UK Campaign to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal - Press Release

A UK campaign is launched to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award-winning journalist and author, who has been on death row in Pennsylvania for nearly three decades. 

William Francome star of a documentary film about the case, ‘In Prison my Whole Life’, will be introducing a screening of this movie in Brixton. William Francome and the organisers of Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Defence Campaign UK will be available to answer questions about the film and the campaign.

Photographs may be taken of the event. Stills and publicity material from the film is also available.

Where: is Karibu Education Centre ?

7 Gresham Road
Brixton
London
SW9 7PH

When: ?

20 July 2010
7pm – 9.30pm

Contact: For further information or to arrange interviews please contact:

Keeley Mudd: mailto:keeleymudd@hotmail.co.uk
Grace Kress: mailto:gracekress@hotmail.co.uk

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a global icon for justice and human-rights. He is also the focus for a worldwide campaign against the death penalty.

His life is more in danger than ever. Mumia’s legal team are engaged in pivotal litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia. At stake is whether Mumia will be executed or granted a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty. The initial brief will be submitted to the Court of Appeals on 28 July 2010.

William Francome was born on the day Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested. ‘In Prison my Whole Life’ follows his investigation into the arrest of Mumia in an effort to expose the truth about Justice in America for black activists.

A demonstration will be held outside the US Embassy in London on the 28 July 2010 to coincide with the submission of the initial brief.

Notes for Editors:

Mumia was arrested during the early morning hours of 9 December 1981, in Philadelphia for the alleged murder of a police officer. He was tried in 1982 and sentenced to death the following year.  The trial was a tragic example of everything that can go wrong in a capital case.  The proceedings were marked by racism, inept legal representation, a bigoted and prejudiced judge, a prosecution more intent on winning than seeing that justice was done, and fraud. The defendant was too poor to hire a good lawyer, investigator, or essential forensic experts in such fields as ballistics and pathology.

At the time of his arrest, Mumia was already known as the "Voice of the Voiceless" for speaking on behalf of the dispossessed and against government misconduct and corruption.  He was President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists.  Today his weekly writings and radio commentaries from prison reach people in many countries.

There are significant developments on various fronts in the coordinated legal campaign to save and free Mumia Abu-Jamal. The complex court proceedings are moving forward at a fast pace. Mumia’s life is on the line. Two years ago Mumia’s legal team won the right to a new jury trial, with the federal court finding that the original trial judge misled the jury thereby rendering the proceedings constitutionally unfair. Then in January 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling based upon its decision in another case, and ordered the case be again reviewed by the Court of Appeals. At issue is the death penalty.

Other information:

An online petition for President Barack Obama ‘Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty’, initially in 10 languages (Swahili and Turkish have since been added) has been signed by over 22,000 people from around the globe. Signatories include Bishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa (Nobel Peace Prize); Günter Grass, Germany (Nobel Prize in Literature); Danielle Mitterrand, Paris (former First Lady of France); Fatima Bhutto, Pakistan (writer); Colin Firth (Academy Award Best-Actor nominee), Noam Chomsky, MIT (philosopher and author); Ed Asner (actor); Elliott Gould (actor); Mike Farrell (actor); and Michael Radford (director of the Oscar winning film Il Postino); Robert Meeropol (son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed in 1953); members of the European Parliament; members of the German Bundestag; European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights; Reporters Without Borders, Paris.

For how to help visit Mumia’s legal defence website:  http://www.mumialegaldefense.org/

Judicial probe demanded into Azad's killing by Swami Agnivesh - Chidambaran refuses the demand

Prominent social activist Swami Agnivesh Friday met Home Minister P Chidambaram and demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of top Maoist leader Azad and his associate, killed in an alleged police encounter a few days back. The demand, however, was turned down by Chidambaram saying such a step could only be taken by the Andhra Pradesh government as the encounter took place in Adilabad, Agnivesh told reporters after the meeting.

Peace talks between the Centre and the CPI(Maoist) will not proceed further if the Union government does not institute a judicial inquiry into the killing of Cherukiri Rajkumar alias Azad on July 2, said Swami Agnivesh, the mediator between the two sides. The judicial probe will have to ascertain whether the encounter in which Azad was killed was fake, said the swami. He will press this demand when he meets Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday.

Speaking at a convention organised by the National Alliance of People’s Movement in Kolkata, Agnivesh — with Medha Patkar at his side — said, “We will never allow the peace process to be derailed. Azad was at the forefront of initiating the process and if the initiatives become successful, it will be the greatest tribute to Azad. But tomorrow (Thursday), I will meet Chidambaram and ask him to order a judicial probe into Azad’s killing. We all want to know whether he was killed in a fake encounter or a genuine encounter.


