WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: AUGUST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 001614

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR NP
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: AUGUST
19 TO 25, 2003


- STATE FOR NP, AC, PM
- STATE FOR IN/R/MR
- STATE FOR SA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO
- STATE FOR SA/PPD


1. PEACE TALKS

-- Dr. Bhattarai for no less than
constituent assembly: The Maoists warned
(8/24) the government that the ongoing talks
would cease automatically if the latter
declined to come up with its revised agenda
by Tuesday and accept the Maoist condition
for unconditional constituent assembly
elections. "We do not see any possibility
on our part to compromise on our demand for
constituent assembly elections as it is the
only way to fulfill the people's
requirements and address the present
political imbalance," said Bhattarai in his
statement. "The government's attempt to
institutionalize the feudal monarchy and the
authoritarianism of the royal army and give
continuity to them through the backing of
foreign forces is the main cause for the
present obstacle in the process," said
Bhattarai. (Centrist "Kathmandu Post," E/D,
8/25)

-- September 4 would be historic: Leaders:
Leaders of five agitating political parties
said (8/24) a protest program on September
4, centralized in Kathmandu, would compel
the king to hand over sovereign power to the
people. The September 4 agitation would be
historic, they said, with protestors moving
towards the Royal Palace and also initiating
a gherao (surrounding) of the Singha Durbar
[Parliament building], affecting life and
paralyzing the whole capital city. (Pro-
India "Himalayan Times," E/D, 8/25)

-- Back to war: "King in London Maoists in
jungle C.P. [C.P. Gajurel, senior Maoist
leader recently arrested in India for
possessing fake passport] in jail Fourth
round of talks not to take place Country
again heading toward civil war." (Headlines
in centrist "Tarun," V/W, 8/25)

-- No further talks if no constituent
assembly: Maoists: The government is
preparing for either to hold the
constituency elections or rewrite the
constitution. The Maoists have adamantly
said that the talks will not continue if the
constituent assembly is not agreed. (Leftist
"Sanghu," V/W, 8/25)
-- Maoists' rigid stance ploy to usurp
power: Lohani: Finance Minister and chief
government negotiator for the ongoing peace
talks, Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, said
(8/23) that the rigid stance of the Maoists
for constituent assembly election was merely
an attempt to control state power. (Media
reports, 8/24)

-- Ceasefire will hold: Prachanda: The
Maoists will in no way back off from the
ceasefire, Maoist top leader Prachanda said.
("The Himalayan Times," 8/24)

-- "Go to Kathmandu, save democracy": Five
political parties are set to launch a
decisive movement from September 4, with a
strength show of around 6 to 7 hundred
thousand people in Kathmandu, which will
bring life to a standstill in the capital.
The UML alone is set to mobilize around one
hundred thousand people. (Centrist
"Deshantar," V/W and leftist "Chhalphal,"
V/W, 8/24)

-- Prachanda appeals for Gajurel's release:
Maoist President Prachanda has appealed to
the Indian government for release of its
politburo member C.P. Gajurel, who was
arrested by the Indian security personnel at
Chennai Airport in India on August 20 [for
possessing fake passport.] "The release of
Gajurel would not only prove the Indian
government's will for maintaining peace in
Nepal but also give a new shape to our
diplomatic relations," the Maoist leader
said in his statement. (Media reports, 8/24)

-- U.S. hails third round of talks: The U
.S.
government has welcomed the third round of
talks between the Nepalese government and
the Maoist insurgents. A press statement
issued by the U.S. Embassy said that the
political proposals advanced by the
government of Nepal during the third round
of talks with the Maoists directly address a
number of the Maoists' proclaimed socio-
economic concerns and thus offer a realistic
vehicle for productive discussions between
the government and the Maoists. The Embassy
called on the Maoists to abide by the
ceasefire and urged both sides to respect
the code of conduct and to remain engaged in
the all-important process of forging in good
faith a peaceful solution of this conflict.
(Government-owned "Rising Nepal," E/D, 8/23)

