Maoist sorry for killing civilians
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Giridih, April 12: Reacting to criticism for killing civilians during their attack on the CISF camp last week, the CPI(Maoist) has come out with a statement saying that they are waging a war for the people and regret loss of civilian lives.
Acknowledging for the first time that two Maoists too were killed during the offensive at Gandhinagar near Bermo last Friday, the CPI(M) in a statement has blamed the state and the media for propagating false information.
Stating that the attack was launched by the PLGA (people's Liberation Guerrilla Army), in which two CISF jawans and four civilians also lost their lives, the party asserts that it is not the "party line" to harm the common people.
Claiming to be anguished over reports that the Maoists had put the common man to a great deal of hardship and that people were living in fear, that the Maoists had not only killed civilians but also blew up bridges and cut off roads to the great inconvenience of common people, the statement seeks to explain the conduct of the rebels.
Asserting that "this class struggle is for the common people and is being waged with them", the statement asserts that they do not want to harm or hurt people.
Explaining the death of a truck driver, the statement claims that the PLGA twice had asked the driver to stop but he had defied orders. Finally, the PLGA had opened fire to stop the vehicle but it was an "unfortunate mistake" that the driver too got hit, adds the statement.
Referring to the death of other civilians at Kurpania market, the rebels' statement asserts that they could have been killed by bullets fired by the police as well.
Like other PLGA actions, the attack on the CISF camp too was meant to loot arms and ammunition, says the statement. "We did not want to kill even the policemen but they interfered with our mission and paid with their lives," it states.
The statement says that CPI(M) deeply regrets the killing of civilians and is concerned about the plight of their families. "We have done some introspection and will try to avoid accidental killing of civilians in future," it assured in conclusion.
posted by Resistance 4/15/2007 09:31:00 AM,
