and in jungle mahal (Maoist-hit areas in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts) then only this revenge and counter revenge, violence and counter violence can be neutralised," Kishenji said.

Reacting to President Pratibha Patil terming Maoists as 'cowards', the Maoist leader claimed "in the last one year, 400 of our members and innocent villagers have been killed, 300 of them have been injured by paramilitary forces. Women have been raped and people have been made homeless."

"This is enough to define who are cowards," he said