UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, NOVEMBER 29-

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 002383 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST FINANCING JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN NSC FOR MILLARD SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LILIENFELD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, NOVEMBER 29- DECEMBER 5 REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 2298 (B) KATHMANDU 1649 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. On November 28, Interpol re-issued red corner notices for fourteen Maoists including top leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai. Despite a highly publicized meeting between Maoist leaders and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) last week in Lucknow, India (Ref A),an Indian intelligence agency spokesman said they have "still not found any proof that Maoists are in India." According to press reports the Government of India (GOI) claims to have frozen 2,000 bank accounts of Nepalis suspected of having links to the Maoists. A December 3 report from a New Delhi publication alleges that Maoists are helping China smuggle Chinese weapons to insurgent groups in India and Bhutan. ¶2. Summary Continued. Ten security personnel were killed and seventeen were injured in clashes with Maoists, while sixty-four Maoists reportedly died in the battles. Several Maoist battalion commanders reportedly surrendered to security forces declaring they made "a grave mistake" in joining the Maoists. A female Maoist who surrendered said female cadres are sexually exploited in the organization. Development programs in the western district of Dailekh have been suspended following the murder of an NGO employee by Maoists. Three other civilians reportedly were also murdered by the rebels, and thirty-three others, including sixteen students, were abducted. Maoists continue to close educational institutions, and threaten nationwide strikes. On November 28, a vernacular newspaper quoted senior Maoist Baburam Bhattarai justifying extortion as an "international and historic tradition." According to police authorities, there are an estimated 2,500 people leaving daily for India from the western district of Kanchanpur. An underground student leader of the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students' Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) reportedly threatened Nepalese students in Hong Kong. Several political parties and human rights organizations have agreed to form a network to monitor human rights abuses. Maoist FM radio stations in the west have been shut down after six months. End Summary. RED CORNER NOTICES ISSUED AGAIN -------------- ¶3. On November 28, Interpol issued red corner notices for fourteen Maoists, including top leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai. The senior Maoists are wanted for various crimes, including murder and terrorism. The notices were withdrawn earlier in the year at the request of the Government of Nepal (GON),as preconditions for peace negotiations during the ceasefire. The notices allow any of the 181 member countries of Interpol to arrest the Maoist leaders. ¶4. On that same day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India issued a statement that it will abide by Interpol's request. However, despite a highly publicized meeting between Maoist leaders and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML) last week in the northern Indian city of Lucknow (Ref A),CBI spokesman G. Mohanti said they have "still not found any proof that Maoists are in India." (Note: Chandra Prakash Gajurel, a senior Maoist on Interpol's list, was arrested in India on August 20, and is currently jailed in India. Gajurel was attempting to use a fake passport to leave the country on his way to London (Ref B) End note.) GOI CLAIMS NEPALI ACCOUNTS FROZEN -------------- ¶5. A Nepali newspaper, citing an article in the Indian press on December 2, reported that the Government of India (GOI) claims to have frozen 2,000 bank accounts of Nepalis suspected of having links to the Maoists. The newspaper quotes an Indian intelligence source as saying that the action was taken after the U.S. added the Maoists to its asset freeze list, and at the request of the Government of Nepal. Investigations into bank accounts held by Nepalis in Indian cities along the Nepal-India border reportedly will also be conducted. DEADLY BATTLE KILLS DOZENS -------------- ¶6. A fierce clash on December 3 between a joint patrol of security forces and Maoists in the west reportedly killed three policemen, two Armed Police Force (APF) personnel, one Royal Nepal Army (RNA) soldier and twenty-five rebels. Thirteen security personnel were also injured and four are missing in the battle that took place in Kailali District. On that same day, twelve rebels died in clashes in the neighboring districts of Palpa and Arghakhanchi, and seven others were killed in the northeastern