Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CHENNAI326
2008-09-25 09:57:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

INCIDENTS AGAINST CHURCHES IN KARNATAKA CONTINUE AS

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC PINR KIRF SOCI IN 
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250957Z SEP 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1871
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3301
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000326 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC PINR KIRF SOCI IN
SUBJECT: INCIDENTS AGAINST CHURCHES IN KARNATAKA CONTINUE AS
GOVERNMENT ORDERS POLICE PROTECTION

REF: A) CHENNAI 315, B) NEW DELHI 2513

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000326

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC PINR KIRF SOCI IN
SUBJECT: INCIDENTS AGAINST CHURCHES IN KARNATAKA CONTINUE AS
GOVERNMENT ORDERS POLICE PROTECTION

REF: A) CHENNAI 315, B) NEW DELHI 2513


1. (SBU) Summary: In the wake of another round of apparent attacks
on churches in Karnataka on September 21, Consul General Andrew
Simkin visited Bangalore September 23-24. The CG used the
opportunity to emphasize the importance of protecting religious
freedom to a wide variety of interlocutors, including Karnataka
government officials. The September 21 incidents occurred in
Bangalore and the Kodagu district in southern Karnataka. Accounts
vary (either two or three incidents took place),but the incidents
occurred at night, so there were no injuries and only minimal
property damage, in stark contrast to the daylight attacks on
churches and Christians in Mangalore on September 14. The police
believe that at least one of the incidents was simply a burglary of
church property, not an "attack" designed to intimidate
church-goers. The police do not have clear evidence of the
perpetrators, although the press quickly concluded that the
incidents were the work of the Bajrang Dal, a militant Hindu
organization


2. (SBU) The September 21 incidents followed the arrest on September
18 of Mahindra Kumar, leader of the Bajrang Dal's Karnataka branch,
who had proudly claimed credit for organizing the September 14
violence against the churches in Mangalore (reftels). Police and
Karnataka officials have told us that the state government has
ordered police to protect churches and church-goers. All of the
Karnataka officials we met with expressed their regret over the
September 14 incidents but stressed that it was an unfortunate
occurrence unlikely to repeat itself in the state, which has a long
history of religious tolerance. They also downplayed the
significance of the September 21 incidents, noting that the media
was greatly exaggerating their importance. Leaders of several
Christian groups told us, however, that they were very worried about
the current situation in the state. End Summary.

Bajrang Dal leader arrested, churches victimized
-------------- ---


3. (U) Karnataka police arrested on September 18 Mahindra Dal,

leader of Karnataka's Bajrang Dal chapter. Dal had taken credit
publicly for organizing the September 14 attacks in Mangalore. His
arrest followed the deployment of a central government team from New
Delhi to investigate the cause of the September 14 violence.


4. (SBU) In the wee hours of September 21, multiple (two or three,
according to various reports) churches in Karnataka (one in Kodagu
and either one or two in Bangalore) were damaged by unknown
perpetrators. The police believe that one of the incidents in
Bangalore was a simple burglary attempt, noting that the
perpetrators appeared to have been looking for money, leaving most
of the church's religious icons untouched. There were no injuries
in any of the September 21 incidents. Some church members,
protesting the damage to their place of worship, blocked roads in
Bangalore. Unlike the ugly scenes in Mangalore that saw police
using force against those participating in civil disobedience,
however, Bangalore police held talks with church leaders, which
helped defuse the situation.


5. (SBU) These incidents took place even though police protection
had been promised at all churches. A top police official told us
that the September 21 incidents occurred when the constables posted
at the locations had either deserted post or had been assisting
security in another location. He noted that at least one constable
had been suspended and that round-the-clock security was now in
place, vice the dawn-to-dusk protection put in place following the
September 14 violence.

CG emphasizes the importance of religious freedom
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Consul General (CG) Andrew Simkin, in separate meetings
with the Home Minister (which included the Director General of
Police and the Chief Minister's (CM) Private Secretary -- the CM
himself was out of town),the Chief Secretary, and the Governor
emphasized the importance of religious freedom and religious
expression. The CG also stressed that people in the United States
and elsewhere were following these incidents closely and that the
situation could damage Karnataka's generally excellent reputation
among international companies and high-tech investors. The CG's
visit was widely covered by the press, and he drove home his message
of the importance of religious freedom by having lunch with several
Christian leaders, hosting the Consulate's first-ever iftaar dinner
in Bangalore for more than 100 Muslims, and visiting a Hindu
temple.


