NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER PREPARES FOR REGIONAL TOUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002295

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2013
TAGS: NP PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER PREPARES FOR REGIONAL TOUR
AS OWN PARTY ATTEMPTS TO OUST HIM

Classified By: DCM Robert K. Boggs for Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


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Summary
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1. (C) On November 23, Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa
will depart Nepal on
a ten-day visit of the four regional capitals, starting with
New Delhi and
finishing with Islamabad. The objective is to brief the
other SAARC
governments on achievements made during Nepal's one-year
chairmanship and to
prepare for the January summit in Islamabad. On the eve of
his tour, however,
Prime Minister Thapa is facing major opposition from his own
party leadership.
On November 20, the Rastra Prajatantra Party's (RPP) central
working committee
demanded that the Prime Minister resign by mid-morning the
following day --
which the Prime Minister has firmly refused to do. The
schism within the
ruling party is further evidence that, despite Nepal's
political crisis and the
need for strong, unified leadership, partisan politics
continues to divert
attention from the challenges now confronting the country.
End Summary.

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Prime Minister's Regional Tour:
A Warm-Up for the SAARC Summit
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2. (SBU) Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is departing
Nepal on November 23
to visit regional capitals to prepare for the Summit of the
South Asia
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),scheduled for
January in
Islamabad. Thapa will spend three days in New Delhi where he
expects to meet
with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee and then travel to
Colombo from November
26-28, Thimpu from November 29-30 and Islamabad from December
1-2.


3. (SBU) According to Maduban Prasad Poudel, Under Secretary
for South Asia at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the objective of the trip is
to brief the
other SAARC governments on achievements made during Nepal's
one-year
chairmanship. The Prime Minister will highlight progress
made under the South
Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and discuss the draft
Social Charter. Poudel
also claimed that the Prime Minister's official agenda does
not include
bilateral issues. However, he speculated that the Prime
Minister will likely
discuss bilateral issues informally with some leaders, such
as the Maoist
insurgency with the Indians and the refugees with the
Bhutanese.

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Prime Minister's Party Demands His Resignation
-------------- -


4. (SBU) On the eve of the Prime Minister's regional tour,
the central working
committee of his own political party, the Rastra Prajatantra
(National
Democratic) Party (RPP) has demanded that Prime Minister
Thapa resign his
position by 1000 hours on November 21. The Prime Minister
refused the
ultimatum. He was appointed by the King under "special
circumstances" and not
by -- and is not accountable to -- the RPP leadership, Thapa
reportedly said.


5. (SBU) Spokesperson for the RPP, Roshan Karki, noted that
Prime Minister
Thapa was chosen by the King, in part because of his
leadership in the party
and, therefore, owes his appointment, at least in part, to
the RPP. The RPP
also criticized Thapa for not consulting the party in the
appointment of local
officials. However, Karki said, the RPP would withdraw its
demand for his
resignation if Thapa is able to garner support from the two
main political
parties -- Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

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Comment
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6. (C) The RPP leadership has been divided, with Surya
Bahadur Thapa on one
side and Party President Pashupati Sumshere Rana on the
other. The split
appears to have widened over the past four months because
Thapa did not appoint
any of Rana's faction to his Cabinet, leaving many positions
vacant in hopes of
forming an all-party government. The RPP leadership expects
Thapa to fill the
vacancies with RPP leaders since he has been unable to secure
other political
party participation. In any case, the schism is evidence
that despite the
political crisis in Nepal and the need for strong and unified
leadership,
divisive partisan politics continue unabated. We do not
expect Thapa, who
believes he has the confidence of the King, to comply. End
Comment.
MALINOWSKI