Back in action after tactical retreat:
India’s Maoists re-emerge with Italian kidnappings
INDIA: The kidnapping of two Italians by Maoists in India marks a
change in tactics by the guerrillas whose insurgency had lost intensity
following an onslaught from government forces, experts say.
Paolo Bosusco, a 54-year-old tourist guide, and Claudio Colangelo, a
61-year-old holidaymaker from Rome, were abducted on Wednesday in the
eastern state of Orissa, in the first case of foreigners being kidnapped
by the rebels.
Hostage-taking is a familiar technique of the Maoists, who are based
in the forests of central and eastern India, but victims in the past
have been mostly policemen or government officials -- some of whom have
been executed.
The targeting of foreigners marks a new development in the
low-intensity but brutal conflict that began in 1967 and is thought to
have cost tens of thousands of lives.
“In recent months, the Maoists were on a tactical retreat but now by
kidnapping two Italians they have yet again swung into action,” said P.V
Ramana, an expert at the New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict
Studies.
Indian security forces, which began a huge operation in November 2009
aimed at defeating the revolutionaries, have had some successes,
including the recent killings of regional Maoist leaders such as
Koteswar Rao, better known as Kishenji.
The rebels have also been unable to repeat any of the large attacks
of recent years, such as the April 2010 assault that left 76 policemen
dead in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
Leading policemen in some of the worst-affected states of
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa told AFP this was the first case of a
foreigner being kidnapped, but they were unsure whether it would spark
copycat moves.
“This is a new phenomena and a change in tactics,” said head of
Chhattisgarh anti-Maoist operations, Ramniwas, who uses one name.
“Looking into the current publicity in the international media, the
Indian Maoists could target more foreigners in the future to highlight
their cause in an international forum,” he told AFP from the state
capital Raipur. AFP
|