NEPAL: MAOIST IDEOLOGUE SURFACES IN CAPITAL;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000572

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - GURNEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PGOV NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOIST IDEOLOGUE SURFACES IN CAPITAL;
CONDEMNS US INTERFERENCE


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Summary: Since his return to the capital March 28,
Maoist ideologue and second-ranking leader Baburam Bhattarai
has conducted a media blitz, appearing at two consecutive
press conferences, a Reporters' Club ceremony, and a popular
television talk show. In his appearances so far, Bhattarai
has castigated the Government for alleged ceasefire
violations, emphasized that the Maoists have not given up on
their goal of a republic, pressed the demand for a
constituent assembly, and criticized the US for "interfering"
in Nepal's internal affairs. The Maoists seek "mutually
beneficial relations" with all nations, Bhattarai told
reporters, and may seek meetings with diplomatic missions,
including the U.S. Absent from Bhattarai's statements thus
far has been any regret for Maoist excesses or any detailed
explanation of the proposed constituent assembly. End
summary.

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BABURAM'S BACK
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2. (U) Maoist ideologue and second-ranking leader Baburam
Bhattarai entered Kathmandu publicly on the afternoon of
March 28 for the first time since the beginning of the
seven-year insurgency. Since then, Bhattarai has conducted a
virtual media marathon, staging consecutive press conferences
on March 29 and 30, distributing prizes at a Reporters' Club
ceremony (where he shared the dais and shook hands with Prime
Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand) on March 31, and appearing
on a popular television talk show (hosted by a former
Humphrey Fellow) the night of March 31. Bhattarai, whom the
Maoists nominated to head their negotiating team, reportedly
also met with Nepali Congress President and former Prime
Minister G.P. Koirala on March 30, and was scheduled to meet
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML)
General Secretary Madhav Nepal the following day.

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CLAIMS CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY IS MEANS TO NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM
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3. (U) In his press conferences on March 29 and 30, where
he was flanked by fellow Politburo members Ram Bahadur Thapa
(aka Badal),the Maoists' military strategist, Dev Gurung,
Krishna Mahara, and Matrika Yadav, Bhattarai stressed that
the Maoists have not relinquished their long-term goal of
establishing a communist republic. In light of the current
situation, which Bhattarai described as one of "strategic
balance," the Maoists have amended their near-term objectives
to realization of "a new democratic system" transcending
"regressive alternatives," in which the interests of the
downtrodden (e.g., members of ethnic minorities, the lower
castes, women) will be fully represented. The three existing
political forces (the Maoists, the parliamentary parties, and
the Palace) must each be involved in achieving this
resolution. This new democratic model will be the "logical"
outcome of a three-step process, according to Bhattarai, that
begins with a round-table conference "of all sides." In the
Maoist schematic, an interim government will "emanate" from
the round-table conference, which will in turn oversee
elections to a constituent assembly to draft a new
constitution. A new constitution is imperative, Bhattarai
claimed, because "a constitutional vacuum" exists at present
and "no constitutional structure is in place." The new
political system will represent "all forces and movements,"
he declaimed to his audience on March 30, and will ""go
beyond the present multiparty system. We are absolutely
clear there will be no return to the status quo." He did
not, however, offer details of how the proposed new system
would differ from the multiparty system.

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CRITICIZES GON
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4. (U) Bhattarai opened his March 29 address by reiterating
stock Maoist criticism of the Government of Nepal (GON) for
failing to create "a conducive environment" for dialogue.
Instead, the GON is trying "to prolong the ceasefire for an
indefinite period," Bhattarai charged, accusing it of
violating the terms of the ceasefire "by engaging in
unnecessary searches, arrests, and interference in peaceful
political programs" and declining to release Maoist
"prisoners of war."

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SUGGESTS KING ABDICATE
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5. (U) Bhattarai also took the opportunity to replay
another recurrent Maoist theme in recent public
statements--heated denials that the Maoists had struck a
"secret" deal with the Palace or held clandestine meetings
with the King. In his remarks to members of the foreign and
domestic press corps on March 30, Bhattarai was quoted as
claiming that the Maoists had made a number of significant
compromises to their original demands and called on the King
to show similar "flexibility." When pressed to define the
extent of such flexibility, Bhattarai reportedly suggested
that the King could abdicate his throne.

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CHARGES US INTERFERENCE,
BUT WANTS TO MEET
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6. (SBU) Speaking on March 30, Bhattarai declared that the
Maoists, mindful of the "sensitive geo-political" position of
their country between Indian and China, would strive to have
"cordial and mutually beneficial relations" with all foreign
countries, including their giant neighbors, based on
"principles of peaceful coexistence." He appealed to the
international community to help "materialize" the Maoist
proposal for a constituent assembly as the "most democratic
option right now." To that end, he said he hoped to meet
with the US, Indian, Chinese, British and EU "missions" in
Kathmandu. (Note: We have not been approached about such a
meeting. End note.) That said, the US should not interfere
in Nepal's internal affairs, he warned, adding that America
is "unnecessarily" interested in Nepal.

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COMMENT
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7. (SBU) Bhattarai's appearance in Kathmandu is a telling
indication of the importance the Maoists are placing on
possible negotiations. Despite the suspense surrounding
Bhattarai's long-anticipated return to Kathmandu, however,
the Maoists' most authoritative wordsmith had little new or
surprising to say. Noticeably absent from his rather lengthy
remarks was any acknowledgement of or regret for the damage
and suffering wrought by the Maoists in their seven-year
insurgency. Also missing was any discussion of the purported
deficiencies of the current Constitution that warrant
scrapping it, or how the "new" political system will ensure
the rights of the disadvantaged and underserved for whom the
Maoists claim to speak.
MALINOWSKI