UML CADRES REJECT AGREEMENT WITH MAOISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002517 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS NSC FOR RICHELSOPH NOTE BY CIB: DO NOT PROCESS: PASS TO EAO FOR GUIDANCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2015 TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM NP SUBJECT: UML CADRES REJECT AGREEMENT WITH MAOISTS REF: A. KATHMANDU 2384 (NOTAL-EXDIS) ¶B. KATHMANDU 2418 ¶C. KATHMANDU 2492 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty; Reasons 1.4 (b/d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) According to UML contacts, more than 400 cadres spent two days discussing the agreement initialed by the party's leadership with the Maoists to overthrow Nepal's monarchy. The group overwhelmingly rejected the pact, recommending instead that the alliance of Nepal's major seven political parties seek an understanding with the insurgents. Participants told us that the UML cadres increasingly favor the establishment of a republic in Nepal, and that the group authorized its leadership to continue talks with the Maoists to bring them into the political mainstream and abandon violence. At the end of the meeting, UML leader MK Nepal abruptly left for New Delhi for what he told the press was medical appointments. End Summary. ¶2. (C) 434 cadres of the UML (members of the Central Committee and central departments, zonal secretaries, national council members, representatives of class organizations and district representatives) participated in intensive talks November 14-15 about the agreement recently reached by Bamdev Gautam with the Maoists "to target the autocratic monarchy." (ref A) According to a participant in the discussion, the cadres divided into 22 groups, each being tasked with recommending approval or rejection of the pact with the Maoists. Twenty-one groups voiced opposition, and only one group said it was in favor of an alliance with the Maoists. The participant said that while the "train had been stopped for now," republican sentiments were running strong in the party, especially among the young. Another Central Committee member said that the cadres in general did not want the UML to act alone vis--vis the Maoists, but rather to act in concert with the other members of the seven-party alliance of political parties. CPN-UML party members had recommended continued talks with the Maoists to bring them into mainstream politics, but had stressed that as long as the Maoists continued their violent activities, the UML would not join hands with them. ¶3. (C) At the conclusion of the lengthy meeting, UML leader MK Nepal abruptly left for the airport and caught a flight to New Delhi, telling party members and the press that he had medical appointments there. Few observers here buy that story. MK Nepal had been back in Kathmandu less than a week after an extended stay in the Indian capital. G.P. Koirala, leader of Nepal's other largest political party, has been in New Delhi since November 10. FM Pandey, calling us from Tunis (he is accompanying the King on his current foreign travels) on November 17, said he had credible information that Koirala had met with the Maoists while in India. Meanwhile, the press here reported on November 18 that MK Nepal and Koirala held discussions in New Delhi the day before. Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) Nepal's political parties are under serious pressure. In addition to their lack of widespread popular support and resulting inability to bring large crowds onto the streets, they know that they operate in the countryside only on sufferance of the Maoists. The Government is seeking to undermine all political activity, declaring ever-increasing areas restricted to demonstrations. According to UML sources, security services have started obstructing the highways leading to Butwal to stop cadres from attending a mass demonstration scheduled for November 19. Given the squeeze from all sides, the lengthy sojourns in the Indian capital by Nepal's political leaders suggest a desperation to hammer out some sort of working arrangement with the Maoists. MORIARTY