'Protect tribals to end Naxal movement'

MUMBAI: Human rights activists and citizens groups held a public meeting on Saturday to urge the government of India to rethink Operation Green Hunt. The meeting was spearheaded by Himanshu Kumar, founder of the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, which works for the welfare of the adivasis, and Sudha Bhardwaj, lawyer and human rights activist.
A petition was sent to union home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, detailing alternatives, which the activists claim will restore peace in the troubled Chhattisgarh.
"The state demands peace and the end of violence but they seem oblivious of the fact that peace emanates from justice, which is what the tribals have been deprived of,'' said Kumar. "The day the police and the state will move to protect the adivasis, the Naxalite movement will be crushed automatically,'' he added.
Kumar narrated the stories of the victims of attacks by the Salwa Judum. Even mundane tasks like buying rice are fraught with difficulties. "Because a group of 700 villages have been cordoned off by the security forces, a family may not be able to travel to the bazaar in a village five kilometre away. Instead, they may have to walk to a bazaar 85 km away, which could take four days,'' he said.
The activists said the solution lies not in violence, but in addressing the demands of the tribal people and safeguarding their rights. Unconditional talks with the Maoists and stopping the flow of arms to civilians by way of the Salwa Judum, among others, are some proposals suggested in the petition. But the crux of the solution focuses on the rehabilitation of the adivasis, including providing basic amenities like health centres and schools. They have also asked for a probe into the adivasis' complaints against the police and security forces.