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PRESS STATEMENTS & INTERVIEWS, 2001 - Present |
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Operation Green Hunt Is a Genocidal War Against the People of India and Must Be Stopped By Prof. Jose Maria Sison Chairperson, International League of Peoples’ Struggle 12 February 2010 A genocidal war has been launched by the Indian reactionary state, acting on behalf of the imperialists, multinational corporations and the local reactionary classes, against the people of India. The military offensives, code name Operation Green Hunt is part of the imperialist “war on terror” and aims to crush the people’s war and destroy every resistance of the tribal people (adivasis) fighting against the destruction of their lands and livelihood. Operation Green Hunt is focused on the states of West Bengal, Jharkland, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, which are rich in mineral deposits of iron, coal, gold, diamonds, bauxite, and uranium, and are suitable sites for special economic zones. These are also areas where forces of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) have a very strong presence. The CPI-M has helped the tribal people organize themselves, teaching them agricultural techniques to further improve their produce, undertaking anti-illiteracy campaign and building schools, rendering health and medical services to the people, establishing self-defense units to protect themselves against attacks by military and paramilitary forces and eradicating feudal practices. The Indian national government has vowed to destroy the revolutionary forces by March 2010. The national and local states have entered into memoranda of agreements with multinational corporations to give these free rein in plundering India’s natural resources. Under the protection of the Indian state and military, foreign and Indian corporations such as Vedanta, Rio Tinto, Posco and others, have plundered and pillaged the tribal lands and forest areas for years. In the Orissa’s Jagatsingphur district, for example, thousands of people have been displaced and dispossessed to pave the way for the construction of a 12-million ton steel plant owned by Posco-India. The project is a joint venture of India and South Korean companies that covers 4,404 acres of land of which 2,958 acres are forest land. The attacks against the tribal people intensified in the late 2009 with the launching of Operation Green Hunt. Destruction, displacement, murders, burning of villages, looting and rapes are the components of Operation Green Hunt. It imposes a reign of terror and repression and commits grave atrocities against the people to force them to leave their homes and lands to give way to industrial enclaves of multinational corporations. To date, more than a hundred tribal people have been killed, several thousands tortured and maimed and hundreds of thousands displaced from the homes and lands. People’s organizations, members of the media, intellectuals, writers, artists and progressives who have supported the campaign against Operation Green Hunt have been constantly harassed, threatened and even arrested and tortured. The media are forbidden to cover the affected areas and are either gagged or bribed by the state and the corporations. The International League of Peoples’ Struggle and its member organizations absolutely and vigorously condemn Operation Green Hunt and call on the international community to join forces in supporting the struggle of the people of India against the pillage and barbarities committed against them by the reactionary and imperialist forces. The ILPS calls on its member organizations and the international community to join the ILPS campaign, condemning imperialist plunder and the mass displacements and human rights violations in India and holding protest mass actions against Operation Green Hunt. It demands the stop to the attacks on tribal communities and the realization of justice for the victims of Operation Green Hunt. ###
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