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Locals not enamoured of Kannur peace accord

D Jose in Kannur

The peace accord evolved at the all-party meeting Chief Minister E K Nayanar convened on Monday to end the political violence in Kannur has not enthused the people in this north Kerala district.

People who are aware of the ground realities in Kannur say the document has not reflected the political will to create an atmosphere conducive for peace. Panur Mohammad, a social activist at Thalasserry expressed apprehension that the document would not pave the way for lasting peace as the parties have failed to address the contentious issues.

He said unless bold measures were taken to end the political intolerance and stop protection and patronage to criminal elements, there could be no peace. "The peace accord is silent on these vital aspects," he said and added that he was doubtful whether the concerned parties have the political will to implement it.

In fact, the peace accord itself appears to be a stage-managed exercise meant only for public consumption. A leader, who attended the meeting told rediff.com that the peace agreement was the result of a compromise formula worked out behind the curtain by the chief minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party president C K Padmanabhan following pressure from a cross-section of the society.

Under the formula, the BJP agreed not to raise any contentious issues at the peace meeting to facilitate the passage of the peace resolution unanimously.

Consequently, the BJP did not raise any of its demands, including organisational freedom, demand for an inquiry into the recent cases of killings by the Central Bureau of Investigation and stern action against police officers who adopted a partisan approach during the recent disturbances.

Though BJP state secretary and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh state pracharak S Sethumadhavan complained about intimidation from the CPI-M for holding RSS shakas in CPI-M strongholds in Kannur district, they did not insist on including a proviso in the agreement for organisational freedom.

The BJP demand in this regard was opposed by CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan at the meeting, highly placed sources said. Pinarayi was effectively supported by his colleagues in the party. Interestingly, the Congress and other parties facing similar difficulty in Kannur, also did not press for the mention of organisational freedom in the agreement.

Friction is bound to erupt as long as parties continue to hinder the activities of other parties, the sources said and added that an atmosphere conducive for free political activity is the basic prerequisite for peace.

An impartial assessment of the situation in Kannur reveals that lack of organisational freedom has been the root-cause of political friction in the region. The killing spree in Kannur started with the CPI-M cadres using muscle power against the RSS drills in the latter's formative days. Initially, the RSS cadres suffered this, but when the organisation grew in strength they started paying back in the same coin, leading to violence.

Though the CPI-M adopted similar tactics against the Congress and other parties, they could withstand the CPI-M pressures, as they have comparable mass support in the region. A major victim of the CPI-M intolerance has been former CPI-M rebel M V Raghavan, who had faced several bids on his life after he formed the Communist Marxist Party and aligned with the Congress. In fact the controversial Koothuparampu police firing has been the result of moves by the CPI-M to block the activities of Raghavan.

The BJP has been alleging that some of the killers of BJP workers were sheltered by CPI-M MLAs in the assembly hostel and the police were not acting on clues they gave about those involved in the recent cases. The allegation gains credence from the fact the police could not arrest anybody in connection with the seven murders that took place in Panur and Thalaserry areas in the last one week.

Though the police maintain that they have not been able to nab the criminals as the witnesses were not willing to give out any information, the family members of some of the victims said they had definite information about the accused and were willing to pass them over to the police.

The family members of the Yuva Morcha vice president K T Jayakrishnan, who was hacked to death in a school classroom, said the police had not visited their house to record their statements.

Jayakrishnan's brother K V Jayakumar said the police on the other hand had visited the houses of the CPI-M victims and got their statements recorded.

The BJP had accused some top officers of being the agents of the CPI-M and had demanded their removal. However, the BJP did not insist on this demand in the peace committee meeting. They dropped the demand on the chief minister's assurance that the government and the police machinery would be geared up in an effective manner to ensure peaceful social life in the district.

The meeting also did not take up the issue of parties giving protection and patronage to criminals in its totality. Though the peace agreement mentions that such elements would be isolated, it does not make a categorical statement that the rowdy elements would be removed and the parties will not also give them protection from criminal proceedings.

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