Source: Indian Express

Maoists organise 48 hour shutdown in 5 Indian States

Free Mumia demonstration at US Embassy London on 28th July 2010

In Prison my whole Life - Film about Mumia Abu Jamal

On the Primacy of Practice by Harry Powell

In their recent article The Criterion of Truth the World People’s Resistance Movement ( Britain ) (WPRM) draw attention to the serious problems faced by the British capitalist ruling class as a result of the banking crisis and the war in Afghanistan . They point out that these developments have brought about a weakening of people’s confidence in the capitalist system and that this provides a good opportunity for developing a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist (MLM) political movement in Britain .

How is this to be done? The WPRM write:

“… there are several serious subjective problems that we communists need to address in order to build a proletarian-led revolutionary movement in Britain . The first and most important problem is grasping the ideology of the proletariat, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.”

The view of the WPRM expressed here and on previous occasions is that it is not possible to begin to build a MLM political movement in Britain until MLM has been thoroughly grasped. This is the reason they have put forward to justify their refusal to help form a MLM political organization in Britain which could lead on to the establishment of a MLM revolutionary party. This position is confused and incorrect.

The conception of MLM held by the WPRM is essentially an idealist one and not a materialist one. For them MLM is a fixed, unchanging body of ideas which can be grasped by assiduous study of the theory and practice of the international communist movement in the past. If this ideational construct is understood and applied to revolutionary struggle then success is assured but if MLM is misunderstood then failure in the struggle is certain. In criticizing the Revolutionary Communist Party , USA ( RCP , USA ) they write:

“.. the RCP has grossly failed to grasp the science of revolution, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, because after decades of political activities, the Party has been unable to apply the proletarian ideology to the concrete conditions of the US . … the central task of a Communist party is to develop a revolutionary movement in that country, and therefore, the RCP’s failure is the proof of its wrong ideological-political line.”

This assessment of the RCP’s performance is both undialectical and idealist. The fact of the matter is that the objective conditions in the USA and other imperialist countries during the last few decades have not been very favourable for the development of significant revolutionary movements. Although a new world economic depression developed from the mid-nineteen seventies onwards it was not as severe as the one during the nineteen thirties, after the end of the Vietnam War anti-imperialist struggles diminished and the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union and China undermined people’s confidence in the possibility of building socialism. It was not only in the USA that Maoists failed to develop a significant revolutionary party but this was the case throughout the imperialist countries. Of course, it could be argued that in all these imperialist countries the Maoists had failed to grasp MLM ideology and this explains the absence of developed revolutionary parties.

The WPRM’s assessment of the failure of the RCP, USA to become a significant revolutionary force is idealist because it denies the importance of objective material conditions in determining whether or not revolutionary struggle can develop. It is quite possible for a revolutionary organisation to have correctly assessed the objective conditions of its society and to take appropriate practical actions but the large scale societal factors favourable to the opening up of revolutionary possibilities do not develop despite the efforts of dedicated, disciplined comrades. This is not to argue that the political line of the RCP, USA throughout the last thirty five years has always been correct. Indeed, they have always had a tendency to dismiss much involvement in the day-to-day class struggle as “economist” and their idealist tendencies have now become manifest in putting forward Bob Avakian’s “New Synthesis” – not a product of the practice of the RCP but Bob’s own unique creation - as the answer to the problems of the ICM. Even so, it seems likely that the principal factor preventing the RCP, USA or any other organization developing an effective revolutionary party in the USA has been unfavourable objective material conditions and not the shortcomings of communists in America . The same is the case of the other imperialist countries.

In Britain during the nineteen seventies there were two main Maoist organizations: the Communist Party of Britain (ML) and the Revolutionary Communist League of Britain. Both found it difficult to deal with the counter-revolution in China and had largely faded away by the early nineteen eighties. The present writer has been one of the few comrades who have tried to keep the revolutionary struggle going since that time but without much success. So have we failed to build a revolutionary movement because of our failure to adequately grasp MLM ideology? My assessment is that if back in the nineteen seventies our political level had developed to a higher stage than was the in fact the case then it would have been possible to sustain a small MLM party in Britain , rather as happened in the USA . However given the relatively stable objective conditions of capitalism in Britain revolutionary breakthroughs would have been unlikely during the last thirty years.

The WPRM quote Mao as saying “The correctness or incorrectness of the ideological and political line decides everything.” (10th. National Congress of the Communist Party of China ). WPRM, and others, frequently mention this quotation to support their idealist position of how to engage in revolutionary struggle. In fact this quotation is not directly from Mao but is what the author of the main report to this congress, Chou En-lai, claims that he said. (I cannot find this expression in any of Mao’s writings.) The WPRM article also quotes Mao from On Practice:

… it [dialectical materialism] emphasizes the dependence of theory on practice, emphasizes that theory is based on practice and in turn serves practice. The truth of any knowledge or theory is not determined by subjective feelings, but by objective results in social practice. Only social practice can be the criterion of truth. The standpoint of practice is the primary and basic standpoint in the materialist theory of knowledge.”

