BANGALORE VIOLENCE: HINDU-MUSLIM CLASHES FOLLOW SADDAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000052 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, CA/OCS, DS/IP/SCA, DS/ITA AND DS/OSAC NEW DELHI FOR POL, RSO, FCS, DAO, ODC AND CONS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR ASEC CASC IN SUBJECT: BANGALORE VIOLENCE: HINDU-MUSLIM CLASHES FOLLOW SADDAM EXECUTION PROTEST REF: A) CHENNAI 031 B) 06 CHENNAI 724 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in several Bangalore neighborhoods over the January 19-21 weekend following a meeting organized by a Karnataka-based Muslim politician to condemn the execution of Saddam Hussein. On January 19, Hindus and Muslims clashed after Muslims marching to the protest meeting through an area known for communal unrest tore down banners announcing a Hindu convention. Later, a January 21 procession by Hindu activists resulted in further clashes during which the police opened fire on rioters. A young boy was killed in the firing, and the violence left over 31 individuals injured and scores of vehicles burnt. U.S. companies that operate 24/7 operations in Bangalore remained unaffected. The absence of clear orders from the political leadership hampered the police response and prolonged the violence. End summary -------------- -------------- Muslim attendees remove Hindu banners sparking riots -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A meeting organized on January 19 by a Muslim politician C.K. Jaffer Sharief (Congress) at Shivajinagar, a crowded Bangalore locality with a history of communal tension, to condemn the execution of Saddam Hussein sparked a weekend of Hindu-Muslim clashes in Bangalore. The immediate cause of the riots was the removal by Muslim supports of Mr. Sharief of a few banners announcing a Hindu Samavesha or convention organized by several Hindu extremist groups. A rumor about desecration of a Hindu idol added to the tension. Mobs allegedly organized by the Hindu Senna, one of the convention organizers, rampaged through areas adjoining the Saddam Hussein protest venue, targeting shops, offices and a few houses belonging to the local Muslim community. Although the violence occurred on the fringes of the Saddam execution protest meeting, the clashes were not anti-U.S. nor directly related to the Saddam execution. -------------- Hindu procession sparks more violence -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On January 21 violence erupted again during the Hindu convention when Muslim militants attacked Hindu activists taking part in a procession. Over 30 vehicles, mostly Karnataka government-owned public transport buses, were targeted. Police eventually opened fired, injuring 31 people and apparently killing an eleven-year old boy who was found in a dustbin with a gunshot wound. Roshen Baig, another Muslim politician, told post that the police targeted Muslims in the firing. Press reports, however, suggest that members of both communities were injured. -------------- U.S. companies, expats largely unaffected -------------- ¶4. (U) The operations of U.S. companies in Bangalore remained largely unaffected by the localized violence. IBM's government relations executive told us that all its 24/7 operations continued normally. Contacts at Bangalore-based Indian software giants Infosys and Wipro provided similar reports. Representatives of all of the companies we contacted told post that security at their facilities had been heightened, even if they did not anticipate trouble. ¶5. (U) U.S. citizen wardens in Bangalore confirmed to post's ACS Unit that violence and tensions are largely localized, with disruptions only for people who live in or pass through affected areas. Post's Commercial Officer, who is in Bangalore with a U.S. trade delegation, says the group is able to go about it business normally and that the Commercial Service's Bangalore branch office is operating as usual. -------------- -------------- Instability of Karnataka government hampers decisive police action -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The ill-advised permissions given to both groups to conduct their respective meetings plus an apparent lack of political will to firmly put down the initial clash helped to spark and prolong the violence. Tensions between Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party, the partners in Karnataka's coalition government, hamper decision-making and leave the police without clear directions from the political executive (see also ref b). Karnataka police and state politicians assert that the worst of the violence is over, but CHENNAI 00000052 002 OF 002 the unstable political situation does not engender confidence in the government's ability to act effectively if the predications are wrong. End comment HOPPER