M A I N   N E W S

PM wants non-lethal ways for crowd control
Reiterates offer of talks to Naxalites
Tribune News Service

debate over autonomy Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI): CM Omar hasn’t done enough, has alienated people, state structure needs cleansing with ‘Gangajal’ MM Joshi (BJP): Autonomy, ‘azadi’ for Kashmir unacceptable; Hurriyat wants freedom from India, government must act tough, as Kashmir is integral to India Girija Vyas (Cong): Mothers must urge children to exercise restraint.

New Delhi, August 26
Expressing concern over the ongoing unrest in Kashmir valley, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today underlined the need for revisiting standard operating procedures and crowd control measures to deal with public agitations with non-lethal, yet effective and more focused measures.

“We also cannot have an approach of one size fits all. For instance, I understand that instead of a single standard sequence for the use of force, other countries have put in place procedures that vary according to the specific needs in different situations. Similarly, the experience begun successfully by the Rapid Action Force for non-lethal crowd control needs to be examined for being followed by other police forces as well,” he said while addressing the annual conference of DGPs/IGPs here.

Singh hoped these aspects would engage the attention of the top brass of the police forces and asked Home Minister P Chidambaram to establish a high-powered task force to come out with a set of recommendations on these issues in the next two-three months.

Despite the curtailment of militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the public order dimension in the state has become a cause for serious concern, he said, referring to recent stone pelting by demonstrators in the Valley.

Noting that after a relative lull in 2009 the challenges to the country’s internal security seemed to have re-emerged in more virulent forms, Singh said much more needed to be done to meet the challenge posed by Naxalism. “Training of our officers and men engaged in this theatre should particularly engage your systematic attention,” he told the police chiefs and paid tributes to the officers and men of security forces who have made the supreme sacrifice in fighting Naxalites and other anti-social elements.

The PM also repeated his Independence Day offer of talks to Naxalites if they shun the gun culture. “We recognise that the Naxalites are our own people and are ready to talk to them provided they abjure the path of violence. We also stand committed to making special efforts to develop the areas affected by Naxal violence, many of which are inhabitated predominantly by our tribal brothers and sisters.”

In the North East, Singh said, the situation in general was better today than it was in the recent past, but some areas of concern still remained. In Manipur, for example the Naga-Metei divide has accentuated. The situation in Darjeeling hill area also ought to be monitored carefully.

He also called upon the police forces to continuously remain vigilant against the rise of communal tension. Modern means of communication have enabled adversarial forces to mount powerful and convincing propaganda. “Our response to this development needs to be improved. We have to challenge disinformation, often masquerading as objective third party expert opinion, not through suppression or in position of censorship, but by ensuring the availability of better and informed opinion to public at large.”

Procurement of equipment was another area where speed and quality remain areas of concern.