WPRM praise the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN(M)) for applying this approach in developing its political line but WPRM fails to take the same approach in Britain .

The point is that the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism develops out of practical political struggle. It is not a fixed Platonic form floating around in heaven. Rather if MLM is to be of any use in the revolutionary struggle it has to be a continually changing body of ideas which arise dialectically out of the practical struggle to make revolution. The starting point of revolutionary struggle in Britain today is to apply the lessons from the past of the ICM to the objective situation we face now. The ideas we start out with will quickly change and develop as we engage with the people to investigate and take up the serious practical problems they face. This is the mass line, from the masses to the masses.

In Britain today the antagonistic contradictions of capitalism are sharpening. The principal contradiction at present is that between the mode of production and the mode of exchange, i.e. the economic problems brought about by the banking crisis of two years ago and the austerity measures being taken by the new Tory-Lib coalition government. These are and will have a direct impact on living conditions of the working class and middle strata. The Trotskyites and revisionists can only bleat that the trade unions must take action. We have to develop a better line. Also the contradiction between imperialism and the oppressed nations is particularly sharp in the case of the war in Afghanistan. It is clear that NATO forces are not prevailing there and this war is deeply unpopular with people in Britain . Yet the Stop the War Coalition has completely failed to combat the rising tide of militarist propaganda coming from the government and media. We must take the lead in doing so. Today in Britain objective conditions are becoming increasingly favourable for bringing about a rise in political class consciousness. But nothing will happen if the Maoists spend their time in closed groups introspectively trying to grasp “a correct ideological-political line”. In recent months Revolutionary Praxis has been out on the streets of Nottingham and Sheffield putting forward revolutionary lines on these issues and we have been getting very positive responses from people. Also we have learnt a lot from discussion and argument from people who disagree with our political positions. It is through this sort of practical activity that we can reach out to people and begin to attract radically-inclined people towards our revolutionary Maoist politics.

The WPRM write that:

“… building a powerful support for the Nepalese revolution in this country is not only essential, showing a true internationalist spirit, but also highly desirable for developing a proletarian-led revolutionary movement in Britain .”

Past experience in Britain in trying to build support for revolutionary movements led by our comrades in Peru , Nepal and India has had very limited success. Indeed, in the absence of a real revolutionary movement in Britain there is not a lot we can do to give real help to these struggles. Certainly, as internationalists we should strive to interest people in these revolutionary upsurges in order to interest them in MLM. (Revolutionary Praxis has been campaigning on the struggle in India under the slogan ‘Oppose Operation Greenhunt’.) However we are not in a position to give concrete practical support to these struggles as the old Communist Party of Great Britain did in the case of the defence of the Spanish Republic when it sent personnel, food aid and medical supplies. Experience has shown that a Maoist revolutionary organization in Britain cannot emerge from international solidarity work alone.

The best way in which we can render international solidarity to revolutionary struggles is to build a revolutionary movement here in Britain . This will not be done by small, closed meetings in London to debate the correctness or otherwise of the line of the UCPN(M) or the validity of the Thoughts of Chairman Bob. No, the Maoists in Britain , including WPRM, must go to the people, learn about their problems, develop policies to deal with them, and provide leadership in fighting back at our oppressive ruling class and their government.

SEIZE THE DAY!

Harry Powell


July 2010

Maoists call for 48-hour 'all India shutdown' over Azad's death

New Delhi, July 4 (ANI): The Maoists have called for a 48-hour 'All India shutdown' from July 7 to protest against the killing of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad in Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad District.

Top Maoist leader Kishenji made the announcement on Sunday, asserting that Azad was arrested from Nagpur along with another Maoist Sukdeb and taken 150 kilometers away to Adilabad, where the duo was shot dead.

"Azad had been proceeding to Dandakaranya for a meeting of the CPI (Maoist) central committee when he was caught by the police," said Kishenji from an undisclosed location.

Railways, milk, ambulance and fire services have, however, been exempted from the shutdown.

The Andhra Pradesh police reportedly shot dead Azad in an encounter in the Jogapur forest area early on Friday morning, while he was attempting to cross into the neighbouring Maharashtra.

Azad was a member of the central committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and carried a reward of 1.2 million rupees on his head.

Azad, who did his MTech in Warangal, was linked to the Maoist movement for more than 35 years and used to write articles for magazines on Maoist ideology.

