CIVIL SOCIETY WARNS A/S BOUCHER OF MAOIST THREAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001186

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM NP
SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY WARNS A/S BOUCHER OF MAOIST THREAT

REF: KATHAMNDU 1090

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b,d).

Summary
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1. (C) In a May 2 meeting with SCA A/S Boucher and NSC Senior
Director Millard, Nepali civil society and human rights
organization representatives voiced concern over the
continuing Maoist threat as Nepal transitioned to a
democratic government. A/S Boucher stressed the need for the
political parties to stay united and focus on key issues to
prevent the Maoists from gaining ground. Ian Martin, United
Nations Representative for the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),stated there was
"anarchy" in rural areas, with little or no government
presence. Maoists in rural areas continued to extort money,
and force people to participate in meetings despite the
current unilateral cease-fire. Sudip Pathak, Member of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),commented that he
had seen nothing to indicate the Maoists wanted to give up
arms. Other leaders worried that the parties were not
focused on the demands of the people, and were instead
squabbling over Cabinet seats. Martin said the Parties and
the Maoists should enter into a negotiated cease-fire that
could be monitored and verified. Martin and Pathak agreed
that local civil society could help an international force
monitor. A businessman suggested that focusing on tourism
would create jobs and quickly help the economy. End Summary.


U.S. Stands Ready To Assist
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2. (C) SCA A/S Boucher and NSC Senior Director Millard met
May 2 with leaders of civil society and human rights
organizations to discuss the current situation and the way
ahead. A/S Boucher explained that the immediate U.S. goal
was to build up the new political government's ability to
govern, including strengthening the intra-party democracy of
political parties and building capacity in the election and
anti-corruption commissions. He also expressed interest in
"quick impact" economic initiatives, but added, with the
lifting of the Maoist road closure, that commercial
mechanisms were taking care of immediate needs, such as
getting fuel into the Kathmandu Valley. Surya Nath
Upadhyaya, Chief Commissioner for the Commission for the
Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA),expressed
appreciation for U.S. assistance to his organization,
stressing that fighting corruption remained relevant.
Similarly, Sudip Pathak, Member of the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC),thanked the USG for continuing to support
his organization.

"Anarchy" Outside Capital
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3. (C) Ian Martin, United Nations Representative for the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
warned that while the political parties were focusing on
Cabinet posts and building the central government, there was
"anarchy in the countryside." He suggested it would be "a
long time before Nepal has effective local governments in
place." Local government structures had "collapsed."
Millard worried that the Maoists would take advantage of the
lack of government in the countryside. Martin acknowledged
that the Maoists were the strongest, best organized force in
most areas. Their actions would indicate their true
objectives, Martin said. Prasidha Pandey, President of the
Nepal-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, commented that the Maoists
were extorting money from businesses, including in Kathmandu,
and would continue to do so while they had weapons.

Maoists Show No Sincerity
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4. (C) Sudip Pathak, Member of the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC),worried that although the political
parties had addressed the Maoist demand for a constituent
assembly, the Maoists were still not satisfied. Pathak noted
that rural people in all areas of the country continued to be
"very afraid" of Maoists. Maoists continued to force people
to join mass meetings, even during the current cease-fire.
Pathak noted his Commission had repeatedly asked the Maoists
to follow the November 12-point understanding by allowing
people to return home. He gave the example of one area where
Maoists continued to padlock the homes of at least 200
families, preventing them from going home. Maoists there had
also failed to return over 5,000 acres of land they had
confiscated from people. Pathak said he could only conclude
that the Maoists were not serious about joining a peace
process. He suggested that the key issue for the new
government was how to get the Maoists to stop violence and
enter into the political mainstream. (Note: In the past,
Pathak, who has ties with the Maoists, has been more critical
of the security forces. His focus on the Maoists as his
primary concern is thus surprising and worrisome. End note.)


