UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, APRIL 26-May 2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000795

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, APRIL 26-May 2

REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 0769

(B) KATHMANDU 0140
(C) KATHMANDU 0707
(D) KATHMANDU 0677

SUMMARY
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1. On April 27 negotiators representing the Government of
Nepal (GON) and the Maoists held the first round of
exploratory peace talks (Ref A). Amnesty International (AI)
published a report on April 23 claiming over a thousand
Maoist cadres remain imprisoned. A strike on April 29
called by the All Nepal National Independent Students' Union-
Revolutionary (ANNISU-R),the Maoist aligned militant
student group, shut down the Kathmandu Valley. Groups
representing victims of the Maoist insurgency continue to
pressure the GON to address their needs and implement
rehabilitation programs. The family of Krishna Mohan
Shrestha, Inspector General of the Armed Police Force (APF),
who was murdered along with his wife and bodyguard (Ref B),
has also criticized the GON for releasing the accused
killers.

FIRST ROUND OF TALKS BRINGS OPTIMISM
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2. On April 27 negotiators for the GON and Maoists held
their first round of peace talks in which the Maoists
presented their agenda of twenty-four demands (Ref A).
Narayan Singh Pun, Minister of Physical Planning and Works
and government negotiator, speaking to reporters after the
talks, said the GON would introduce its agenda in phases.
The local press reported that both sides termed the talks
"positive," and Minister Pun said he was "fully optimistic"
about the success of the peace talks. Local academics have
expressed confidence that the talks will succeed, and
stressed the importance of making lasting peace the top
priority of the talks. No date has been set for the next
round of dialogue.

BHATTARAI SAYS MAOISTS WILL RETURN TO VIOLENCE
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3. Baburam Bhattarai, head of the Maoist negotiating team,
addressed a public rally on May 1 and warned of violent
consequences if the GON does not take the Maoist agenda
seriously. Bhattarai threatened a repeat of the Dang and
Syangja attacks, and promised the crowd of Maoist workers
that his party was ready to take any measures necessary
against the GON. (Note: After the Maoists abruptly walked
out of the third round of failed peace talks in 2001, they
launched brutal attacks simultaneously on November 23
against army barracks in Dang District, killing fourteen
soldiers, and on a police post in Syangja District, which
killed thirty-seven policemen. End Note.)

AI REPORT REFUTED
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4. A report published on April 23 by Amnesty International
(AI) estimates that over one thousand suspected Maoist
cadres remain imprisoned. The report, however, fails to
mention the source of the statistics. Brigadier General
B.A. Sharma, head of the Royal Nepal Army's (RNA) Human
Rights Investigation Cell, speaking at a press conference on
April 23, denied the army was holding any Maoist prisoners.
Sharma said the army had released all Maoists in custody
after the cease-fire was announced. The GON continues to
release Maoist cadres continually, as part of the ceasefire
agreement, including two of the top Maoist Central Committee
Members (Ref C). The AI report acknowledges that the
gradual release of prisoners, as peace talks progress, is
part of the agreed upon code of conduct.


5. Thirty-four more Maoist detainees, including five
females, were released this week from jails throughout
Nepal.

MAOIST STUDENTS REFUSE TO CALL OFF STRIKE
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6. The All Nepal National Independent Students' Union-
Revolutionary (ANNISU-R),the Maoist aligned student group,
refused to withdraw its call for a nation-wide strike on
April 29. The Maoist student wing was the only student
union out of eight that refused to cancel the second day of
strikes (Ref D) this week. Instead, members of the ANNISU-R
reportedly went on a rampage that included arson, stone
throwing, damaging buildings, and destroying over thirty
vehicles. The strike, which disrupted activity across the
Kathmandu Valley, prevented many youths from taking final
exams, shut down most businesses, and halted public
transportation. Devendra Parajuli, President of ANNISU-R,
told reporters that the strikes were necessary and would
continue until their imprisoned cadres were released and
those responsible for killing and beheading two students a
week ago were arrested. Parajuli has accused the GON of
ordering the killings of the students. Police Headquarters
announced on April 29 that a special investigating team had
been formed to probe the murders.

VICTIMS SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
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7. As the first round of peace talks began, victims of the
insurgency are questioning the GON's commitment to
rehabilitation efforts. Groups representing victims of the
Maoist insurgency gathered in Kathmandu on April 26 to
demand representation at the peace talks and in government,
and rehabilitation assistance. The victims' groups claim
that the GON has failed to implement promised programs,
halted financial assistance, and failed to deliver
scholarship packages to orphans. Others gathered in search
of justice and to pressure authorities to search for missing
relatives such as those recently abducted by Maoists in
Fungling District. The families alleged to the local press
that the police are not interested in helping despite the
insurgents' admission that they are responsible for the
kidnappings. Maoists reportedly have abducted five other
people, including a teacher, from the eastern district of
Therathum on April 28. All five remain missing.


8. The family of Krishna Mohan Shrestha, Inspector General
of the Armed Police Force (APF),who was murdered along with
his wife and bodyguard (Ref B),are also questioning whether
or not his killers will be brought to justice. The GON
recently released those accused of the murders after failing
to file a case against them within the required time frame.
Shrestha's mother told reporters that the GON's disregard
for the case against her son's killers has hurt her deeply.
A local paper also quoted a senior official of the Armed
Police Force saying the APF strongly condemns the GON's
inactions as demoralizing and de-motivating. The GON has
offered no official explanation for the release, although it
appears to be politically motivated.

INSURGENCY DAMAGES AGRICULTURE
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9. Figures released in April from research conducted by the
Centre For Economic and Social Development over a six-month
period show that the insurgency took a heavy toll on Nepal's
farmers. The center reported that almost half a million
farmers were displaced, with the highest number in the mid-
western region. Up to fifty percent of the farmers were
forced to leave their land because their lives reportedly
were threatened, and one third of them left to avoid
extortion attempts by the insurgents. The migration of the
farmers has had a negative impact on the agricultural
industry, causing over two hundred small-scale industries to
close down.

MALINOWSKI