WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 11 to 17,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 002248

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR NP
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 11 to 17,
2003


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


1. POLITICAL AFFAIRS

-- Parties to go in forceful and comprehensive manner:
The five political parties protesting against the royal
takeover of October 4 last year have decided to
continue with the protest programs in a more forceful
and comprehensive manner in days to come. (Centrist
"Kantipur FM" radio, 11/15)

-- Parties' split over NC (D) inclusion: A serious
fissure has emerged among the five agitating political
parties over the issue of including Nepali Congress
(Democratic) in their joint agitation against
regression". While the UML and Nepal Sadbhawana Party
(NSP) strongly pressed for an unconditional inclusion
of NC (D),Nepali Congress in the movement against
"regression," Nepal Workers and Peasants party (NWPP)
and People's Front of Nepal (PFN) strongly objected.
They instead demanded that NC (D) first acknowledge
that its recommendation to the king to dissolve the
House of Representatives was a mistake. (Centrist
"Kathmandu Post," E/D, 11/15)

-- NC (D) not to join five parties' alliance: Nepali
Congress (D) president Sher Bahadur Deuba said the
party had no interest in taking part in the mass
movement led by five political parties. "We have never
said that we will cooperate with them (parties) and we
also don't need any invitation to join the alliance,"
said Deuba. (Centrist "Kantipur," V/D, 11/16)

-- China says no "evidence" on U.S. setting up military
base in Nepal: Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping
said as the Maoist problem was an internal affair of
Nepal, China would pursue non-interference policy in
the matter. China would support the measures taken by
the government to maintain peace and security in the
country. China has no "evidence" that the United
States is setting up a military base in Nepal, as
alleged by the Nepali Maoist rebels, the ambassador
told reporters Friday. (Major media reports, 11/15)

-- UML's conditions to Maoists: The CPN-UML has said
that it is ready to welcome the Maoists to join the
stir only if they abandoned their policy of violence
and terror. (Media reports 11/14)

-- Parliamentarians and Maoists preparing to talk: The
five political parties and the Maoists have decided to
hold talks to find political solution to defeat the
regression. (Media reports, 11/12)

-- AI flays Govt. plan to set up rural peace
committees: Amnesty International (AI) has raised
strong objection to the government's plans to set up
"Rural Volunteer Security Groups and Peace Committees."
In a letter sent to Thapa, the international human
rights organization expressed fears that such a step
can place the civilian population in grave danger by
seriously compromising their neutrality, the
organization said in a statement released in Kathmandu
Tuesday. (Media reports, 11/12)

-- All-party govt. and election: Raj Parishad's advice
to King: A Raj Parishad member who took part in the
recently concluded Dhangadhi conference claimed Sunday,
the Parishad decided to advise the King to constitute
an all party government, which will hold elections in
the country. (www.neDalnews.com, 11/15)

-- Royal Council active after 30 years: The king's
advisory body, Raj Parishad [Royal Council] is holding
political conferences in all five development regions
of the country to gather suggestions and
recommendations from people on the current [political]
problems and to pass them to the king. This is the
first time that Raj Parishad is holding such assemblies
since the restoration of democracy in 1990. The
present Constitution is mum on the roles, rights and
duties of Raj Parishad.... Leaders of major political
parties have commented that the Parishad's renewed
activism...is an "unconstitutional" and "ominous
development" contrary to the spirit of democracy. (The
Kathmandu Post, 11/11-12)

-- House restoration unconstitutional, says PM: The
restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives,
as demanded by the parliamentarian parties, is
unconstitutional, said Prime Minister Surya Bahadur
Thapa in an interview to a popular Nepal Television
talk show. The PM also said the government was
preparing to hold the general elections at the earliest
possible time. (State-owned "Nepal Television," 11/10)


2. MAOIST POLITICS

-- Maoists swear by people's democracy: Maoist Chief
Prachanda on Thursday called upon the political parties
knot to doubt the Maoists' commitment to multiparty
democracy." Labeling the Americans as "modern Hitler,"
Prachanda blamed the Americans for the failure of the
peace talks. "By announcing the so-called campaign on
terrorism, reaching a five-year accord with the old
regime, and also by directing the leaders of the army
for Doramaba killings at a time when negotiations were
going on, American imperialism has conspired to derail
the peace talks," he said. He said that the U.S. was
trying to set up military base in Nepal to have control
over the entire South Asian region and China. (Major
reports, 11/14)

