NEPALI ARMY REJECTS 5KM RESTRICTION DEMANDED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000902

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - GURNEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2013
TAGS: MOPS PTER PGOV NP
SUBJECT: NEPALI ARMY REJECTS 5KM RESTRICTION DEMANDED BY
MAOISTS

REF: KATHMANDU 0860

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

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ARMY SAYS IT IS NOT RESTRICTING MOVEMENT
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1. (U) On May 14 Col. Deepak Gurung, spokesman for the Royal
Nepal Army (RNA),publicly denied that the Government of
Nepal (GON) had agreed to confine soldiers to a 5-km radius
of their barracks, as reported by Maoist negotiators, the
press, and other sources close to the negotiations (Reftel).
Gurung said that the RNA had received no written order from
the Ministry of Defense notifying it of any restriction of
movement. Maoist negotiator and spokesman Krishna Bahadur
Mahara, speaking at a joint press conference, with GON
negotiator Minister Narayan Singh Pun at his side, had
announced the purported agreement immediately after the
second round of talks on May 9. Pun did not dispute Mahara's
characterization at the time, adding only that the agreement
would take time to implement.

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GON "BACK-PEDALING"?
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2. (C) Almost immediately after the announcement--and the
RNA's understandable dismay at it--the GON began frantic
efforts to walk back the commitment apparently made by its
negotiators. The British Ambassador, who met with Prime
Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand on May 12, told the Charge
that the GON and the Palace were "back-pedaling," attempting
to cast the reported restriction as a suggestion proposed for
consideration. Later that same evening, RNA Adjutant Maj.
Gen. Dilip Karki told the Charge in private that the RNA
would not tolerate limitation upon its freedom of movement.
As the legitimate national army, Karki said, it is imperative
that the RNA have access to all parts of the country. Other
officers pointed out that the 5km restriction would prevent
the army from patrolling large stretches of the border,
national parks, and performing other functions essential to
its mandate.


3. (C) The limitation would also hinder the RNA from
carrying out a variety of civil affairs programs, including
mobile medical clinics, that have reportedly increased their
popularity and visibility in remote areas (septel). In many
of these areas, long deserted by other representatives of
government authority intimidated by the Maoists, the RNA may
provide the only contact members of the local population have
with the government. Karki hypothesized that the Maoists'
demand was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to
obstruct these successful hearts-and-minds programs.


4. (SBU) Only after the RNA spokesman went public with the
Army's dissatisfaction did the GON begin to issue
semi-official disclaimers. On May 15 the press quoted
unidentified GON and RNA sources characterizing the
restriction as no more than a "proposal" tabled during the
second round. The Defense Ministry spokesman told us
privately that the GON was in "confusion" over the issue and
confirmed that his ministry had received no instructions,
either written or verbal, limiting RNA movements. At COB on
May 15 the Maoists were reportedly holding a closed-door
meeting at their newly established party headquarters in
Kathmandu. We imagine that the RNA's hard line--and the
GON's apparent retraction--figure prominently in the
discussions.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) The GON's five-day silence on this sensitive subject
suggests to us that its negotiators did agree to the
restriction, viewing it as a significant compromise from the
Maoists' original insistence that the military not move out
of barracks at all. The "confusion" over the issue, as the
Defense Ministry spokesman put it, may be symptomatic of poor
coordination between the Palace and GON negotiators and an
overall lack of negotiating expertise. While the Maoists are
likely to cast this disagreement as an example of the GON's
"bad faith" or lack of seriousness, we do not believe that
this dispute will cause a serious rupture that could
jeopardize the peace process.
BOGGS