Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04KATHMANDU298
2004-02-13 08:42:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, FEBRUARY 7-13,

Tags:  PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP PHUM 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000298 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA
LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY
TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE
TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST
FINANCING
JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN
NSC FOR MILLARD
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LILIENFELD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP PHUM
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, FEBRUARY 7-13,
2004

REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 0280
(B) KATHMANDU 0288
SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000298

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA
LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY
TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE
TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST
FINANCING
JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN
NSC FOR MILLARD
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LILIENFELD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP PHUM
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, FEBRUARY 7-13,
2004

REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 0280
(B) KATHMANDU 0288
SUMMARY
--------------


1. A military offensive launched by the Royal Nepal Army
(RNA) left nineteen people dead. Fifty-one Maoists
reportedly were killed in other clashes with security
forces. Reported Maoist attacks on security personnel
injured seven and killed one. Two senior Maoist leaders
were arrested in Lucknow, India and turned over to Nepalese
authorities (Ref A). The Maoist website continues to
publicize its plans for a mass meeting in New Delhi on
February 15. The World Peoples' Resistance Movement (WPRM),
a Maoist-affiliated group based in London, the group
announced a conference to be held in London on February 18
Maoists reportedly bombed a passenger bus killing six
civilians and injuring thirteen. Indiscriminate bombings,
including several in Kathmandu, continue. A Maoist-imposed
strike on February 12 shut down the Kathmandu Valley (Ref B)
but remained peaceful. The number of surrendered Maoists is
nearing three hundred, and the Government of Nepal (GON)
announced it would extend the deadline for its amnesty
program. The local press reported that Maoists had rounded
up over 700 people and forced them to participate in Maoist
programs. Maoists reportedly have issued "death warrants"
to several members of various political parties, charging
them with being government spies. Russia's Ambassador sent
a warning to Maoists that "we are watching," and pledged his
government's assistance to Nepal. End Summary.

RNA "OPERATION BLITZKRIEG" KILLS 19
--------------


2. On February 6, the Royal Nepal Army launched "Operation
Blitzkrieg" deep in the jungle of Parsa District, southeast
of Kathmandu, leaving nineteen people dead. Seventeen

reportedly were Maoists, and two were civilians "caught in
the crossfire." On February 9, RNA spokesman Colonel Deepak
Gurung said troops launched a military offensive after
learning of a planned attack on army bases in that region by
Maoists. Gurung praised the operation's success, while the
Maoists' official website accused security forces of killing
their cadres in "a fake encounter." The rebels alleged that
the army murdered their cadres in "a cold-blooded incident"
after they had been arrested. Gurung denied the
allegations, saying the army has no policy of killing
captured Maoists because they can "extract important
information from the arrested Maoists, so why would we kill
them?"


3. Local human rights organizations were quick to criticize
the RNA for the deaths of the two civilians, an eighty-year-
old woman and an unidentified male, and questioned the RNA's
claim that there was an encounter. RNA spokesman Colonel
Deepak Gurung acknowledged that the woman might have been
killed in crossfire, but added "we don't know whose bullet
killed her." Gurung also said security forces repeatedly
asked the rebels to surrender, and opened fire only after an
area commander began firing at them.


4. Fifty-one Maoists reportedly were killed in other
clashes with security forces. On February 12, six Maoists
were killed in the neighboring districts of Parsa and Bara,
and one in Salyan District. Five rebels were killed in Bara
District in two separate clashes on February 9 and 11, and
two each in Rautahat District on February 9. Two more were
killed in Dhanusha District on February 11. The insurgents
suffered heavy casualties on February 8 with seventeen
killed; twelve in the eastern districts of Ramechhap,
Saptari, Udayapur, Panchthar, and Parsa; two in the western
district of Jumla; and three in the central districts of
Kaski and Parbat.


5. Reported Maoist attacks on security personnel injured
seven and killed one. On February 9, an ambush by Maoists
left a head constable of police killed and an RNA soldier
seriously injured in Lalitpur District, neighboring
Kathmandu. On February 8, in Nuwakot District, just north
of Kathmandu, six Armed Police Force (APF) personnel were
injured by a Maoist-planted landmine.

INDIA ARRESTS TWO SENIOR MAOISTS
--------------


6. On February 8, nearly a week after the governments of
India and Nepal publicly announced their commitment to fight
cross-border terrorism, Matrika Prasad Yadav and Suresh Ale
Magar, two senior Maoist leaders, were arrested in Lucknow,
India. The two men were arrested following a tip by India's
intelligence agency, and later turned over to security
forces in Nepal. Maoist supremo Prachanda, in a scathing
press statement released on February 10, accused the Indian
government of taking the men in "a kidnapping style," and
said his party was "stunned and furious." He has demanded
their release.