There are reports that Azad was assigned the task of revising the Maoist movement in India.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that Azad's death could could lead to reprisal attacks in Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal following which the security agencies have sounded a high alert across these five States.

Maoist attacks have increased this year, especially after the Government launched a coordinated security offensive involving tens of thousands of police trying to flush out the rebels from their jungle hideouts in central and eastern India. (ANI)

Communist Party of India Maoist - Statement of North Regional Bureau on killings of comrade Azad and comrade Hem Pandey - Turkish and English

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST) CENTRAL COMMITTEE

North Regional Bureau Press statement

3rd July, 2010

It is not an encounter at all!! It is a cold blooded murder by AP Police!!

Red Salutes to Martyrs com. Azad (Cherukuri Rajkumar) and com. Hem Pandey (Jitender)!!

Let us avenge the killings of the beloved comrades by the khaki clad fascist gangs of AP government!!

Azad was arrested at Nagpur on June 1st along with com. Hem Pandey

On June 1st, the notorious Andhra Pradesh Special Branch Police for its abductions and cold blooded murders, have arrested com. Azad, Polit  Bureau member and Spokesperson of CPI (Maoist), and com. Hem Pandey, a zonal committee level comrade in Nagpur city around 11’o clock when they went to meet a comrade who was supposed to receive them from Dandakarnaya zone. Com. Azad reached Nagpur around 10 am on the fateful day along with com. Hem Pandey, after travelling from long distance. With specific information, the lawless goons of AP SIB abducted them, perhaps flown them in a helicopter, to Adilabad jungles near Maharashtra border and killed them point block and in cold blood.

We pay our red homage to our beloved comrades and vow to take vengeance of these killers.

Life of com. Azad

Comrade Azad is one of the senior most party leaders of CPI (Maoist). He was born in Krishna district of AP, in a well to do family. He did his school education in Sainik School, at Korukonda of the present Vizianagaram District. Com. Surapuneni Janardhan, a legendary comrade of the student movement brought com. Raj Kumar into RSU in 1974. A brilliant student at the Regional Engineering College, which became famous as Radical Engineering College in those days, he finished his Mtech in Chemical Engineering and moved to Vishakhapatnam as per the Party direction. He was the second president of AP Radical Students Union till 1984. He was the catalyst behind many all Andhra wide student agitations and peoples movements in that period. He became the district committee member of vizag unit of the CPI (ML) (PW). He moved length and breadth of India, to organize the Seminar on Nationality question held in Madras (now Chennai) in 1981. He was shifted to Karnataka in 1982 and com. Azad was one of the founder members of the Karnataka Party and worked as the secretary of the Karnataka State Committee. He was taken into CC, after the Central Plenum in 1990. He was the elected member of CC in the All India conference in 1995 and since then he served in CC and PB. He continued in those posts after the formation of CPI Maoist too in 2004. He has been the spokes person of the CC since then.

Known for his simple life and hard work; voracious reading and brilliant analyses of situations, crystal clear articulation and sharp logic, and fine organizational skills, he contributed widely to the revolutionary movement in many spheres. He wrote profusely to the People’s March, Peoples war (theoretical organ of the CPI (Maoist), and to the Maoist Information Bulletin. He wrote a fine critique of the intellectuals of AP, who got disillusioned and lost faith in revolutionary movement after the 1990 events of collapse of soviet imperialism and its satellite regimes.

In his death, the Indian revolutionary movement lost an exemplary comrade and a shining star, who served the movement more than three and half decades.

Just before his last journey, he received questions for interview from a well known magazine. He replied that he was in the journey and would send the answers as early as possible.

It is not Sukhdev, but com. Hem Pandey of Uttarakhand who was killed by APSIB

Com. Hem Pandey, 30, hailed from a nearby village of Pithoragarh town of Uttarakhand State. He did his MA history in Nainital University and got himself registered in PhD. While he was in college, he was active member of AISA, and slowly realizing he pseudo revolutionary character of AISA politics, he moved to the radical groups, later in 2001 he joined the then CPI (ML) (PW). He organized peasantry in the mountainous villages in Almora district, taking up umpteen numbers of issues of peasantry, including the problems arose out of Binsar Sanctuary. Soft-spoken, bespectacled, lean and energetic Com. Hem won the love of people of that region. He was moved into more important works in 2005. He had done his new assignments with patience and endurance. His appetite for learning new things, reading more and more, and zeal for penning his ideas are things for the emulation for all the revolutionaries. He has written various articles to newsmagazines under various pen names. We request the civil rights organisations to demand the A P police to send the body of com. Hem Pandey to his bereaved mother who is in Haldwani, Uttarakhand state, who is his sole surviving parent.

