US embassy cable - 05CALCUTTA101

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, Counter-Terrorism 
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