district of Solukhumbu. ¶7. Twenty Maoists reportedly were killed in other separate incidents throughout Nepal. On December 2, three were killed in the eastern districts of Sarlahi and Panchthar, while another died in Doti District in the west. Five rebels were killed on December 1, four in central Nepal in Syangja District, and another in Sarlahi. On November 30, eleven insurgents died in clashes. Nine were killed in the eastern districts of Panchthar, Sunsari and Siraha, and two were killed in Chitwan, southwest of Kathmandu. ¶8. Four security personnel were killed and four others injured in Maoist ambushes. On December 1, one policeman was killed in Sindhupalchowk. On November 30, another police officer was killed in Chitwan, and a RNA soldier died after Maoists threw a socket bomb at a group of soldiers on patrol. Maoists gunned down an officer in the city of Hetauda, and four police were seriously injured on November 28 after hitting a Maoist planted landmine in Mahottari District. MAOISTS REPORTEDLY HELPING CHINA SMUGGLING ARMS -------------- -- ¶9. A December 3 report published in a New Delhi English language newspaper alleges that China is targeting the Indian city of Siliguri, with the help of Nepali Maoists, to smuggle Chinese weapons to insurgent groups in India and Bhutan. The article charges that Maoists in Nepal's district of Ilam, which borders India on the east, are aiding several Indian insurgent groups (the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA),the Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO),and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in setting up explosives units. The report states that Siliguri in Northern West Bengal has become a major market for Chinese-made assault rifles, explosives, detonators, and pistols. Chinese weapons have been used in all of the assassinations committed by the Maoists, and have also been used in crimes in India and Bhutan. MAOIST COMMANDERS SURRENDER -------------- ¶10. On November 30, the local press reported that a Maoist battalion commander surrendered to security forces. Man Bahadur Malla claims he made "a grave mistake" in joining the Maoists five years ago, and said the Maoists have now turned into a "fully terrorist organization." According to Malla, who helped transfer insurgents from western Nepal to the eastern region, the rebels want to establish a totalitarian state, and used the ceasefire not only to expand their influence but also to increase their military strength. On December 4, Ananda Shah, an area commander of the Maoists in the western district of Dailekh, reportedly also surrendered at the RNA's barracks. Shah told security personnel that there is "widespread opposition within the Maoists" over the unilateral breakdown of peace talks. Two other Maoist commanders reportedly also surrendered to security forces, one in the eastern district of Udayapur, and another in the western district of Kalikot. ¶11. A female Maoist who surrendered on November 30 told reporters that there are children as young as ten years old in the Maoist army, and that females are subject to sexual exploitation. Maya Chaudari claimed to have joined the organization when she was fifteen years old, and said that there were "cases of rape" when the girls did not willingly consent to sexual propositions. ¶12. Amid speculation about local cadres ignoring Prachanda's orders and reports of Maoist cadres deserting the organization, a vernacular newspaper reported on December 2 that two groups of Maoists clashed with each other in the eastern district of Sindhuli, leaving one Maoist dead. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS SUSPENDED IN DAILEKH -------------- ¶13. On November 30, Maoists reportedly gunned down a female Nepali staff member of a local NGO associated with the World Food Program (WFP) in the western district of Dailekh, on charges of being a spy for the government. On December 3, the WFP, the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) and the British Department of International Development (DFIF) issued a press release stating that support for the Food for Work Program has been temporarily suspended in Dailekh District, pending an investigation of the murder. According to the statement, the WFP's policy does not accept its staff members "being subject to assault, abduction and violence." ¶14. The United Mission to Nepal(UMN),an international and interdenominational development NGO, has also closed some of its programs in Dailekh. According to UMN Director Devid Marki, an informal education program in the district has been dissolved due to the lack of security in that region. Marki reportedly also said that the mission would re- evaluate other programs in the district and make any necessary changes. REBELS CONTINUE TO DISRUPT EDUCATION -------------- ¶15. Maoists in the central district of Palpa reportedly have sent letters to twelve schools ordering them to close or face consequences. Almost 9,000 students will be