NATIONWIDE STRIKE BRINGS SCATTERED VIOLENCE,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000410

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM PREL PINR NP
SUBJECT: NATIONWIDE STRIKE BRINGS SCATTERED VIOLENCE,
INSURGENTS ATTACK REMOTE POLICE POST

REFS: A) KATHMANDU 380, B) 01 KATHMANDU 2388


1. (SBU) Summary. Insurgents attacked a remote police
post in Salyan district, killing 34 policemen, on the eve
of a strike called by the Maoists for February 22 and 23.
Scattered bombings were reported throughout the country in
the run-up to the strike, including a fatal incident along
a major road in Kathmandu early on February 22. As the
strike began, businesses remained closed and
transportation throughout the country came to a halt.
Although the government has public sentiment on its side
in the struggle against the Maoists, a worsening resource
crunch prevents an effective response to the insurgency's
guerrilla tactics. Suggested press guidance follows
paragraph 6. End Summary.

On Eve of Strike, Maoists Attack Police...
--------------


2. (SBU) Maoist insurgents called a nationwide strike for
February 22 and 23, the first such attempted action since
December 7 (Ref B). In contrast to the uneventful
December action, the number of bombings and violent
attacks reported throughout the country have increased in
the run-up to the February strike. At 11:00 p.m. February
21, Maoists launched an attack on a remote police post in
Sitalpati, Salyan District, approximately 300 miles west
of Kathmandu. According to Salyan's Chief District
Officer (CDO),34 of the 80 police officers stationed at
the post were killed in the hour-and-a-half long siege.
An undetermined number of insurgents were also killed,
their bodies taken away by their comrades. The CDO also
reported that groups of Maoists had gathered on the
outskirts of the district capital, intending to attack it,
but had fled at the sight of two army helicopters
dispatched to the area.

And Scatter Bombs
--------------


3. (SBU) On the morning of February 21 security forces
shot and killed a Maoist insurgent who was attempting to
hang a "banner bomb" on a pole in the capital. During the
day at least five other bombs went off around the
Kathmandu Valley and a car belonging to an army pilot was
firebombed. In other areas of Nepal scattered incidents
of violence were also reported, including the firebombing
of a long-distance bus in Chitwan District that took the
lives of five passengers.


4. (SBU) A few minutes past nine on the morning of
February 22 a bomb went off in a garbage pile near a
telecommunications office in the Chabahil neighborhood of
Kathmandu. Police confirmed that one woman, a garbage
collector, was killed. Minutes later a second bomb
reportedly went off in the same location.

Maoist Threat Closes Nepal
--------------


5. (SBU) Shops on the capital's main streets stayed closed
February 22 and most public conveyances remained garaged.
Armed police and military personnel were out in force. A
few private motorists ventured out, their license plates
obscured behind plain white paper. In Thamel, the tourist
district, travelers waited in vain for taxicabs or
wandered aimlessly among the shuttered storefronts as
soldiers passed by in jeeps mounted with machine guns.
One major hotel seized on the lack of traffic to scrub
down its empty parking lot. Sources in small cities
throughout Nepal's plains and hill districts reported
similar conditions, with few shop owners daring to open
for trade and most motorized vehicles sitting idle. The
head of a local beverage concern reported that earlier in
the week truck drivers had refused to make long-distance
hauls for fear of the impending strike.

Comment
--------------


6. (SBU) The violence leading up to the nationwide strike
came while the Parliament debated on and then extended the
state of emergency for another three months (Septel),and
no doubt strengthened the hand of those who wanted the
extension. The Maoists will not make any new converts by
threatening more violence and strangling Nepal's already
lagging economy - most Nepalis expressed frustration mixed
with anger when asked about the effects of the strike.
The recent brutal attacks in Achham District (Ref A) have
instilled a very real sense of fear among ordinary
Nepalis, even here in the Kathmandu Valley. Although the
government now has a mandate to continue the emergency,
the increasing strain on the state's resources means it
will continue to have difficulty countering the
insurgents' guerrilla campaign.

Suggested Press Guidance
--------------


7. Begin Suggested Press Guidance:
The Government of the United States denounces the acts of
violence and terror perpetrated by Maoist insurgents in
the run-up to the national strike called for February 22
and 23, including the attack in Salyan District during the
night of February 21 that took the lives of 34 police
officers. A series of explosions in and around Kathmandu
have resulted in at least one death. We extend our
condolences to the families of the victims of this
senseless bloodshed.

Strikes or "bandhs" such as the one called by the Maoists
for February 22 and 23 are enforced by the threat of
violence. We reiterate our support for the right of the
Government of Nepal to safeguard its citizens, as provided
for under the Constitution. In a democracy there is no
room to achieve political objectives through violence.

Once more we urge the Maoists to lay down their arms
immediately and to engage in the peaceful pursuit of their
aims within the democratic framework of Nepal's
Constitution.

End Suggested Press Guidance.

MALINOWSKI