End the 'war', talk to Maoists, PUDR says

The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) Friday urged the central and state governments to talk to Maoists in order to end the "war" raging in the vast Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.

The PUDR said the Maoist attack in the state May 25 that left some 30 people dead "is the latest in the series of killings in the undeclared war the Indian government is waging against our own people".

It said in a statement that many of the victims of the war were poor adivasis or tribals killed by security forces.

PUDR called upon people to bring pressure on the ruling parties in New Delhi and in the nine state governments waging the war to de-escalate the militarisation of the region and show a commitment towards dialogue.

"We hope that the deaths of 30 people (May 25) and of hundreds of people in the past eight years are sufficient reason for people to recognize the absurdity of this war."

PUDR also asked the central government "to shed its policy of deniability and accept that it is engaged in an internal war.

"And we ask both sides to abide by the rules that govern war," it said.

The May 25 ambush of a convoy of Congress vehicles killed, among others, the Chhattisgarh president of the Congress and Mahendra Karma, who headed Salwa Judum, a militia that fought the Maoists.