Iraq War Statistics

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In America's War on Iraq - At Least 665,000 + +

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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq 3,651

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Cost of America's War in Iraq

$447,679,991,844
To see more details, click here.

Latest Iraqi resistance stats

The trends continue to be supported by the coalition's data. The rate of attacks is at an all time high, weapons cache finds are at an all time high, attacks are still directed overwhelmingly at occupying forces, but as the Iraqi police and army are trained and put into combat situations, they are taking a bigger brunt of the violence. The attacks on civilians remains the smallest wedge of all attacks.

Resistance attacks are still concentrated in four provinces where the occupiers are most active, of course, and least present where the occupiers have given authority to regional parties. Once again, the areas under almost complete insurgent control are the areas most likely to have working electricity, which is telling. Support for a divided Iraq remains extremely low, predictably highest among the Kurds.

One welcome new trend is a dramatic decrease in sectarian incidents reported. Sadly it continues to be the case that those attacks on civilians, whether sectarian or insurgent in nature, are those with the highest death yield, and civilians continue to bear the brunt of attacks. The report attributes the high profile attacks (suicide attacks and car bombings) that take large civilian casualties to "AQI", but this fits too easily into the occupation narrative: the truth is that there are a number of groups - still a minority of resistance fighters - who are using these tactics. Here are some charts:

Click on Images for larger view






One surprising claim is that huge areas of Iraq are either completely or partially read for transfer: that is, areas under complete or partial insurgent control are being designated as fit for a withdrawal of US troops. Diyala, Salah ud-Din, Baghdad, and Ninewah are all considered on the road to transfer. I doubt that this amounts to an admission that control has already effectively been handed over to the resistance in many cases, but clearly there is a rollback of operations being prepared, sure to be seen (correctly) as an ignominious defeat, even if the occupiers only withdraw as far as the Green Zone - which is itself under increasingly effective attack (and guess who the American government blames for that).

Incidentally, Channel Four news tonight reported from Afghanistan on the rolling wave of occupation massacres there: the scale of these, their ruthless brutality, their increasing frequency, is driving a growing rebellion against the occupiers. Local rulers are increasingly under obligation to criticise and attack the occupying forces and even the most pro-western elements in the elite are feeling under pressure to criticise their masters Nick Paton-Walsh summarised the situation by saying that the situation was gradually evolving from an insurgency into a revolt. So that's two failing occupations, two revolts - one full-blown, one germinal - and a caucus of North American and European governments under the threat of being ousted by outraged electorates.

Lenin's Tomb

Extraordinary interview with pro-resistance Iraqi Nationalist

Extraordinary interview with pro-resistance Iraqi Nationalist

See many more articles updated daily
from Arab language and Middle Eastern
press on this and other subjects at the
OURAIM Archive
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[left: Latuff cartoon]


“Political process to the benefit of al Qaeda”

Abduljabbar al Kubaysi, influential political leader
of the Iraqi resistance and secretary-general of the
Iraqi Patriotic Alliance (IPA) elaborates on the
new situation evolving in Iraq


Q: In the last period the European media when touching Iraq
have been speaking only on a sectarian civil war. What is
really happening?

Actually the US occupiers as well as the government imposed
by them are pushing for this sectarian civil war. Also the
Iranians have interest in this as they are looking for a
federation in the South as well. Their attempt is to make
the Sunni, the Christians, the Mandeans leave to have a
purely Shiite zone. Under the conditions of war this
sectarian drive has an immediate effect.

The US uses this as an argument to stay in Iraq as they
claim that they would be needed to settle this strife.

There is, however, so much evidence that the intelligence
services of the US, of the Iraqi as well as of the Iranian
government are the real source of the violence. They plant
bombs or pack them into cars which are then being exploded
by remote control or by helicopter in both Shiite and Sunni
areas deliberately killing civilians not involved in
politics. Thus, they try to spark the sectarian conflict.

In the beginning, the media used to check on the site of
the blast and often eye witnesses contradicted the official
version that a person exploded himself. Now they use to
cordon off the area and impede questions to the locals.
They want to have the news spread that militants did the
massacre while it was governing forces or the US who
planted explosive loads. In most of the cases there is no
person involved killing himself. In these cases you can be
sure that the ruling coalition is involved.

For example, they changed the name of an important road in
the Al Adhamiye district in Baghdad from a Sunni religious
figure to a Shiite one during the night. It was the Shiite
community of al Adhamiye itself to change it back to the
original name. Then they came again with their Hummers…

But actually they did not success succeed in creating the
rift between Sunnis and Shiites. Yes, in officials politics
there is. The Sunni Islamic Party, which is with the
Americans, and the Shiite block, which is with Iran and the
US, litigate along such lines, but they did not succeed in
pushing the ordinary people to go with them. Here and
there, there might be some minor conflicts but in substance
the broad masses on both sides insist that they are Iraqis
regardless of their confession.

Look to Najaf and see the positions of the Arab Shiite
Ayatollahs who continue to advocate national unity and
oppose the occupation. Or look to Diala province which is
composed of 50% Shiites and 50% Sunnis and at the same time
is a strong base of the resistance. Two big Shiites tribes,
al Buhishma and the followers of Ayatollah Abdul Karim al
Moudheris, are with the resistance and everybody knows it.
The Ayatollah’s son fell in combat. He was the leader of a
big tribal contingent of the resistance. In Baquba, the
provincial capital, they cannot do the same cleansing as in
Basra with the Sunnis or as in Amara with the Mandeans. In
Baquba both Shiite and Sunnis support the resistance.
Certainly there are attacks by the different resistance
groups on the Iraqi government agencies, the US army,
Iranian forces and the Shiite parties and militias like the
Madhi army which are inside the political process, but you
will not hear of sectarian killings.

There is another example: Tal Afar in the Northwest of Iraq
near Mosul. Between 50 and 70% of its population is Shiite.
Nevertheless it is one of the capitals of the resistance.

It lies in the interest of the West and Iran to make the
conflict look like a sectarian one. Not only the US wants
to justify their presence with the need to impede a
sectarian civil war, but also Iran does. They want not only
to grab the South but they also want to have Baghdad and
therefore purge it from Sunnis. With their alliance with
the Kurds in the North this would suffice to control the
country.

We do, however, not believe that these plans will work out.
There are very big tribes in the Arab world and in Iraq
which span the entire country from the North to the South
like al Jibouri whose people live from Nasseria to Mosul,
al Shamari or al Azouwi. Most of them include both Shiites
and Sunnis. There are some smaller tribes which belong only
to one sect but most of the bigger ones are mixed and the
inter-confessional marriages continue unabated.

They did not succeed in implanting the sectarian strife
into the base of the society. It remains on the surface of
the parties which co-operate with the US occupation. In the
big towns they also find some ignorant lumpen elements who
they can instigate, but they will not be able to constitute
the main political entities according to sect affiliation
as it is the outspoken US intention.

Q: At the onset, the Americans set all their hope on the
Shiite political parties but later they discovered that the
situation ran out of their control. So they developed the
strategy which was called redirection trying to bring in
Sunni forces and also sections of the resistance. Did these
efforts yield any results?

