Army fights red terror, indirectly

chhattisgarh-net : Message: Army fights red terror, indirectly

Rahul Singh, Hindustan Times
New Delhi THE ARMY is stepping up its training programme for the
Central Police Organisations (CPOs) and state police forces to help
them take on the Naxals, but it has no plans to invade the notorious
Red Corridor Unwilling to see the army reduced to the role of a
paramilitary force, Army chief general Deepak Kapoor has said that it
should be used as a last resort and not the first. The army is
currently involved in bringing out a national internal security
doctrine to deal with the Naxal problem. The army, under ideal
circumstances, would like to focus on its primary role of defending
the country from external aggres- sion, a task that has already been
diluted by prolonged deployment in Jammu and Kashmir and the
Northeast. Another reason why the army is wary of being drawn into
antiNaxal operations is that the socalled Red Corridor envelopes
states that serve as unportant catchment areas for military
recruiting. A senior official said, "Pitting soldiers against their
own people can have disastrous consequences. We have no problems
diverting resources to train CPOs and state police forces." Over 8,500
police personnel have already been trained by the army to wage war
against Naxals. By June 2008, it would have shared its expertise in
guerilla warfare with an additional 6,500 policemen. The standing
committee on defence had noted in a report tabled in Parliament last
year that the use of the army as a substitute for state police
diverted its attention from its prime objective, which is guarding the
frontiers. To address the growing demand by state governments for
military assistance in maintaining law and order, it had recommended
the creation of a separate specialised force for internal security
duties.