-- UN concerned: The United Nations has expressed "deep
concerns" over reports of detention in Nepal. Fred
Eckhard, a spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
told a press briefing in New York that the three
rapporteurs had sent 31 urgent appeals in the past two
months to the Nepal government relating to the alleged
detention of 56 people, including journalists, in
unknown locations, it reported. (Major reports, 11/14)

-- Maoists' surrender: Thirty-nine Maoists surrendered
to the administrator of the western region Thursday,
Radio Nepal said. (11/14)

-- Maoists forcibly enlist students: The Maoists in
eastern Achham have forcefully mobilized more than 1000
students to participate in their organization expansion
campaign. The guerrillas have formed 11 teams out of
these students and mobilized them to VDCs. The
students are forced to wear red band on their head with
Maoist sign and made to engage in a 10-hour publicizing
campaign everyday. (The Kathmandu Post, 11/14)

-- Systematic planning needed to defeat enemies, Badal:
Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal has said
that the mainstream political parties and Maoists are
coming closer in their fight against the "common
enemy." In an interview to the Maoist mouthpiece
"Janadesh," Badal has stressed on the need to plan and
move ahead in a consolidated manner. He also said that
such alliance should not be limited within the
boundaries of the country but need to be
internationalized to fight against the American
imperialism. (Centrist "Rajdhani," V/D, 11/13)


3. MAOIST INSURGENCY

-- Indian cops seize seven tons of Sulphur: Indian
police seized seven tons of Sulphur, raw material used
for making explosive, meant for Maoists at the Nepal-
India border of Belhiya. The Sulphur worth Rs. 4
million was recovered after carrying out a raid in a
house located about eight kilometers west of the
Belhiya customs point. Earlier also the Indian police
had seized a huge amount of explosives and other raw
materials from the Nepal-India border. (The Kathmandu
Post, 11/17)

-- Maoists kill brigadier general, wife and two army
men: Maoists killed Brigadier General Sagar Bahadur
Pandey, his wife and two unidentified army personnel
and injured nine other army men in an electric mine
blast laid by the Maoists in Makwanpur district.
Pandey is the highest-ranking army officer killed by
the Maoists till date
. Pandey was serving as the
Director of Military Materials Manufacturing
Directorate that looks after the production and
procurement of ammunitions for the Royal Nepal Army.
(Major reports, 11/16)

-- Tourists looted: two unidentified Maoists in
Taplejung attacked a Spanish tourist with khukuri
[curved knife]. (11/17)". Maoists, at gunpoint, looted
Rs. 1,000 from each of seven Australian tourists in the
Kanchenjunga base camp area, Taplejung. This is the
first incident of the Maoists robbing foreigners since
the Maoist insurgency began. (The Kathmandu Post,
11/12)". Meanwhile, Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur
Mahara, in a statement, said murder of civilians and
forceful donations against tourists were against party
policy. (Media reports, 11/16)

-- Maoists slaughter 80-years old: Maoist rebels have
killed an 80-years old resident of Taplejung by slicing
off his neck for failing to give donations as demanded
by them. (Centrist "Nepal Samacharpatra," V/D, 11/13)

-- 20 sharp shooters enter Nepal: Security forces said
that 20 sharp shooters belonging to the group Maoist
Communist Center (MCC) (India) had entered Nepal from
the bordering town of Nepalgunj. The forces have
alerted all. (Leftist "Jana Aastha," 11/12)


4. NEPAL-FOREIGN

-- UK aid will come, rider attached: British Ambassador
to Nepal, Keith Bloomfield, has said that any future
assistance to Nepal would depend on functioning of
democracy and the human rights situation. (The
Kathmandu Post, 11/15)

-- Netherlands to stop aid: The Netherlands has decided
to remove Nepal from its list of countries that get
aid. (Nepal Samacharpatra, 11/14)


5. BUSINESS/ECONOMY

-- Nepal's entry into PRGF okayed: The International
Monetary Fund approved (11/15),in principle, Nepal's
entry into its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
(PRGF) program. Under the program Nepal will receive
about 72 million dollars for the next three years. (The
Kathmandu Post, 11/16)


6. OTHERS

-- U.S. justice system worth emulating: The U.S. has
been effectively implementing the rule of law and
discussion was held on how we can implement the concept
of rule of law effectively in Nepal, said Chief Justice
Kedarnath Upadhyaya to RSS. The Chief Justice returned
to Kathmandu yesterday after completing a two-week long
visit of the USA at the invitation of the State
Department. (RSS news in major newspapers, 11/17)

MALINOWSKI