Hyderabad, September 23: A group of intellectuals and democrats on Tuesday appealed to the Maoists not to kill leaders of other revolutionary parties. They wanted the Maoists to sort out their differences with other revolutionary parties through discussions as any attempts to eliminate their opponents physically would be a blow to revolutionary movement. They strongly condemned the killing of Kendruka Arjun, the Koraput district (Orissa) secretary of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh by Maoists on August 9.
The delegation comprising AP Human Rights Forum (APHRF) president S Jeevan Kumar, AP Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) former president Keshav Rao Jadav, civil rights activist MT Khan, writer and social activist Katyayani, writer Nikileswar and AP Rytu Coolie Sangham secretary Mohan released an open letter addressing the Maoists in this regard.
The letter had signatures of many rights activists, academics, writers and editors of several media organisations.
Speaking to mediapersons, Jeevan Kumar said Maoist Srikakulam-Koraput division committee secretary Daya claimed to have killed Arjun for acting as a police informer and branded him as traitor to the revolutionary movement. The Maoists charged Arjun with several other allegations, including outraging modesty of a woman and conspiring to hand over some Maoist members to police. “But our investigations proved them wrong. Arjun belonged to a poor Adivasi family. He actively participated in every agitation to protect the rights of Adivasis,” Jeevan Kumar said.
AP Rythu Coolie Sangham secretary Mohan said there was no response to their letter addressed to the Maoists following the killing of Arjun. “We also took up the issue with revolutionary writer Varavara Rao and human rights activist Haragopal but there was no response till date. Thus, we are releasing this open letter,” he said. Arjun’s wife was working as a daily-wage labourer, he said.
Katyayani lamented that the Maoists had killed an unarmed Arjun while he was going to see a doctor along with his wife.
Representatives of the Rytu Cooli Sangham, which is affiliated to the CPI (ML), approached civil rights activists to issue a statement against the killings, as the Maoists, in a recent statement released in the name Aruna, had threatened to kill four others.
The civil rights activists felt that the Maoists were losing ground in AP and they would suffer a great loss unless they learned from history. They wanted the Maoists to stop such attacks.
–Agencies