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| Saturday, 2 October 2004 |
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Maoist group stages show of strength ahead of peace talks HYDERABAD, Friday (AFP) Nearly 70,000 supporters of a radical Maoist group gathered in southern India's Andhra Pradesh state in a show of strength just days ahead of peace talks with the state government. The supporters of the People's War Group, which has been waging an armed insurgency on behalf of the rural poor for three decades, also held a public meeting in the state capital Hyderabad. "This meeting is to explain to the people why the organisation has agreed to talk to the government," Gaddar, a revolutionary poet who has only one name, told AFP. The Andhra Pradesh state government and the People's War Group were scheduled to begin their first round of direct peace talks this weekend, but rebel leaders said they are likely to negotiate a fresh date Friday. The rebels did not give a reason for the postponement, but so far the talks have been bogged down over the issue of the rebels laying down their arms during the peace process. "We are not for violence but we need to protect ourselves. What do we do when violence is forced on us?," queried Kalyan Rao, one of the People's War Group-appointed emissaries, during the rally. Two months ago, the state government lifted an eight-year ban on the group and initiated efforts to begin peace talks with the rebels. |
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