NEPAL: UPDATE ON MAOIST ACTIVITIES, NOV 2-14

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002152

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA
LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL

E.O 12958: N/A
TAGS: NP PGOV PTER PHUM CASC
SUBJECT: NEPAL: UPDATE ON MAOIST ACTIVITIES, NOV 2-14

REF: Kathmandu 2148

SUMMARY
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1. Maoist bombs claimed the lives of at least two children
during the last two weeks, adding to the more than 100
children reported killed by the ongoing violence. Among
other incidents taking place during the same period, 50
Village Development Committee offices and at least 20 post
offices were destroyed; civilians as well as soldiers were
killed and injured in petrol bomb and mine attacks on
passenger buses and other vehicles; offices of a project in
the Annapurna Conservation Area were looted and demolished;
and the King Mahendra Conservation Trust was bombed for the
second time. A small explosive device was also detonated in
the toilet of the popular Tiger Mountain travel agency.


2. Additional violence continued throughout the nationwide
strike from November 11-13 (reftel),and Maoist leadership
has called for another "concrete program of agitation," with
dates and details to be announced. End summary.

MAOIST VIOLENCE STRIKES CHILDREN
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3. A 12-year-old mentally disabled boy died instantly and
three others were seriously injured by a bomb in Banepa
Municipality, approximately 30 miles southeast of Kathmandu.
The boy was walking past a garbage heap when a bomb planted
there by Maoists exploded. In a similar incident, a 14-year-
old boy was killed and a 10-year-old boy and their guardian
were seriously injured in an explosion as they walked to
school in western Doti district on November 13. The boys
and their guardian were traveling by foot because of the
general strike called by the insurgents, and were injured
when a Maoist bomb detonated near the road.


4. Nepali human rights watch group INSEC estimates that more
than 100 children have been killed since the start of the
Maoist insurgency. According to INSEC, 62 children (38 boys
and 24 girls) have been killed by government forces, while
Maoists have killed 44 children (30 boys and 14 girls).

REBELS DESTROY VDC OFFICES
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5. Maoist insurgents destroyed 25 Village Development
Committee (VDC) offices in central Gulmi district during the
weekend of November 2-3 and attacked two dozen VDCs in
Kapilbastu district on November 7, burning buildings,
records and documents. Local officials called the attack in
Kapilbastu, which borders India, the most extensive
operation ever launched in the district by the Maoists. The
Ministry of Local Development has reported that insurgents
have destroyed more than 1,300 VDC offices nationwide,
nearly one-third of all VDCs in Nepal. The Ministry
estimates that total losses from the attacks, which also
target health posts and other government-owned
installations, amount to nearly 284 million rupees (3.6
million USD).

POSTAL WORKER KILLED;
MAIL SERVICE PARALYZED
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6. One postman was beheaded and another severely beaten by
Maoists on November 9, on suspicion of providing information
to government forces in central Makwanpur district. Maoist
attacks on post offices have left many remote villages,
already without telephone connections, cut off from
communication with the rest of the country. Postal workers
fear attack if they venture into remote areas to deliver
mail. According to the Department of Postal Service (DPS),
a majority of local post offices in Nepal's hilly and
mountainous regions have either been destroyed by Maoists or
moved to district headquarters.


7. Though the impact of the insurgency on postal service in
the Terai has been called "negligible" by DPS officials,
Maoists reportedly have destroyed 20 post offices in
southern Dang district in the last year as part of their
campaign to disrupt government infrastructure in the
district, which borders India. The insurgents have
destroyed 439 post offices in total, with the mid-eastern
development region the most affected. Damage has been
estimated at 17.1 million rupees (218,000 USD).

MAOISTS DESTROY CROWDED BUS, MINE HIGHWAYS AND
LOOT PASSENGERS
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8. A bus conductor and a passenger were killed and 14 others
injured when Maoists attacked a bus crowded with holiday
passengers in southern Sarlahi district on November 4. The
bus caught fire, skidded 100 meters and flipped onto its
roof after Maoists hurled petrol bombs at the front of the
vehicle. Two days earlier, Maoists in Bara district looted
three busloads of passengers and a truck. According to
local police, Maoists erected a barricade across a highway,
forcing the vehicles to stop. Passengers and staff were
taken into the surrounding forest and robbed of their
belongings and cash. The truck was looted of 270,000 rupees
(3500 USD) worth of goods. Local police report that this is
the first case of coordinated robbery of several vehicles in
one night by Maoists in the southern district. On November
10, passengers were ordered out of a bus on its way from
Kathmandu to Biratnagar before Maoists set the vehicle and
passenger belongings ablaze.


9. At least one person was killed and 20 others injured when
their passenger bus detonated a Maoist landmine in
northeastern Dolakha district on November 14. Two persons
were killed instantly when their private van drove over a
mine planted by the Maoists near Birgunj along the Indian
border on November 9. In both incidents, authorities have
speculated that the mine was intended for security forces.
Three soldiers were injured when their truck detonated a
mine planted by Maoists on the Pasang Lhamu Highway in
central Nuwakot district.

KING MAHENDRA TRUST AND ACAP OFFICES ATTACKED
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10. On November 1, the King Mahendra Trust for Nature
Conservation was bombed for the second time, injuring one
person and causing minor damage to the Kathmandu office.
The Trust is chaired by Crown Prince Paras.


11. On November 8, Maoists looted and destroyed the offices
of an Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in
Ghandruk, situated on the route to the Annapurna Base Camp.
The ACAP office was approached by 40-50 Maoists, who looted
the building of computers and other electronic equipment
before burning it to the ground. ACAP, which is a
subsidiary of KMTNC, is chiefly concerned with the
conservation of culture and national heritage.

SMALL BOMB EXPLODES IN TIGER MOUNTAIN TOILET
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12. A suspected Maoist detonated a small bomb in the toilet
of the Tiger Mountain travel agency in Kathmandu on November
10, causing minimal damage. No one was injured in the blast.
Tiger Mountain CEO Kristjan Edwards said that the suspected
Maoist posed as a customer and made bookings for 12 Italian
tourists before placing the bomb in the toilet.

MAOISTS CALL FOR MORE VIOLENCE
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13. Terming the November 11-13 nationwide strike "a success
with the continuous support of the public," Maoist
leadership issued a press statement appealing to political
parties for a round-table conference and lambasting the
Palace. The statement further proclaims that "protest
programs will be continued" until the Maoists' demands are
met, and that a "concrete program of agitation will soon be
declared and publicized."

MALINOWKSI