As time went by, the US realised that their allies’ loyalty
goes only to Iran. Many of them are even Iranians. For
example right now 13 MPs are officers in the Iranian army.
Or, in the former Governing Council only six members out of
25 were Arabs both Sunnis and Shiites. Another eight were
Iraqis belonging to minorities. So the majority were real
foreigners. The al Hakim family are for example from
Isfahan. Only some years ago al Hakim was still called
Abulaziz al Isfahani.

It were the US neo-cons to introduce the model of religious
and ethnic divide. They deliberately wanted to create a
Shiite rule as they wanted to have a minority in power, a
minority with regard to the entire Arab world, which they
thought to be able to better stir and control.

They originally planned to continue their campaign to
Damascus and install the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood there. So
Damascus would have supported the Iraqi Sunnis while Tehran
would have done the same for the Iraqi Shiites and the war
would have carried on for decades – not on the base of
anti-imperialism but on sectarian grounds. But the Iraqi
resistance foiled these plans.

The Iraqi resistance sprang up rapidly and gained strength
so they recognised that they could not cope with them only
by military means. This is the main reason of their
strategic shift. They designed the political process and
brought in the Sunni Islamic Party. They intended to dry
the lake where the resistance fishes swim. But soon the
influence of the Islamic Party evaporated and their leaders
have been flying to the Green zone or abroad.

At the same time they realized that the Iranians had deeply
penetrated into the state apparatus beyond the confines of
the game. So they moved to also curb this process.

Q: What is the situation of the resistance both in a
political and a military sense?

The resistance is still gaining strength. Only judging by
numbers they rose from some thousand now exceeding by far
100.000 fighters. Their combat capabilities increased as
well. But they could also develop intelligence structures
penetrating the Iraqi army and police but also sometimes
the environment of the US army. So all together the system
of resistance includes some 400.000 people.

The US army and their allies are really demoralised. While
the resistance fights to liberate its country they only
fight for money. Thus they are becoming more and more
savage. They increase numbers not only of direct US troops,
but also of mercenary forces which are even more barbarian.
Taken all together they consist maybe of some one million
troops.

Look to the US losses released by the Pentagon itself which
are obviously sugar-coated. If you disregard the months of
special military operation like against Falluja or Tal Afar
you can see a clear tendency. At the beginning you had some
50 US soldiers killed by month, then later it was up to 80
and now some 100 get killed each month.

The resistance is now a real popular movement; it is a
culture among the people. Everybody contributes its share.
And the fact that no government helps us has also its good
side. If they would pay than you have always corruption.
The typical Arab façade would have been erected. Now,
instead, there is no excuse. Every section is responsible
for itself, to organise its people, to train it, to plan
the attacks, to raise money, etc.

Also politically there have been taken some steps ahead. At
the beginning there were hundreds of groups but people
understand the necessity of unity. Now we can say that
there are eight main groups. What has so far not been
achieved is a unified political command which remains one
of the main tasks ahead.

Q: There are reports of armed clashes between resistance
groups and forces related to al Qaeda. What is the relation
of the resistance to the Salafi and Takfiri groups?

Let us remember that the West started with insulting the
resistance calling it foreigners and followers of the old
regime. They wanted to allude that the resistance has no
connection to the Iraqi people. Actually the resistance
sprang up on a very grass root level to defend its identity
against the enormous provocations of US neo-colonialism.
They were former soldiers, tribesmen, nationally and
religiously inspired people who acted in their immediate
environment. It was neither foreigners nor Baathists who
were the driving force of the inception although Baathists
were participating as well.

The way the US deposed Saddam was perceived as an
aggression to all Iraqis including those who opposed him.
To be honest eventually Saddam personally played an
important role to push his people into resistance. He did
not try to save himself by hiding as was being reported.
No, he went from city to city, from Tikrit to Samarra,
Anbar and also Baghdad. He contacted Sheikhs, officers and
so on. He said that they should resist not for him as a
president, but for the nation and for Islam. He asked them
even to not use any more his picture as a rallying symbol.
Only in the following months Baath could reorganise as a
party and join as such the resistance. From the point of
view of the resistance it was a great luck that they could
not arrest him for a long time.

Regarding al Qaeda, in the first two years no such thing
existed under this name and even the Americans mainly spoke
of foreigners penetrating from outside and especially from
Syria. They tried to create a pretext to attack Syria
although Damascus did absolutely nothing to help the
resistance. On the contrary they did 200% what Washington
dictated to them to avert an aggression at least in the
first months.

In the first two years they were a very limited force with
maybe 1.000 to 1.500 fighters coming from inside and
outside. Also the level of military activity was not very
high. In a time frame of two years they themselves claim
some 800 attacks while the resistance were carrying out 800
attacks by week.

Later they steadily gained ground and they still keep
growing. They have a lot of money but they do not spend it
on a luxury life, but live a very decent life on minimum
needs dedicating everything to the struggle, which shows a
very serious and attracting behaviour. They spend the money
on the struggle. Most of the youths join them not for their
ideology but because they offer a place to resist.

In the East you do not need to write books to convince
people. If your personal life style is congruent with your
mission you will convince people.

When America started the political process it eventually
came to the benefit of al Qaeda. Those joining the
political process argued that otherwise the Iranians would
take over and in this way they would only co-operate a
short period and then could kick the Americans out as well.
Of course they failed. Al Qaeda argued in a very principled
way that only protracted armed struggle will advance their
cause and reality confirmed their way of thinking, their
trend.

They offered money also to some resisting tribes with
strong Muslim identity which needed these resources for
their struggle. Thus they created a coalition of six
groups, one al Qaeda and five local groups. That gave them
a big push. They were not big forces like the Islamic Army
but still with roots in Ramadi, Falluja, Haditha etc. They
gave their coalition the name Mujahideen Shura Council.
Under this label they continue until now and not as al
Qaeda.

They have a lot of resources and a steady supply also from
outside while the other groups get nearly nothing from
outside. Today maybe we can say that al Qaeda is the first
organisation of the resistance. They go separately from the
others but nevertheless in each city there is a kind of
council to co-ordinate military action, to chalk out a plan
of defence.

Islam is a weapon to make the people rise up. The Islamic
history, the Islamic figures, the Islamic culture is used
to push the people to fight because they consider Islam as
their identity. National and religious symbols are being
mixed. The Koran says that if Islamic land is attacked by
foreigners, armed resistance is obligatory. This is until
today out of question in the common sense. Jihad becomes a
Muslim duty for the people being occupied by foreign
invaders like fasting and praying.

So all the resistance groups whether Islamic or not use
this spirit as a tool to mobilise and raise the people.
Take for example the statements of the Baath party and of
Izzat al Durri personally. Judging by his language you
would believe him to be an extreme Islamist. But this does
not mean that all of them are really Islamists.

The entire environment is Islamic. By Marxist or
nationalist calls you will not attract young people. Where
ever young people go you will find Islamic sentiment and
spirit dominating. This indirectly favours al Qaeda. People
who join them do not feel to do something not normal as the
general conditions are Islamic. On the contrary they will
believe to only act consistently.

