Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02KATHMANDU340
2002-02-12 09:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

MAOISTS PAMPHLETEER, PREPARE FOR STRIKE IN

Tags:  PGOV PTER ASEC CASC NP 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000340 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC CASC NP
SUBJECT: MAOISTS PAMPHLETEER, PREPARE FOR STRIKE IN
CAPITAL

REF: (A) KATHMANDU 0333; (B) KATHMANDU 0278

----------
SUMMARY
----------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000340

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC CASC NP
SUBJECT: MAOISTS PAMPHLETEER, PREPARE FOR STRIKE IN
CAPITAL

REF: (A) KATHMANDU 0333; (B) KATHMANDU 0278

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (U) Maoist insurgents continue to publicize a
nationwide strike called for Feb. 22-23 in commemoration
of the seventh anniversary of the insurgency and had
some success enforcing a local strike in the mid-western
and western regions Feb. 10. Security forces have
increased checkpoints along city streets and major
arteries into the capital in response to reports that
Maoist activists plan to infiltrate Kathmandu in the run-
up to the strike. A small improvised bomb exploded at a
tax office located about one kilometer from the U.S.
Embassy Feb. 11, slightly injuring three people inside
the Government of Nepal (GON) facility. Air service to
and from Lukla, which serves travelers heading for the
Everest Base Camp, was restored Feb. 11. End summary.

--------------
PAMPHLETS AND POSTERS
IN CAPITAL
--------------


2. (U) Maoist activists continue to publicize the
upcoming nationwide strike, or bandh, called for Feb. 22-
23 (Ref B) in commemoration of the seventh anniversary
of the insurgency--including in Kathmandu. Pamphlets
and posters promoting adherence to the bandh have been
observed along several major thoroughfares in the
capital, and at least one activist postering a city wall
was reportedly shot and injured by police the night of
Feb. 11. Security forces have increased checkpoints
along city streets and major arteries into the capital
in response to reports that Maoist activists plan to
infiltrate Kathmandu in the run-up to the strike.


3. (U) A pamphlet distributed by the Maoist-affiliated
All Nepal Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) in
Kathmandu Feb. 10 called for residents to observe the
strike to protest the "martial law" perpetrated on the
population by the King and Prime Minister. Besides
calling for an end to the state of emergency and anti-
terrorism ordinances, the flyer also demands the
dissolution of the Constitution and current government;
the institution of "revolutionary land reforms"; an end
to gender- and caste-based discrimination; and a halt to
the "interference of imperialists and expansionists"
(which typically refers, in standard Maoist demonology,
to the U.S. and India respectively).

--------------
STRIKE OBSERVED IN WEST
--------------


4. (U) The Maoists experienced some success in locally
enforcing a strike called for the mid-western--long
regarded the insurgents' strongest base--and western
regions Feb. 10. Public transportation reportedly
ground to a halt on all major highways in the region for
the day; a bus and two trucks traveling to Surkhet in
defiance of the ban were set on fire. The day before
insurgents destroyed a District Development Committee
Office and the home of a former State Minister in
Bardiya District in the west.

--------------
KATHMANDU TAX OFFICE HIT
--------------


5. (U) In the late morning of Feb. 11 a small
improvised device exploded in a bathroom of an Inland
Revenue Office in the capital, approximately one
kilometer from the U.S. Embassy and less than half a
kilometer from the French Embassy. Three local
employees of the tax office were slightly injured.
Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the
bombing, police suspect Maoist involvement.

--------------
LUKLA AIRPORT BACK IN BUSINESS
--------------


6. (U) Air service to and from Lukla Airport, which had
been suspended as of Feb. 2 (Ref B),resumed Feb. 10
after the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) sent reinforcements to
guard the facility. RNA helicopters evacuated foreign
tourists, including two American citizens, who had been
stranded in Lukla, the major entry point for travelers
to Mt. Everest Base Camp, the previous week.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


7. (SBU) A December 7 bandh called by the insurgents
during the state of emergency went generally unobserved
in the capital, and the Maoists apparently are trying to
ensure that the Feb. 22-23 strike is not a similar bust.
In previous years, commemoration of the February
anniversary of the insurgency typically kicks off the
start of increased dry-season activity for the Maoists.
This year, the anniversary coincides with Parliamentary
debate on the success of the emergency in controlling
the insurgency (Ref A),raising the stakes for both the
Maoists and the GON to demonstrate who has the upper
hand.

MALINOWSKI