NEPAL: MAOIST WEBSITE POSTS CONTENTS OF ARMY

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000045

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR MILLARD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOIST WEBSITE POSTS CONTENTS OF ARMY
BRIEFING

REF: 03 KATHMANDU 2500


1. (SBU) ON JANUARY 5, NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENTS POSTED ON
THEIR WEBSITE (WWW.CPNM.ORG) A TRANSCRIPT OF THE ROYAL
NEPAL ARMY BRIEFING PROVIDED TO ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
STATE FOR SOUTH ASIA, CHRISTINA ROCCA, DURING HER VISIT IN
DECEMBER 2003 AND REPORTED REFTEL. ACCORDING TO MAJOR
INDRA BAHADUR SHAH OF THE RNA'S DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
RELATIONS, THE ARMY IS MYSTIFIED AS TO HOW THE MAOISTS
OBTAINED A COPY OF WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS A "SECRET"
DOCUMENT.


2. (SBU) COMMENT. WITHOUT GLOSS OR EDITORIAL COMMENT BY
THE MAOISTS, THE PUBLISHED TRANSCRIPT IS A FAITHFUL
REPRODUCTION OF THE RNA BRIEFING. INTERESTINGLY, THE
MAOISTS DID NOT CENSOR OR ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT THE
BRIEFING'S CONTENT. FOR EXAMPLE, THE RNA'S ASSERTIONS
THAT THE INSURGENCY CAN ONLY BE SOLVED THROUGH POLITICAL
DIALOGUE AS WELL AS THE ARMY'S COMMITMENT TO "DEMOCRATIC
PRACTICES AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW" WERE
INCLUDED, UNEXPURGATED, ON THE MAOIST WEB PAGE. THE
UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT OF THE BRIEFING ALSO PROVIDED AN
UNFLATTERING PORTRAYAL OF MAOIST TACTICS, HIGHLIGHTING
SUCH ATROCITIES AS KIDNAPPING, EXTORTION AND KILLINGS. THE
EMBASSY HAS NO INFORMATION ON HOW THE MAOISTS OBTAINED THE
TEXT. BY PUBLICIZING THE RNA BRIEFING, THE INSURGENTS
LIKELY SOUGHT TO DEMONSTRATE THE MAOISTS' INTELLIGENCE
GATHERING CAPABILITY AND TO HIGHLIGHT THE CLOSE COUNTER-
TERRORIST COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF NEPAL AND
THE U.S. A COPY OF THE MAOIST TEXT ON THE WEBSITE HAS
BEEN EMAILED TO SA/INS. END COMMENT.


MALINOWSKI