APSIB- the Indian avatar of Mossad

The Andhra Pradesh Special Intelligence Bureau, which has been partially trained partially by the Mossad, has acquired the notoriety of its master trainer-Mossad, in India. It has been moving across the state borders, and conducting abductions and cold blooded murders with impunity. This is all happening with clear blessings of Manmohan- Sonia and Chidambaram. This fascist gang has established its tentacles all over India, resorting the killings of revolutionaries, scoffing at the recent AP high court judgement that all encounters are to be first booked as murders under IPC 302, Ultimaely these killers will be taken to task by the revolutionary masses.

Will Chidambaram expect CPI (Maoist) to sit for talks with his blood on his hands of com. Azad and com. Hem Pandey?

CPI (Maoist) never contested or raised any hue and cry in the case of real encounters. The AP Police is resorting to globbeian lies, not believed even by gullible. CPI (Maoist) stood for truth and accountability to the people, and always stated facts. There is no such programme of Azad going to Sarkepally forest of Adilabad. Azad was going to discuss with our comrades, inter alia, the concrete proposals of well meaning people like Swamy Agnivesh about particular dates for the mutual cease fire. He was a carrying the confidential letter of Swamy Agnivesh written to Azad dated- 26th June 2010. Will Chidambaram expect CPI (Maoist) to sit for talks with his blood on his hands of com. Azad and com. Hem Pandey? He calls repeatedly to us to abjure violence? Killing the unarmed comrades by AP Police with your blessings – is it not like devils chanting scriptures?

White lies by AP Police

When there is no movement and organization in Adilabad, what is the necessity of Azad going to Azad? That the police found AK47 is again white lie. He alighted from a train around 10 am along with com. Hem Pandey in Nagpur Station, and was caught by the APSIB unarmed. Is the government following its own constitution of article 21? Is the government following kernel of the Geneva Convention that “defenceless persons” should not be harmed? Is it not utter hypocrisy and hoax that on one hand the government is placing the prevention of torture bill and the police every minute resorting to the torture of the detained? It is a concocted story of encounter repeated ad nauseum, by the AP Police, churned out to the media umpteen times. The right life, guaranteed under the constitution is mocked and the right to be produced within 24 hours of the arrest is metamorphasized into killing within 24hours of arrest, so that there is no scope for any redressal by their near and dear.

We appeal to the civil rights organizations, democrats, patriots to raise to raise to the occasion thoroughly investigate this fake encounter as an example of extra judicial killing that are happening in scores in this country and bring out the truth before the people.

Ajay,

Spokes Person,

CPI (Maoist)

Komünist Önder Azad katledildi! -YENİLENDİ

HKP (Maoist) Merkez Komite-Siyasi Büro üyei ve Parti Sözcüsü Cherukuri Rajkumar (Yoldaş Azad), polisler tarfından kaçırılarak katledildi

HİNDİSTAN (03.07.2010)- Hindistan Komünist Partisi (Maoist) Merkez Komite-Siyasi Büro üyesi ve Parti Sözcüsü Cherukuri Rajkumar (Yoldaş Azad), bir yoldaşı ile birlikte, Andhra Pradesh Polis Özel Timi tarafından tutuklanmalarının ardından helikopterle Maharashtra sınırındaki Adilabad ormanlarına götürülerek katledildiler.

Adilabad Polis şefi P. Promod Kumar, basına yaptığı açıklamada Maoistlere bağlı bir gerilla birliğinin Maharashtra’dan ormanlık bölgeye girdiği ihbarını aldıklarını, bölgenin yoğun olarak kontrol altına alındığını, sonuç olarak bir polis birliğinin 25-30 kişilik gerilla grubunu pusuya düşürdüğünü, en az 3 saat süren çatışmada Yoldaş Azad ile birlikte 2 kayıp veren Halk Kurtuluş Gerilla Ordusu’na bağlı birliğin iç bölgelere doğru çekildiğini açıklamıştı. HKP(Maoist) tarafından yapılan açıklama; devlet güçlerinin, çatışma çıktığı yalanını medyaya servis ederek, kaçırdıkları iki Maoist lideri hunharca katlettiklerini gizlemeye çalıştıklarını gözler önüne seriyor.

Hindistan Komünist Partisi (Maoist) tarafından yapılan açıklamada polis şefinin yaptığı açıklamının aksine herhangi bir çatışmanın olmadığı, Yoldaş Azad ile Hem Pandey’in Andhra Prades Polis Özel Timi tarafından kaçırılarak katledildiği belirtildi.

Hindistan Komünist Partisi (Maoist), Merkez Komite Kuzey Bölge Bürosu tarafından yapılan açıklamayı olduğu gibi yayınlıyoruz:

Bu kesinlikle bir çatışma değil! Bu, Andhra Pradesh polisinin soğukkanlılıkla işlediği bir cinayettir.

