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India-Pakistan
Amnesty urges Maoists to free hostages
2010-09-05
NEW DELHI — Human rights group Amnesty International called on Saturday for Maoist rebels to free three policemen held hostage in eastern India after the group killed one of the captives. The Maoists have threatened to kill the three remaining policemen unless eight jailed comrades are freed.

“The taking of hostages is prohibited by international law,” said London-based the rights group in an emailed statement.
Really? Well. Then. I guess the Maoists will just have to let them go, since Maoists are so concerned about international law.
The Maoists “must stop threatening to kill or harm them these police officers and guarantee their lives and safety,” Amnesty said.

Meanwhile, two suspected Maoists were arrested on Saturday in BiharÂ’s Jamui district while a massive combing operation was on to trace three cops abducted by the rebels, a day after the body of slain policeman Lucas Tete was found in a forest.

“Both Maoists were arrested when they arrived in the court premises in connection with their pending cases,” the sources said.

A massive operation was launched against Maoists in the morning in the hilly, forest areas in Lakhisarai, Munger and Jamui districts as uncertainty continued about the fate of the three policemen abducted by the rebels Sunday. According to police officials, a combined force of Cobra commandos, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force, Bihar Military Police and Special Auxiliary Police are scouring the forests, hoping to find a clue to the whereabouts of the three abducted policemen.

Maoists spokesperson Avinash told local Hindi news channels Saturday that the remaining three policemen are safe and well. But he refused to allow them to talk to their families. Maoists claimed SundayÂ’s gunfight and kidnappings were in retaliation for the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist on the night of July 1-2 in Andhra Pradesh.

The rebels said the kidnapped policemen would be killed unless eight jailed Maoist leaders were released. The Maoists have also warned the Bihar government of more attacks if the operations against them did not stop immediately.
That's pretty much what every terrorist group threatens to do when the coppers come after them ...
The hostage crisis in Bihar state is seen as a major test for the regionÂ’s chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is widely credited with improving the economic fortunes of deeply deprived area. Kumar has favoured dialogue and development over a hardline strategy of trying to crush the Maoist movement, which has been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as IndiaÂ’s biggest internal security threat.

Authorities in New Delhi launched a major offensive last year to tackle the worsening insurgency, but since then the Maoists have hit back with repeated attacks on the police and paramilitary forces.
Posted by:Steve White

#1  Fund-raising time for AI in India?
Posted by: Pappy   2010-09-05 16:48  

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