-- Demand for constituent assembly
"unjustified": Chief government negotiator
Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani said (8/22) the
Maoists' demand for a constituent assembly
elections was unjustified and also made it
clear that the government still wanted
amendment to the present constitution, or
rewrite a new one based on it. One of the
facilitators of the ongoing government-
Maoist talks, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, said the
dialogue is very likely to break in the
fourth round if both sides stuck to their
respective stances as in the third round of
talks. ("The Kathmandu Post" and others,
8/23)

-- Government, Maoist peace talks on
deathbed: The third round of government-
Maoist peace negotiation today (8/19) ended
inconclusively after the Maoists insisted
that the government should accept their
demand for constituent assembly. ("The
Kathmandu Post" and centrist "Kantipur,"
V/D, 8/20)

-- Talks waste of time: "The third round of
talks is just a waste of time. Eventually,
the war has been invited." (Centrist
"Ghatana Ra Bichar," V/D, 8/20)

-- Government, Maoists agree six-point talks
agenda: The government and the Maoists
agreed (8/18) on a six-point agenda to move
forward with the ongoing third round of
talks and decided to start discussions on
the political agenda from Tuesday. The six
points mutually agreed upon today include
political issues, overall socio-economic
reforms, procedures of the reforms,
settlement of the armed forces and weapons,
rehabilitation of the affected people and
reconstruction of Maoist-hit development
infrastructure, and miscellany. Despite the
Maoists' strong criticism of the
government's political agenda, both parties
have agreed to go ahead with the peace
process. (Media reports, 8/19)

-- International community lauds Government
proposal: The international community has
welcomed the government proposal placed
during the third round of negotiations with
the Maoists as a positive step forward
towards finding peaceful resolution of the
seven-year old conflict. The strongest
endorsement of the government stand came
from the United States, which has expressed
full "agreement" with the three main points
placed forth by the government. Speaking to
the "Kathmandu Post" and "Kantipur,"
Constance Colding Jones, Public Affairs
Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu,
said, "We are in full agreement with the
three main points -- sovereignty of the
people, multi-party democracy and
constitutional monarchy -- on which the
government has reiterated its commitment."
Similarly, the British government has
"warmly welcomed both the new round of
negotiations and the presentation of a
comprehensive position by the Nepalese
government". India's Ambassador to Nepal
Shyam Saran said, "Now there is a document
which could form the basis for future
understanding between the two sides." He
added that this could help in removing the
uncertainty of the past. (Compiled from the
"Kathmandu Post" and "Kantipur," 8/19)

-- Thapa expresses displeasure over Maoist
comments: Minister for Information and
Communications and member of the Government
negotiating team Kamal Thapa has expressed
displeasure ov
er negative remarks made by
top Maoist leaders over the government's
response. Thapa said, "I am surprised. I
feel that the Maoists reaction is born out
of the feelings that negative statements
should be made of government proposal as
soon as it was delivered to them. We were
hopeful that the Maoists would study the
proposal in detail before commenting on it.
But they have commented on the proposal
solely on the basis of going through it once
as we read it out to them during the first
session of talks." (Kantipuronline.com,
8/19)

- - Agi cation woul d uproot regress ive force s :
Nepal : Madhav Kumar Nepal , genera 1 secretary
of the CPN-UML said that the political
agenda presented by the government during
the third round of government-Maoist peace
negotiation would in no way resolve the
current political stalemate. Nepal said,
"The political agenda does neither address
the issues raised by the agitating political
parties nor the Maoists'." "If the Maoists
are for fundamental change, whether it is to
establish republican state, they should join
our joint movement against regression,"
Nepal said. He asserted that the political
parties would continue with their joint
agitation against regression until the
regressive forces would be completely
uprooted. He also accused both the king and
the Maoists of trying to destroy democracy.
("Kantipur," 8/19)


2. SECURITY FORCE, MAOISTS CLASHES

-- 17 Maoists killed: Seventeen Maoists were
killed in clashes between the security
forces and the Maoists in Ramechap district
in northeast Nepal Sunday (8/17) evening.
("The Rising Nepal," 8/19)

