NEPAL: INDIAN AMBASSADOR PROVIDES INFORMATION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000588 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2014 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV IN NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: INDIAN AMBASSADOR PROVIDES INFORMATION ON ARREST OF HIGH-LEVEL MAOIST REF: A. KATHMANDU 280 ¶B. 03 KATHMANDU 1649 Classified By: AMB. MICHAEL E. MALINOWSKI. REASON: 1.5 (B,D). ¶1. (C) In a March 31 call on the Ambassador, Indian Ambassador Shyam Saran provided additional information on the March 29 arrest in Siliguri, West Bengal, of Nepali Maoist leader Mohan Vaidya. According to Saran, the Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) had been watching Siliguri for some time since it is believed to be a major financial center for Nepali Maoists. IB agents were tipped off to some telephone numbers used by expatriate Nepali Maoist sympathizers in Siliguri, which led to Vaidya's apprehension. (According to the Nepali press, Vaidya was in town for cataract surgery.) Vaidya was reportedly produced before the court on March 31. ¶2. (C) Vaidya, one of five Standing Committee members, is the highest-ranking Maoist arrested since the beginning of the conflict. (Note: In party rolls, he is ranked just below Chairman Prachanda. In terms of functional responsibility and importance to the movement, however, he likely trails behind ideologue Baburam Bhattarai and military strategist Ram Bahadur "Badal" Thapa. His titles include head of the Eastern Central Command. End note.) He is the fourth high-level Maoist arrested in India since August (Reftels). There was some speculation that he had traveled to the UK from India in late 2003, hypothetically for "track two" peace talks. ¶3. (U) Mohan Vaidya was born in 1944 in Pyuthan District in mid-western Nepal, but grew up in the southwestern district of Dang on the Indian border. A one-time schoolteacher, he holds a masters degree in Nepali literature from Tribhuvan University. He became the General Secretary of the underground Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal)--a precursor to today's Maoist movement--in 1983 and spent two years in prison during 1988-1990. He went underground again after the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched its armed struggle. He is credited with authoring the "Prachanda Path" doctrine adopted at the Maoists' second national convention in March 2001. ¶4. (C) Comment: That Vaidya has already appeared in court in India suggests that he may not be swiftly extradited to Nepal, as fellow Maoists Matrika Yadav and Suresh Ale Magar were in February (Ref A). The capture of this "grand old man" of the movement (in fact, probably the oldest member of the Politburo) at the very least constitutes a psychological setback for the Maoists and at best may help disrupt their financial activities in India. Most important, the arrest may indicate that Indian patience with Nepali Maoists operating on their soil may be waning. MALINOWSKI