MAOISTS PRESSING THEIR ADVANTAGE DESPITE CEASE-FIRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001464

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: MAOISTS PRESSING THEIR ADVANTAGE DESPITE CEASE-FIRE

REF: KATHMANDU 1433

Classified By: Classified by A/DCM Larry Schwartz.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) The Maoist spokesperson Mahara again threatened to
walk out of peace talks unless the Government of Nepal (GON)
dissolved the House of Representatives. The Maoists are
still abducting, recruiting, extorting and preventing
government officials from doing their jobs in large parts of
the country; and they continue to pursue their parallel
government. Although the political party leaders are
protesting the Maoists' threats and actions, the seven-party
alliance has yet to find a way to get the Maoists to cut back
their brinksmanship and cease their violations of the code of
conduct. End summary.

Maoists Threaten to Stall Peace Talks
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2. (C) Krishna Bahadur Mahara, spokesperson for the Maoists
and leader of their negotiating team, warned at a press
conference that, "A majority of those who got democracy
revived are not represented in the current House of
Representatives. As such, it should be dissolved within a
week. Otherwise, the peace talks will be stalled." One
media outlet reported that he also threatened that the
Maoists would be forced to carry out another "large scale
revolt" if the GON did not carry out the people's wishes.
Gyanendra Karki, Central Committee Member of the Nepali
Congress-Democratic, discounted Mahara's threats as
meaningless.

Parties: No Dissolution of House Yet
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3. (C) Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),stated
publicly that the Maoist Army was an obstacle to the election
of a constituent assembly. He stressed that it would only be
possible to hold an election if there were an international
observer to ensure that Maoist weapons were under control.
He also indicated that an interim government could be formed
immediately after managing the Maoist weapons. Anil Jha,
Joint General Secretary of the Nepal Sadbhavana
Party-Anandidevi (NSP-A) agreed with MK Nepal, and told us
that elections could not be held without managing the
Maoists' weapons. He said the House should not be dissolved
until the date of the constituent assembly was decided.

Maoists Continue With Parallel Government
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4. (C) The Maoists continue to pursue a parallel government
in many parts of the country. In Morang District (eastern
Nepal),Maoists ordered contractors to share half of the
revenue they gained from contracts with the local District
Development Committee (DDC),in contrast with their practice
elsewhere when the insurgents have asked for contract bids in
direct competition with local DDCs (Reftel). According to
the Morang DDC, this was the second time the DDC had issued a
call for contracts and no companies had bid. In Lamjung
district (Central Nepal),media reports indicated that the
Maoists had ordered the secretaries of the Village
Development Committees not to return to their jobs unless
elections for constituent assembly were held. A source at
the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR)
reported that the Chief District Officer (CDO) of Taplejung
district (Eastern Nepal) had confirmed that there were no
secretaries or GON representatives in any of the fifty-one

SIPDIS
VDCs. Kashinath Adhikari, Central Committee Member of the
CPN-UML, explained that most government secretaries remained
stationed in District Headquarters because they were afraid
to go to their villages.

Maoists Continue Rhetoric and Activities
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5. (SBU) Meanwhile, despite the May 24 code of conduct,
Maoists continue abductions and extortion around the country.
Maoists abducted 150 children from schools in Ramechhap
District (just east of Kathmandu) and forced them to take
part in the Maoists' rally in Kathmandu on June 2 and in a
rally on June 6 in Charikot (District Headquarters for
Ramechhap). In a June 5 speech in Morang, Maoist leader
Prachanda blamed the United States and India for Nepal's
current problems. He asserted, "There are some ministers in
the government who are the agents of America, and working
according to the signals from America and India to make the
talks fail and sideline us (the Maoists)." Prachanda also
stressed that the Maoists would "wage a final battle" if the
GON did not form a republic. Although Maoist propaganda had
been anti-American in the past, this is the first time they
included India in their tirades since about October when the
parties and the Maoists started the talks that led to their
12-point understanding.

Comment
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6. (C) It is deeply disturbing that the Maoists continue to
take advantage of the absence of a legitimate government
presence in most of Nepal to pursue their own parallel
government. The central authority's lack of instructions to
district government institutions, such as the CDO and police,
exacerbate a bad situation. The Home Minister told the
Ambassador that the GON was working to transfer CDOs, which
should help revive government in the regions.


7. (C) Despite Mahara's continued threats to walk out of the
peace talks, the Prime Minister and seven-party alliance
leaders have dismissed the idea of dissolving the House.
That said, after the House passes some regulations to try to
codify its May 18 proclamation, it might recess until the
budget session in mid-July.
MORIARTY