NEW DELHI, FEB 24 - Abjure violence and we will talk, was the firm message the Indian government gave the rebels on Tuesday, a day after the rebels said they were game for dialogue.

However, just after Maoist leader Kishenji offered a 72-day conditional ceasefire to the government on Monday night, armed Left-wing rebels attacked a camp housing security personnel in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district late in the night.

Responding to reports that the guerrillas were ready for a truce, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the government will respond “promptly” if Maoist rebels made a formal and unconditional offer to stop fighting and talk.

“I would like a short, simple statement” from the group “saying we will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks,” Chidambaram said in a statement and also gave out a fax number Tuesday. “I would like no ifs, no buts and no conditions.”

Indian Home ministry officials said, after its response to the ceasefire, the government would wait for an “appropriate response”. However, some within the security establishment believe the Maoists’ offer appeared to be a ploy to buy time.

Ministry officials said they have seen many versions of the statement reportedly made by the leaders of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist stating that security operations should stop for 72 days — from Feb 25 to May 7.

“In the absence of an authentic statement, the government is unable to respond,” said a ministry official. The Maoists Monday said they were game for a dialogue if the government put off its offensive against them.

Kishenji said in his statement: “We will halt our revolutionary counter-terrorism and counter-violence activities for the same number of days and hours that the government halts state terror and state violence against us.”

Police under attack

NEW DELHI: Indian rebels have attacked a police camp in India’s West Bengal state, hours after they offered a conditional ceasefire, police said. Three rebels were killed during the clash in the Lalgarh area, according to police. Activists say the killings were staged. Senior West Bengal police official Manoj Verma said the bodies of three rebels had been found after the attack on the camp. “Villagers told us that the escaping rebels dragged away two more bodies of their dead colleagues,” he said.

Posted on: 2010-02-24 08:53

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