Q: But what about the sectarian attacks? Doesn’t al Qaeda
bear at least partial responsibility for them?

The responsibility lies with the government both with its
Shiite and Sunni components, the US, Israel and Iran.
Regarding the attacks attributed to al Qaeda by the West,
one has to subtract 95%. And for the remaining 5% you hear
only a part of the truth. Sometimes al Qaeda retaliates to
governmental or militia attacks on Sunni areas by attacking
Shiite areas. They want to show the Sunni population that
they can defend and convince them to remain. They thus want
to foil the plan to drive the Sunnis out of Baghdad which
should become part of the Southern Shiite federal entity.
This is pursued by the Shiite parties, Iran and in the
beginning also by the US.

But this is not a strategy and happened only few times in
the last year reacting to big attacks. And for every attack
they take the full responsibility. They direct a call to
the wise people among the Shiites: stop the crimes which
are being committed in your name, otherwise you will have
to bear the responsibility as well. We are able to strike
back with ten times the force.

I do not want to defend this approach, but we need to
restore the facts from the distortions by the West.

There is another striking example. Al Qaeda started in
Falluja as the entire resistance started there. While it is
a 100% Sunni town right after the beginning of the
occupation about 12.000 Shiite families from the South took
refuge in Falluja and Ramadi because they were accused of
being Baathist. I was not only an eyewitness, but also
involved in organising the relief for them. They were
helped by the ordinary population because they regarded
them as being with the resistance. Until today about 20.000
Shiite refugees remain in Falluja and not a single hostile
act on sectarian base could be observed not even by al
Qaeda. There certainly are quarrels between the resistance
groups over domination, this is normal, but not on the
basis of religion.

Q: Two years ago you founded the Patriotic Islamic National
Front comprising the Baath Party, the Iraqi Communist Party
(Central Command) and the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance. There
are several religious figures both Sunni and Shiite who
support you, but until now the big military formations of
the resistance seem not to be represented by your front. Is
the time still not ripe for such a front?

It is an exclusively political front and not a military
one. That does not mean that there are no relations but we
confine ourselves strictly to the political level.
Regarding the Islamic military forces you must understand
that they were built as military resistance groups and did
not have any political representation. We are not
interested to recruit this group or that leader. No, we are
in a comprehensive dialogue with all of them with the
proposal to form a unified political command of the
resistance set against the so-called political process.
Maybe it will go the other way round that a co-ordination
is formed and we will join them. Our aim is not to show our
role, but to create this political unification.

Whenever we seem to be very close to accomplishment,
something happens which impedes its advancement. We also
know what is behind. It is the influence and the meddling
of the adjacent Arab regimes.

Regarding al Qaeda, they always want to remain separated
and are not included in this process.

Q: During all these years of the resistance, there has been
the problem of the ambiguous behaviour of the movement of
Muqtada as Sadr who on the one hand became the main pillar
of the government and a driving force of the sectarian
killing, but on the other hand speaks against the
occupation, against the American imposed federative
constitution and even against the sectarian strife. As he
leads the most important section of the poor people how do
you believe to bring at least sections of his followers to
join the resistance?

Contrary to most of our friends, at the beginning I always
stressed that his movement is very wide and that many
Baathists, Marxists and nationalists went inside to protect
themselves against the Iranian militias. Maybe half of his
movement comes from other political environments and were
not followers of his cleric family. So whatever mistake he
would commit I thought we could count on these people to
rectify it or retrieve at least some of them. Secondly,
most of his followers are very poor but at the same time
uneducated. Of cause this is a double-edged sword.
Different to the other Shiite parties the social background
of his base are not wealthy merchants who might speak one
day against the occupation and the next day sign profitable
contracts with the US. Their opposition to the occupation
is real.

I believe that finally he has been pushed and cheated by
his allies in Iran, mainly Ayatollah Kazem Haeri who is the
successor of his uncle, and in Lebanon. Hezbollah visited
him three times advocating that he should follow the line
applied in Lebanon participating in the political process,
running for parliament, seizing positions in the state
apparatus and especially in the army thus enabling the
construction of a strong party. Otherwise al Hakim would
take over and dominate by the use of those resources. This
is why he ran on the list of his arch enemy al Hakim.

Everybody knows that his father was assassinated on order
of Hakim although officially Saddam is being blamed.
Muqtada originally also heavily attacked them including
Ayatollah al Sistani for co-operating with the US declaring
them even unbelievers. This is why they conspired with the
proconsul Bremer to kill him. Actually the US really
attacked him heavily. Under this pressure he backed down
fearing to be extinguished.

It is simply not true that he claims to be against the
constitution. He is fully involved in the political
process. He has 32 MPs and 6 ministers in the government
which is all to the benefit of the occupation.

Then they pushed him to attack the Sunnis in the
prospective to create a Shiite Mahdi state. At this point
many of his followers left him while other people joined
him causing a deep transformation of his movement. By now
also the Iranians have been infiltrating the Mahdi army to
the point that half of its personnel is composed of members
of the Revolutionary Guards.

Up to 2004 Muqtada was on the right side. For example, he
came to Falluja. But after the blows he suffered, in 2005
he moved to the other side. Now it is highly improbable
that he will rectify his line. Sometimes he makes some
words against the sectarian killings admitting however that
his people are involved and even dismissed three of his
leaders. But they continue. Partially he has even lost
control over this militia. If you give weapons and money to
very poor and ignorant people, if you make them strong,
they often believe to be able to take the reigns in their
own hands. They become mafia leaders and work on their own
account.

All this was also possible because of the fact that he is
young, inexperienced and immature so he can be easily
influenced by his advisers, his environment including Iran.

Q: There are more and more reports that Shiite tribes fight
against the government forces. Can you explain this
phenomenon?

With the occupation the Iranian militia in the South and
East went to kill officers of the former Iraqi army
accusing all its enemies to be Baathists. So many people
were assassinated.

Although they all belong to some tribes they were afraid to
defend them. But with the evaporation of the state
structures the tribes, are becoming more and more important
and powerful. Now they cannot accept any more that their
tribesmen are being killed by foreigners whether Iranians
or Iraqis not belonging to the tribe. If they come now to
arrest or kill somebody the tribes mount growing
resistance. There are many examples creating a new
environment, a sentiment which is directed against the
pro-Iranian militias and governmental forces. Recently
there occurred a two day battle near Shuk ash Shuyuk in the
south where they tried to capture a former officer.
Hundreds took up arms to defend him. He fell but not
without changing the climate. He belongs to a very
combative tribe known for its bravery. They subsequently
formed a kind of mutual assistance pact with other tribes
against the pro-Iranian militias including the Mahdi army,
the army and police indicating a general tendency which,
however, remains local and did not yet reach the general
political level.

There is another important cultural factor. The militias
brought alien habits which cannot be accepted by the
tribes. Under the guise of the Mutha marriage they import
prostitution. And they spread the use of hashish.

Q: What about the foreign support to your cause?

