Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03KATHMANDU1262
2003-07-06 05:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

REPORT ON TRAVEL FROM CENTRAL NEPAL

Tags:  PTER PINR PREL 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.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 001262 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2013
TAGS: PTER PINR PREL NP
SUBJECT: REPORT ON TRAVEL FROM CENTRAL NEPAL

Classified By: DCM ROBERT BOGGS FOR REASONS 1.5 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 001262

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2013
TAGS: PTER PINR PREL NP
SUBJECT: REPORT ON TRAVEL FROM CENTRAL NEPAL

Classified By: DCM ROBERT BOGGS FOR REASONS 1.5 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. On June 23-25, PolOff visited Bharatpur,
headquarters of Chitwan district in Nepal's central lowlands,
and Dhadingbesi, headquarters of Dhading district in the
central hills. Officials in both districts reported that
Maoist activity, including extortion and training, continues.
Neither district has experienced clashes between the Maoists
and security forces since the cease-fire was declared in
January 2003. Nine Village Development Committee (VDC) areas
in Chitwan and thirty VDCs in Dhading are considered
Maoist-affected, with most government buildings and many
telephone towers destroyed. However, since the cease-fire,
government administration officials and most political party
leaders have been able to work in even the most remote areas.
District officials also reported that active Maoist cadres
have returned to their home areas to visit their families,
but stay for only a day or two before returning to their
post. There is no indication that Maoist cadre are
reintegrating with the communities in either district. End
Summary.

--------------
Chitwan District
--------------


2. (U) Predominately flat jungle land in southern Nepal,
Chitwan is home to the Chitwan National Park, a popular
tourist destination. With a population of roughly 400,000
people, the district is comprised of 36 Village Development
Committee (VDC) areas, only nine of which are in Nepal's hill
region, and two municipalities (Bharatpur and Birendranagar).
Even the most remote VDC area is not more than one day's
walk from Bharatpur, the district headquarters. (Note:
Before local officials' terms lapsed in July 2002, Village
Development Committees were led by an elected Chairman and
Vice Chairman responsible for daily administration and
development project implementation within their VDC area.
Now, however, each VDC Area is being administered by the VDC
Secretary, a civil servant. On June 30, Prime Minister Thapa

SIPDIS
extended the VDC Secretaries' mandate for an additional year.
End Note.)

--- Maoist Activity --------------


3. (C) Chitwan's acting Chief District Officer (ACDO) Lok

Bahadur Khatri reported that the Maoists are most active in
the nine hilly VDC areas, mainly in training and extorting
money from local villagers and Nepalese involved in local
development projects. Maoists also regularly harass
government vehicles traveling through the hill areas,
demanding payment for passage. There were two cases of
Maoists stealing motorbikes from government workers. More
seriously, Chitwan's Superintendent of Police Pratap Singh
Thapa reported hearing that the Maoists have recruited
several local villagers, but he was not sure if the people
were abducted forcefully or if they left voluntarily.
Superintendent Thapa said he could not file formal cases of
abduction because of lack of evidence. Villagers are too
afraid to provide evidence against the Maoists, he said.


4. (C) In the hill areas where they are most active, the
Maoists typically stay in local villagers' homes for one
night, moving on to a different village for the following
night, ACDO Khatri said. As a security precaution, he
reported, the insurgents do not take food from the same house
in which they stay. Khatri also claimed that Maoists, whose
families live in Chitwan, have returned for short visits (1-2
days) during the cease-fire, but are not reintegrating with
their home communities. Superintendent Thapa reported that
Maoist leaders Prachanda and Badal had returned twice to
their homes in Chitwan since the cease-fire took hold.


5. (C) Superintendent Thapa also indicated that Maoist
activists hold regular demonstrations and cycle rallies in
the streets of Bharatpur and in villages. But the
demonstrations last no more than 10 minutes, he said, and are
typically over by the time the police arrive. Thapa said
that Maoists also held a mass meeting outside Bharatpur in
April to discuss their demands for a constituent assembly,
but attendance was low. Through reports from the meeting,
Thapa heard the Maoists claim that "they will not return to
the jungle" and that "the current cease-fire must be
successful." Thapa suspected that the Maoists and local
political party leaders have met secretly two or three times
since the cease-fire and cooperate informally on an ongoing
basis. At the student level, the Maoists and the five
agitating political parties conduct joint protests, Thapa
said.


