NEPAL: ARMY ACTIONS TAKEN TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000141

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS, DRL, AND INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2014
TAGS: PHUM MOPS MCAP PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: ARMY ACTIONS TAKEN TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

REF: A. 02 KATHMANDU 0634

B. 03 KATHMANDU 0087

C. 03 KATHMANDU 1805

D. 03 KATHMANDU 2129

E. KATHMANDU 0063

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

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Summary: Since its inception in July 2002, the
Human Rights cell of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) has accepted
17 cases of alleged human rights violations for further
investigation. Of the 17 cases, 8 involved allegations of
extra-judicial killing; 3 involved allegations of use of
excessive force; 1 involved an allegation of rape; and 5
involved allegations of extortion and/or robbery. Of the 17
cases, disciplinary action and/or court martial was
recommended in 12; no disciplinary action was recommended but
compensation to victims' families recommended in 3; no
evidence of wrongdoing was found in 1; and 1 remains under
investigation. Although the RNA has displayed some progress
in its willingness to investigate allegations, until it
reopens an inquiry into allegations of extrajudicial killings
in Ramechhap District (Ref C),it will remain vulnerable to
public perception and criticism that it is attempting to
evade a full accounting of this high-profile incident. End
summary.

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HUMAN RIGHTS CELL: RECORD SINCE 2002
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2. (SBU) Since its inception in July 2002, the Human Rights
cell of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) has accepted 17 cases of
alleged human rights violations for further investigations.
Of the 17 cases, 8 involved allegations of extra-judicial
killing; 3 involved allegations of use of excessive force; 1
involved an allegation of rape; and 5 involved allegations of
extortion and/or robbery. Of the 17 cases, disciplinary
action and/or court martial was recommended in 12; no
disciplinary action was recommended but compensation to
victims' families recommended in 3; no evidence of wrongdoing
was found in 1; and 1 remains under investigation. In
addition to the cell at RNA Headquarters, a human rights cell
has been set up at each of the RNA's three Division
Headquarters, as well as at each of its brigades. The human
rights cell itself does not conduct investigations into
specific cases, but may recommend that the Judge Advocate
General constitute a Board of Inquiry to look into
allegations. The cell is also charged with training and
disseminating information about human rights to RNA soldiers
and officers. Paras 3-12 provide further details on specific
cases involving allegations of extrajudicial killings, rape,
or use of excessive force.

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EXCESSIVE FORCE ALLEGATIONS
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3. (C) On May 7, 2002, RNA soldiers allegedly detained a
Nepali employee of GTZ, the German aid agency, in Chitwan
District and "manhandled" him while in custody. The cell
found evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the officer
involved, a captain. He was held back from promotion for a
year and made ineligible for staff college training for one
year. On May 12, 2002, RNA soldiers allegedly detained
Nepali employees of GTZ in Sanfe Bagar, Achham District, and
then beat him with rifle butts. The human rights cell found
no evidence of human rights violations, and no further action
was taken against the soldiers implicated. On March 13,
2003, a soldier of the 3rd Brigade named Surya Bahadur
Khatri, while stationed at a checkpoint in Baglung District,
accidentally discharged his weapon, injuring a girl in the
eye. The soldier attempted to cover up the incident and flee
the scene. The investigation found evidence of wrongdoing.
Khatri was imprisoned for nine months and dismissed from the
RNA.

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RAPE ALLEGATIONS
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4. (C) In April 2002 Capt. Ramesh Suwar and another
unidentified officer of the independent Vim Kali Gulma
Company of the 4th Brigade were accused of detaining and
raping two teenaged girls at Chisapani Barracks in Bardiya
District (Ref B). The other officer implicated was never
identified, but human rights groups alleged that Major Ajit
Thapa of the same company assisted in covering up the
incident. After these charges were publicized in an Amnesty
International report published in December 2002, an
investigation was initiated by the human rights cell.
Shortly thereafter, the girls retracted the charges. (Note:
Many human rights groups suspect the girls retracted the
charges under pressure from Capt. Suwar, who remained posted
at the company after the alleged incident and throughout the
investigation. End note.) An RNA investigation acquitted
Suwar of the rape charges, based on the girls' recantation,
but found him guilty of unlawful arrest. He was held back
one year from promotion and is currently posted at 7th
Brigade Headquarters.

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ALLEGATIONS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS
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5. (C) On March 15, 2002, RNA soldiers of the Sri Nath
Battalion of the 1st Brigade were accused of summarily
executing Kancha Dongol, a detainee in military custody (Ref
A),in Kathmandu. An RNA investigation found that Dongol had
been shot while trying to escape (although, as Ref A notes,
medical examiners found evidence that the victim had been
shot at close range in the temple). Two soldiers were found
guilty of the use of excessive force and sentenced to three
months of imprisonment. The leader of the patrol that
apprehended Dongol was discharged from the RNA.



6. (SBU) On November 28, 2002, RNA soldiers in Kaule,
Nuwakot District (in the 6th Brigade's AOR),fired on a group
of civilians at night who failed to heed an order to halt,
killing five (Ref B). An RNA investigation found no evidence
of wrongdoing as the soldiers followed standard operating
procedures, but recommended that the families of each of the
victims be paid NRs. 200,000 (approximately USD 2,700).