We are being used by Arab politicians to reproduce
themselves without offering any real support. They speak of
the Iraqi resistance and about the American crimes in five
star hotels and on the satellite channels. That is all.
They could, however, do a lot, for example raise money or
take to the streets against their governments in order to
close the Iraqi embassies. But they understand that this
would mean to pass the red line of supporting terrorism as
the US puts it. We know from the past about the importance
of material support to the Algerian revolution or to the
Palestinian struggle. Huge sums were raised and still the
ordinary people are ready to pay. But nobody dares to
collect this money for the Iraqi resistance. These leaders
are actually cheating their followers as those suggest that
they would offer help in secret. But I assure you we do not
get any serious help from outside.

Paris, July 2007 Interview conducted by Willi Langthaler

English / Jul 23, 2007


OURAIME

Melbourne Maoists Go International

Melbourne Maoists Go International


Maoism is not confined to the jungles of India and the Philippines, or the mountains regions of Peru and Nepal.

Maoism has a long history in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, where the ultra secretive Communist Party of Australia-Marxist-Leninist, maintains its headquarters.

Long past its heyday, Australian Maoism and the CPA-ML may be about to experience something of a revival.


In June, an international Maoist umbrella organisation established an Australian branch, to be led by well known Melbourne unionist and one time Telstra Board contender, Len Cooper.

The International League of Peoples Struggles is based in Utrecht, Holland and is led by long time leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison.



The IPLS links well over 200 Maoist organisations from the US, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Philippines, New Zealand and now Australia.

Message to the Organizations
Forming the ILPS-Australia Chapter

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples' Struggle
June 9, 2007

We, in the International Coordinating Committee, express to all of you warmest greetings of solidarity. We acknowledge the original custodians of your land, the Australian Aboriginal People. We are elated to know that various organizations are forming the Australian national chapter of the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS). We congratulate the Initiating Committee led by Len Cooper, member of the ILPS International Coordinating Committee, Migrante-Australia, Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia [CEPU] - Telecommunications Branch (Victoria), Migrante-Melbourne, Spirit of Eureka Committee, Bolivarian Circle and others for successfully preparing and convening this assembly.

The formation of the ILPS-Australia is highly important. You are committed to carry out an anti-imperialist and democratic struggle on as many as 18 concerns, as stipulated in the ILPS charter. You have your own national chapter constitution and you are building an alliance of organizations in order to be able to achieve far more than you could if you remained separate organizations.

We hope that the formation of ILPS-Australia will contribute to the advance of the anti-imperialist and democratic struggle in Australia, Oceania, Asia-Pacific region and in the entire world. So long as we fight for a just cause and rely on the people, we can hope and look forward to a bright future of national and social liberation, development, social justice and world peace.

Long live the ILPS-Australia national chapter!
Onward with the anti-imperialist and democratic struggle in Australia!
Long live the International League of Peoples" Struggle!

Len Cooper has a long history of leftist activity. Some family members were active China supporters in the old Communist Party of Australia. Many of Cooper's associates have been linked to the CPA-ML, a pro Chinese breakaway from the CPA.

Certainly, the CPA-ML's newspaper Vanguard has given Cooper's new organisation favourable coverage.

On the weekend of June 9-10 a national conference of various progressive organisations and individuals established the Australian section of the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS)

The twenty or so participating organisations represented only a fraction of the active people’s organisations, community groups, trade unions and other issue groups currently engaged in multiple struggles to defend people’s rights, to secure decent jobs, wages and conditions, to protect and repair the natural environment, to oppose imperialist war and exploitation, and many other campaigns.

Nevertheless, there was great confidence that ILPS Australia would be able to play an important role in promoting, supporting and assisting on-going struggles, as well as providing expression for anti-imperialist ideas and analysis. In this way the organisation could extend its influence and win wider respect and support over time.

The first activity of ILPS Australia will be a public forum in Melbourne on 31 August and 1 September, to counter an APEC meeting planned for Sydney later that month.

Newzeal

Responsibility for casualties in Nepal's civil war

An article from the journal of The Workers party of NewZealand
http://workersparty.org.nz/

Responsibility for casualties in Nepal's civil war

Jared Phillips

The Spark 28 July 2006

This article is concerned with disproving the assertion that the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)-led insurgency has, itself, killed 13,000 or more people since 1996. The mainstream media consistently implies that the Maoist Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is responsible for 13,000 deaths in Nepal. However, such media are unable to state categorically that Maoists are responsible for the majority of the deaths. In fact, the PLA is not responsible for the majority, or even half, of these deaths.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international NGO, stresses that "Most - about two-thirds - of those killed were victims of targeted or indiscriminate attacks and summary executions by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA)." Similarly, according to Nepal-based Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), referring to the year 2005, "over 1,500 people have been killed this year with roughly two-thirds of those killed by government troops and the rest by rebels."

Most of the deaths caused by the PLA are accounted for in the removal of RNA and Nepal police posts from the rural districts, and in the assassinations of government officials and district commanders. The CPN(M) publishes estimations of military, police, and government casualties in publicly available War Reports. It has made public apologies for civilian deaths it has caused. It has also invited human rights organisations to investigate those incidents.

The RNA, by contrast, has remained silent on the killing of non-combatants, and the mainstream media has reproduced that silence. This silence - what is not said about casualty responsibility and civilian casualty rates - is one indicator that the PLA is not primarily responsible for the civil war deaths in Nepal.

In the year from the January 2005 state of emergency declaration, journalists lost legal protections gained in 1991, and more than a thousand journalists lost their jobs. In that same period 273 journalists were arrested and 147 were physically assaulted. Since 1996 this type of repression has distorted news reports on which casualty estimations are based.

In 2002, the United States Congress approved $US12 million to train RNA officers and supply 5,000 M-16 rifles. Since 2003, it has become difficult to keep track of the precise amounts of Western financial and military support for the RNA, but the army of the state has been consistently provided with the capability for efficient killing.

Lastly, unlike the Nepalese state, killing is not a part of the CPN(M)'s political programme. In January 1995 the CPN(M), then in parliament, announced that if 40 basic reforms were not initiated for peasants, workers, and minorities in 1995, a revolution would be initiated. To bolster its human rights claims against the CPN(M) the mainstream press has invoked the words "Khmer Rouge" (the murderous regime in Cambodia in the late 1970s). Unlike the Khmer Rouge, however, the CPN(M), however, is pro-industrialisation, has improved literacy, and has actively protected intellectuals in Kathmandu. The CPN(M) also has been quick to point out that it was the US state that supported the Khmer Rouge and is still behind the killing and torturing of tens of thousands around the world, including in Iraq.

It is unfeasible to imply that the Nepalese Maoists have killed 13,000 people in the civil war. A proper deconstruction of casualty responsibility shows that the Maoists have inflicted much fewer fatalities than the RNA. The Maoists' honesty about casualties they have inflicted makes them a more credible source than the RNA. Moreover, the implication that the Maoists have carried out the majority of killings is discredited by the fact that Nepalese journalism, from which the mainstream press draws its figures, has been repressed.

The existence of abundant weapon supplies to the RNA also suggests that the RNA has inflicted many casualties. These points of evidence substantiate the claim that the Maoist PLA should not be held responsible for the majority, or even half, of the casualties inflicted in Nepal's civil war.

