Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CHENNAI281
2007-04-16 10:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

CLAIMS OF CIA CONSPIRACIES ABOUND IN KERALA COMMUNIST

Tags:  PGOV PINR IN 
pdf how-to read a cable
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R 161052Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
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INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2436
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RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5017
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1320
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000281 

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SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR IN
SUBJECT: CLAIMS OF CIA CONSPIRACIES ABOUND IN KERALA COMMUNIST
INFIGHTING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000281

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR IN
SUBJECT: CLAIMS OF CIA CONSPIRACIES ABOUND IN KERALA COMMUNIST
INFIGHTING


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two warring factions within Kerala's deeply
divided ruling party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist),accuse
each other of manipulating the media and liberally use the choicest
insult: that their media antagonists are bankrolled by the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Leading the smaller faction,
Chief Minister Achuthanandan is desperately trying to maintain power
while his rival, the leader of the bigger faction Communist Party
State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, is trying to take full control of
the party machinery. Although a formal split in the Communist Party
is unlikely, the infighting has deeply eroded the party's standing,
which was high after an impressive win in the May 2006 elections.
The intraparty conflict is likely to see continued rhetoric
concerning alleged CIA conspiracies operating in Kerala. END
SUMMARY.

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ATTACK ON MEDIA OPPONENTS PART OF CPI(M) INFIGHTING
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) Kerala's media has been filled lately with charges by
Communist politicians that the CIA is funding media syndicates in
Kerala to destroy the ruling party. Senior politicians including the
Chief Minister, newspaper editors, and associations of journalists
have exchanged charges and counter charges in Legislative Assembly
sessions, press conferences, and the columns of newspapers. Though
the charges appear plainly farcical, they are in fact part of a much
more serious political infighting going on within the Kerala CPI(M).



3. (SBU) Kerala's CPI(M) has two major factions: one led by the
Party State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and the other by Chief
Minister Achuthanandan. Although, the octogenarian Chief Minister
has tried to claim a more orthodox position than Party Secretary
Vijayan's camp, the infighting has more to do with who gets to wield
power and control the party's assets than any real ideological
differences.


4. (SBU) The "official group" led by State Secretary Vijayan
controls the party machinery and has a majority in the powerful
State Committee. In the state cabinet, too, a majority of the
ministers belong to the "official group." On the other hand, Chief
Minister Achuthanandan, leading a smaller faction of the party, is
more popular with the masses. In the 2006 elections, the party did

not plan to field Achuthanandan. In response, Achuthanandan's
followers staged demonstrations throughout the state against the
party leadership. Ultimately, these demonstrations, coupled with
media coverage of the unusual "revolt" within the Communist Party,
forced the politburo to reverse itself. Many believe that the
massive victory the CPI(M) scored in the elections was due in
significant part to the popularity of Achuthanandan, magnified by
the media attention he received as a result of the demonstrations
and subsequent politburo reversal.

--------------
ALLEGATIONS OF CIA LINKS SPICE THINGS UP
--------------


5. (SBU) State Secretary Vijayan's allegations that a "media
syndicate" operates in Kerala refers to a group of journalists who
jointly slant their stories in favor of Chief Minister
Achuthanandan. Credible media insiders inform post that journalists
belonging to several newspapers have joined in an informal group
that supports Achuthanandan and his group in the faction feud.
References to a CIA connection to this "media syndicate" are simply
to grab headlines: "The CIA link allegation is just to add some
'masala' (spice) to the story; everybody knows it is not serious," a
journalist explained to post.


6. (SBU) Chief Minister Achuthanandan also plays the game, accusing
his media opponents of ties to the CIA. But rather than going after
the journalists, the Chief Minister targets media proprietors whose
publications he feels consistently slant stories against him. He
named two newspapers -- Deepika and the Malayala Manorama --
alleging they are on the CIA's payroll. The Chief Editor of the
Malayala Manorama issued a sharp denial and is planning to go to
court against the Chief Minister. A media source told post that the
Deepika has been particularly stinging in its criticism of
Achuthanandan, perhaps due to the fact that one of the paper's
owners is a close friend of State Secretary Vijayan.



7. (SBU) While both sides exchange wild accusations that the others'
media supporters are linked to the CIA, State Secretary Vijayan's
"official group" is busy trying to weed out Achuthanandan supporters
from the party's district and local committees. According to
journalists, the State Secretary seeks full control of the party in

CHENNAI 00000281 002 OF 002


advance of the triennial 2008 state committee elections in order to
cut the Chief Minister out of the equation. Some even believe that
the official group would consider removing the Chief Minister from
his post within the next year or two. The infighting has eroded
much of the goodwill the CPI(M) developed with its impressive win in
the May 2006 state assembly elections.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: Kerala's communists frequently point out, as Chief
Minister Achuthanandan did recently, that former Ambassador Daniel
Patrick Moynihan wrote in his book "A Dangerous Place" that the U.S.
government paid money to the Congress party in the 1950s to defeat
the emerging Communist Party in Kerala. Moynihan's words in hand,
Kerala's leftists find that branding their opponents as linked to
the CIA is a quick and effective strategy in intraparty struggles.
So long as squabbling continues in the CPI(M),it is likely that the
rhetoric of CIA conspiracies will continue to circulate in the
state. END COMMENT

HOPPER