Cease-fire Needs Rules to Monitor
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5. (C) Martin said it was "urgent" for the government and the
Maoists to negotiate a cease-fire. Simply announcing a
cease-fire did not address key issues such as what the
Maoists and the security forces should do with their arms.
Only once a framework was in place could people monitor and
verify Maoist actions against their stated intentions, he
said. Martin stressed the continued importance of local
human rights organizations, but worried Nepalis could not
view local organizations, many of which had political ties,
as neutral monitors. While unsure of the overall role the
United Nations would play, Martin noted that his organization
had a broad human rights mandate and good local relationships
that could help in a monitoring situation. Martin believed
that cease-fire violations were unlikely to be clear-cut
armed assaults of one armed force against another, but rather
were more likely to be isolated cases in rural areas where
international representatives could play useful roles as
objective observers. Pathak said that his organization and
other Nepali human rights organizations could help monitor a
cease-fire, but agreed with Martin that it would be useful to
have some sort of international guarantor. A/S Boucher said
no one could guarantee what the Maoists would do, so it would
be difficult for anyone to monitor.

Security Forces Need to Build Trust
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6. (C) A/S Boucher asked whether the police had the hardest
task to rebuild trust with the people. Martin said that
"security forces were discredited in the eyes of the people."
Martin said that all security forces, including the army,
police and armed police needed to reestablish their
relationship with the people. Martin noted that the Royal
Nepalese Army had the lead over the police and armed police
under the unified command structure, so people blamed the
army for suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations. The
Ambassador noted that, in case negotiations with the Maoists
failed, Nepalis needed to start developing a
counter-insurgency plan to address a continued armed Maoist
threat.

Focus on the Economy
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7. (C) Pandey, a hotel owner and businessman, hoped the
transition to democracy would bring stability needed for
increased economic activity. He commented that hydropower
investment was important in a ten-year time frame, but the
immediate need was to "get the economy moving." He stated
that increased tourism was an achievable short-term goal that
would create employment. Nine Nepalis were employed for
every tourist who came to Nepal. He supported a Nepal
Tourism Board campaign to bring visitors to Nepal. Sapana
Malla, President of the Forum for Women, Law and Development,
also supported actions that created jobs, adding that
employing women was one of the best ways to advance women's
rights. A/S Boucher noted that, unlike other countries such
as Sri Lanka, the Maoists were in all areas of Nepal. Thus
it was more difficult to attract tourists because there were
fewer Maoist-free zones.

Parties Must Keep Focus
--------------


8. (C) A/S Boucher said that in order to deal with the
Maoists, the parties needed to stay united and create
momentum that would make it difficult for the Maoists to do
anything but join the process and give up their weapons.
Upadhyaya commented that "the stakes were high" for the
Parties. Noting the country's "euphoric" mood, he worried
that the recent political squabbling delaying formation of a
Cabinet (reftel) showed that the political parties were not
focused on the demands of the people. Malla agreed, adding
that the Parties had yet to articulate what they meant by a
constituent assembly. Bandana Rana, President of the
National Women's Commission, said she was "scared" that the
political parties were falling into their old pattern of
behavior. She worried that they would do nothing to address
discrimination against women and disadvantaged groups, noting
that the new seven-member Cabinet consisted solely of men,
with five coming from high-caste Brahmin families. A/S
Boucher said that the Parties had to work on intra-party
democracy, and that the Parliament needed to immediately
address key issues, such as the role of the King, civilian
control of the military, and fleshing out details of a
constituent assembly election.

Comment
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9. (C) It is troubling that so many members of civil society
and human rights groups openly doubted that the Maoists
intend to give up violence. The mood of the National Human
Right's Commission Member was especially telling, as he has
personally traveled throughout the country listening to
people's pleas for peace and security. The participants'
lack of confidence in the political parties shows the
importance of urging the new government to stay focused on
key issues.


10. (U) Attendees:

Local Guests
--------------
Sapana Malla, Forum for Women, Law and Development
Ian Martin, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Sudip Pathak, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
Prasidha Pandey, President, Nepal-U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bandana Rana, Chairperson, National Women's Commission
Surya Nath Upadhyaya, Commission for Investigation of Abuse
of Authority (CIAA)

USG
--------------
Richard Boucher, SAC A/S
Elisabeth Millard, NSC Senior Director
James Moriarty, AMB
Steve Blake, ADCM
Grace Shelton, P/E Chief
JoEllen Gorg, notetaker


11. (U) A/S Boucher did not have the chance to clear this
cable.
MORIARTY