6. (C) Thapa indicated that the Maoists in Chitwan appear to
be taking this cease-fire more seriously by operating more
openly than they did in the last cease-fire. On the other
hand, Thapa later claimed that most of the Maoist cadres
remain underground, but estimated that perhaps 100 militants
were operating in the district with many more non-militant
Maoists also active in the district. Thapa also said that
Maoist supporters (not active members) have been much less
vocal in their support of the Maoist cause during this
cease-fire compared with the first cease-fire.

-------------- Security Forces and Local Administration --------------


7. (C) Neither the police nor the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) have
a permanent presence in the nine hilly VDC areas, said
Khatri. Superintendent Thapa reported that there are 400
police officers at 15 posts in the district with 160 officers
in the two municipalities and the remaining 240 officers at
VDC-level posts. Thapa explained that there is roughly one
police post for every 4 VDC areas, not including the hill
areas where there is no presence. Thapa said, however, that
the police have conducted patrols in the Maoist-affected
areas since the cease-fire without incident. The police have
conducted only two joint patrols with the RNA in Chitwan
since the cease-fire. Two RNA battalions are present in
Chitwan, one in Bharatpur and one within the Chitwan National
Park.


8. (C) Despite the lack of security forces, most Nepalese are
able to travel freely throughout the Maoist-affected areas,
which is a significant departure from before the cease-fire.
On June 11, district administration officials and National
Police and RNA officers provided social services, such as
road building and medical treatment, without incident.
(Note. The RNA and Police have been carrying out social
welfare programs throughout the 75 Districts in Nepal. Some
have resulted in clashes with the Maoists. End Note.)
Moreover, according to Khatri, all 36 VDC Secretaries are
present in the VDCs, although the nine Secretaries in the
hill areas return to Bharatpur at night. All VDCs have
received the federal government's allotment of 250,000 rupees
for development projects, he said. ACDO Khatri explained
that Chitwan's good road network keeps the Maoists confined
to the more remote, hill areas of the district.

-------------- Political Parties --------------


9. (C) There are three active political parties in Chitwan:
Nepali Congress (NC),United-Marxist Leninist (UML) and
People's Front Nepal (PFN). In the last elected government,
UML held 25 and NC held 11 of the 36 VDC Chairmanship
positions. However, the four national level constituencies
were all won by Nepali Congress. Nepali Congress District
President Krishna Lal Sapkota claimed that the UML held a
local-level majority only because of UML ballot rigging at
the 1997 elections.


10. (C) NC President Sapkota reported that the three
political parties present in Chitwan are conducting regular
protests at the district level based on the national
agitation program. In addition, the party-affiliated student
unions are very active in Chitwan district and have been
participating in the national school lockout program. He
said that Chitwan's Nepali Congress chapter has fully
supported the ongoing student strike. Sapkota indicated that
party leaders in Chitwan are not able to travel to the remote
hill areas of the district due to fear of Maoist reprisals.
Sapkota cited an armed Maoist gathering held June 23 in one
of the hilly VDC areas: a dangerous situation for Nepali
Congress leaders, he said.


11. (C) Sapkota claimed that government administration at the
district level was not running effectively, in part because
of political party agitation within the district. He
complained of corruption within the current administration at
the VDC level, particularly in the selling of passports and
citizenship cards.


12. (C) United Marxist Leninist (UML) District Secretary Hari
Sapkota claimed the cease-fire was going very well in
Chitwan. Contrary to the Nepali Congress report, the UML
Secretary suggested that UML party members could travel

SIPDIS
freely throughout Chitwan district and had no fear at night
of Maoist reprisals. Seemingly more sympathetic to the
Maoists, UML Secretary Sapkota claimed that the insurgents
were not extorting money from businesses or villagers in
Chitwan. UML's support for the student union protests, he
said, was not strong in Chitwan, although 50 schools in
Chitwan have been closed on a trial basis. He suggested that
the student unions, except for the Maoist-wing ANNISU-R, were
not as active in Chitwan as other districts.

