INTERVIEW WITH COMRADE SONU

From an undisclosed location in Chhattisgarh: The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its People's Liberation Guerilla Army are gearing up to meet the strongest possible offensive from the Indian state in Chhattisgarh.

In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, a key member of the Maoist organisation has accepted that the Maoists are being cornered and survival is now an issue as security forces are mounting a strong pressure on them.

The Maoists, however, claim they are preparing for a long-drawn battle against the security forces. They call it teer khale jung

It was an interview organized by the Maoists to send out a message to the Prime Minister and the state. And it took a 10-day trek to reach the Maoist heartland.

Walking with an armed escort, this correspondent managed to meet Comrade Sonu, the Number Two in the politburo of Communist Party of India (Maoist) after Ganpathi.

First, Comrade Sonu admitted to the presence of Naxals in Nandigram.

"Yes, we are in Nandigram, we have worked there. But the people themselves are fighting there. We have just joined them to fight the CPI-M goons," Comrade Sonu reveals.

Explaining his party's opposition to SEZs, Comrade Sonu says: "There are 432 SEZs all over India. The Central and State governments are giving our land to multinationals. Many laws are being changed. So the people are opposing it. We are also opposing it."

Asked about the wrong tactics adopted by his party in Andhra Pradesh, he says: "Actually we have had setbacks in Andhra Pradesh. We adopted some wrong tactics in the state, so we are very weak over there right now."

The CPI (Maoist) politburo member admitted some of his key comrades are now behind bars. "Many of our comrades are in jail. On December 17, Kerela Central Committee member Comrade Satena was arrested. Central Committee member Comrade Vijay has been arrested. Comrade Sanyal is also in jail. This is normal in any revolution. But certain arrests have happened because of our weaknesses," he says.

Asked to comment on the Salwa Judum movement, Comrade Sonu said his party will defeat the Salwa Judum. "Because it is a threat to the tribals. It is the duty of the people to defeat it. It is a fascist organisation. It must be defeated."

Narrating his party's war tactics against the Indian state, the CPI (Maoist) leader said his men have adopted guerrilla tactics to fight the Indian state. "The Indian Prime Minister says Naxalites are the main threat to internal security. We know the state is at us. So we have adopted guerrilla tactics. With the common man, we will defeat the state. We will die for the people, we will work for the people, we are the servants of the people."