UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, FEB 15-21

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PTER CASC PGOV NP IN
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, FEB 15-21


SUMMARY
--------------


1. The Kathmandu press has reported that an informal
meeting has been set for February 24 between Government of
Nepal (GON) representatives and Maoist negotiators. Krishna
Bahadur Mahara and Dinnath Sharma, members of the Maoist
negotiating team, reportedly are in the capital to meet with
political party leaders. Minister of Physical Planning and
Works and government-appointed coordinator for the peace
talks with the Maoists, Narayan Singh Pun, promised that a
code of conduct would be finalized and made public in the
near future. Maoist leader Prachanda says he has ordered
his comrades to stop extorting money. Minister Pun said
that those who had committed atrocities in dealing with
Maoists and civilians would face war crime tribunals. Two
children were killed by Maoist gunfire. The insurgents have
continued their mass meetings and declared they are ready to
take up arms again if peace talks fail. Security forces
arrested suspected Maoists during a mass meeting and
confiscated their weapons. Families of security personnel
killed during the insurgency are decrying the lack of
assistance promised by the GON. End Summary.

GON AND MAOISTS TO MEET INFORMALLY
--------------


2. According to local press reports, Government of Nepal
(GON) representatives and Maoist leaders will meet
informally on February 24. According to one of the
facilitators, the parties will meet at an undisclosed
location to discuss and finalize a code of conduct for the
ceasefire. Representatives from both sides, including
Narayan Singh Pun, Minister for Physical Planning and Works,
and possibly Dr. Baburam Bhattari, the number two leader of
the Maoists, reportedly will be present.


3. Krishna Pahadi, Chairperson of the Human Rights and
Peace Society (HURPES),urged the parties to ensure
successful dialogue, declaring that Nepal would be ridiculed
by the international community if the talks failed again.
Pradeep Gywali, Central Committee Member of the Communist
Part of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),also warned
of trouble if the peace talks failed again, saying that the
country should be prepared for dire consequences.

MAOISTS STEP UP MEETINGS WITH POLITICAL LEADERS
-------------- --


4. Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dinnath Sharma, senior
insurgent leaders and members of the Maoist negotiating
team, met with Girija Prasad Koirala, President of the
Nepali Congress (NC) on February 18. During the meeting,
Maoist leaders claimed that they are a pro-people party and
committed to democracy. They also denied that they had
reached any secret agreements with King Gyanendra, and
promised that all ceasefire developments would be made
public.


5. Maoist negotiators also met with Narayan Man Bijukchhe,
Chairman of the Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party (NWPP),
during which Bijukchhe reportedly urged the Maoists to
clarify their agenda and approach the peace talks
responsibly.


6. Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),also met
with Mahara and Sharma. Nepal told the local press that the
Maoist negotiators requested help in creating an atmosphere
for peace talks and that they were committed to solving the
process through dialogue. Mahara has previously expressed
concern that the GON still has not announced its negotiating
team and accused the GON of failing to create a conducive
atmosphere for peace talks.

MAOISTS ARRESTED
--------------


7. Nineteen Maoists, including Central Committee Member,
Rabindra Shrestha, reportedly were rearrested shortly after
being released from Central and Bhadra Jails in Kathmandu on
February 19. The prisoners then started chanting anti-
government slogans, and Maoist leaders warned that the
"irresponsible behavior" of the police could jeopardize the
ceasefire.


8. On February 18, security forces conducted a search
operation during a mass meeting organized by Maoists in
Kanchanpur District in the Far Western Terai and reportedly
arrested fifteen insurgents. The security forces also
confiscated khukuris, pistols, socket bombs and grenades.

PUN PROMISES CODE OF CONDUCT SOON
--------------


9. Narayan Singh Pun, the government-appointed coordinator
of the peace talks, has promised a code of conduct for the
ceasefire will be established soon. Minister Pun and Maoist
leaders reportedly are working together to finalize a draft,
which will be made public upon its completion.

WAR CRIME TRIBUNALS POSSIBLE
--------------


10. Narayan Singh Pun proclaimed that those who had
committed atrocities in dealing with Maoists and civilians
would face war crime tribunals when the peace process was
completed. Pun made the promise while speaking to family
members of those who have disappeared during the insurgency.
However, when asked what type of punishment the Maoists
would face for their crimes, Pun would not answer.

CONFLICTING STORIES SURROUND DEATH OF SIBLINGS
-------------- -


11. Two children, ages 7 and 12, were killed at a primary
school in northwestern Baglung District. There are
conflicting accounts of how they died. According to some
witnesses, 200 insurgents arrived at the school to conduct
training sessions in firing weapons. A Maoist leader said
the children were killed when the guns went off
accidentally, due to the carelessness of the children.
Another Maoist leader reportedly said the guns went off as a
result of a faulty trigger. However, other witnesses said
the Maoists stormed into the school and began firing. Local
villagers said the killings were politically motivated.
Maoists reportedly have apologized to the parents of the
dead children.


12. According to press accounts, the insurgents executed
one of their own unit commanders for allegedly raping a girl
in Gorkha District. The girl's family had given shelter to
the commander.


13. Maoist cadres reportedly are looting cash and other
valuables from residents in central Parbat District. The
insurgents have taken almost four thousand dollars from the
villagers, claiming it as donations.

PRACHANDA ORDERS HALT TO EXTORTION
--------------


14. Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, has
allegedly ordered his followers to stop extorting money, and
to accept only voluntary donations. According to a statement
issued by Prachanda, the order was issued so the "real"
perpetrators of the extortion attempts could be exposed.
Prachanda accused "foreign reactionaries" of false
propaganda meant to disrupt the peace process and place
false blame on the Maoists. However, the Maoist leader also
asserted that his party was committed to curbing any
activity that might disturb the peace process.

MASS MEETINGS CONTINUE
--------------


15. Maoists continued to organize mass meetings and
threatened to break the ceasefire if security personnel
insist on intervening and arresting their cadres. District
level Maoist leaders, speaking at the meetings in eastern
Dolakha District, also said that they would defy any deals
secretly made with the palace. Maoists also held a mass

SIPDIS
meeting in southern Bara District, declaring that they would
quickly raise arms again if the peace talks failed. Over
500 people, including women and children, attended the
meeting.


16. Chandra Budhamagar, Chief of the Maoist People's Joint
Action Committee, said the GON had demonstrated a lack of
seriousness about the peace talks and condemned the intense
police activities in Baglung District, which allegedly
include unnecessary searches, arrests and detentions.

VICTIM'S FAMILIES CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT'S APATHY
-------------- --


17. Family members of security personnel killed during the
insurgency are claiming that the GON has not fulfilled
promises of assistance, including free education for the
children of those killed. The GON allegedly has been slow
to deliver relief packages, and many of the victims'
families are still being billed for tuition fees.

MALINOWSKI