NEPAL: UPDATE ON MAOIST ACTIVITIES, DEC 07-13

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 002369 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA USAID FOR ANE/AA CORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST FINANCING JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN SENSITIVE E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM CASC PGOV IN NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: UPDATE ON MAOIST ACTIVITIES, DEC 07-13 REF: (A) KATHMANDU 2316 (B) KATHMANDU 2151 (C) KATHMANDU 2301 ¶1. (U) Summary: While the Government of Nepal explored opportunities for peace talks this week, Maoist attacks on passenger buses, schools and other non-military targets continued to kill and injure civilians. Violence and extortion prompted hundreds of additional Nepalis to join the thousands already displaced internally, and tens of thousands are reported to be fleeing to India. Maoists destroyed conservation research facilities in the Annapurna region, and the World Bank called off several development projects in Midwestern Nepal. An American citizen received an extortion letter. Political parties and NGOs denounced the Maoist-called educational strike and continuing violence against civilians, while human rights organizations criticized the army for the death of several minors. End summary. GON IN TOUCH WITH MAOISTS -------------- ¶2. (U) Saying that "security matters need not be transparent to the public," Home Minister Dharma Bahadur Thapa told reporters that his government is in touch with the Maoist insurgents through a group of human rights activists, and is exploring the opportunity for official talks. The minister called upon the insurgents to inform the government of their agenda and to come to the negotiation table. PASSENGER BUSES UNDER ATTACK; MAOIST INCIDENTS INCREASE IN UPADAYA -------------- ¶3. (U) At least five people were killed and 30 others injured in a December 8 landmine attack on a passenger bus in eastern Sindhuli district. The front of the bus was completely destroyed in the attack, which killed three civilians and two members of the security forces. ¶4. (U) Charging that buses have been carrying security personnel, Maoists reportedly have stopped all public transportation on two sections of highway in central Nuwakot and Makwanpur districts, forcing local residents to walk for several hours in order to sell produce at the nearest markets. In western Surkhet district, Maoists have threatened to start collecting "donations" of 25,00O Nrs (320 USD) from all buses traveling from the district capital of Birendranagar. ¶5. (U) One passenger died and six were injured on December 11, when Maoists opened fire on a moving passenger bus traveling through southern Udayapur district to Biratnagar. The southern district has been experiencing increased Maoist activity since last week's attack in neighboring Siraha district (ref A). Vehicular traffic came to a standstill on the district's highway on November 11 when Maoists destroyed a 15-meter long bridge, and villagers in the area reported that the insurgents have been setting up ambushes and burning vehicles along the road since December ¶8. On December 9, Maoists looted seven houses in two villages, taking cash, silver and gold, saying that they were responsible for the Siraha attack. VIOLENCE AGAINST SCHOOLS, CIV ILIANS -------------- ¶6. (U) On December 7, Maoists threw a socket bomb into the compound of the Peace Zone Secondary School in southeastern Sunsari district, destroying two buses and injuring a 14 year-old student. On December 8, in northeastern Terhathum district, an eight year-old boy was killed and his sister was injured by a Maoist bomb planted in the field where they were herding family livestock. ¶7. (U) On December 10, Maoists set fire to one school and beat the headmaster of another in western Kailali district. Two buses were destroyed by petrol bombs at a school in Biratnagar, southern Morang district, on the same day. Though classes were in session at the school when Maoists threw the bombs into the compound, no students were injured in the attack. ¶8. (U) Eleven civilians were injured on December 7 when Maoist rebels detonated a pressure cooker bomb in Lalitpur, three kilometers south of Kathmandu's Ring Road. The local committee of the Maoist-affiliated All-Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) has claimed responsibility, and has called for other Lalitpur restaurants to shut down. MAOISTS TERRORIZE MARKETS -------------- ¶9. (U) In Mangalbare bazaar in eastern Ilam district, 30-35 insurgents cordoned off the market for nearly four hours on the afternoon of December 7, and collected a "donation" of over 50O,O00 Nrs (6400 USD) from local merchants. One merchant who opposed the Maoists was severely beaten, and most of the shopkeepers have fled to the district headquarters as a result of the daylight raid. ¶10. (U) Businesses in Sangutar, central Ramechhap district, have been closed for one week in response to Maoist threats. According to press reports, the local insurgents instructed businessmen to abandon their shops and leave the village. Pharmacies and other shops have closed, and residents have been unable to purchase medicine or other essential items. Villagers are surviving on unprocessed grain, since the local food mill has also been shut down by Maoist threats. MORE FAMILIES INTERNALLY DISPLACED; TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE FLEEING TO INDIA -------------- ¶11. (U) Officials at the border police post at Nepalganj, western Banke district, counted more than 8,000 Nepalis crossing into India during December 4-11, the highest weekly total ever recorded. In Rupediya, the Indian town just across the border, one bus operator told reporters that he has more than doubled his fleet to accommodate the emmigrating Nepalis. According to the moderate weekly "Nepali Times," similar scenes take place in towns all along the open border with India every day. Those leaving reportedly range in age from infants to the elderly, but most are able-bodied men. Though seasonal labor in India is traditional employment for many Nepalis, migrants interviewed by the "Nepali Times" say they are going to