Şehit yoldaş Azad’ı (Cherukuri Rajkumar) ve yoldaş Hem Pandey’i (Jitender) selamlıyoruz.

Azad, 1 Haziran’da yoldaş Hem Pandey ile birlikte tutuklanmıştı

İnsanları kaçırması ve soğukkanlılıkla katletmesi ile ünlü azılı Andhra Pradesh Polis Özel Timi, 1 Haziran günü, partimiz HKP (Maoist)’in Polit Büro üyesi ve sözcüsü olarak görev yürüten yoldaş Azad’ı ve bir bölge komitesinde faaliyet yürüten yoldaş Hem Pandey’i, kendilerini Dandakarnaya bölgesinden alacak yoldaşımızla buluşmaya giderken Nagpur şehri yakınlarında, saat 11 sularında tutukladı. Yoldaş Azad, yoldaş Hem Pandey ile birlikte uzun bir yolu katettikten sonra, saat 10 sularında Nagpur şehrine ulaştı. Andhra Prades Polis Özel Timi, aldığı özel bilgi ile söz konusu noktada yoldaşlarımızı kaçırarak, helikopterle Maharashtra sınırındaki Adilabad ormanlarına götürerek katlettiler.
Değerli yoldaşlarımızın önünde saygıyla eğiliyor ve katillerinden itikamımızı alacağımızı and içiyoruz

Azad yoldaşın hayatı

Andhra Pradesh’in Krisha bölgesinde, iyi halli bir ailenin çocuğu olarak dünyaya gelen yoldaş Azad, HKP (Maoist)’in üst düzey liderlerinden birisiydi. Vizianagaram bölgesinde bulunan Sainik Okulu’nda eğitim gördü. Azad yoldaş, öğrenci hareketinden gelen efsanevi yoldaşlarımızdan Surapuneni Janardhan tarafından 1974 yılında Radikal Öğrenciler Birliği (RSU)’ne getirildi. Radikal Mühendislik Koleji olarak ün yapmış olan Bölgesel Mühendislik Koleji’nde parlak bir öğrencilik dönemi geçiren yoldaş Azad, Kimsaya Mühendisliği’nde mastırını tamamladı ve partinin direktifi doğrultusunda Vishakhapatnam’a gitti. 1984 yılına kadar Andhra Pradesh Radikal Öğrenciler Birliği’nin ikinci başkanı olarak faaliyet yürüttü. Bu dönemde Andhra Pradesh genelinde gelişen hemen tüm öğrenci hareketlerinin ve halk hareketlerinin arkasındaki itekleyici kuvvet olarak onun damgası vardı. Kısa süre içinde Hindistan Komünist Partisi-Marksist/Leninist (Halk Savaşı) partisinin [Bu parti, Hindistan Komünist Partisi (Maoist)’in öncellerinden birisidir –çevirenen notu-] bölge komitesi üyeliğine getirildi. 1981 yılında, Madras’ta (bugünkü adıyla Chennai) ulusal soruna ilişkin bir seminer düzenlemek için Hindistan’ı bir boydan bir boya gezdi. 1982 yılında Karnataka’ya kaydırılan yoldaş Azad, partinin Karnataka’daki örgütlülüğünün oluşturulmasında önder bir rol aldı ve Karnataka Bölge Komitesi’nin sekreteri olarak görev yürüttü. 1990 yılında yapılan Parti Merkezi Toplantısı’nın ardından Merkez Komitesi’ne getirildi. 1995 yılında gerçekleştirilen Tüm Hindistan Konferansı’nda da durum değişmedi ve yoldaş Azad bir kez daha Merkez Komitesi’ne alındı, o tarihten itibaren Merkez Komite ve Polit Büro üyesi olarak devrime hizmet etti. 2004 yılında Hindistan Komünist Partisi (Maoist) kurulduğunda da, yoldaş Azad’ın bu görevlerine devam etmesi kararlaştırıldı ve bu tarihten itibaren yoldaş, HKP (Maoist)’in Merkez Komitesi’nin sözcülüğü görevini de yürüttü.

Okuma hırsı ve koşulları parlak bir biçimde tahlil etmesi, berrak-keskin bilinci ve örgütsel becerisiyle ülke genelinde devrimci harekete önemli katkılarda bulunmuş olan yoldaş Azad, mütevazı yaşamı ve sıkı çalışması ile bilinen bir önderdi. Yoldaş Azad, Halkın Yürüyüşü (People’s March), HKP (Maoist)’in teorik yayın organı Halk Savaşı’na (People’s War) ve Maoist Enformasyon Bülteni’ne (Maoist İnformation Bulletin) çok sayıda yazı yazdı. O, 1990’larda sovyet emperyalizminin ve onun uydu rejimlerinin çökmesinin ardından büyük bir kırılma yaşayan ve devrimci harekete-devrime inancını yitiren Andhra Pradesh’li entellektüellere dönük sağlam eleştiri yazıları kaleme aldı. Ölümüyle, Hindistan devrimci hareketi, 35 yılını devrimci mücadeleye vermiş örnek ve mükemmel bir yoldaşını, parlayan bir yıldızını kaybetti.

