SECRETARY GENERAL OF PARLIAMENT EAGER FOR

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002906 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS AND H DEPT PASS TO HOUSE STAFFDEL SZYMANSKI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL NP SUBJECT: SECRETARY GENERAL OF PARLIAMENT EAGER FOR PARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE Not Confident of Acting Parliament Anytime Soon -------------- --- ¶1. (SBU) On December 21, Surya Kiran Gurung, Secretary General of Nepal's Parliament, met with a Congressional Staffdel and welcomed possible future Parliamentary exchange between the two countries, although he was not confident that Nepal would have an acting Parliament in the near future. Gurung noted that despite the King's February 1 dissolving of the Parliament, under the Constitution, a small group of Parliament officials, including himself and the spokesman, remained in their job until they filed papers for Parliament candidacy. He added that all but 19 Upper House members' terms had expired, as the government could not hold elections due to the ongoing Maoist insurgency. He said that the Parties-Maoist 12 point understanding had widened the gulf between the Parties and the Palace. He added that the Parties had promised not only to boycott, but to disturb the February 2006 municipal elections. He said he would have to "wait and see" how the municipal elections went before commenting on the King's proposed Parliamentary elections in early 2007. Palace and Parties Should Reconcile Before Engaging Maoists -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Gurung explained that the Parties were engaged in reactive politics, and suggested that both the King and the Parties should do more to work together. He said the Maoists were the "best player," skillfully causing a split between the legitimate democratic forces. He noted that the Maoists were not willing to bide their time to increase support and turned violent after briefly participating in the Parliament in the early 1990's. He therefore found it hard to trust the Maoists' sincerity as they seemed to capitalize on prejudices to create chaos. Gurung was highly critical of the 12 point understanding for holding the Maoists, a terrorist group, on equal level with the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA). He said he could never tell the international community not to supply arms to the RNA, as a Maoist takeover of the country was unacceptable. He called for confidence building measures between the Palace and the Parties to create a broad framework before undertaking any negotiations with the Maoists. He urged the USG to try to help build an environment for Palace-Party dialogue and to "not wait to see the country governed by Maoists." ¶3. (SBU) Attendees Staffdel: -- J. Matthew Szymanski, Chief of Staff, House Small Business Committee -- Christopher Szymanski, Staff Assistant, House Small Business Committee -- Dawn Petchell, Senior Policy Adviser, Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H Bureau) -- James Garrison, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army House Liaison Nepali Parliamentarians: -- Surya Kiran Gurung, Secretary General of Parliament -- Mukunda Sharma, Spokesperson of Parliament -- Manohar Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary of Parliament -- K.P. Pandey, Joint Secretary of Parliament ¶4. (U) Staffdel Szymanski cleared this message. MILLARD