Kandhamal:
After the Maoists - who abducted two Italians in Odisha - named three interlocutors for negotiations with the state government, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked them to suggest alternative names for at least two of the proposed mediators. The deadline given by the Maoists for the government to respond to their 13-point demand ends today.
The Maoists had, on Monday, named a panel of three negotiators for talks with the government. These include Narayan Sanyal, a senior Maoist leader, who is lodged in a jail in Jharkhand; Biswapriya Kanungo, a civil rights activist and lawyer; and another person who was part of the negotiations for release of Malkangiri collector, R Vineel Krishna, who was abducted by the Left ultras last year.
In a statement in the Odisha Assembly, the Chief Minister today said that it was not possible to expect Mr Sanyal to be an interlocutor because he is serving a life sentence. He also said that Mr Kanungo was unwilling to represent the Maoists. Mr Patnaik also appealed to the Maoists again for the release of the two Italians.
The Maoists proposed the names of the three interlocutors after the state government halted combing operations as was demanded by them. They have also announced a unilateral ceasefire and appealed to other Maoists operating along the state's border not to indulge in violence.
The Chief Minister had said that combing operations would be stopped if the Maoists shunned violence.
"There will be no coercive action taken by the security forces as long as the Odisha state Organising Committee of the CPI-Maoist do not indulge in any violence or unlawful activity. I once again most earnestly urge the Maoists to release the two Italian nationals," Mr Patnaik had said.
The Maoists have made fresh demands for the release of the two Italians who were abducted in the Kandhamal district. They want three of their leaders, Gananath Patra, Subhashree Panda and Ashutosh Soren released. This is in addition to a suspension to search and combing operations against them.
The Maoists have released both locals abducted along with the Italians.
Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna, on Monday, received a call from his Italian counterpart Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata and updated him on the latest situation with regard to the two Italian citizens. Mr Krishna assured his Mr Terzi that the Odisha government was doing all it could to ensure the release of the kidnapped Italians. The Italian Foreign minister thanked Mr Krishna for the assistance provided by Indian government agencies so far in the case.
There is no word yet on the kidnapped Italians who are being held hostage by the Maoists.
One of the two abducted men, Boscusco Paolo, has been visiting Odisha since 1999 and runs a travel agency in Puri that takes foreign tourists on tribal tours. The other, Clandio Colangilo, is a tourist. The two were kidnapped from the Kandhmal-Ganjam border.
One of the two locals released by the Maoists has said that the two Italians were actually abducted on March 14. Santosh Maharana, an employee of the Odisha Adventure Trekking, a small travel agency run by Paolo, said the Maoists took them to a forest where they had to spend three days. They were all treated well and given good food.
The Maoists say the duo were taking objectionable pictures of tribal women. Late on Saturday night, the Maoists sent an audio message to NDTV claiming responsibility.
"We have arrested two Italian tourists who like hundreds of foreign tourists ... treat the local people as monkeys and objects of ridicule. This is against humanity and we want the people at large to rise against this," the Maoists said in the audio message.