INCIDENTS AGAINST CHURCHES IN KARNATAKA CONTINUE AS

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