RE-PUBLICATION OF CONTROVERSIAL DANISH CARTOON SPURS MUSLIM

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000298

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KISL IN
SUBJECT: RE-PUBLICATION OF CONTROVERSIAL DANISH CARTOON SPURS MUSLIM
PROTESTS

1. (SBU) Summary: Hundreds of Muslims angry over a newspaper's
September 2 re-publication of the controversial Danish cartoon
caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed demonstrated in several locations

in the South Indian state Tamil Nadu. In Vellore, approximately 145
kilometers from Chennai, demonstrators threw stones at the offices
of the newspaper as well as government-owned buses on the
Chennai-Bangalore highway. The authorities said one police officer
was injured in the violence; several dozen protestors were arrested.
The police also arrested the newspaper's graphic designer and the
newspaper issued a front page apology on September 5. Despite the
apology, government officials expect the demonstrations to continue,
albeit on a low key. The protests demonstrate the continued
sensitivity of Indian Muslims to the Danish cartoon. End Summary.

Angry Demonstrators Attack Newspaper Office, Buses
--------------


2. (SBU) On September 2, the Vellore edition of the Tamil-language
newspaper "Dina Malar" pulled off the internet and re-published the
controversial Danish cartoon caricature of Islam's Prophet that
caused worldwide protests in 2006. Later that day hundreds of angry
Muslim demonstrators gathered and threw stones at the newspaper's
Vellore office. (Note: There were no local protests in 2006 when
the cartoon was originally published in Denmark. End note.) The
protestors also blocked the Bangalore-Chennai road, stalling traffic
for several hours. A police officer was injured in the
stone-throwing, and the police used riot-control canes to disperse
the protestors. The police arrested the newspaper's graphics
designer for "hurting religious sentiments," as well as several
dozen of the demonstrators for engaging in violence. Less violent
protests, continued on September 3 and 4 in locations throughout
Tamil Nadu.

Low-Key Demonstrations Likely to Continue
--------------


3. (SBU) A senior government official told post that he expects
low-key protests to continue for some more time. "The Muslim groups
will tend to use the opportunity to mobilize their ranks in view of
the upcoming elections," he said. But he does not expect major
violence associated with the continued protests. He added that the
police and Vellore district authorities acted quickly to bring the
situation under control.

Media Dirty Tricks Fuel Muslim Anger
--------------

4. (SBU) A journalist told post that competition between two media
organizations helped to fuel Muslim anger. He said the powerful
Dinakaran-Sun TV group exaggerated the scale of the protests in an
effort to prompt a more vitriolic Muslim response, with an eye
toward embarrassing its rival Dina Malar, which carried the
cartoons. The fact that a Hindu Brahmin owns Dina Malar probably
further heightened Muslim outrage at the newspaper's action.

5. (SBU) COMMENT: Tamil Nadu has a reputation for generally
peaceful Hindu-Muslim relations, and Vellore with its large Muslim
minority has seen no communal violence despite periodic moments of
tension, especially surrounding the anniversary of the destruction
of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. Although the protests were
exacerbated by the fact that Dina Malar is Hindu-owned and by its
rival's effort to stoke the fire, the fact is that the protests
began as a spontaneous eruption of Muslim anger at the
re-publication of the controversial cartoon. It is telling that,
even in an otherwise relatively prosperous and peaceful corner of
India, Muslim anger against the inflammatory Danish cartoon
persists. End comment.

6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi.
Simkin