NEPAL: APRIL 23 KATHMANDU STRIKE WELL OBSERVED;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000740

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2013
TAGS: PGOV PTER CASC ASEC NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: APRIL 23 KATHMANDU STRIKE WELL OBSERVED;
POLITICAL PARTIES JUSTIFYING STUDENT EXCESSES

REF: A. KATHMANDU 712

B. KATHMANDU 677

C. KATHMANDU 723

Classified By: DCM ROBERT K. BOGGS. REASON: 1.5 (B,D).

Valley Strike: Quiet Streets
=============================


1. (U) A general strike, or bandh, called for Kathmandu
Valley by the Nepali Congress (Democratic) Party student
union was generally widely observed on April 23. A few
private and commercial vehicles were seen plying the streets,
while most shops remained shuttered. There were a few
scattered reports of minor vandalism to private and
government vehicles, but the capital remained largely
peaceful throughout the day. The international schools,
including the school attended by most Mission children,
closed for the day (Ref A). The Embassy has received no
reports of threats or injuries to American citizens as a
result of the strike. The Peace Corps Country Director
reported that all volunteers were coping well with the
strike. The Embassy will hold an Emergency Action Committee
in the coming days to address two additional national strikes
called by student unions for April 28 and 29 (Ref B).

Political Parties Use Students as Surrogates
============================================


2. (C) Emboffs, including the Ambassador and DCM, have
complained to senior political leaders that students in their
affiliated unions have committed acts of violence and
vandalism during demonstrations over the past few weeks.
Most of our interlocutors, while trying to disassociate
themselves from the violence, have attempted to portray the
protests as spontaneous expressions of public dissatisfaction
that they claim they have not orchestrated and cannot
control. Spokesmen for the two largest parties, the
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) and
the Nepali Congress (Koirala),have tried to draw parallels
between the current student unrest and the popular
demonstrations of the 1990 People's Movement, which resulted
in the restoration of democracy. When asked to make an
unequivocal public statement denouncing violent protests,
they have demurred, trying to justify their public silence on
this issue by assuring us that they are telling their
students in private to avoid violence. (Note: The notable
exception has been former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress
(Democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who told the
Ambassador on April 21 that his party was passing a
resolution against violence and that his students' strike
would thus eschew violence. As promised, today's strike was
noticeably more peaceful. End note.) Other leaders,
however, seem decidedly unwilling to counsel their student
wings against violence. On the contrary, Nepali Congress
(Koirala) President G.P. Koirala lashed out against the
government in the press for a second time on April 23,
charging it was the source of the current political turmoil.


Comment
=======


3. (C) Ever since King Gyanendra appointed the interim
government in October, the political parties, outraged by
what they perceive as his efforts to marginalize them, have
been promising to "launch a joint struggle" against his
action. Public indignation against the King's move, however,
has proven tepid thus far, and the parties are clearly
delighted to use their ever-volatile student wings as
surrogates. Unlike the 1990 demonstrations, which were aimed
at achieving well-defined democratic reforms, the current
protests are diffuse and ill-focused, with no cohesive set of
demands and no recognizable public support. The number of
different student groups on the street--and the relative
anonymity that gives them--can increase the potential for
acts of violence. Moreover, even though the
Maoist-affiliated wing has officially disassociated itself
from the strikes that have occurred since the April 16
decision to postpone student elections, the possiblilty
remains that its members might infiltrate these
demonstrations, thereby increasing the chance for the
protests to turn violent. We will continue to urge the
democratic political leaders to adopt a more responsible
stand on this important matter.
MALINOWSKI