‘No Naxal activity in Kuvempu varsity’

Tuesday July 31 2007 11:12 IST

DAVANAGERE: Naxal activities are not allowed on the Kuvempu University campus, said Vice- Chancellor Prof B S Sherigara.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, he said: “Before assuming charge as Vice-Chancellor I did not know what was going on, but now I am not allowing any kind of naxal activities. However, there may be some sympathisers’ towards naxal ideologies, but no university staff or members are involved in this.”

“Since no one can deny the freedom of speech and writing, following any principle or ideology, I do not want to comment,” he quipped.

He said that he did not believe in violence and would not allow any one to follow this path either.

The State Government must look into such affairs as the university is more concerned about its development and students, he replied. He said that Davanagere has all the requisites to have a university.

To increase the percentage of higher education from present seven to 20 per cent each district needs a university.

The UBDT College of Engineering has 40 posts of teaching faculty lying vacant as Rs 1.60 crore was required to meet the salary expenditure every year.

Newindpress

Communist rebels killed in clashes in Isabela, Camarines

Communist rebels killed in clashes in Isabela, Camarines

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 01:02 PM

MANILA (AFP) - Government forces in the Philippines have killed five Maoist guerrillas in clashes that also wounded one soldier, the military said Tuesday.

Fighting between an infantry patrol and the rebel New People's Army (NPA) near the northern town of San Mariano on Monday killed three rebels and wounded one soldier, said the army division commander, Major-General Rodrigo Maclang.

The troops recovered a rifle, hand grenades and high explosives from the scene, he said.

On the same day, two NPA rebels were slain in a firefight with another infantry unit near the town of Calabanga southeast of Manila, said regional military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderic Parayno.

No government casualties were reported.

The 7,000-strong NPA has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969 in one of Asia's longest-running communist insurgencies.

Philstar.com

Quote on Indian Police Force

Indian Terror Police


"There is not a single lawless group in the whole country whose record of crime anywhere nears the record of the organised unit which is known as the Indian Police force".-(from a judgement by Justice A.N. Mullab in Allababad High Court.)

Video of Plain Clothes policemen with AK-47's and SLR's firing on unarmed protestors

Video of Plain Clothes policemen firing with AK-47 and SLR's firing on unarmed civilians in Andhra Pradesh



Link

Land clash sets off tit-for-tat game- Left settles Nandigram scores with sack cry

From Resistanceindia

Mudigonda (Khammam), July 29: Handed its own Nandigram in Andhra Pradesh, the CPM is using it to settle the Bengal Nandigram scores.

Politburo member Sitaram Yechury demanded the resignation of Congress chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy for yesterday's police firing in this village that killed four Left land activists and two by-standers.

"Reddy demanded the resignation of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on account of police firing in Nandigram. He should quit on the same grounds," said Yechury, who has rushed here with other Left leaders.

The CPM appears to have decided to use the tragedy at Mudigonda, 15km from Khammam town and 211km from Hyderabad, to polish its pro-landless image and offset its mistake in Nandigram.

Unlike Bengal, where the CPM is acquiring plots for industry in the face of Opposition-led farmer protests, the Marxists have joined theCPI in Andhra to agitate for land for the poor.

The firing happened during a Left bandh to protest the Congress regime's failure to keep its poll promise of handing vacant government land to the urban homeless to build houses and the rural poor to cultivate.

A mob had attacked the revenue divisional officer's (RDO's) office at Mudigonda, burning documents and furniture, when the police caned them, fired tear gas shells and then 70 bullets.

Yechury and CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta claimed the police had fired on peaceful protesters.

Police hide

Mudigonda today bore close parallels with Nandigram. The administration seemed to have collapsed amid simmering public rage, with most personnel having deserted the police stations in Khammam town and Mudigonda, which are being guarded by the reserve police.

The police's morale appears to have been hit after the government transferred Khammam police chief R.K. Meena and suspended his deputy, additional superintendent M. Ramesh Babu. A circle inspector and a sub-inspector, too, have been suspended.

The police may not have expected such a carnage. ASP Ramesh Babu, believed to have ordered the firing, left the scene in plain clothes, a resident said.

"He took off his uniform and escaped in a lungi and T-shirt borrowed from a constable," said schoolteacher Harinarayan, 46.

The bodies are still lying in front of the collectorate. Since morning, supporters of the Left, who have called another bandh, have been descending on Khammam.

As in Nandigram, motley Opposition leaders — such as the Telengana Rashtra Samiti's K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the Telugu Desam's N. Chandrababu Naidu — are making a beeline for the carnage site.

But not a single Congress leader dared follow them. S. Chandrasekhar, a minister from the district, chose to slam the Left from his secretariat chamber in Hyderabad.

'AK-47s, SLRs'

Tales of police brutality and charges that they used self-loading rifles (SLRs) and AK-47s have worsened the government's worries. "For the first time, state police used AK-47s," Naidu alleged.

Neither the police nor the government has so far denied the charges.

The bloodstained RDO office compound and the road leading to it are strewn with bricks, handbags, torn shirts and saris, battered mobile phones, half-eaten food packets and empty water bottles. They lie side by side with police batons and bamboo shields, metal hats, cartridges, unexploded teargas shells and official wireless sets.

Witnesses said one of the policemen had provoked the protesters, prompting some to throw stones and some others to barge into the office.

"A sub-inspector lost his eye in the stone throwing," an officer countered.

"The policemen seemed to be waiting for such a thing to happen. Within minutes, we heard gunfire from all three corners. It went on for 15-20 minutes," said Bagaru Babu, a farmer who was watching from a half-closed shop nearby.

Residents said 40 to 50 people were injured in the stampede and lathi-charge. "The police beat up the protesters with metal lathis and bamboo and wooden sticks," said Veerabhadra Rao, a demonstrator.

Five people with head and kidney injuries are in hospital, three of them in a coma, the police said.

The government has announced Rs 5 lakh for the family of each of the dead and Rs 50,000 for each injured.

Housing irony

The site of the land battle, ironically, is a place where the government had been touting its showpiece housing project for the poor.

Mudigonda is dotted with 500-600 half-finished houses, being built under the Indiramma project, which features 25 lakh houses across the state, each with a portrait of Indira Gandhi in front.

The Left says the houses are too expensive at Rs 40,000-45,000 and wants free plots for the poor instead. The Congress accuses it of playing politics.

http://www.telegraphindia.com

Yesterday Iftiqar Gilani, Today Binayak Sen

By Subhash Gatade

26 July, 2007
Countercurrents.org

Does anybody remember the Delhi bureau chief of Kashmir Times, Mr Iftiqar Gilani who was hounded by the BJP government on fraudulent charges under the draconian Official Secrets Act supposedly for possessing some ‘secret’ documents. Interestingly when it was revealed that all the ‘secret’ documents purported to be in possession of Mr Gilani were easily available online, then the law and order people had no other alternative than to release him.

The world very well knows that why Mr Gilani was treated in such a humiliating manner. The only ‘crime’ the accredited journalist had committed was that he happened to be son in law of a famous Kashmiri leader.

