NEPAL: DAS TORKEL PATTERSON'S MARCH 16 MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000476

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF PTER ECON NP WTO
SUBJECT: NEPAL: DAS TORKEL PATTERSON'S MARCH 16 MEETING
WITH FOREIGN SECRETARY

REF: A. A. 03 SECSTATE 305118

B. B. KATHMANDU 74 (NOTAL)

C. C. KATHMANDU 417 (NOTAL)

D. D. 03 KATHMANDU 2501 (NOTAL)

E. E. KATHMANDU 466 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert K. Boggs for reasons 1.5
(B, D)

======
SUMMARY
=======


1. (C) On March 16, Torkel Patterson, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and Ambassador Malinowski

SIPDIS
met with Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya. Ambassador
Malinowski congratulated Nepal on its official ratification
of its membership to the World Trade Organization. Acharya
said that the Government of Nepal (GON) appreciates continued
USG support on issues like the Maoist insurgency and training
programs for Royal Nepal Army troops. Reconfirming GON's
commitments to human rights, Acharya said that the Nepalese
Foreign Minister would present a unilateral declaration at
the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. In addition,
there are plans to establish a new "high-powered" committee
to investigate detention and allegations on human rights
abuses. Mentioning that his Indian counterpart planned to
press the Government of Bhutan "behind the scenes" on the
Bhutanese refugee problem, Acharya said that the GON was
committed to repatriation and to ensuring security at the
refugee camps. Despite recent pressure from the Chinese
Government, the GON has no plans to change its policy of
permitting Tibetan refugees to transit Nepal. On the subject
of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),
Acharya said that the recent summit was viewed as a success
and "if Afghanistan wanted to join it could probably happen."
On the subject of Nepal's vast hydropower potential, Acharya
cited an opportunity for U.S. investment, but, DAS Patterson
cautioned that many investors see the current security
situation as an obstacle. Acharya indicated that there has
been no official decision to send Nepalese troops to Iraq and
referenced recent domestic debate on the issue. END SUMMARY.

===================
U.S.-Nepal
Bilateral Relations
===================


2. (SBU) On March 16, Torkel Patterson, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and Ambassador Malinowski

SIPDIS
met with Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya. Both
expressed concern about the health of Nepal's Ambassador to
the U.S. (Note: Ambassador Rana died on the afternoon of
March 16 in Washington, DC. End Note.) Ambassador
Malinowski congratulated Nepal on its official ratification
of its membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Acharya indicated that the Government of Nepal appreciated US
support and mentioned that the King signed the cabinet-level
ordinance on March 15.


3. (SBU) Acharya said that the GON supports the U.S. in the
fight against global terrorism and appreciates the USG
listing the Maoists under its E.O. 13224 Terrorist Finance
Assets Freeze List (REF A). Acharya indicated that the GON
welcomes continued USG support on training programs targeted
for the Royal Nepal Army (RNA). Despite much debate about
the Terrorist and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA),both
domestically and within European circles, Acharya said the
GON plans to renew the Act by cabinet-level ordinance within
the next month. Since TADA was originally passed by
Parliament, Acharya indicated that he did not understand why
there was opposition against the GON plan to renew the Act
prior to its expiration.

=============
Human Rights
=============


4. (C) After the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
meeting in Geneva, Acharya mentioned that Foreign Minister
Bekh Bahadur Thapa will travel to Washington, DC. Acharya
stated that the GON would not agree to the Swiss-sponsored
consensus resolution tabled at the UNCHR meeting, because it
puts Maoist "extremists" on the same level as the GON (REF
B). Acharya opined that the Europeans, instead of pushing "a
document," should work with the GON to develop capacity and
other accountability mechanisms to enhance its approach to
human rights. DAS Patterson said that the USG did not want to
isolate Nepal and is interested in helping Nepal meet its
commitments.


