PRE-SAARC INDIA GOES EASY ON BANGLADESH

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 007394

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2014
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL BG IN
SUBJECT: PRE-SAARC INDIA GOES EASY ON BANGLADESH

REF: A. CALCUTTA 449


B. NEW DELHI 6983

C. DHAKA 1697

Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).


1. (C) Summary: Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan's
November 1 stop in New Delhi was officially scheduled to
deliver India's invitation to January's SAARC Summit in
Dhaka, but also provided an opportunity for bilateral
discussions on festering cross-border issues. The GOI
resisted the temptation to use the visit to beat up on Khan,
and this latest round did not yield any breakthroughs, but
with a PM level meeting coming during the January SAARC
Summit in Dhaka, it may have paved the way for a lowering of
tensions then. New Delhi has shown an increased willingness
to share information with us about developments in
Bangladesh, but like us is struggling to find a recipe for
reversing the crisis of governance there. End Summary.

Only the Messenger
--------------


2. (C) Morshed Khan came to New Delhi as the special envoy of
PM Khaleda Zia to deliver India's January SAARC Summit
invitation, and although the visit included the full
complement of bilateral interactions, the GOI did not take
him to task over allegations that Bangladesh is becoming a
safehaven to Indian separatists and Islamic terrorists.
Rather, according to MEA Director (Bangladesh) TS Sandhu, the
GOI "kept it positive." Sandhu cautioned that Khan's
forthcoming attitude would still have to be "matched on the
ground." Border issues, including resolution of the
undemarcated portions and coordinated patrols, figured in the
discussions, but without resolution. In India, Khan also met
with leaders of the Left parties, whose main power base is
West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh. Sandhu thought this was
an important exchange because that state's connection with
Bangladesh could act as a buffer in the Delhi-Dhaka
relationship.

"Growing Intolerance"
--------------


3. (C) Although he claimed to agree with PolCouns' assertion
of the US point of view that the overriding issue in
Bangladesh is one of governance, Sandhu focused on "growing
intolerance" as the most important concern. He added that
Dhaka is creating a "breeding ground" for forces inimical to
the BDG and potentially India and the US. Sandhu noted that
the GOI would like to see the BDG at a minimum apply
"positive pressure" against these groups and thought the US
could be effective in helping Bangladesh "see reality and not
become boxed-in." Like others in the GOI he was seized with
the presence in Dhaka of ULFA leader Paresh Barua who he
suggested had escaped from prison in Bangladesh by exploiting
local political connections.

GOI and UK Share Their Assessments
--------------


4. (S/NF) Indian intelligence officials recently provided DIA
a classified briefing on "Terrorism in Bangladesh" which
offered some insights into Indian allegations. The report
indicated that the number of Jamaat Islami (JI) affiliated
madrassas in Bangladesh has grown to 6,024 and reiterated a
point the GOI had made to PDAS Don Camp in June that the
jetty used in April's Chittagong arms haul was under the
control of JI Amir Matiur Rahman Nizami. The Indians also
noted that Dhaka has called for the arrest of Bangla Bhai,
the Islamist vigilante leader of the anti-BDG Jagrata Muslim
Janat Bangladesh (JMJB) (ref C),but he remains at large with
the aid of leaders of the governing Four Party Alliance.
Intelligence officials cited a Saudi-based NGO, Al Harmain
Islamic Foundation and Studies Institute, with offices in
Dhaka operating in the capital and Cox's Bazaar. The report
concluded that democracy in Bangladesh has been "jeopardized
by fundamentalist elements" and because of the JI's role in
the governing coalition, the BDG cannot eradicate the
extremists.


5. (S) A report passed to us by the UK High Commission
(strictly protect) corroborated concerns about the Cox's
Bazaar region and foreign funding. The GOI also asserted
that the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area is a base for
Islamic extremist groups, including Al Qaeda, whereas the UK
paper highlighted the CHT for not being home to such groups,
although Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar are. Rather than JI
madrassas in these areas, the UK report continued, it is
those linked to the Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ, also part of the
governing coalition) in which the problem is most acute. The
British report also noted the presence of Southeast Asian
students in these areas.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) It will be interesting to watch how, if at all, the
BDG response to Indian allegations of harboring militants
changes in light of Burma's commitment to quashing
cross-border insurgent activity during Than Shwe's New Delhi
visit (ref B) and the seemingly connected crackdown in
Manipur during the last few weeks (ref A). The GOI's
willingness to combine their allegations with specific
information shared with us is an important move towards
greater India-US CT cooperation in this area. The
inconsistencies with the British report, however, highlight
the need for more ongoing dialogue with our various Indian
interlocutors.


7. (C) Khan's visit was his second to New Delhi since the UPA
came to power in May, and in early January, Manmohan will
meet PM Zia for the second time at the SAARC Summit. If the
PM continues his record of making last minute policy moves,
as he did with the troop drawdown in Kashmir before his visit
there, and the preferential trade agreement with Thailand
when he reached Bangkok in July, continues, there is a
possibility of a step forward in India-Bangladesh relations
when the PMs sit down in Dhaka. But for now, we have yet to
see evidence that India and Bangladesh have found a recipe
for reversing the downturn in their bilateral relations.
BLAKE