Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03KATHMANDU2309
2003-11-25 03:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 18 to 24,

Tags:  OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR 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.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 002309 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR NP
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 18 to 24,
2003


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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 002309

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR NP
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 18 to 24,
2003


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


1. U.S.

-- Maoist fiat forces Peace Corps out: Thirty American
Peace Corps volunteers have been forced to leave the
district following an ultimatum by an armed group of
Maoists asking them to leave within four days. The
volunteers were running a temporary Peace Corps office
at the Butwal Technical Institute (BTI). It is said
that the ultimatum was issued keeping in view
Prachanda's hostile attitude towards the Americans.
(Pro-India "The Himalayan Times," E/D, 11/19)
"...It is believed that the Maoist action is reaction to
the latest American decision to freeze the assets of
the rebels. The American support to the government
specially to fight against the "people's war" and their
expressions had irritated the Maoists. The enmity
between Maoists and America has grown after the second
ceasefire broke..." (Leftist "Jana Aastha," V/W, 11/19)

Internal conflict and American interest: "...With the
closure of Peace Corps training center in Butwal, the
conflict between America and Maoists has heightened.
Though the consequences cannot be predicted, it is sure
to make the Americans furious. American objective of
sending the Peace Corps volunteers was not only limited
to cut off cost but also to collect information through
the volunteers..." Foreign forces can make Nepal a
playground while Nepalese are busy in fighting a war
among them.". There is skepticism over America's
involvement in projects on whether they are benefiting
to Nepal or if they are being used to their interest.
America has time and again used internal conflicts for
its benefit. This should be realized by the political
forces committed to democracy, human rights and rule of
law." (Leftist "Saptahik Aawaj," V/W, 11/21)

-- WMD awareness training organized: The U.S. embassy
conducted a Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD awareness
seminar, as a part of worldwide effort, from 17 to 21
November. (Major dailies, 11/22)

-- Washington denounces killings: The U.S. Government
Tuesday "denounced" the killing of Brig. Gen. Sagar
Bahadur Pandey and his wife Pushpa Pandey along with
other security personnel, the U.S. Embassy said. The
U.S. government "strongly condemns" the "continuing

attacks by the Maoists," a statement said. The U.S.
Embassy extended sympathies to the Pandey family and
the families of others who died in the attack. "There
is overwhelming support within Nepal and the
international community for a negotiated settlement.
The United States continues to believe strongly that
this conflict can be settled only through peaceful
means. We urge the Maoists to restore the cease-fire
and resume the negotiation process," the statement
said. (Major media reports, 11/19)


2. POLITICAL AFFAIRS

-- PM leaves for India, talks in Delhi to focus on
terrorism: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa left for
New Delhi as a part of his four-nation tour in
connection with the upcoming SAARC summit. "There will
be discussions on terrorism. Terrorism has not hit
Nepal alone, India is equally affected," said Thapa
before leaving. (Centrist "Spacetime," V/D, 11/24)

-- UML leader Nepal meets Maoist leaders: A three-
member CPN-UML team led by general secretary Madhav
Kumar Nepal met with top Maoist leaders - Prachanda and
Dr. Baburam Bhattarai - in Lucknow. (Major reports,
11/20) ".. The Maoist leadership is learnt to have
rejected the feelers of political reforms put forth by
UML. Upon return from his meeting, Nepal predicted a
political upheavals in the country within a week.
(Major reports, 11/21) "... The Maoists, however,
expressed surprise at the remarks made by UML leader
Nepal on the meeting. (Major reports, 11/23)"... Nepal's
meeting with the Maoist leadership met with criticism
from UML's political allies as well as the government.
The Nepali Congress reacted sharply to the hush-hush
meeting. NC president Girija Prasad Koirala accused
the UML leaders of meeting without informing the other
parties involved in the agitation against regression.
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa also said that Nepal
should not have met people labeled as terrorists. "As
responsible leader, he should have given a second
thought before taking the step. He should have thought
for his personal security at least." (Major reports,
11/24)

-- Crisis in RPP: Prime Minister Surya Bhadur Thapa
defied his party's directive to him to quit. In a
press meet held after an audience with the King
following an ultimatum from his party, Thapa said, "I
am accountable to the King and the people since I was
appointed prime minister in a special situation in
accordance with Article 127. As I was not appointed on
the recommendation of the party, there's no relevance
in it seeking my resignation." Rastriya Prajatantra
Party (RPP) had after three days of heated discussions,
asked the PM to step down by 10 a.m. Friday and make
way for the formation of an all-party government.
(Major reports, 11/21) ". The central disciplinary
committee later decided to seek clarifications from PM
Thapa for his defiance of party directives. The party
has extended the deadline by 24 hours as PM left for
New Delhi, India. (Major reports, 11/22-24)