5. (C) According to Acharya, Foreign Minister Thapa is
prepared to present a unilateral declaration at the UNCHR
meeting to "reaffirm" Nepal's commitment to human rights.
Nepal's declaration focuses on three main issues:
disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture, he said.
Acharya mentioned that most of the disappearances are
actually legal detentions under the TADA Act. He added that
there have been "no allegations of torture from former
detainees." Acharya suggested that reports of RNA torture
"are not real," and he did not view allegations "seriously."
In addition, he said that there "have been only one or two
real cases of rape." The GON, according to Acharya, plans to
establish a "high-powered committee" to look into detention
cases and other allegations. This committee would be chaired
by security personnel, but would include members of the
National Human Rights Commission and the International
Committee of the Red Cross.


6. (C) DAS Patterson said he was disturbed by a map
depicting the number of killings by GON security forces
versus the number of Maoists killings. "It might take time,"
Acharya responded, to fully train and inform RNA troops about
their obligations to protect human rights, but all levels of
the GON are committed to this matter. Admitting that there
have been mistakes, Acharya firmly denounced atrocities and
asserted that human rights abuses would be "investigated and
punished." As a case in point, he cited a recent RNA
decision to court martial a Major for the extrajudicial
killings which occurred at Ramechhapp in August 2003 (REF C).


======================
Refugees Issues:
Bhutanese and Tibetan
======================


7. (C) Acharya indicated that the GON will fulfill the
Government of Bhutan's request for an investigation into the
December 2003 incident at Khundunabari Camp (REF D) if the
Bhutanese are actually committed to the process. Acharya
mentioned that the GON is committed to ensuring security for
the camp and has decided to establish a Unified Command post
close to the camp. He expressed concern over recent reports
indicating that the Maoist student wing is active within the
camps. In response to the Ambassador's question on Indian
support of the repatriation process, Acharya stated that the
Government of India indicated it has plans to influence
Bhutan "behind the scenes" during the Indian Foreign
Secretary's visit to Bhutan later this month. He added that

SIPDIS
recent high-level USG visits highlighting the Bhutanese
refugee issue have been extremely helpful.


8. (C) With regard to Tibetan refugees, Acharya recounted
that during his October 2003 visit the Chinese Vice Minister
for Foreign Affairs had pressured the GON to treat Tibetans
as illegal aliens and not as political refugees. Acharya
acknowledged that mistakes do happen, but the GON has no
plans to change its policy of allowing Tibetans to transit
Nepal (REF E).

===============
Economic Issues
===============


9. (SBU) Acharya opined that the announcement of the South
Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) made the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) a success. He
indicated that SAARC still requires stakeholder "buy in" and
that things might move slowly with regard to modalities.
Acharya indicated that there is no mechanism nor has there
been any discussion on adding new members, like Afghanistan,
to SAARC. That said, "if Afghanistan wanted to join SAARC,
it could probably happen," Acharya replied.


10. (SBU) DAS Patterson stated he saw growth potential in
Nepal's hydropower sector. Acharya agreed, adding that Nepal
needs a "big private sector project" and despite feasibility
studies, nothing really has happened in the hydropower
sector. Acharya commented that the Pakistani proposal for a
South Asian energy grid, linking gas and electricity
throughout South Asia, appears to have broad-based support.
The Ambassador encouraged the GON to "think big" and look
beyond South Asia towards the possibility of developing an
energy grid linking Central Asia to Singapore. Acharya hoped
for increased U.S. investment. DAS Patterson, however,
replied that the poor security situation presents a major
obstacle for U.S. investment.

==============
Troops to Iraq
==============


11. (C) There has been no formal GON decision to send RNA
troops to Iraq, Acharya said. He added that there has been
domestic debate on this issue focusing on Nepal's domestic
security needs with the Maoist insurgency and also on placing
RNA troops in Iraq under U.S. command. DAS Patterson
mentioned that the Government of Japan had similar concerns,
and Japan placed its troops in a location in the southern
sector of Iraq which is under Dutch and British command. The
Ambassador mentioned that there is a large contingent of
Nepalese ex-Gurkha officers serving as security guards in
Iraq. Acharya indicated that the GON plans to officially
announce next week a GON sponsored program to allow
ex-British Gurkhas to work in Iraq (which to date have been
forced to work through third-country contracts).


12. This cable has been cleared Deputy Assistant Secretary
Torkel Patterson.
MALINOWSKI