VZCZCXRO2878
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCI #0323/01 3031301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301301Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1734
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1641
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0733
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0738
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0474
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0477
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0330
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0388
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2124

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000323 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC SOCI IN
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE IN WEST BENGAL'S NANDIGRAM VILLAGES CONTINUES IN 
RUN-UP TO 2008 LOCAL ELECTIONS 
 
REF: KOLKATA 0088 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Over the past five days, sporadic violence 
has occurred in the Nandigram area of West Bengal's East 
Midnapore district.  Supporters of both the Trinamool 
Congress-backed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) and 
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) have engaged in attacks, 
including an attack on opposition leader and Trinamul Congress 
Chief Mamata Banerjee's convoy when she visited Nandigram. 
Banerjee has called for a strike on October 31 to protest the 
alleged attack.  The violence is part of a political turf battle 
between the CPM and the opposition in the run-up to panchayat 
(local village) elections scheduled in 2008.  A total of 38 
people have died in Nandigram since January 3 and that number is 
expected to grow before the elections are held.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Nandigram area in West Bengal's East Midnapore 
district remains a volatile, political flashpoint, following 
fresh violence since October 25 between the Trinamool 
Congress-backed BUPC and CPM supporters.  The BUPC was formed to 
oppose the government's plans for establishing a chemical hub in 
Nandigram and the organization continues to remain active, 
although the GOWB called off its chemical hub plan in the face 
of  violent protests. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On October 27, one BUPC supporter was killed and 
another injured during an exchange of gunfire between BUPC and 
CPM cadres.  CPM district committee chief for East Midnapore 
Asoke Guria said that the BUPC forced CPM party supporters, who 
had been living in camps since January, to leave Nandigram.  He 
added that the violence would stop if BUPC supporters allowed 
the displaced to return to their homes.  Local opposition 
Trinamool Congress legislator Subhendu Adhikary countered that 
around 100 CPM enforcers tried to enter Nandigram and hurled 
crude bombs, but that the villagers resisted the attack and 
forced the group to retreat.  Adhikary claimed that CPM MP 
Laxman Seth planned the attack in a bid to reestablish his 
influence in the area and to exert his authority. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On October 28, four suspected CPM workers were killed 
in a bomb explosion.  The same day, the convoy carrying 
opposition leader and Trinamul Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee, 
who was on a visit to Nandigram, allegedly came under fire 
though it unclear who was responsible.  Later, BUPC supporters 
set the CPM's zonal committee office in Nandigram on fire.  To 
prevent movement of the police, BUPC supporters also attacked 
the Nandigram police station, prevented the police from leaving, 
and blocked the road at Haripur area so that police vehicles 
could not pass.  A bridge was also damaged and the road was dug 
up to cut off communication. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) While difficult to verify conflicting allegations, the 
BUPC alleges that the four CPM supporters were killed while they 
were making crude bombs.  Alternatively, the CPM says BUPC 
supporters hurled the bombs at them from a relief camp.  Mamata 
Banerjee alleges that CPM supporters in Khejuri - where the 
ousted CPM supporters live in relief camps -- fired at her car 
and that she has informed the GOI's Union Home Ministry about 
the incident.  The police report they have registered a case 
related to the attack on Banerjee, but that it remains unclear 
as to who actually fired at Banerjee's car.  The CPM called for 
a 12-hour bandh (strike) at Khejuri on October 29. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) According to local CPM MP Laxman Seth, at least 1,500 
CPM supporters who were forced out of Nandigram live in the 
Khejuri relief camps while 1,000 more are staying with 
relatives.  He claims the BUPC is terrorizing these people in 
order to capture "political" land in the area.  Seth told Post 
that he has asked the GOWB to ensure protection for the people 
and that he is still awaiting a response. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Mamata Banerjee has called for a statewide general 
strike on October 31 to protest the recent violence and the 
alleged attack on her convoy.  In addition, the BUPC demands 
that the Nandigram Block I of land be excluded from the purview 
of the Haldia Development Authority, a body headed by CPM MP 
Seth.  The BUPC also wants cases against BUPC activists 
withdrawn and punishment for those involved in the March 14 
killings.  They also want the CPM to stop attacks from Khejuri 
and compensation for all of their supporters who have been 
killed since January. 
 
 
KOLKATA 00000323  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  A total of 38 people have died in Nandigram 
since January 3.  The current violence appears to be a turf war 
between the CPM and the opposition, and is part of the run-up to 
panchayat polls scheduled in 2008.  Also, with the CPM's ongoing 
branch and local committee conferences (which will lead to the 
party congress in 2008), this latest Nandigram violence is the 
result of a desperate attempt by Seth to capture territory and 
prove to his own party that he is still in control.  Although 
the government announced on October 24 compensatory payments to 
families of the 14 villagers killed by police on March 14 in 
Nandigram, the gesture has had little effect.  Even some CPM 
district leaders and workers are unhappy that the government has 
failed to restore peace and to punish those policemen 
responsible for the March 14 killings.  As the elections draw 
near, more violence and political agitation can be expected. 
JARDINE