[Reader-list] Unfortunate and Condemnable - Reported Killing of Disarmed Policeman by CPI(Maoist) in Bihar

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear All,

If it is true, as has been reported in sections of the media, that a  
disarmed policeman held hostage by the CPI (Maoist) in Bihar has been  
killed, then this act is totally worthy of condemnation. The killing  
of an unarmed captive  is NOT the same thing as a death that occurs  
during an actual incidence of armed conflict. It cannot be justified  
under any circumstances, and is just as dastardly an act as the fake  
encounter that killed the Maoist spokesperson and negotiator known as  
'Azad' which occurred recently.

If the CPI(Maoist) is fighting a 'just war' as it claims to be doing,  
then, enemy combatants held by it must be seen by it as 'prisoners of  
war'. They must be treated as such, and not as hostages to be  
dispensed with. This necessarily means, that the CPI(Maoist) and  
military formations allied to it and under its command, must abide  
by. and be seen to be abiding, by the rules of combat that have  
evolved through international consensus. These include the Geneva  
conventions, and their additional protocols, which prohibit, under  
any circumstances the torture or execution of prisoners of war. It  
may be noted that prominent insurgent groups in the North East have  
adhered to these conventions in the conduct of their operations  
against the armed might of the Indian state. This indicates not  
weakness, but strength and a considerable degree of political  
maturity There is absolutely no reason why the CPI(Maoist) cannot be  
expected to display the same degree of political maturity in its own  
conduct of war.

It is incumbent upon all those of us who wish to see an end to the  
atrocities that are associated with 'Operation Green Hunt' that we  
demand of the CPI(Maoist) that it not stoop to a level of conduct  
that is identical to that we normally associate with the state that  
it claims to oppose.

Equally, I believe that we should build public pressure such that the  
Government of India, and the concerned state government roll back  
their attempts to militarize large areas of Central and Eastern India  
and that they enter into immediate, unconditional negotiations with  
the CPI(Maoists). in the immediate scenario, I believe that the  
concerned state agencies should release all political detainees who  
have been held without charge, and enter into serious and concrete  
negotiations so that the lives of the remaining three hostages held  
by the CPI(Maoist) are not endangered.

regards,

Shuddha







Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net