--------------
Dhading District
--------------


13. (C) In Dhadingbesi, district headquarters for Dhading
District, Poloff met with Chief District Officer Jeevan
Prasad Woli, Inspector of Police Gopi Man Shrestha and
leaders of all four active political parties: Nepali
Congress, RPP, UML and People's Front Nepal. Dhading has a
population of 338,513 people within 50 VDC areas, 30 of which
are Maoist-affected. All VDC administration and police
buildings, telephone towers and local phone booths in the 30
Maoist-affected VDC areas were destroyed prior to the
cease-fire and have not been rebuilt. Poloff later drove by
an Agriculture Development Office in Simile VDC area located
just off the main highway 30 kilometers outside the Kathmandu
Valley that the Maoists had destroyed by fire.

-------------- Maoist Activity --------------


14. (C) The CDO and Inspector of Police both described
northern Dhading district as a primary training ground for
newly recruited Maoist cadre. Other ongoing Maoist activity
in Dhading includes recruitment and extortion. The Maoists
reportedly demand from 500 to 2000 rupees (USD 6.70 to 26.70)
from villagers and local businesses, forcing them to accept
receipts and Maoist 'membership cards' in return. Maoists
also require all development programs, most of which are
funded by the central government, to pay a 5-10 percent
commission of the total cost of the program. Only a small
handful of international NGOs operate in Dhading, including
the Red Cross and the NGO Federation (International Labor
Organization, Save the Children and the Asia Foundation)
working mainly on women and children issues, particularly
trafficking in persons. Inspector Shrestha had no reports of
Maoists threatening these organizations.


15. (C) Since the cease-fire took hold, CDO Woli reported,
Maoists whose homes are in Dhading have returned for short
visits with their families, but stay for only one or two
days. There is no indication that Maoists are reintegrating
with local communities in Dhading. Maoists have held two
large mass meetings in the district, one in Khahare in late
April and the second in the district headquarters of
Dhadingbesi in late May. Approximately 200-300 people
attended both meetings, but most were forced to attend,
according to Inspector Shrestha. The joint local government,
police and RNA program to provide social services on June 11
went without incident, CDO Woli said.

-------------- Security Forces and Local Administration --------------


16. (C) There are 250 Civilian Police officers and 200 RNA
soldiers in Dhading district. During the last state of
emergency, the district's 26 police posts were consolidated
into only 3 posts in three of the main towns: Dhadingbesi,
Kanekhola and Ghajuri. Police and RNA units conduct regular
and ongoing patrols throughout the district, Inspector
Shrestha said. However, no clashes between security forces
and the Maoists have occurred in Dhading since the
cease-fire, he reported.


17. (C) The cease-fire has allowed government administration
officials and political party leaders to travel freely
throughout the District. CDO Woli claimed that, since the
cease-fire, all VDC Secretaries and government officials from
the Ministry of Agriculture, the Postal Service and others
have been able to conduct their business with only slight
harassment by the Maoists. Political party leaders averred,
however, that VDC Secretaries and other officials do not
spend the night in their VDC area due to fear of Maoist
reprisals. All political parties in Dhadingbesi claimed they
could travel throughout Dhading during the day, but would
return to district headquarters at night.

18. (C) CDO Woli indicated that all schools in the district
are staffed, although many have only temporary teachers. The
CDO requires all teachers to report to district headquarters
once every month in order to report on Maoist activity.
However, many teachers appear to be sympathetic with the
Maoists or are reluctant to provide the local government with
information for fear of reprisals, he said.

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


19. (C) Reports of ongoing extortion, recruitment and
training by the Maoists in Chitwan and Dhading districts
align with reports received from other districts in Nepal.
Clearly, government administration officials would like to
give the impression that they are able to administer
effectively to the people. The reality is probably much less
sanguine. Post suspects that in the Maoist affected areas,
particularly in Dhading, the insurgents are much more in
control -- or more disruptive -- in many areas than local
administrators claim. This assessment is consistent with the
demonstrated absence of government offices at the local level
and the reluctance of villagers and teachers to cooperate
with government administrators. However, at least the
cease-fire has brought relative stability and peace to
residents of Dhading and Chitwan as well as some hope for the
future. End Comment.
MALINOWSKI