India for security, not simply temporary employment, and many have no intention to return to their homeland until Nepal's security situation improves. ¶12. (U) Maoists in western Kailali district have forced 163 families of security personnel to leave their homes at harvest time, abandoning crops and livestock. The displaced families stated that insurgents did not allow them time to pack clothes or supplies before locking them out of their houses. They have settled in the district headquarters, and most are forced to borrow money to pay daily expenses. Demands for monetary donations by groups of armed Maoists in southern Morang district have prompted familes to flee their homes for the relative safety of the district capital. ACAP OFFICES ATTACKED AGAIN; ANNAPURNA TOURISM AFFECTED -------------- ¶13. (U) Maoists attacked the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Ghandruk for the second time on November 9, burning several years' worth of research records an d destroying the remaining facilities. The offices, located at the Annapurna base camp, were previously looted by Maoists on November 8 (ref B). Damage from the Ghandruk attacks is estimated at 3.5 million Nrs (45,000 USD). On the same night, Maoists entered the ACAP offices at Siklis, poured cooking fuel from the kitchen over the project's files and set them ablaze. Sources at the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, the parent organization for ACAP, report that several project offices along the Annapurna trekking circuit have been looted and burned by the insurgents over the past few weeks. ¶14. (U) Tourism in the popular trekking area has declined by almost 60 percent following the attacks, according to press reports from the region. Officials at the base camp office told reporters that fear of the insurgents has prompted many local residents to abandon their businesses and leave the village. News reports from the area state that most remaining villagers rarely venture outside their homes, and that tourists "have become cautious and control their movement even during the day." Office personnel, who stayed in Ghandruk hoping for the security situation to improve, are considering shifting the office to another location for safety. WORLD BANK HALTS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS -------------- ¶15. (U) The World Bank reportedly has halted construction of nine irrigation projects in midwestern Nepal, though some of the projects were 90 percent complete and millions of rupees have already been invested. Tight restrictions imposed on explosives by security forces have prevented the Bank from completing the projects, which would have provided irrigation to tens of thousands of farmers. AMCIT BUSINESS RECEIVES EXTORTION LETTER -------------- ¶16. (SBU) On December 2, the Amcit owner of a carpet factory in Kathmandu reported to the Embassy that she had received a Maoist extortion letter demanding 500,000 Nrs (6400 USD). In a meeting with ConOffs and A/RSO, the Amcit indicated that she had heard from other American business owners that they had received similar letters. A/RSO confirmed that the letter conforms to similar demand letters sent to businesses, schools and agencies throughout the Valley. ConOff and A/RSO briefed the Amcit on personal security and asked her to keep in close contact with the Embassy regarding this issue. PARTIES DENOUNCE VIOLENCE AGAINST MEMBERS -------------- ¶17. (U) On December 6, Maoists kidnapped and beheaded CPN- UML member and former VDC Chairman Shital Das Chaudhary in western Kailali district. On December 8, stating that the Maoists had broken an agreement not to attack party members, the CPN-UML standing committee said that they could no longer cooperate with the Maoists against the palace-appointed government. "Though other parties have called for the Maoists to support the drives against the royal moves, we cannot work with them until they stop the violence in this country," said a member of the standing committee. Also on December 8, the student wing of the CPN-UML protested the Maoist-called indefinite strike against Kathmandu Valley schools (ref C). ¶18. (U) The People's Front of Nepal and the All Nepal Peasants' Association (ANPA) strongly denounced a Maoist attack on the family of one of their activists, warning the insurgents to "immediately cease violent activities," or "face serious consequences." On November 28, eight Maoists broke into the house of Dila Ram Acharya, Secretary General of the ANPA, demanded food from his family and threatened him with abduction. NGO CONDEMNS MAOIST ATTACK -------------- ¶19. (U) Anti-Slavery International (ASI),a London-based human rights organization working to assist the former bonded laborers of western Nepal, condemned the Maoist attack on a training center run by Backward Society Education (BASE). According to an NGO spokesperson, Maoists damaged 7O0,00O Nrs (9000 USD) worth of property in the attack, which took place on the day the head of BASE received a prestigious award from ASI. ARMY UNDER FIRE FOR DEATH OF MINORS ¶20. (U) Parents of five young men killed by Royal Nepal Army troops last month filed a complaint with the administration office in central Nuwakot district on December 11, seeking compensation for the deaths and calling them "murder." The Ministry of Defense has released a statement claiming that the boys, who ranged in age from 14 to 19, were Maoist terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces. Family members said that security personnel had told them that the boys were shot "because they were walking at night with torch-lights in their hands." ¶21. (U) On December 8, the Human Rights and Peace Society, a local NGO, accused security forces of killing nine "innocent and unarmed youth" in two separate incidents in southern pang district. The human rights organization noted that the young men were out after a curfew, but asserted that the security forces should have been able to easily take the youths into custody instead of killing them. The Ministry of Defense once again released a statement claiming that the young men, who ranged in age from 15 to 22, were Maoist terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces. MALINOWSKI