POLICE SHOOT AND KILL SIX IN ANDHRA PRADESH LAND PROTESTS

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000486

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM IN

SUBJECT: POLICE SHOOT AND KILL SIX IN ANDHRA PRADESH LAND PROTESTS

REF: KOLKATA 095


1. (U) SUMMARY: On July 28, police shot and killed six villagers in
Mudigonda in the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh after a
political protest demanding free land for the poor turned violent.
Two other protesters were killed in separate incidents with the
police. The protest, sponsored by the Left parties -- the Communist
Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India - Marxist
(CPI-M) -- had been ongoing since May. According to media reports,
the police fired after protesters began pelting them with rocks.
Calls for the resignation of Chief Minister YSR Reddy in the wake of
the incident are likely to go unheeded. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) According to media reports, Andhra Pradesh's Left parties had
been agitating for the "distribution of agricultural land to the
landless and house sites for the homeless" since May. Tensions
ratcheted up as time went on. On July 22, two Left party leaders
went on an indefinite hunger strike. They then called for a protest
at the Hyderabad district collector's office on July 26. The
police used water canons, teargas, and lathi charges to disperse the
July 26 protest, but they did not resort to shooting.


3. (U) After the July 26 protest in Hyderabad, the Left parties
called for a statewide strike on July 28. For the first time, the
state's other opposition parties -- the TDP, TRS, and BJP -- joined
in the protest, calling on their supporters to honor the planned
July 28 statewide strike. On July 28 in Mudigonda, agitators
blocked the road, bringing traffic to a standstill. When police
reinforcements arrived and tried to break the blockade protestors
began throwing stones at them, according to media reports.
Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh Babu ordered the police
to fire, killing six and injuring eight protestors. Twelve police
officers were reportedly injured. Protest organizers said the
police fired without warning. They also accused the police of using
self-loading rifles, which are issued to anti-terrorism units and
not intended for use against civilians. (NOTE: Khammam district,
where Mudigonda is located, is an area with significant Maoist
activity. As such, the police there likely did have self-loading
rifles. END NOTE.)


4. (U) Opposition party leaders from across the board predictably
called for Congress party Chief Minister YSR Reddy's resignation.
For the families of the protesters killed by the police, the Chief
Minister announced USD 12,500 compensation, a house, and a
government job for one member of the family. The seriously injured
would get USD 1,250 and those treated as out-patients USD 250, in
addition to free medical care. The Chief Minister also announced a
judicial inquiry into the firing.


5. (SBU) COMMENT: "The whole incident was politically motivated,"
said a media contact. He explained that the Left parties are
looking to build up their base in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP, no
longer allied with the BJP's National Democratic Alliance, needs a
new partner to help it defeat Congress in the 2009 elections. The
TDP had, in fact, stalled the land distribution program when it was
in power. But with it now looking to the prospect of aligning with
the Left parties in the next statewide elections it has decided to
join hands with the Left parties on the issue. The tragic shooting
incident gives the TDP and the Left parties more ammunition against
YSR Reddy's Congress government. That said, a well-placed Congress
party Member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly dismissed
the idea that Chief Minister Reddy should resign. He pointedly
mentioned that Congress did not push for the ousting of West Bengal
CPI-M Chief Minister Buddhadheb Bhattacharya after the March
incident in Nandigram where police killed 14 people (reftel). END
COMMENT.

KAPLAN