Today the same fate awaits Dr Binayak Sen - a paediatrician by training and profession and a human rights activist by choice. This receipient of the famous Paul Harrison award for work in community health has received a new identity. - A menace to public safety - The Chattisgarh police whose own record of human rights violations would shame even the KPS Gills, has used the provisions of the draconian Chhatisgarh Special Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act ( a substitute for POTA ) to detain Dr Binayak Sen in the wee hours of 14 th May. And the recent high court order has even refused him a bail.

It has been more than twenty five years that Dr Binayak Sen left his job at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi to dedicate himself to serve the poor and the downtrodden in Chhatisgarh. It was the time when a new workers- peasants movement was taking shape in Chattisgarh ( which was then part of Madhya Pradesh) under the leadership of the legendary leader Shankar Guha Niyogi. The martyrdom of more than eleven workers in Dalli-Rajhara in the immediate aftermath of the assumption of power by the Janata Party government was a news all over the country. Binayak Sen never looked back and continued working for the people despite many highs-lows of the movement. He played an important part in the formation of Shaheed Hospital at Dalli-Rajhara, a hospital run by the workers for the other downtrodden sections of society.

To further his concern for the really needy Dr Binayak donned many roles. He worked on community health projects, ran a clinic, also ran a organic farm near Raipur and was also adviser to the Chhatisgarh government for its community health project called 'Mitanin'. He found himself drawn into the fledgling human rights movement in the state when violations of human rights saw a quantum jump. But for his intervention ( of course alongwith other members of the civil liberty movement) the rest of the world would have never known the killing of twelve innocent tribals at Santoshpur by the security forces of the state supposedly to curb the Naxalite 'menace'. (31st March 2007) He was instrumental in forming an all India fact finding committee of civil liberty organisations to look into 'Salwa Judum' a campaign of arming tribals started by the government and using them as mercenaries. The report brought out by these organisations was an eye-opener. It showed how the state government has even allocated budget for this campaign which it calls a 'spontaneous response of the tribals towards the Naxalite 'menace'.

It was only last year that Dr Binayak Sen, - alongwith other civil liberty organisations and activists - had taken the initiative to organise a Convention in Raipur. The aim of the convention was to highlight the precarious human rights situation in the state, but an important item on their agenda was to focus the attention about a sinister move by the Chhatisgarh government to silence every dissenting voice. In fact Raman Singh led government had already made decisive moves in the direction of enacting a new law 'Chhatisgarh Special Public Security Act' (2006) which had several provisions similar to the (now lapsed) draconian POTA.

It was rigthly pointed out that the proposed act CSPSA not only included violation of the principle of certainty in criminal law (including vague definition of membership and support to terrorist organisations) but also absence of pre-trial safeguards (including insufficient safeguards on arrest, the risk of torture, obstacles to confidential communications with counsel). An important provision which rather made it worse than POTA was the 'virtual impossibility of obtaining bail as there is no provision for remedy of appeal or review of detention.'

Little did any of the organisers or the participants to the convention had the premonition that Dr Binayak Sen himself would be charged under the act, detained for months together by denying bail on flimsy grounds.

Despite campaign by democratic rights activists which were joined in by voices of medical fraternity from the world over, the powers that be seem to be least concerned about his detention. For the powers that be it is not a matter of concern that world renowned intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Romila Thapar and several others have expressed their 'opposition' to this unwarranted detention of Dr Sen. For them it is not a big thing that 1500 doctors spread in different parts of the world who have been acquainted with the work of their fellow doctor have appealed to the Chhatisgarh government that he be released immediately and all false charges against him be dropped forthwith.

It should be added that 'Medico Friend Circle'(MFC) - a thirty year old organisation of doctors who are working to make health services more accessible to the poor and who have consistently opposed the corporate control over people's health, recently held a press conference in Raipur to oppose Dr Sen's detention. In fact they showed the media a thirty minute CD based on the work of Dr Sen, who is closely associated with MFC's work since his youth. In fact more than thirty well-known medical professionals spread in different parts of the country made it a point to be present in the Press meet and declare their solidarity with their comrade.

But leave dropping charges or releasing him, the courts are is not ready to grant him bail.Dr Sen has been charged with 'a prima facie case that the applicant was involved with some banned organisation' .The high court did not deem it necessary to grant interim relief despite knowing the fact that ' the said meeting between leader of a Maoist organisation and Dr Sen took place in the jail premises themselves' in the 'presence of jail officials' and the letters which the police claimed to have seized from Mr Sen's house were sent from the jail themselves with due stamp of the jail officials.

The Chhattisgarh PUCL has termed this order of the Chhattisgarh High Court as “unfortunate” as the Court has not appreciated all the material facts and evidence of the case as presented by the legal counsel for Dr. Binayak Sen during the arguments. It has also decided to move the Supreme Court so that the highest courts of the country can decide on the merit of the case. It has also resolved 'to take stock of the alarming situation in Chhattisgarh with regard to ruthless use of repressive laws and anti-democratic actions of the State Government and, in turn, formulate future strategy and action plan to defend democracy and restore the rule of law.'

These days media is agog with news of another innocent doctor called Dr Haneef who has been apprehended by the Australian police. It is for everyone to see to what extent the Australian police went in proving that he is a 'terrorist'. It is a mark of the vibrancy of the Australian civil society that people there have stood up in Dr. Haneef's defence. The consistent campaign by the civil liberty organisations with due support from the media has helped expose Australian government's highhandedness in l'affaire Haneef. It is a matter of time that Dr Haneef would be released.

One just wishes that much like their Australian counterpart, the civil society in this part of the globe also wakes up to the innocence of Dr Binayak Sen and tell the powers that be that 'We want him out' !

If the Australians can fight for the human rights of an Indian, should the Indians maintain a conspiracy of silence when one of their own is being brutalised by the state.

Countercurrents.org

1 killed in nandigram as violence continues unabated

Nandigram clashes kill one

Statesman News Service
NANDIGRAM, July 29: After a lull of two months, Nandigram once again witnessed violence leaving one dead and three injured after clashes erupted between supporters of the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Commitee and CPI-M cadres this morning. A 12-hour-long bandh has also been called in the area by BUPC after police lathicharged its members in a rally, injuring 36 people including its leader.

Police said Bapan Patra (35) was caught in the crossfire while working in his paddy field near Sherkhanchak when both CPI-M cadres and BUPC supporters started firing at each other. He died on the spot. CPI-M leaders later claimed that Patra, a resident of Pankhai village in Khejuri, was their supporter. Barun Mondal, another CPI-M supporter, and two BUPC members Adhir Khatua and Manoranjan Midda, too sustained bullet injuries in the gunfire near Talpati canal. A resident of Baratala in Khejuri block, Mondol’s condition is stated to be critical. Khatua and Midda have been admitted to Mahespur public health centre.

The area saw heavy firing and crude bombs were hurled since this morning. It continued till late in the day. In another incident at Nandigram bazar, 10 km off Sherkhanchak on Talpati canal, 36 BUPC members have been injured when CPI-M cadres allegedly hurled bombs at their rally. BUPC had brought out the procession in response to a CPI-M organised victory rally to celebrate its recent triumph in Haldia Municipal Corporation.

