Cablegate: Ulfa Blasts Across Assam

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000101

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS, S/CT AND INR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PINS PGOV PREL BG IN
SUBJECT: ULFA BLASTS ACROSS ASSAM

1. (U) Over three days from March 8-10, a series of blasts
rocked the Northeast Indian state of Assam. A senior Assam
Police officer told Post that in a total of 17 violent incidents
- bomb blasts and grenade attacks -- one policeman died, and
three policemen and two civilians were injured. The incidents
took place across Assam: near the airport in Guwahati, in the
state capital, at the commercia centerof Fancy Bazar, against
oil pipelines in Tinsuki district of Upper Assam, and at
telecommunicatios buildings in Nagaon and Sibsagar Districts.
A omb expert of the state police died while attemptig to
defuse a timed device in Bomgaigaon Distric. All fingers point
to the separatist United Lieration Front of Asom (ULFA) as the
suspected peretrator. Founded in 1979 to establish a
soverein, socialist Assam, the outfit is believed to be laving
a trail of violence in the run-up to its "rmy ay" on March 16.
As such, more violent attcks are likely over the coming week.

2. (SBU) ULFA's Commander-in-Chief Paresh Barua reportedly
told Eastern India's BBC correspondent that his guerrillas were
responsible for all the explosions. Based in neighboring
Bangladesh, Barua alleged that the GOI is "dragging its feet
over starting negotiations," so "the war" must continue. At
least partly thanks to a mediatory role played by Assamese
writer Indira Raisom Goswami, who is in contact with Barua, the
GOI has expressed willingness to hold talks with the ULFA.
However, it has declared that such talks be without
preconditions, particularly regarding the issue of sovereignty.
Barua has so far been adamant that sovereignty is central to the
ULFA struggle and must be on the table in any discussions.

3. (SBU) Following military attacks on the outfit's Bhutan
bases in December 2003, a sizeable number of ULFA cadres are
believed to have shifted to neighboring areas, mainly Bangladesh
and Burma. Most observers believe the ULFA leadership to be
based in Bangladesh. The ULFA has suffered erosion in public
support owing to its killing of civilians over the past year.
As a result, a police intelligence contact said that the bombers
apparently did not want to inflict heavy casualties but rather
intended to draw attention to the organization's continuing
destructive potential.

SIBLEY

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