Son seyahatinden önce, tanınmış bir dergiden, bir röportaj için gönderilen soruları almıştı. Soruları gönderen dergiye, bir geziye çıkmış olduğu için soruları yanıtlama şansının olmadığını, ancak mümkün olan en kısa sürede yanıtlarını yollayacağını bildirmişti.

Azad’la birlikte şehit düşen Sukhdev değil, yoldaş Hem Pandey

Yoldaş Hem Pandey (30), Uttarakhand Eyaleti’nin Pithoragarh köyü yakınların doğdu. Eğitimini Ulusal Üniversite’de tamamladıktan sonra felsefe doktorası yaptı. Tüm Hindistan Öğrenciler Cemiyeti (AISA)’nin aktif bir üyesiydi ve giderek AISA’nın devrimci söylemlerinin sahteliğinin farkına vardı. Radikal bir gruba katıldı ve sonrasında, 2001 yılında, HKP-ML Halk Savaşı’na katıldı. Almora bölgesindeki dağ köylerinde yoksul köylüleri örgütledi, onların sorunlarına dair sayısız yayıma imza attı. İyi bir konuşmacı, sade ve enerjik bir kişiliğe sahip olan yoldaş Hem, bölgedeki halkın sevgisini kazanmayı başardı. 2005 yılında daha önemli faaliyetler için görevlendirildi. Yeni şeyler öğrenme iştahı, sürekli okuması ve fikirlerini yazıya dökmesi tüm devrimcilerin örnek alması gereken şeylerdir. Farklı isimler altında birçok haber dergisine birçok makale yazmıştır. Sivil haklar organizasyonlarından yoldaş Hem Pandey’in cenazesinin Andre Pradesh polisi tarafından, Uttarakhand eyaletinde, Haldwani’de yalnız yaşayan annesine gönderilmesi için ısrar etmesini talep ediyoruz.

APSIB- Mossad’ın Hint Avatarı

Kısmen Mossad tarafından eğitilmiş olan Andra Pradesh Özel İstihbarat Dairesi, Hindistan’da usta öğretmeninin kötü şöhretini kazandı. Dokunulmazlığı olan APSIB, eyalet sınırlarını geçerek kaçırma eylamlerini ve soğukkanlılıkla işlenen cinayetleri yönetiyor. Bütün bunlar Manmohan- Sonia ve Chidambaram’ın açık desteğiyle gerçekleşiyor.
Bu faşist çete, karşılaşmalar sonucu yaşanan ölümlerin IPC 302’ye göre cinayet olarak kaydedileceği şeklindeki son AP Yüksek mahkeme kararıyla da dalga geçerek tüm Hindistan’a uzantılarını yerleştirmiştir ve sürekli devrimcileri katletmektedir. Bu katillerin hesabı eninde sonunda devrimci kitleler tarafından görülecektir.

Chidambaram ellerinde yoldaş Azad ve yoldaş Hem Padey’in kanları varken HKP (Maoist)’in görüşmeler için masaya oturacağını mı umuyor?

HKP (Maoist) gerçek karşılaşmalar (iki tarafın karşılaşması sonucu çıkan çatışmalar) yaşandığında asla feryat edip ağlamadı. Andra Pradesh polisi avanakların dahi inanmadığı yalanlara başvuruyor. HKP (Maoist) halka karşı gerçeği ve hesap verilebirliği savundu ve her zaman gerçekleri açıkladı.

Azad’ın Adilabad’ın Sarkepally ormanlarında katılacağı bir program söz konusu değildir. Azad, diğer şeylerin yanısıra Swamy Agnivesh gibi iyi niyetli insanların karşılıklı ateşkes için belirli tarihlere dair somut önerilerini yoldaşlarla tartışmak için gidiyordu.

Swamy Agnivesh’in Azad’a yazdığı 26 Haziran 2010 tarihli mektup üzerindeydi. Chidambaram ellerinde yoldaş Azad ve yoldaş Hem Padey’in kanları varken HKP (Maoist)’in görüşmeler için masaya oturacağını mı umuyor? Sürekli bize şiddetten vazgeçmemiz çağrısı yapıyor. Silahsız yoldaşlarımız Andra Pradesh polisi tarafından sizin teşvikinizle öldürülürken- bu şeytanların ilahi okuması gibi değil mi?

