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Maoists kidnap Indian lawmaker amid Italian hostage talks
[Dawn] Negotiations to get freed two Italian hostages kidnapped by Indian Maoists plunged into uncertainty on Saturday after the rebels kidnapped a local politician.

Two of the negotiators said in a statement the kidnapping of the state government politician overnight had made "a mockery of peaceful talks" and "the negotiations (should) be kept under suspension".

But Orissa state Home Secretary Upendra Nath Behera, the head of the three-man government team participating in the talks, said the government was "always open to peaceful dialogue and would not mind speaking again".

Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Orissa, one of a string of states where Maoist rebels have been waging a decades-long armed battle to overthrow the government, called on the rebels to release all three hostages.

"I once again appeal to the Maoists to shun violence and release the three hostages immediately," Patnaik told news hounds in the Orissa state capital, Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.

The kidnapping of the state politician followed the seizure last week of the two Italians, Paolo Bosusco, 54, and Claudio Colangelo, 61, in what is believed to be the first kidnapping of foreigners by India's Maoists. The Italians were on an adventure holiday.

Posted by: Fred 2012-03-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=341638