All Indian People´s Resistance Forum

In the ever increasing repression on people´s movements in Andhra Pradesh, there have been two disturbing developments in the last couple of days.

The state police machinery began repression in the form of denial of permission to public meetings and unveiling of memorial statues, indiscriminate arrests, tortures, raids on villages and combings just after the first round of talks between the government and the CPI-Maoist and CPI (ML) Janashakti. The spate of encounter killings also started in January and within less than 90 days after the first "encounter" on January 6, the state police, particularly the infamous criminal force Grey Hounds, have killed more than 50 activists including a couple of persons working legally in public life.

This growing violence and repression on the people´s movement are witnessing a new phase in the implication of emissaries of CPI-Maoist in false cases and illegal detention of a functionary of Martyrs´ Relations and Friends Committee.

The CPI-Maoist named revolutionary poet Varavara Rao, revolutionary singer-composer Gaddar and Revolutionary Writers´ Association president and novelist G Kalyana Rao as its emissaries for the talks between itself and the government. They participated in finalizing the modalities, ceasefire agreement and agenda prior to the talks and participated in the first round of talks held during October 15-20 at Hyderabad. Thus the government had respected their position and granted them immunity. In fact, it is not a great favour from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, but in any conflict, the people who appear as advocate for the contending parties will have that respect and immunity. However, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has become so uncivilised and undemocratic that even during the talks it tried to undermine the emissaries´ position. At many places their public meetings were disturbed and they were charged on flimsy grounds like "giving provocative speeches" an "exceeding the time permitted for their speech". After the first round, the police began to target the emissaries and tried to implicate them in a number of false cases. As part of that attempt, the emissaries were charged with "conspiracy to murder" in the cases of murder of a constable in Mahaboobnagar district and attack on Chilakaluripet police station in Guntur district. The three emissaries have nothing to do with the offences and in both the cases the CPI-Maoist claimed the responsibility. The emissaries of talks are implicated in these cases deliberately by the government in order to stall the talks and terrorise all those who demand the government to hold talks.

The other act, arresting Ms Anjamma, secretary of Amarula Bandhumithrula Sangham (Martyrs´ Relatives and Friends Committee), is a symbol of the government´s intolerance and brutality. Her husband, a district leader of All India People´s Resistance Forum (AIPRF) was killed in a fake encounter last year and she became a part of an attempt to bring together the relatives of all those killed in fake encounters. The families who lost their kith and kin in fake encounters since 1969 in the state number more than 4,000 and the committee started mobilising them. The state police authorities who killed those activists do not want the families of the deceased to come together and a severe repression is let loose on the families. Thus Anjamma was picked up from her home leaving her old mother and two young kids. Even after four days, she is neither released nor produced in any court of law.