Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03KATHMANDU1097
2003-06-13 07:43:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JUNE 7-13

Tags:  PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001097 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL
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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JUNE 7-13

REFERENCE: KATHMANDU 1085

SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001097

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL
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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JUNE 7-13

REFERENCE: KATHMANDU 1085

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


1. A date for the third round of peace talks remains
elusive, as negotiations appear to take a back seat to the
controversy surrounding the appointments of new cabinet
members in the Government of Nepal (GON) (Reftel). Senior-
level Maoists have intensified public rhetoric about foreign
interference in Nepal, particularly against the U.S. Maoist
cadres remain active, extorting food and money, abducting
civilians, including students, and openly conducting
military training and recruitment efforts. The Royal Nepal
Army (RNA) continues to provide humanitarian assistance to
regions hit hardest by the insurgency. Victims of the
insurgency meanwhile have stepped up their demands to be
heard, threatening to resort to violence if necessary. End
Summary.

PEACE TALKS REMAIN STALLED
--------------

2. No date has been set for the third round of peace talks
amid the controversial change in Nepal's government
(Reftel). Baburam Bhattarai, senior Maoist leader and head
of the Maoist negotiating team, however, reportedly declared
on June 9 that his party would not abandon the talks. In an
earlier contradictory statement on June 8 Bhattarai
reportedly said that the hopes for continued peace talks
were diminishing due to "increasing activities of foreign
powers." The Maoist ideologue continued his double speak
while addressing a program on June 12 attended by
politicians in support of a new constitution. Bhattarai
threatened that his party would return to the jungle if the
Maoist demand for a constituent assembly was not obtained,
claiming that the King had undermined the existing
Constitution by appointing his confidant as Prime Minister.
STATUS OF GOVERNMENT'S TEAM UNCLEAR
--------------

3. On June 12 the local press reported that a new two-
member team of government negotiators had been formed. Dr.

Prakash Chandra Lohani, Minister of Finance, and Kamal
Thapa, Minister of Communications, have been appointed
government negotiators for peace talks with the Maoists.
Minister Thapa told reporters that the GON will give top
priority to peace talks. He also said that while a leader
of the government's team had not yet been appointed, he
himself would "coordinate with the Maoists and start talks
as soon as possible."
MAOIST LEADERS SPEW ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC
--------------


4. According to a vernacular newspaper, Ram Bahadur Thapa,
alias Badal, the Maoist military commander, declared on June
10 that "this time war would be directly with the American
army." Badal, speaking at a meeting in Baglung District,
threatened that the Americans would be defeated as they were
in Vietnam, and asserted that America started war with the
Maoists by placing them on a terrorist list. The senior-
level leader maintained that there was foreign influence
behind the change of government. Dev Gurung, a politburo
member of the Maoist party, speaking in Palpa District on
June 11, also reportedly lambasted the U.S. Army, claiming
that over three hundred American military advisors were in
Nepal training Royal Nepal Army (RNA) soldiers, with the
intention of staging a military coup.

CEASEFIRE NOT IMPEDING MAOISTS
--------------


5. Despite a four-month ceasefire, life in many parts of
Nepal remains unchanged. In the remote mid-western district
of Baglung, residents remain skeptical about the prospect of
peace. Press accounts from the region report that the
Maoists are very active. The insurgents reportedly are
openly conducting military training, distributing Maoist
literature, and hanging Maoist flags throughout the
district. The insurgents also warn the villagers not to
attend the medical camps conducted by the RNA. Similar
accounts have been reported from Palpa District as well,
with reports indicating Maoists openly carry guns, and have
severely beaten some residents.


6. Maoist cadres dressed in full combat uniform reportedly
have intensified their extortion campaigns in Saylan
District, forcing residents to "donate" food and money.
They have targeted their exactions at teachers, merchants
and other locals. Reports from the region indicate that the
insurgents have also banned development projects, and forced
construction workers and technicians to desert a road
project. Maoist cadres abducted three members of the Nepal
Reporter's Club in Kaski District on June 7, and also
abducted a father and son from Pyuthan District on June 6.
The insurgents reportedly took the father and son to be
tried in a so-called Maoist peoples' court. The All Nepal
Independent Students' Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R),the
Maoist affiliated student organization, reportedly abducted
six teachers and a dozen students on June 5 in the western
district of Dailekh. The abductees remain missing.


7. A report published on June 10 by the Informal Service
Sector, a local human rights organization, said the Maoists
have abducted over a hundred and thirty civilians since the
ceasefire was declared five months ago. According to the
report, fifteen people also have been killed over the past
four months, and the Maoists were responsible for more than
half of those murders. The National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) has called on the Maoists and the GON to sign a human
rights agreement to ensure that violations of the ceasefire
stop. The NHRC reportedly has sent a draft of the agreement
to both negotiation teams, but has received no response.

RNA EXPANDS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
--------------


8. The Royal Nepal Army (RNA) continues its humanitarian
assistance in regions hit hardest by the Maoist insurgency.
The programs, which provide medical treatment and distribute
basic necessities, have been highly successful. As a
result, the RNA has expanded the camps and joined with other
government organizations in a bid to reach twenty-four of
the most remote districts. The RNA, along with the Armed
Police Force (APF) and local government organizations,
launched the new program on June 6 in the districts of
Baglung and Palpa, where 16,000 people were expected to seek
assistance.

VICTIMS OF INSURGENCY THREATEN VIOLENCE
--------------


9. As victims come to grips with the hardships of
displacement, loss of loved ones, and other atrocities
resulting from the insurgency, they are also dealing with
the perceived lack of attention to their demands. Ganesh
Chilwal, president of the Nepal Maoist Victims' Association,
warned on June 10 that if the victims continued to be
ignored by both the GON and the Maoists, they would resort
to violence. Chilwal said the victims would not attack
"helpless villagers as the Maoists did," but would go after
Maoist leaders like Baburam Bhattarai. Chilwal claims the
insurgents have murdered almost two dozen people since the
ceasefire, and continue to rob and abduct innocent
civilians. The victims are demanding compensation for lost
property, financial assistance for the families of murdered
security personnel, scholarships for orphans, and assistance
programs for widows.


10. An interaction was held on June 11 in Kalikot District
between Maoists and victims of the insurgency in that
region. Many of the victims demanded that the insurgents
return stolen items and leave the people alone to "lead a
peaceful life." In response to the victims' litany of
complaints, which included being robbed, beaten, and
abducted, and witnessing the murders of family members,
Maoist leaders appeared to shrug off responsibility,
declaring, "we did not force you to vacate your homes."


11. In another disturbing report, "Meet Nepal," a local non-
governmental organization (NGO),states that over seventy-
five thousand girls have been driven from their homes by the
Maoist insurgency and are working in menial, low-paying
jobs. The girls, many of whom are illiterate and unskilled,
flee their rural villages in search of better opportunities,
but ultimately end up working in "cabin" restaurants in
major cities, where prostitution is common. The Kathmandu
Valley reportedly has close to three thousand cabin and
dance restaurants. The NGO has started skill training
workshops in hopes of educating the girls to enable them to
secure respectable jobs.

MAOIST PRISONERS RELEASED
--------------


12. Seventeen Maoists detained in the Kapilavastu Jail
under suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities
were released on June 11 following orders from the Appellate
Court.

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