MAOISTS' MINORS: INTERVIEWS WITH CHILD RECRUITS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000450

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DRL/BA
LONDON FOR POL - RIEGEL
CINCPAC FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PTER NP
SUBJECT: MAOISTS' MINORS: INTERVIEWS WITH CHILD RECRUITS

REF: A. (A) KATHMANDU 0446

B. (B) KATHMANDU 0379

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Interviews with several Maoist child recruits at
the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) division in the southwestern city
of Nepalgunj indicate force, fear, and physical assault,
rather than ideology, as their primary reasons for joining.
At least two girls interviewed reported sexual abuse during
their time as Maoist militia. We expect such forced
recruitment to increase as security forces continue to detain
more suspects during the state of emergency--thereby
depleting the Maoist militia further. Government policy
regarding "soft-core" members of the Maoist militia,
including those who are under aged, remains unclear. End
summary.


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MAIOST RECRUITERS MAKE HOUSE CALLS
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2. (SBU) During a Feb. 22-24 visit to the Royal Nepal Army
(RNA) division in the southwestern city of Nepalgunj,
Ambassador Malinowski, accompanied by former U.S. Ambassador
to Sri Lanka Peter Burleigh, who is a Nepali speaker, and
DATT, met and interviewed several child recruits of the
Maoists who had either surrendered or been captured and were
temporarily being held in RNA custody. Their accounts of how
they joined the Maoists reveal that the insurgents use
intimidation and force to enlist young Nepalis as porters,
cooks, and in other support positions. None of the young
people interviewed seemed familiar with Maoist ideology, and
each cited the use of force, rather than political beliefs,
as their reasons for joining. Some, however, reported having
been promised a house or other material goods after the
revolution. None of the detainees interviewed could confirm
meeting any foreign cadre during their time in the field,
which, in some cases, spanned more than a year.



3. (SBU) For most of the recruits, their career as Maoists
began with a knock on the door of their homes in the middle
of the night. Two girls (ages 14 and 12) reported that
Maoists had come to their villages in Dang about six months
ago and had gone door to door, demanding that each family
give up one member to serve the insurgency. Fearing
reprisals, the girls' families offered up their daughters.
The girls worked as porters, carrying supplies for the
insurgents as they moved from place to place, but both
reported having been raped--sometimes repeatedly--on a
nightly basis by the cadre. The 14-year-old is reportedly
pregnant. A 17-year-old girl, who had a local reputation as
a good singer, was dragooned into service as a performer for
Maoist cultural programs that are staged in remote, rural
locations. She said she had been with the Maoists about a
year and a half. A 16-year-old boy, originally forced to
enlist as a porter and cook, said the cadre eventually gave
him some military training and began to use his services as a
fighter as well. The boy said he complied because he had no
choice in the matter. Another young man, described as a
sub-commander, had received weapons training at a Maoist base
in Nepal. Since his capture, the teen-ager has been going
out on patrol with the RNA. The detainess described their
respective home villages as poor and remote. One girl, who
said there is no school within walking distance to her home,
has never been inside a classroom in her life.

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FOR THE WANT OF SOME BENCHES,
A MAOIST WAS MADE
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4. (SBU) In at least one case, however, obtuse local
officials appear to have inadvertently benefited Maoist
recruitment efforts. One teen-aged boy said that as a
student, he once asked local authorities why no benches were
available for the village school. The authorities, sensing
radical sympathies in his query, immediately branded him a
Maoist. His protests to the contrary--that all he really
wanted was some benches--were to no avail. Shortly
thereafter, real Maoists came to his house, and, noting the
cloud of local and apparently inexpungeable suspicion he had
fallen under, observed he might as well come with them. Once
again, his protests to the contrary--that all he really
wanted was some benches--proved fruitless and he was forced
to join his putative comrades.


5. (SBU) The young detainees had been held at the RNA
barracks in Nepalgunj for approximately 10 days. Before
that, they had been held at a brigade barracks in Rolpa for
varying lengths of time. At Nepalgunj, they are being held
in barracks rooms, not cells, and said they were being given
adequate medical treatment. (The girls who had reported
sexual abuse have apparently not been checked for signs of
sexually transmitted diseases. End note.) None of the
detainees interviewed reported any abuse during their time in
RNA custody. At meal time, the Ambassador observed the teens
eating the same rations given to the soldiers. Division
Commander Maj. Gen. Sadip Shah said that a local committee,
made up of representatives of the military, police, and civil
authority, confers on the case of each suspected Maoist
brought to the RNA barracks to decide whether sufficient
evidence exists to keep the individual in custody. Those
deemed suspicious enough to continue to hold are turned over
to the civilian police. (Note: Under the state of
emergency, suspects may held up to 90 days without charges.
End note.)


6. (SBU) Each of the young detainees interviewed said that
if released, they do not intend to return to their villages
because of fear of reprisals from neighbors. On the other
hand, none seemed to have a clear idea of what to do instead,
or to harbor much hope for the future. A 19-year-old captive
said that his wife is due to deliver a baby in April. When
asked if the military might bring his wife and new baby to
him, the young man answered that he wants no one to know that
he is in government custody or even alive. If the Maoists
learn he is in custody, they will believe him a traitor,
placing both the lives of his wife and baby in jeopardy.

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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) No one, probably including the RNA, has a good
idea of how many "hard-core" Maoist cadre have taken up arms
against the government, nor how many support militia, like
the unfortunate children in Nepalgunj, have been pressed into
service against their will. As the state of emergency
continues and Government of Nepal (GON) security forces make
more arrests, further depleting the ranks of the Maoists'
cooks and porters, we expect the volume of forced
recruitments to climb. Each of the children said they had
joined the Maoists because they felt they had no other
alternative. Now that they are out of Maoist hands, they
still seem to have the same feeling of hopelessness. Their
unwillingness to return to their homes and families indicates
just how bleakly they regard their own futures--and how
vulnerable they may remain to possible "re-recruitment"
efforts if released. GON policy regarding "soft-core" Maoist
recruits--especially those under age or who have
surrendered--remains unclear. Desepite our repeated queries,
we have heard no discussion from the GON of prospective
rehabilitation or amnesty programs for former Maoist militia
or cadre. Such a lack of planning seems short-sighted if the
GON's ultimate goal is to persuade the Maoists to lay down
their arms. But when the Maoists in question are children
conscripted by force, that lack of planning threatens to
perpetuate the same cycle of hopelessness, circumscribed
opportunity, and poverty that made those children likely
recruits in the first place. End comment.
MALINOWSKI