ASSAM: ULFA BLAST DURING PM VISIT. PROSPECT OF PEACE TALKS

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000114

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PTER PHUM CASC IN
SUBJECT: ASSAM: ULFA BLAST DURING PM VISIT. PROSPECT OF PEACE TALKS
LOW

REF: KOLKATA 000084


1. (SBU) Summary: On April 8, a bomb carried by boys working
for the secessionist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)
accidentally detonated earlier than planned and killed one
person in Guwahati, Assam. The explosion took place during
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's April 8-9 to the state. Earlier
in the month, another ULFA attack, which injured 15 people,
preceded a statewide strike organized by the wives of missing
ULFA militants against alleged police atrocities. The attacks by
ULFA are intended to put pressure on the GOI to hold talks with
the group on the issue of Assam's sovereignty. Assam Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi has expressed his willingness to hold talks
without preconditions, but not on the sovereignty issue, and a
resolution appears unlikely. End summary.


2. (SBU) On April 8, an explosion killed one person in Guwahati,
Assam, shortly before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was
scheduled to address a gathering and lay the foundation stone
for a second bridge over the Brahmaputra river. The blast
occurred within 10 kilometers of Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, where the
Prime Minster was scheduled to speak. Police said that two boys
were carrying the explosives on a motorcycle when they hit a
speed bump. The boys lost control of the cycle and fell,
detonating the bomb. In response to the bomb, the Assam state
government has sounded an alert in Upper Assam, as the Prime
Minister is scheduled to visit the city of Dibrugarh on April 9
to lay the foundation stone of the Assam Gas Cracker Project.
A senior police official told Post that ULFA was responsible for
the attack, and is trying to pressure the government to hold
talks on the sovereignty of Assam. He said that a number of
explosives have been recovered by the police over the past few
days.


3. (U) On April 3, a grenade blast in a busy marketplace in
Guwahati injured 15 people. Police also discovered another bomb
inside the Army Supply Corps base at Bhalukmora on the border
between Jorhat and Golaghat districts. Improvised explosive
devices and other explosives were also found in a rice paddy
field at Sutagaon in Jorhat district. The April 3 attack
occurred on the eve of a 12-hour statewide bandh (strike) called
by ULFA to protest alleged police atrocities committed against
the wives of ULFA members missing since the December 2003 Bhutan
military operations against ULFA's bases in Bhutan. Six women
have been on a "fast-unto-death" hunger strike since March 21
demanding information on their husbands' whereabouts. On March
30, Assam police took the women into custody on charges of
attempt to commit suicide and admitted them into a hospital for
medical care.


4. (SBU) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, on March 29, turned
down a plea organized by the People's Committee for Peace
Initiatives for talks with ULFA on sovereignty or a plebiscite
on the issue. Gogoi was also sent a copy of a memorandum
suggesting a plebiscite on the future of Assam addressed to the
President of India by wives of missing ULFA leaders. Gogoi said
that Delhi was ready to hold unconditional talks with the ULFA,
but there was no point discussing the sovereignty issue as no
government could concede to such a demand. On March 30, ULFA
ruled out unconditional talks with the government, saying its
cadres had reached the stage of conducting attacks with bombs
attached to their bodies. ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa
warned that the situation would turn violent if issues of
identity, nationality and birthrights were not taken seriously,
and complained that the Gogoi was reduced to parroting the GOI
line. However, on March 31, the Assam government renewed its
plea to ULFA to come forward for negotiations without
preconditions.


5. (SBU) Comment: Despite Indian Army and paramilitary
operations, ULFA's campaign of violence and extortion in Assam
continues. Some members of the Assam Police have complained
that they are unable to tackle ULFA because of confusing signals
from their political leadership - calls to bring ULFA to the
negotiating table mixed with promises to "crack down" on the
group. In addition, rumors of high-level corruption and of
"important people" placating ULFA are complicating the situation
further. End Comment.

JARDINE