INDIAN POLITICAL LEADERS VISIT NEPAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002178 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/INS LONDON FOR POL/BELL NSC FOR GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV NP SUBJECT: INDIAN POLITICAL LEADERS VISIT NEPAL Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty; Reasons 1.4 (b/d). INDIAN POLITICAL DELEGATION TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY -------------- --- ¶1. (SBU) During a September 28-30 visit to Kathmandu, a six-member Indian political delegation, headed by politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechuri, expressed support for multiparty democracy in Nepal. The group, which also included leaders of five other political parties in India, visited Nepal at the invitation of the Seven-Party Alliance to assess Nepal's political situation after the Royal takeover of February 1. At an interaction program organized by the Reporters' Club of Nepal on September 28, the Indian leaders said that their visit was to understand the actual situation in Nepal and express solidarity with Nepal's democratic movement, and that it should not be taken as an intervention in Nepal's internal affairs. They stressed that it was up to the Nepali people to decide what kind of democracy they want. The Indian leaders added, however, that they would urge the Indian government not to lift its arms embargo on Nepal until democracy was restored. They encouraged Nepal to take Maoists into the political mainstream through peaceful means. INDIAN LEADERS BACK POLITICAL PARTIES' ROAD MAP -------------- -- ¶2. (U) On September 29, the visiting Indian politicians held discussions with the leaders of the major political parties on ways to resolve the present problems facing Nepal. They extended their support for the Seven-Party Alliance's road map: to reinstate the House of Representatives, form an interim government, and then hold constituent assembly elections. The Indian politicians were positive about the Parties' road map, opining that it would help resolve the political problems. They also stated that India was willing to consider the UN having a role in resolving the Maoist conflict, if a concrete proposal including UN involvement came from Nepal's political parties. FOREIGN INTERVENTION? -------------- ¶3. (U) A group of "nationalists and royalists" had greeted the Indian politicos with black flags and stones as they arrived in Kathmandu on September 28. About 200 demonstrators chanted slogans against "direct intervention of Indian leaders in Nepal's internal politics." The mainstream political parties, however, denounced the demonstration. The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Nepali Congress Democratic (NC-D) issued statements saying the incident exposed the "government's intolerable and heinous attitude toward foreign neighbors." COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) The visit of the Indian political leaders stepped up Indian pressure on HMGN. The King held his weekly meeting with the Cabinet and security chief a day early on September 27, reportedly to discuss how to respond to possible pro-democracy mass demonstrations resulting from the delegation's presence. These did not occur, and Kathmandu for now appears more focused on the upcoming holidays than on the looming political crisis. MORIARTY