-- NC (D) demands Deuba government's reinstatement: The
Nepali Congress (Democratic) has urged all democratic
forces to join the movement against regression and
reinstate the Deuba government. The central working
committee meeting of the NC (D) reviewed the situation
after October 4, 2002 and demanded for reinstatement of
the Deuba government stating that the move to oust him
was unconstitutional and undemocratic. (The Himalayan
Times, 11/21)

-- Bhattarai wants Deuba restored: Senior leader of the
Nepali Congress Krishna Prasad Bhattarai said the Deuba
government before the royal move of October 4, 2002
needs to be restored to bring the country back to
constitutional track. Upon his return from five-weeks
journey of India, Bhattarai said, "the Deuba government
should be restored to end the current political
stalemate in the country." He said that Deuba should
snatch the chair and not look for the King's grace. He
also said, for the first time since the political
crisis broke, that he backed Sher Bahadur Deuba led
Nepali Congress (Democratic). (Major reports, 11/20)

-- Cadres flay Koirala for stepping down movement:
Nepali Congress workers expressed concerns over the
steeping down of mass movement of 4th September on the
pressure of the Palace and the foreign powers. Koirala
accepted that the "decisive" movement was stepped down
due to the pressure of foreign envoys. "There were
chances of the movement going out of control as the
Maoists had just broken the cease fire and the foreign
envoys also gave assurance for reinstatement of the
parliament if the movement was toned down," said
Koirala. He also added that the parties are ready to
work with the Maoists. "It is possible to ally with
Maoists if the words of Prachanda are implemented," he
said. (Centrist "Kantipur," V/D, 11/18)


3. MAOIST POLITICS

-- Maoists have defamed communists: Leaders of the five
agitating parties have called on the Maoists to
immediately stop "actions that are helping regression."
"Prachanda and Baburam have insulted Maoism and
communists," said Amik Sherchan, president of
Janamorcha Nepal. (Centrist "Spacetime," V/D, 11/24)

-- Maoists' "people's law": Maoist workers hav
e started
going to villages with handwritten version of "People's
Law," which among other things legalizes death
sentence. The Maoists' law talks elaborately on love,
marriage and sex and encourages love marriage. It also
states that those who cannot love will be wed with the
help of a mediator. It prohibits child marriage and
permits divorce. The law allows "anti-imperialist and
anti-feudalists" to possess pistol, air gun, gun and
other weapons but with permission from the "regime."
(Pro-UML "Drishti," V/W, 11/18)


4. MAOIST INSURGENCY

-- Maoist section commander killed: More than a dozen
Maoists were killed in latest clashes with security
forces in various parts of the country. Six Maoists,
including a section commander, were killed Sunday
morning when the security forces stormed their base in
Dang district. The forces claim to have recovered two
SMGs, two American-made pistols and other weapons.
(Centrist "The Kathmandu Post," E/D, 11/24)

-- Education institutions closed down in Bheri-Karnali:
The Maoists' students union has called for indefinite
'bandh' of schools in a dozen districts of mid-western
region, affecting 400,000 students. (Centrist
"Rajdhani," V/D, 11/23)

-- Maoists bury farmer alive: In one of the most
gruesome acts, Maoist rebels buried alive a 27-year-old
farmer in remote Humla. Villagers said that the rebels
first goaded him to dig a ditch and then forced him to
lie in it. "When he resisted to lie down in the ditch
he was forced to dig, the Maoists chopped off his legs
and buried him alive despite pleas for mercy," said the
villagers forced to watch. Locals said that Budha was
killed because his elder brother had a job in police
force. (The Kathmandu Post, 11/21)

-- Maoists extort money from tourists: The Maoist
rebels have extorted huge sum of money in Baglung from
two groups of tourists on their way to Dolpa. The
Maoists had taken U.S. $ 50 each from the first group
of 14 Danish and U.S. $ 75 each from the second group
of 11 German tourists. (Rajdhani, 11/21)

-- Spanish national hacked over donation: Suspected
Maoists hacked a Spanish national trekking on Mt.
Kanchanjungha base camp area after he refused to give
the money demanded by rebels the second time. Locals
say Roman Garcia, had donated Rs. 10,000 at Selele
before moving towards the base camp. In Gufapokhari
another armed group stopped and demanded Rs 15,000.
But he refused to meet their demand. "When he moved
ahead, the rebels followed him a few yards and hacked
him from behind," the villagers said. He was brought
to Dhankuta on a horse and later to Dharan in an
ambulance. (The Kathmandu Post, 11/20)

-- Maoists' attempt of smuggling arms from Tibet
thwarted: China has arrested four persons, including
high-level Maoist leaders trying to smuggle a sack of
Chinese pistols and explosives from Tibet. The four
have been taken to Shigatshe for questioning. Maoists
have been using Chinese pistols in murderous attacks,
particularly in Kathmandu Valley. This is the first
evidence of Maoists bringing arms from China. A few
days ago the Chinese ambassador to Nepal had said that
his government had no evidence that the Maoists brought
arms from China. (Centrist "Nepal Samacharpatra," V/D,
11/19)