-- Maoists declare UML enemy: It is revealed
that the Maoists had declared the UML their
enemy. "The UML is our enemy, we should
intensify counter resistance against it and
act accordingly against its leaders from
district to central level," Prachanda is
found quoted in the party ' s direct ives . UML
general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, after
seeing a copy of the directives, has
expressed serious objection and warned the
Maoi sts to apologi ze in publ ic . ( Centri st
"Spacetime Dainik," V/D, 8/19)

3. MAOIST ACTIVITIES
-- Maoists call strike to protest army
excesses: The Maoists today (8/21) called a
one-day general strike to protest the army's
k i 1 1 ing of at 1 east 17 of their cadres , an
i nc ident that scutt 1 ed key peace ta lks th i s
week and raised fears a six-month truce
could collapse. The Maoists called the
strike for August 27 across eastern Nepal.
("The Himalayan Times," 8/22)
-- Maoist's extortion: The Maoists have
begun money extortion from leaders and
cadres of five agitating parties, especially
from Nepali Congress and UML. The extortion
terror is extreme in hilly districts, where
the five parties' movement is strong. The
ceasefire code of conduct signed by the
Maoists with the government prohibits the
rebels from extorting money. ("Kantipur,"
8/22)


4. STUDENT UNREST

-- ANNISU (R) threatens of agitation: ANNISU
(Revolutionary),the Maoists' student wing
Sunday issued a threat of launching "long
and decisive" educational agitation starting
September 7, if the government does not
fulfill its 16-point demands. (Media
reports, 8/26)


5. BUSINESS/ECONOMY

-- China allows 14 flights a week: The
Chinese government has agreed to allow the
Royal Nepal Airlines to increase its flights
to China to 14 a week and also start
operating in the Tibet Autonomous Region of
China. ("The Himalayan Times," 8/24)
West Seti Project: The Australia-based power
developer Snowy Mountain Engineering
Corporation (SMEC) has strongly denied media
reports that it had abandoned the 750 MW
West Seti hydropower project in the Far
Western Region in Nepal. The project, with
investment of US$ 860 million, will be the
largest single foreign investment in Nepal.
("The Kathmandu Post," 8/23)


-- Vegetable oil export to be simplified:
The three-day Nepal-India Inter-Governmental
Committee meet ended Wednesday with India
agreeing to adopt a new arrangement for the
import of Nepali vegetable cooking oil into
India after a discussion with Nepali
manufacturers (Media reports, 8/21)

-- Nepal, India power talks begin: Nepali
and Indian officials Wednesday commenced
talks on exporting Nepal's electricity to
India, a report said Thursday. With the
completion of 144 MW Kali Gandaki "A" power
project, Nepal is currently in a position to
export up to 80 MW electricity during the
monsoon and 30 MW during dry season.
("Kantipur" and others, 8/21)


6. OTHERS

-- Lured with the bait of Gulf jobs, young
girls land up in Indian brothels: Anti-
trafficking campaigners say they have
uncovered a ring of human traffickers who
lure innocent Nepali women by promising them
lucrative jobs in Gulf countries. Such
women are lured on the basis of forged
documents but are mostly sold to Indian
brothels, they add. ("The Kathmandu Post,"
8/25)

-- Pakistan Embassy staffer asked to leave:
The Pak istan Embassy of ficia 1 , Masood al ia s
Mustafa, who was allegedly found carrying
"counterfeit Indian currency" has been asked
to leave the country following an
understanding reached between the Nepali and
Pakistani authorities, government sources
revealed today. ("The Kathmandu Post," 8/24)

-- 216 died of flood, landslide: Home
Mi ni stry : Flood and lands 1 ide th i s year ha s
killed altogether 216 people, so far. In
addition, 52 are missing and 85 were
injured, Home Ministry said
Wednesday. (Nepalnews.com, 8/21)

MALINOWSKI