CPI(Maoist)Karnataka State Committee on Anti-people band organised by Landlords

Respected editors and representatives of the media, struggle greetings to you.

We are releasing this statement on proposed bundh on 31^st of this month, called by landlords of malenaadu against our party and toiling people.

Requesting to consider this for publishing.

Yours in struggle

Gangadhara

For the state committee

CPI (Maoist)

28/07/07 Karnataka

Exploiting landlords are organizing irrespective of political parties, against the peasants and common people of malenaadu with sangh parivaar's mastermind and conspiracy. They are organizing under the name of peace committee to oppose our party in the guise of peace, which we spoiled there; we are destroying family, brotherly and friendly relationships between peasants, workers and landlords there, they are projecting so, for malenaadu. We are the sole reason for violence in malenaadu, they are saying. Before our entry, malenaadu was very nice and peaceful region. There is no such exploitation oppression and violence on peasants and workers in malenaadu they are propagating.

But reality is quite opposite; they are putting efforts to cover their economic, social and cultural exploitation and oppression on common people in the wake of ongoing-armed class struggle. They are having larger land holdings; hundreds and thousands of acres of landholders are there. Areca, coffee, rubber, cashew, elaichi, pepper estates etc are there. They are controlling malenaadu and karavali economically and politcally directly and indirectly also. In this area comprador bureaucratic capitalists like tatas, ABC, tea companies were also having larger presence. Imperialists like Cadburys also there. Other than this after the imperialist sponsored liberalization, privatization, globalization, there were several forest and water, power, mining schemes are upcoming by destroying life of the people, culture, and environment of malenaadu and karavali.

Caste oppression on daliths and adivasis and sex exploitation are rampant. They were treated as second class or third class citizens. In some area they were treated as slaves. Free service is compulsory in few areas and in few feudal and religious institutions. Workers are less paid. Their condition is serious thing, they are provided with pig hut like houses without basic facilities like power water and toilets. Thrashing of workers are still continuing in few places of malenaadu. Majority of people of malenaadu were land less, poor or having small pieces of lands without having records, though applied for it from several years, but still not provided by the government authorities. Now they are threatened by evictions for various imperialist and comprador sponsored forest, water, power etc projects. Government and its authorities are implementing all terror, illusion creation, cunning methods to evict poor peasants from their ancestral home lands. Earlier they used to impose false cases, illegal arrests, tortures, laathicharge, cutting down the paddy, areca, banana and other plants, smashing houses etc like anti people tactics. Now they are terrorizing people by cold blooded murders. Exploiting land lords are supporting all these and opposing people's struggle from the beginning. All these are peaceful for landlords and their agents but for all common and poor people it was peace less and violent against them. People are fighting for peace and social justice for them. Naturally that becomes peace less and violent for exploiting landlords and their agents, sangh parivaar and comprador state.

Now exploiting landlords, goons of sangh parivaar and their agents joined together, as per their class interests, against people and our party, as our party is leading poor and common people. We are organizing adivasi and other exploited toiling people with revolutionary class politics. By that people are waging uncompromising struggle for their life, livelihood and nature.

We are condemning strongly the bundh call against us and people, given by these anti people exploiting elements on 31^st of this month. We are warning seriously to all these anti people pro establishment land lords and their agents to stop this immediately. Otherwise they will have to face wrath of toiling and common people. By doing these type activities they can't stop ongoing peoples struggle. So many such attempts of exploiters were utterly failed. Even like well organized and equipped state and feudal elements sponsored selva judum ,thrutheeya prasthuthi committee like reactionary mercenaries were beating back by our people's liberation guerilla army and people in jharkhand ,bihar, chattisghad,maharastra,west Bengal,Andhra Pradesh,etc. In Bidar Raichur of Karnataka also, people fight backed reactionary landlords and their agents by conducting people's courts and implementing people's court decisions including elimination of die hard class enemies. Don't spit skywards it definitely falls on you, the exploiters.

We are appealing all people, all pro people organizations, individuals and democrats to expose and fight conspiracies of exploiting landlords and sangh parivaar combine's anti people and anti democratic acts like bundh against the people and their cause in the name of maintenance of so called peaceful environment, which is for them.

With revolutionary greetings

Yours

Gangadhara

For the state committee

CPI (Maoist)

28/07/07 Karnataka

Sunday 5th August World People's Resistance Movement (Britain) meeting

Invitation: Open Meeting of the World People's Resistance Movement (Britain)

Sunday 5th August 2007 2pm


Discussion on


-the progress of the Nepalese Revolution

-the international situation

- report of recent delegation to China

-the situation in Britain

-other topics to be announced

Come and discuss the global struggle against imperialism


Venue: 100 Flowers Cultural Centre, above 24 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 (side entry)
Close to Dalston/Kingsland Station. Buses 67, 76, 149, 243

Some press releases of the CPI(Maoist) Karnataka State Committee

Some press releases of the CPI(Maoist) Karnataka State Committee posting for Archives

Posting it for the archives

Received Via email

Press Release on Confiscation of research and thought provoking book Aanudeva Horaganavanu and recent attacks on Journalists in Mangalore and other areas.

Respectable Editors and representatives of the Media,struggle greetings to you.
We are sending this press release regarding Sangh Parivar and Police sponsored programmes against our party and people. Confiscation of research and thought provoking book Aanudeva Horaganavanu and recent attacks on Journalists in Mangalore and other areas.
Regarding the same to publish with consideration.
Yours in struggle. Gangadhara
for the statecommittee
CPI(MAOIST)
KARNATAKA
25/07/07 _____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Reactionary Sangh Parivar and state police colluded and hatching conspicuous against the people these anti people goons did serial robbery nearby Agumbe and sent a team to Gore’s house near Belthangadi etc. There several such near were conspicuously spreading by these anti people elements. Now they are floating anti people reactionary organizations in the name of peace committee, Jaagrutha Sena etc. Through these they are trying to organize landlords and their agents and creating mercenary killer gangs against the struggling people there. These are all against to the adivasis, daliths, backwards and women. By this they are putting efforts to get support for their reactionary crimes.
We are appealing to the struggling people and pro people organizations and individuals to expose these conspiracies of police and Sangh parivar, and fight against it by not allowing them to continue their anti people activities.
Karnataka government confiscated withdrawn book Aanudeva Horaganavanu by acceding to the reactionary swamies and leaders. There were politically motivated demonstrations organized by political and religious leaders, particularly in North Karnataka, in the juncture of transfer of power to the BJP.
Author himself clarified his version of suspected reality about Basavanna’s caste origin and open for freely discussing the same. But several intellectuals were acted as feudal pandiths without even taking the responsibility of healthy and democratic discussions over the matters raised in the book. Rather than that they tried to get mercy and support of religious leaders and political leaders by using this issue. In this few democrats and progressive intellectuals clearly took position of middle path. They diluted discussions with personal hatred ness. They did not take the responsibility of conducting healthy and democratic discussions.
In midst of this reactionary atmosphere several democrats and few organizations actively conducted and participated in the discussions with firm standpoints by upholding freedom of expression and democratic discussion.
Kumara Swamy’s coalition govt. confiscated the book after author himself withdrawing it. We condemn this act of government of Karnataka and demanding to withdraw this undemocratic,insane decision immediately.
Attacks on Journalists and media people are increasing alarmingly. Several Journalists were killed by anti people reactionaries and by the government forces also. Several were arrested under false cases. Hitting and smashing the camera and other valuables is becoming common thing.
In Mangalore, Bengaluru and other parts of the state, ransacking the offices of the media, physically attacking them, destroying their camera, imposing false cases and illegal arrests by the state were increasing. In earlier also sangh parivaar and travelmafia jointly ransacked an media office with threat.
Recently in Mangalore TV9 office ransacked and attacked it’s reporters by the blue film mafia elements.
We are condemning these attacks on media and demanding to provide all necessary arrangement for the free and democratic functioning of journalists and media people.
Take stringent actions on attackers.
All these events reveals further how much democratic, our system is and how much democratic atmosphere prevailing in our society?.
We are appealing all people and demdocrats to raise their voices and fight it with organizing them selves for the sake protecting whatever rights people achieved through the struggles. gangadhara For the state committee
CPI (Maoist)
Karnataka