5. ECONOMY

-- WB loan comes with skepticism: The board of the
World Bank approved U.S. $ 70 million for the
implementation of poverty reduction plans, tagged along
with suggestions to the government to take immediate
steps to address the present situation of uncertainty.
". Issuing the joint a group of donors said, "The
current 'democratic vacuum' represents a threat to the
entire reform and development program." The
development partners have called for an inclusive
negotiated peace settlement to enable the underlying
causes of the conflict to be addressed in a sustainable
manner." (Major reports, 11/20)


6. HUMAN RIGHTS

-- NHRC wants UNHRC in: The Natio
nal Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) wants the government to invite UN
experts working in the field of torture and
disappearance to address the country's burning issues.
(Major reports, 11/19)
-- Human Rights Promotion Center formed: Amid protests,
a National Human Rights Promotion Center has been
formed at the Prime Minister's Office. Chief Secretary
will head a nine-member advisory committee. A National
Director, a senior civil servant, will head the Center.
The Director has not been named. (www.neDalnews.com,
11/20)

-- AI urges government to invite UNHRC: Amnesty
International called on the Nepal government to invite
the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commission's
experts to the country as a matter of urgency in view
of the increase in reports of human rights violations
by both sides to the conflict. "The organization is
gravely concerned at the sharp rise in reports of
arbitrary arrests and detentions and disappearances in
Nepal since the collapse of the cease-fire in August
and the resumption of fighting between the security
forces and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)
(Maoist)," said a statement issued from London. "We
reiterate our call for the government to invite members
of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
to visit the country. Over sixty cases of arrests and
"disappearances" by the security forces have been
reported since the end of August. We believe the real
figure to be much higher." (www.amnestv.orq) [News
carried by major newspapers, 11/21]


7. ARMY

-- 8,000 more to join army ranks: Amidst allegations of
"militarization," the ministry of defense has proposed
to enlist over 8,000 more recruits into the Royal Nepal
Army. If approved, this means additional one billion
rupees in the current fiscal year. Sources also
revealed that the finance ministry is planning to
divert Rs. 1.70 billion allocated for the election to
meet the recruitment and training costs. (The Kathmandu
Post, 11/22)

-- SC issues notices, army refuses to accept: A couple
of army barracks in Kathmandu have declined to accept
Supreme Court notices related to 'illegal' detention of
suspected Maoists, sources at the Court said. The apex
court issued show cause notices to four army barracks
recently, responding to separate Habeas Corpus pleas,
registered by family members of the detainees.
According to sources, four army barracks - Bhairav Nath
Gan, Chhauni Gan, Bhadrakali Gan and Jagadal Gan -
declined to accept the notices the apex court issued a
few days back. (The Himalayan Times, 11/21)


8. NEPAL-FOREIGN

-- Britain and Norway to stop aid: Donors are thinking
of stopping aid due to the government's failure to hold
elections even 14 months after the dissolution of House
of Representatives. Norway's parliament is still to
decide on the formal request made by Prime Minister
Surya Bahadur Thapa to continue assistance. Britain is
also thinking of stopping financial assistance to Nepal
if the Maoist problem persists and elections were not
held. It is said that Norway and Britain are stopping
their aid in support of agitation launched by the
parliamentary parties. (Pro-Nepali Congress
"Bishleshan," V/W, 11/21)

-- Nepal may face aid cuts, Germany: German ambassador
to Nepal Rudiger Lemp cautioned that foreign aid to
Nepal would dry up gradually unless it makes a serious
effort to resolve the current crisis in the country.
"Questions may arise about the justification of
spending the money if these issue remain unresolved,"
he said. "We as a donor country strongly feel that the
present conflict is eating up resources that the
country badly needs." (Major reports, 11/22)

-- Afghan entry into SAARC to be discussed: A formal
proposal to include Afghanistan into SAARC body could
be tabled into the SAARC body could be tabled at the
Islamabad summit in January in the nation appli
es for
membership. (The Rising Nepal, 11/22)

-- In its 11/22 editorial titled "Heinous acts,"
referring to the bombings in Istanbul, The Kathmandu
Post writes, "... The U.S. has experienced its own form
of religious - and ethnic - terrorism in the form of Ku
Klux Klan. The United States also overtly and covertly
encouraged the Taliban - and al-Qaeda - in Afghanistan
to fight the Soviet occupation. In effect, the U.S. in
Afghanistan was telling the Taliban - and al-Qaeda - to
launch a jihad against foreign occupiers".. The Turkey
outrage, therefore, should make all aware of the need
to thoroughly examine whether the steps taken so far
were adequate in addressing the concerns of those who
indulged in political and religious terrorism."

MALINOWSKI