7. The Maoist website continues to publicize its plans for
a mass meeting in New Delhi on February 15. The meeting is
only one of many activities planned to commemorate the start
of the so-called "Peoples' War" eight years ago, and the
website urges people to unite against the "attempt of
American imperialism to infiltrate South Asia through
Nepal." The statement also accuses America of opting for
"dictatorship and not democracy."


8. On February 7, a vernacular newspaper reported that
according to a recently surrendered insurgent, many of the
rebels injured during clashes with security forces receive
medical treatment in Jalandhar, Punjab, India--the same
Indian state where one of Maoist supremo Prachanda's
daughter reportedly lives.

MAOIST CONFERENCE PLANNED IN BRITAIN
--------------


9. In an email distributed by the World Peoples' Resistance
Movement (WPRM),a Maoist-affiliated group based in London,
the group announced a conference to be held in London on
February 18 in support of overthrowing the monarchy. The
email criticizes the "imperialists led by the US" for
"stepping up global intervention, aggression and
occupation," and urges support for Maoists to seize power.
The planned conference includes videos of mass rallies in
Kathmandu, speeches, and distribution of Maoist literature.

BOMB BLAST KILLS CIVILIANS;
KATHMANDU ALSO HIT
--------------


10. On February 12, Maoists reportedly bombed a passenger
bus, killing six civilians and injuring thirteen. Four
security personnel also were injured. According to the
local press, the rebels may have targeted the bus because
security personnel were traveling on it, or in violation of
the strike (bandh) called on that day. A similar attack on
a minibus on February 11 in Kavre District, bordering
Kathmandu on the east, injured three civilians and two RNA
soldiers. Maoists reportedly blocked the road and threw a
socket bomb at the minibus as it approached.


11. On February 11, Maoists set fire to the press building
of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. Maoists also set fire
to the same building last year. Two bombs exploded in the
Kathmandu Valley within twenty-four hours. On February 9
Maoists detonated a bomb in a ward office in Kathmandu
District, and on February 10 a bomb was detonated in the
early morning in a busy shopping area in the Kathmandu
Valley. No casualties were reported, but a statue of the
late King Mahendra was damaged. Security reportedly has
been increased in Kathmandu Valley in preparation for the
possibility of increased violence during the anniversary of
the start of the so-called "Peoples' War."


12. On February 11, Maoists in the western district of
Jhapa pulled off a brazen robbery while Prime Minister Surya
Bahadur Thapa spoke in a nearby government building. The
rebels stole USD 4,000 from the Nepal Telecommunication
Office despite the heavy presence of security for the Prime
Minister's speaking engagement.

MAOIST STRIKE SHUTS DOWN CAPITAL
--------------


13. A Maoist-called nationwide strike (bandh) on February
12 brought Kathmandu Valley to a standstill (Ref B) but
remained peaceful. Businesses and schools were closed, and
transportation services also halted. Another strike has
been called for February 17 and also for February 25-29.

MAOIST SURRENDERS NEARING THREE HUNDRED
--------------


14. On February 6, Home Ministry Spokesman Gopendra Bahadur
Pandey said that over 250 Maoists had surrendered since the
announcement of the Government of Nepal's (GON) amnesty
program. He praised its success and said the government's
actions are receiving "wide public support." Several
recently surrendered Maoists addressed reporters on February
6, declaring "political disagreement" with their former
comrades, and urging others to abandon the "irresponsible
and inhumane" activities of the Maoists. The amnesty
program, originally due to end on February 14, has now been
extended to April 12.

HUNDREDS ROUNDED UP FOR MAOIST PROGRAMS
--------------


15. On February 11, the local press reported that Maoists
had rounded up over 700 people from the far-western district
of Accham, and forced them to participate in events
commemorating the start of the "Peoples' War." Women,
children and elderly were among those forcibly marched to
the site of the programs.

PARTY CADRES ISSUED MAOIST DEATH WARRANTS
--------------


16. The local press reported that Maoists have issued
"death warrants" to several members of various political
parties. On February 12, three teachers and four activists
of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-
UML),the Rastriya Prajantra Party (RPP),and the Nepali
Congress (Democratic) had death warrants issued against them
after the insurgents accused them of being government spies.
On February 7, similar warrants were issued by Maoists
against three district leaders of the CPN-UML in Shyangja
District. (Note: On February 11, Maoist committee members
of Dhanusha District issued a press statement claiming
responsibility for the February 2 murder of Hem Narayan
Yadav, a former member of parliament and the CPN-UML. The
insurgents said Yadav was killed for spying. End note).

RUSSIA OFFERS ASSISTANCE
--------------


17. On February 9, Russian Ambassador Valery V. Nazarov
said his government was aware of the terrorist threat in
Nepal and "we are watching." Speaking at a press briefing,
the envoy said Russia "resolutely denounces" extremist
violence and noted that the Maoists not only conduct
military attacks on security forces, but also on civilians.
Despite offering support to the GON, Nazarov said the
current crisis was an "internal affair," and would not
elaborate on what kind of support his government would
provide.

MALINOWSKI