NEPAL: COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER ON ALL-PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001814

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - GURNEY
NSC FOR MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2013
TAGS: PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER ON ALL-PARTY
GOVERNMENT, MAOISTS

Classified By: AMB. MICHAEL E. MALINOWSKI. REASON: 1.5 (B,D).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In a September 16 meeting with the Ambassador,
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML)
General Secretary Madhav Nepal emphasized that he hopes the
Palace will invite the political parties to form an all-party
government. A strong leader is needed to deal with the
Maoist problem, he stressed, and intimated that he could
provide such leadership. He criticized the Government of
Nepal (GON) for having been too lenient toward the Maoists
during the ceasefire and complained vocally of some donors'
plans to direct aid programs to Maoist-affected areas. End
summary.

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NEPAL SEEKS ALL-PARTY INVITE
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2. (C) On September 16 the Ambassador met with Communist
Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) General
Secretary Madhav Nepal at Nepal's request. The Ambassador

SIPDIS
thanked Nepal for modifying the all-party protest that began
on Sept. 4. Nepal replied that he had never intended to
adopt a confrontational line with the GON. The country has
entered an abnormally complicated period that requires the
cooperation of all constitutional forces, he declared, and a
strong leader capable of uniting those forces. The times
have placed extraordinary demands on Prime Minister Surya
Bahadur Thapa, a man of poor health and advanced age, Nepal
suggested; the best course of action would be for the Prime
Minister to resign. Then an all-party government could be
formed and "a new process," possibly including the revival of
Parliament, could take place. The Ambassador asked whether
the political parties would agree to join an all-party
government--even one of very limited duration--under Thapa.
Nepal initially ruled out such a possibility, but then
modified his response to note his party's "strong
reservations" about such a proposal. In any event, he said,
any proposal would have to be vetted and approved
simultaneously by the five parties. His first preference, he
stressed, would be for a new all-party government to be
formed.

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WHAT'S IN A NAME?
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3. (C) Nepal questioned rhetorically whether indicatations
that the King is considering forming an all-party government
are "only another drama." He recalled that the King's
earlier solicitation for proposals for an all-party
government--and his subsequent rejection of Nepal as the
consensus candidate--had only deepened the atmosphere of
mistrust and suspicion. He took great pains to assure the
Ambassador that his party's positions had been misrepresented
in the press. The UML has always supported multiparty
democracy, he asserted, and has no aim to establish a
republic. Despite its Communist name, his party is firmly
anti-Maoist, he averred, and has always stood for strong
moral values and good governance. His speeches have been
misinterpreted by the Palace, he lamented, and have
contributed to a "misunderstanding" with the King. He added
that he had never criticized the monarch in public, as many
claim he has done.

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MAOIST MISREPRESENATIONS
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4. (C) Nepal complained that many liberal European
politicians and human rights organizations, including Amnesty
International, have been taken in by the Maoists' populist
rhetoric. He has no such illusions, he asserted, noting that
he had challenged the Maoists' description of their militia
as the "people's army" by pointing out to the Maoist
leadership that armed insurgents have killed hundreds of
innocent Nepalis. The Maoists should be clear that they are
using the so-called "people's army" to serve their own lust
for power, he noted. He added that he had been displeased to
read that some European donors, including DFID (UK),DANIDA
(Denmark) and the EU, are targeting their assistance programs
to Maoist-affected areas. A large percentage of such funds
will surely be subverted by the Maoists to serve their own
purposes, he predicted, instead of helping the needy. He
criticized the GON decision to release several Maoist Central
Committee members during the ceasefire. Instead, the GON
should have released low-level cadres to show "flexibility"
during the peace talks but held on to the few leaders in
detention. The Maoists used the ceasefire as a "golden time"
to build up their strength, he charged. The GON could have
held talks without calling a ceasefire to keep the pressure
on the Maoists, he suggested.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) Comment: Popular, albeit flawed, wisdom holds,
despite our repeated reassurances to the contrary, that the
USG would object to a government headed by a party with the
word "communist" in its name. Nepal seemed to take
considerable effort to stress to us his party's democratic
credentials, perhaps in an effort to allay putative US
"suspicions" of a possible UML government. We are not,
however, the ones he has to convince. Palace mistrust of
Nepal and his party is more personal than political, and runs
deeper than questions of mere nomenclature. Nepal's more
subdued public tone since the Sept. 4 protests is an obvious
effort to mend fences. Whatever his personal opinion of
Nepal, the King needs the participation and backing of the
UML, Nepal's largest party, if he is serious about seeking an
all-party government.


MALINOWSKI