QUIET REIGNS ON STRIKE'S THIRD DAY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000813

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV CASC NP
SUBJECT: QUIET REIGNS ON STRIKE'S THIRD DAY

REFERENCE: KATHMANDU 804


1. (SBU) Summary. The third day of a Maoist-declared
general strike passed relatively quietly, with ever more
businesses and vehicles daring to risk retaliation from
the insurgents. Three bomb blasts were reported in the
capital - including a petrol bomb attack on a motorcyclist
who broke the strike - but no injuries resulted.
Throughout Nepal long distance traffic remained suspended.
Citizens rallied to protest the Maoists action. Although
more residents are defying the strike each day, the
insurgents have shown a willingness to escalate their
violence and intimidation. End Summary.

Quiet, but Scattered Incidents Mar Third Day
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2. (U) The third day of the five-day April 23-27 general
strike called by Maoist insurgents passed relatively
quietly. More traffic - including some public buses -
plied Kathmandu's streets, and fewer businesses stayed
shuttered. As of COB three serious incidents were
reported in the capital. Late in the morning a bomb was
set off in a bus parked at the old bus station near Ratna
Park in the center of the city. No one was on the bus at
the time, and no injuries were reported. Around two hours
later a group of three men threw a petrol bomb at a
motorcycle passing by a major intersection. The
motorcyclist escaped injury, but the men escaped.
Finally, at around 4 p.m. a bomb reportedly exploded in
the New Baneshwor neighborhood, although when contacted
police sources were unable to confirm the incident.


3. (U) Reports from outlying provinces indicate that life
has mostly returned to normal with the notable exception
of inter-city traffic. Long distance bus and trucking
services remained at a standstill throughout the country.

Don't Try This At Home
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4. (U) In addition to the April 24 incidents reported
Reftel, two Maoists died that day when explosive devices
they were attempting to set went off prematurely. One
Maoist hurt himself trying to throw a Molotov at an
electricity transmitter in Kathmandu. He was taken to a
hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The
second perished while hanging a bomb from an electric pole
in Lalitpur district, adjacent to the capital. Four other
Maoists were caught in flagrante delicto when trying to
plant a bomb at the "SOS Children's Home," or orphanage,
in the Koteshwor area of Kathmandu. [Note: At an April
24 dinner hosted by Chief of Army Staff Rana, senior RNA
officers told Emboffs that security forces had made
significant progress in arresting individuals responsible
for acts of intimidation and terror in the capital. End
Note.]

Urbanites Take to Streets in Protest
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5. (U) Groups of citizens from both Kathmandu and
neighboring Patan held rallies April 25 to protest the
Maoists' actions and to call for peace. About one hundred
politicians and intellectuals started the day by holding a
peace rally that trailed through the narrow lanes of
historic Patan. Then businessmen who occupy a shopping
center in the midst of Kathmandu's business district
convened a meeting for unity against the Maoist strike.
After the meeting adjourned the businessmen held a
motorcycle and vehicle rally in the city center.

Comment
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6. (SBU) As Post predicted, observation of the strike fell
sharply on the third day. The self-immolation of a few
hapless Maoists notwithstanding, the continued bomb blasts
and the arrests of Maoists caught in the act of bomb-
throwing or other intimidation suggest that the insurgents
will continue to use violent tactics to intimidate the
public into going along with their general strike. As
today's rallies illustrate, the chorus of voices
complaining about the effects of the bandh - and
especially the economic costs - continues to grow. The
Nepalese seem eager to get back to business.

MALINOWSKI