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