25/07/07

Kannada Pamphlets released on Atyadka Encounter

Source: email

Click on images to enlarge



















cpi(maoist) karnataka press release on reactionary activities,confiscation,attack on media

Reactionary Sangh Parivar and state police colluded and hatching conspicuous against the people these anti people goons did serial robbery nearby Agumbe and sent a team to Gore's house near Belthangadi etc. There several such near were conspicuously spreading by these anti people elements. Now they are floating anti people reactionary organizations in the name of peace committee, Jaagrutha Sena etc. Through these they are trying to organize landlords and their agents and creating mercenary killer gangs against the struggling people there. These are all against to the adivasis, daliths, backwards and women. By this they are putting efforts to get support for their reactionary crimes.

We are appealing to the struggling people and pro people organizations and individuals to expose these conspiracies of police and Sangh parivar, and fight against it by not allowing them to continue their anti people activities.

Karnataka government confiscated withdrawn book Aanudeva Horaganavanu by acceding to the reactionary swamies and leaders. There were politically motivated demonstrations organized by political and religious leaders, particularly in North Karnataka, in the juncture of transfer of power to the BJP.

Author himself clarified his version of suspected reality about Basavanna's caste origin and open for freely discussing the same. But several intellectuals were acted as feudal pandiths without even taking the responsibility of healthy and democratic discussions over the matters raised in the book. Rather than that they tried to get mercy and support of religious leaders and political leaders by using this issue. In this few democrats and progressive intellectuals clearly took position of middle path. They diluted discussions with personal hatred ness. They did not take the responsibility of conducting healthy and democratic discussions.

In midst of this reactionary atmosphere several democrats and few organizations actively conducted and participated in the discussions with firm standpoints by upholding freedom of expression and democratic discussion.

Kumara Swamy's coalition govt. confiscated the book after author himself withdrawing it. We condemn this act of government of Karnataka and demanding to withdraw this undemocratic,insane decision immediately.

Attacks on Journalists and media people are increasing alarmingly. Several Journalists were killed by anti people reactionaries and by the government forces also. Several were arrested under false cases. Hitting and smashing the camera and other valuables is becoming common thing.

In Mangalore, Bengaluru and other parts of the state, ransacking the offices of the media, physically attacking them, destroying their camera, imposing false cases and illegal arrests by the state were increasing. In earlier also sangh parivaar and travelmafia jointly ransacked an media office with threat.
Recently in Mangalore TV9 office ransacked and attacked it's reporters by the blue film mafia elements.

We are condemning these attacks on media and demanding to provide all necessary arrangement for the free and democratic functioning of journalists and media people.

Take stringent actions on attackers.
All these events reveals further how much democratic, our system is and how much democratic atmosphere prevailing in our society?.

We are appealing all people and demdocrats to raise their voices and fight it with organizing them selves for the sake protecting whatever rights people achieved through the struggles.

Gangadhara
for the statecommittee
CPI(MAOIST)
KARNATAKA
25/07/07



Press Release release on dacoit of 4 houses near agumbe

Respected editors,representatives of the media and progressive and democratic organizations and individuals. Struggle greetings to you. We are sending this release on dacoit of 4 houses near agumbe, for your kind information and requesting to publish the same in the esteemed media with due consideration.
Yours in struggle
Gangadhara
For the state committee
15-07-07 CPI(Maoist)
Karnataka
Wide news are conspicuously spread that we did dacoit of 4 houses and taken kilos of silver, tens of thousands of rupees and snatched ear rings and thali and chains from the women by thrashing them e t c.
This is stage-managed dacoity by the bajarangadal,bhaaratheeya janatha party leaders and police combine. Police themselves participated with sophisticated weapons and wearing masks with baja ranga dala goons in dacoity as they and bajarangadala are good experienced ones on this by their routine practice of running theft,loot and sandal wood smuggling. This is for diverting public attention from cowardly atyadka fake encounter of theirs and imposing fascist terror and killings on people further.They trying avoid any enquiry of their crimes of cold blooded murders. They earlier also did these type of dacoity nearby kallugudde and other area in smaller level in the name of us. They also burnt government bus in nearby sringeri and tried to charge it on us, but their intention was not fulfilled.They exposed themselves before the public.Police kept silence on those matters.No heroic! Arrests, no heroic! encounters were made for that.
They and so-called law keepers did not shout for action on bus burners and looters at that time. The leaders of bajaranga dala and police officials jointly planned this shameful dacoity. They looted gun only for charging blame on us.
We never do dacoity,we only sieze looted belongings of common people with criteria of social justice. We do any thing with open declartion. we never hide those things from the people.
We did not sent any threatening letter to BJP MLA of theerthahalli Aaraga jnanendra and others.We are not indulge in such acts. We declare openly on any such matters. Jnaanendra got nervoused by his anti social acts,exploitation,patronizing sandal wood and timber mafia and loot, so that he applied for police protection with cunning method ,hero pose and created emotional scene in the house to get sympathy of other members of the assembly. Now lieng shamefully that threatening letter received from us.BJP MLA of karkala Sunilkumar acting as a goon without changing habits and profession of his previous life, without considering whatever oath he took while entering assembly, at least for the name sake.Bajarangadala�s sandal mafia leader Mahendrakumar shouting arrogantly after completing dacoity to take stringent action on us without any investigation. These three were connived with this plot of dacoity. Ruling government and fascist sanghparivaar playing dangerous games. This will certainly attracts serious repercussions. No one of these crimes can hide from the people. These types of cowardice and cunning acts never won in the history of revolutionary movement. No such reactionary force can divert people and their participation in struggle by these type acts.
We are demanding government question Mahendra kumar,Sunilkumaar,Aaraga jnaanendra and police officials on this dacoity by independent investigative agencies other than police department.
We requesting to conduct independent enquiries by pro people, democratic and human rights organizations on this dacoity and harassment of women and reveal the facts of dacoity.
We are appealing people and democrats to condemn and fight against these communal and state combine�s crimes on people.
With revolutionary greetings
Gangadhara
For the state committee
CPI (Maoist)
15-07-07 Karnataka