AP Polisi’nden Beyaz Yalanlar

Adilabad’da herhangi bir organizasyon ve hareket yokken Azad’ın Adilabad’a gitmesinin gereği neydi? Polisin bulduğunu söylediği AK 47 de yine yalandır. Azad yanındaki yoldaş Hem Pandey ile sabah saat 10 civarında, Nagpur istasyonunda bir trenden indi ve Andra Pradesh Özel İstihbarat Dairesi tarafından silahsız olarak yakalandı. Hükümet kendi anayasasının 21. maddesini uyguluyor mu? Hükümet Cenevre Konvansiyonu’nun “savunmasız insanlara zarar verilmemesi gerektiği”ni söyleyen özünü takip ediyor mu? Hükümet bir yandan işkenceyi önleme yasa tasarısını sunarken öte yandan polisin her dakika gözaltında işkenceye başvurması tam anlamıyla ikiyüzlülük ve aldatmaca değil midir? Bu AP polisi tarafından tezgahlanmış ve mide bulandıracak kadar tekrarlanan, medya tarafından çoğaltılan bir çatışma hikayesidir. Anayasanın garantisi altındaki yaşam hakkı ile dalga geçilmiş, 24 saat içinde mahkemeye çıkarılma hakkı, gözaltında 24 saat içinde öldürmeye dönüştürülmüştür.

Bu ülkede yaşanan yüzlerce yargısız infazın bir örneği olan bu düzmece çatışmayı derinlemesine inceleyerek sesimizi daha da yükseltmek ve gerçeği göz önüne sermek için sivil haklar örgütleri, demokrat ve yurtseverlere başvuracağız.

Azad killed in fake encounter- says Varavara Rao

HYDERABAD: Revolutionary poet P. Varavara Rao, a known Maoist sympathiser and defender, on Friday rubbished the official version of the killing of naxalite leader Azad in an encounter, and said he was actually picked up by the Andhra Pradesh police at the Sitabardi market place in Nagpur at 11 a.m. on Thursday, along with tribal leader Sahadev. “They were brought to Adilabad and shot dead in cold blood,” he told The Hindu. Mr. Rao said Azad was to go to Dandakarayna (in the Bastar forests in Chhattisgarh) to take study classes for Maoist rebels, and his party had sent Sahadev , an adivasi leader, to pick him up at the Sitabardi market. “We do not know what happened, but that was the last appointment Azad had.” Mr. Rao apprehended that the ‘unidentified naxalite' shot dead along with Azad could be Sahadev.

High Court's direction

Meanwhile, on a petition filed by Azad's mother, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the police to conduct the post-mortem at the government hospital at Mancherial in Adilabad district and to show her the body.

CPI (Maoist) Polit Bureau member Azad killed claims Andhra Pradesh Police

Posted by Rajeesh on Indian Vanguard on July 3, 2010

The body of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar lies where he was killed in Adilabad district on Friday. source The Hindu 

The Andhra Pradesh police on Friday said it had shot dead top naxalite Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, along with an unidentified cohort, in an exchange of fire in Adilabad district, close to the State’s border with Maharashtra.

The death of Azad, a member and spokesman of the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist) and a member of the Polit Bureau, has dealt a big blow to the Maoist movement in India. He was an ideologue who had specialised in field-craft as well.

Even as some sources questioned the encounter theory, the police said the gunfight lasted more than three hours. An AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol and two kitbags were found at the scene.

The alleged encounter took place on a 500-metre-high hillock 3 km from the nearest motorable road. With the monsoon having set in, the forest had become lush green, and the tribals had started farming operations. Some of them were tilling the land, but none would speak to The Hindu about the encounter.

Azad, around 58 years old, hailed from Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. He went underground in 1979. He was arrested in 1975 and 1978 and jumped bail. He carried a reward of Rs. 12 lakh on his head.

A decades-old picture of Azad from the police files He had apparently been tasked with reviving the Maoist movement in Andhra Pradesh. He was a member of the Urban Sub-Committee (USCO) and was in charge of the South Western Regional Bureau (SWRB) of Maoists, which coordinates the movement in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Police sources familiar with the Maoists’ pattern of activity said Friday’s encounter deaths could lead to reprisal attacks in Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. They, however, said the death of Azad had broken the aura of invincibility that the Maoists were seeking to create by means of their recent brutal strikes against the security forces.

Adilabad Superintendent of Police P. Promod Kumar told journalists that the police had launched combing operations following intelligence inputs that a team of Maoists had moved into the forests from Maharashtra. One of the police teams encountered a group of 25 to 30 rebels in the hilly terrain near Sarkepally, a village 15 km from the border with Maharashtra.

“Our team… cautioned them to surrender, but it came under fire, forcing it to retaliate,” the officer said.