7. (SBU) All of the CG's Karnataka government interlocutors

CHENNAI 00000326 002 OF 003


expressed regret over the September 14 incidents and emphasized that
the government has taken steps to insure that they are not repeated.
They downplayed, however, their overall significance, noting that
Karnataka has long fostered a religiously tolerant atmosphere and
that the extraordinary events of September 14 were an aberration.
They noted that the situation had now become a media frenzy, and
that India's sensationalistic press was now attempting to exaggerate
minor happenings -- like the September 21 incidents -- into major
events. Speaking on September 25 from Chitradurga, a town located
approximately 100 miles northwest of Bangalore, Karnataka Chief
Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was quoted as saying that the incidents
have caused the government to "hang its head in shame." As reported
in a national paper, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that such people would not
be allowed to discredit the Government and create communal strife.


8. (SBU) The Home Minister pointed out that his state has tens of
millions of people and that there are inevitably going to be some
tensions among various groups. He said that he did not take the
September 14 events lightly, but emphasized that they need to be
viewed against the larger background of India where violence occurs
frequently, and usually goes unreported unless it involves Christian
groups with links to large, international organizations.


9. (SBU) A collection of AmCham Bangalore's members told us that the
September 14 violence was extremely unfortunate, but that the
incident was extremely unusual for Karnataka, which prides itself on
its religious tolerance. None of them indicated that the situation
had noticeably affected the business climate in the state. The
Muslim founder of a large education foundation told us much the same
thing, noting that the tolerant social fabric of the state was very
strong and that the situation would quiet down soon.

Christians less sanguine
--------------


10. (SBU) The CG also met a group of prominent Christians, led by
Dr. Sajan George, National President of the Global Council of Indian
Christians. The group also included H.T. Sangliana, a BJP member of
the national parliament recently booted out of the party for voting
for the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal. Group members were deeply
dismayed by recent events, arguing that they were an acceleration in
a pattern of harassment against Christians in the state stretching
back several years. They also agreed that they feared that even
worse incidents were in store for the future. One even suggested
that we were witnessing the start of a "new Holocaust."


11. (SBU) Group members gave the CG a folder documenting 91 attacks
on Christians and churches that have occurred in Karnataka this
year. According to these documents, 24 occurred from January to May
(when the state's BJP-led government came to power),while 67 --
including 17 separate attacks on September 14 -- have occurred since
then. Sangliana also provided copies of letters he had written to
top Karnataka government officials complaining about the
"indifference" of police officers and beseeching government
officials to direct the police to put a stop to the attacks and
arrest the perpetrators.

Political will to counter violence appears to grow
-------------- --------------


12. (SBU) Originally hampered by an apparent lack of definitive
direction from the state's political leadership, the police now seem
more confident that they have the political backing they need to
crack down on the violence. One top official, who told us earlier
this week that there had hitherto been "little proper guidance from
the political executive," showed us the directive he had received
from the government ordering the police to protect churches and the
orders he had issued to his officers to do the same.


13. (U) We witnessed some of this police protection first-hand when
a group of several hundred Christian protestors noisily passed by on
a major road next to an office where the CG was having an unrelated
meeting. The protesters, who behaved entirely peacefully during the
several minutes we witnessed their march, were accompanied by dozens
of baton-wielding police officers who marched along the margins of
the procession. The police did not interfere with the protest, but
appeared to insure that traffic was minimally disrupted and perhaps
to guard against any clashes with counter-protesters, of whom we saw
none.

Comment
--------------


14. (SBU) It appears that the government has ordered police to offer
adequate protection. Not all Karnataka government officials appear
to understand fully how the international community views these

CHENNAI 00000326 003 OF 003


incidents, but some (like the Chief Secretary, a former Minister for
Economic Affairs at India's Embassy in Washington) do.


15. (SBU) The Home Minister may be guilty of political
tone-deafness, but his remarks probably capture how many Indians
view the ugly incidents against Christians in Karnataka. From a
practical standpoint, it is also unlikely that the police -- even
with the best of intentions -- will be able to protect adequately
every Christian and church in the state, so anti-Christian
miscreants will continue to have the opportunity to create more
violent incidents if they wish.


16. (SBU) The Christian community has a legitimate reason to worry,
and the state's BJP government needs to demonstrate resolve to treat
all its citizens fairly. Suspicions remain that the government is
biased against religious minorities and these events demonstrate
that the government has its work cut out for it if it wishes to
demonstrate otherwise: Christians already believe that fellow
believers arrested for the protests in Mangalore are being treated
more harshly than those who perpetrated the original attacks. A
thorough and transparent investigation of the September 14 events,
followed by arrests and prosecutions of those who broke laws would
be a good start. End Comment.

SIMKIN