Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Secure the freedom of Italian hostages at the earliest

The first and foremost task before the Naveen Patnayak Government of Odisha is to secure the release of two Italians kidnapped by the Maoists in Kandhamal district of the state. As foreign nationals have been kidnapped, it has become the issue of international implication. So, Patnayak government in consultation with Centre must not loose any time in starting the negotiating process with the 3 negotiators the names of whom have been given by the Maoists as their representatives.
Though this is the first time that foreign nationals have been kidnapped and a number of demands have been given by the Maoists to secure their release safely, Malkangiri district collector and two police personnel were also kidnapped earlier. Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death in Odisha by other religious fanatic organizations than the Maoists in the state of Odisha. The incident had hogged the international headlines for many days.
The kidnapping of two Italians under question and other incidents of the same magnitude clearly indicate the failure of law and order machinery, especially the police force. The police have failed to take adequate security measures to pre-empt Maoists to carry out their design despite knowing the fact that the state forest area is heavily infested with them.
The question also arises that either the successive Odisha or Central governments have ever thought that why there has been mushrooming growth of Maoists. It is a well accepted fact that Maoists have born out of poverty, illiteracy and exploitation. They need to be given humanitarian touch and opportunities to develop themselves.
Jungle is considered their home and hearth. They earned livelihood from big dense forest. But with the mad rush for economic liberalization by the government, jungles have been handed over to industrial and business houses to set up industries and factories by exploiting the vast natural resources. They have not only disturbed the ecological balance but also destroyed the home and hearth of tribal. Tribal population mostly has turned into Maoists because of the deep grudge set in them against the powers that be.
Have the state and the Central government representatives at the highest level ever visited the tribal infested areas of the country to take stock of their living conditions? The policies and programmes to deal with Maoist problems successfully can not be possible to be formulated in air conditioned official chambers of top bureaucrats at Central and state secretariats.
The Kidnapping of foreign nationals may have been deliberately done to focus on Maoist unrest in the country on international scale but the need of the hour for both state and central governments to get the two Italian nationals released at the earliest.

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