Nandigram Situation

http://www.cpim.org/statement/2007/11122007-pb%20communique.htm

November 12, 2007

Press Communiqué

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on November 11 & 12, 2007. It has issued the following statement:

Nandigram Situation

The Polit Bureau heard a report on the developments in Nandigram in the recent period. Since January 2007, an abnormal situation had developed with an alliance of forces led by the Trinamul Congress driving out workers and supporters of the Left Front including elected panchayat members. Since then the police and the administration have not been allowed to function in the area.

Even after the state government announced that there is no question of land acquisition for a chemical hub, for the past nine months the people evicted from the area were not able to go back to their homes or cultivate their fields.

The Polit Bureau firmly rebuffs all the mischievous attempts to portray the developments in Nandigram as an outcome of “red terror”. There has been no issue of land acquisition whatsoever in Nandigram since February 2007, yet the whole area was under siege on the spurious pretext of protection of land. The reality in Nandigram was a violent and undemocratic offensive to displace those who were the legitimate representatives of the people.

The gang up of political forces against the CPI(M) and the Left operating in the guise of a Bhumi Ucchhed Pratirodh Samity virtually set up a parallel raj in the area. A dangerous phenomenon was their utilising the assistance of Maoist armed squads who came into the area from outside. The situation of utter lawlessness prevailed and bunkers were built and landmines laid. In this entire period 27 CPI(M) workers and supporters were killed. Such a situation cannot be tolerated by any state government or administration. After the March 14 police firing, repeated efforts were made for political negotiations and peace talks for the restoration of normalcy and the return of all the affected people.

After a prolonged struggle, the determined efforts made by the people to return to their homes have succeeded and this should pave the way for normalcy to return. The CPI(M) and the Left Front have declared that they want peace to be restored and all sections of the people irrespective of political affiliations to be allowed to return to their family life in pursuit of their livelihood.

With the deployment of central para military forces, the Left Front government should make all efforts for rehabilitation and resumption of development work in the area.