affected by the closures. Maoists in eastern Nepal have also threatened a nationwide education strike on December 7 and 8, and several sister organizations are threatening additional closures throughout the month of December. Several schools in the eastern district of Tehrathum have already shut down due to Maoist activities. ¶16. On December 3, a group of Maoists torched two school buses in the eastern district of Siraha. No students were on the buses at the time. Almost 200 students are now without transportation. ¶17. Twenty-eight youths, including sixteen students from various schools in the far western district of Achham, reportedly were abducted on November 29 by Maoists. MAOIST LEADER JUSTIFIES EXTORTION -------------- ¶18. On November 28, a vernacular newspaper quoted Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai as saying that extortion is not only permissible, but an "international and historic tradition." Bhattarai claimed that eighty percent of Nepal is under control of the Maoists, and "where there is power, there is tax collection." Bhattarai justified the party's actions by saying that taxes are collected according to the financial status of the people. MAOISTS MURDER AND ABDUCT CIVILIANS -------------- ¶19. On December 2, Maoists reportedly killed two civilians. One was hacked to death in the western district of Dang after the rebels accused him of helping security personnel, and another was killed in Siraha District, in the east, after being abducted by Maoist cadres. On November 30, Maoists reportedly killed another civilian in the western district of Bardiya. On December 5 in that same district, seven children were hurt after playing with a bomb left by Maoists, which they mistakenly believed was a ball. ¶20. Five civilians were abducted by Maoists during the week. On November 27, a teacher in Ramechhap District was taken from school, and another teacher was abducted from his home in Sunsari District. Another civilian was also abducted from that same district. Two youths on their way to enlist in the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) reportedly were abducted by Maoists in the western district of Surkhet. The rebels also destroyed all of the youths' documents, including their citizenship papers. NEPALESE FLEEING TO INDIA IN DROVES -------------- ¶21. Residents of Taplejung District, which borders India on the northeast, are fleeing their homes due to the exorbitant extortion demands made by the Maoists. According to the locals, the rebels threaten to seize their houses and land if they do not meet the Maoists' demands for money. The insurgents have also threatened to cut off the legs of anyone attempting to flee to the district headquarters. Villagers say that "life has become miserable." ¶22. Nepalese in the district of Kanchanpur, which borders India on the west, are also migrating to India in record numbers. According to police authorities, an estimated 2,500 people leave daily for India from the district. While authorities acknowledge it is common for youths to leave to avoid forced Maoist recruitment, they are seeing an increase in entire families migrating. MAOISTS ISSUE LONG DISTANCE THREATS -------------- ¶23. On November 26, the South China Post in Hong Kong and the BBC reported that Naresh Rai, Central Committee Member of the All Nepal National Independent Students' Union- Revolutionary (ANNISU-R),the Maoist-affiliated student organization, reportedly sent an electronic message threatening Nepalese students in Hong Kong. According to Nepali students in Hong Kong interviewed by BBC, they feared less for their own security than for Maoist violence against their families in Nepal. Rai is currently underground. CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING -------------- ¶24. Several political parties and human rights organizations reportedly have agreed to form a network to monitor human rights abuses as a result of the Maoist insurgency. Members of the CPN-UML, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),Nepali Congress (NC),the Peoples' Front Nepal, the Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party (NWPP), and the Nepal Sadbhawana Party held a program in Kathmandu on December 2 to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation. Krishna Sitaula, a NC leader, alleged "both the Maoists and the government are in a race to kill civilians." Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the CPN-UML, said coordination between the political parties and the NHRC was necessary, and human rights abuses should be jointly investigated. MAOIST RADIO STATIONS DEFUNCT -------------- ¶25. Three Maoist-run FM radio stations operating in the western district of Rukum for the past six months are now defunct. According to local villagers, the stations were shut down due to intensified searches by security forces to locate the stations. Maoist cadres reportedly had issued an order to villagers against listening to government-owned Radio Nepal. MALINOWSKI