7. (C) On January 11, 2003, a soldier named Gyan Bahadur
Thapa was accused of summarily executing a father and son in
Manpur Tapara, Bardiya District, in the 4th Brigade's AOR.
The soldier was court martialed and sentenced to seven years
of imprisonment. An Armed Police Force (APF) officer, who
was on patrol with the RNA soldier at the time, was also
implicated in the incident. According to Rabi Raj Thapa,
Assistant Inspector General of Police of the APF, the APF
referred the case to the national police to file charges.
The case has since languished, Thapa said, because the family
members of the dead pair have not filed a First Investigation
Report (FIR) or a complaint with the civilian police.


8. (C) On August 17, 2003, a joint patrol of soldiers
assigned to the RNA's Narayan Dal Independent Company of the
9th Brigade and national police allegedly summarily executed
19 Maoist suspects in Doramba, Ramechhap District. An
initial RNA investigation found that the 19 died, after
having been taken into RNA custody, during a Maoist ambush.
An independent panel subsequently convened by the National
Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident has
reported finding credible evidence that extrajudicial
killings took place (Ref C). The RNA has pledged to reopen
the case but so far has been unable to do so, according to
Col. Narendra Aryal of the Human Rights Cell, because of the
precarious security situation in that area. The RNA has
established a company in the area to provide better security
to villagers who may wish to volunteer testimony to aid the
investigation, Aryal indicated, adding that once local
residents gain greater confidence in their personal safety
and familiarity with the RNA presence, the investigation will
proceed.


9. (C) On October 13, 2003, RNA soldiers from the 5th
Signal Company, the 5th Recruit Training Company, the 5th
Field Ambulance Company, and the 5th Air Defense Company,
along with members of the national police, opened fire at a
secondary school where Maoists were holding a "cultural
program," in Mudhbara, Doti District, in the 5th Brigade's
AOR (Ref D). Four students were killed and five were
injured. An RNA investigation acquitted the soldiers
involved of wrongdoing, but recommended that the victims'
families be paid NRs 200,000 (approximately USD 2,700) each.


10. (C) On November 6, 2003, an RNA private of the Ferret
Company of the 10th Brigade opened fire on Rajiv Shrestha,
the driver of a vehicle that had rear-ended an RNA bus in
Balaju, Kathmandu, killing him. The private explained that
he had fired out of fear that the collision was an attempted
terrorist car bombing. He currently is being tried under the
Army Act, and the RNA has recommended compensation for the
Shrestha family.


11. (C) On December 4, 2003, a soldier of the Indravox
Company of the 7th Brigade opened fire at a checkpoint in
Sunachari, Makwanpur District, at a bus conductor who was
running towards him with his hand in his pocket. The soldier
is currently facing a court martial, and the RNA has
recommended compensation for the family of the victim.


12. (C) On December 6, 2003, RNA soldiers attached to the
18th Brigade in Diktel, Khotang District, were accused of
summarily executing Maoist suspects Hari Prasad Bhattarai,
Durga Koirala, and Dakmani Koirala (Ref E). Following an RNA
investigation into the incident, the warrant officer in
charge of the detachment that arrested the three victims is
facing a court-martial. Col. Aryal of the Human Rights cell
indicated that the Board of Inquiry may also recommend
disciplinary action against the lieutenant in charge of the
platoon.


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NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION
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13. (C) On December 14, 2003, teenager Maya Devi Tamang was
shot and killed by RNA soldiers in Panauti, Kavre District,
in the 9th Brigade's AOR. According to RNA Spokesman Col.
Deepak Gurung and Col. Narendra Aryal of the Human Rights
cell, an RNA inquiry determined that the girl had been shot
while trying to escape. This account is disputed by initial
reports collected by the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and INSEC, a local human rights NGO. According to
Kedar Prasad Poudel, Secretary of the NHRC, Tamang's husband
had reportedly been a Maoist, but he had disappeared from his
home more than a year before and Tamang, who was not known to
maintain contact with him, had gone back to live at her
parents' house. On December 14, a large number of soldiers
had come to Tamang's village, asking for her by name, and
arresting her from her father's house. Shortly thereafter,
she was shot and killed under unclear circumstances. (Note:
Local press accounts quoted villagers who reported that she
had been beaten and shot and her body dumped near her
father's house. Poudel said he could not confirm if there
were actual eyewitnesses to the killing, but that her dead
body had certainly been found in the vicinity of the house
after her arrest. End note.) Given the number of armed
soldiers sent to apprehend the teenager, Poudel questioned
the RNA account. Even if, as the RNA inquiry found, she had
attempted to escape, could not some other means have been
employed to restrain her, he asked. He added that Tamang's
father had told representatives of human rights organizations
that after the killing RNA soldiers had offered him Rs. 500
(approximately USD 7). The NHRC has sent a field team to the
site to conduct its own investigation, Poudel said, the
results of which may be available by the end of
January/beginning of February.

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COMMENT
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14. (C) Since its inception in mid-2002, the RNA human
rights cell appears to be making limited progress in
investigating and recommending for prosecution allegations of
human rights violations. Clearly, the cell as a unit and the
RNA as an institution would benefit from more sustained
contact, to include technical assistance, with counterparts
in the U.S. military. While the RNA has provided us
extensive information on the cases it has investigated,
similarly detailed data has not been offered to the general
public or to the human rights groups that first raised many
of these cases. Moreover, despite efforts made on other,
less notorious cases, the RNA remains subject to public
criticism for failing thus far to take decisive steps to
reopen the Ramechhap investigation. Until it does so, the
RNA will remain vulnerable to public perception that it is
attempting to avoid a full accounting. The Embassy will
continue to press the RNA to reopen the investigation as soon
as feasible.
MALINOWSKI