HOPE AND CONCERN IN WESTERN NEPAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001522 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EAID MASS MOPS NP SUBJECT: HOPE AND CONCERN IN WESTERN NEPAL REF: A. KATHMANDU 1373 ¶B. KATHMANDU 1282 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Larry Schwartz. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During a June 6-7 trip to Western Nepal, civil servants, political and business leaders, military officials, and human rights workers all expressed to the Ambassador their continued concern about Maoist activities; their concern was tempered with hope for peace. Surprisingly, and perhaps because they are waiting to see who will ultimately come to power, the Chief District Officers (CDO) of Pokhara and Besisahar were the interlocutors least critical of the Maoists. However, the overriding view was that the Maoists needed to lay down their weapons before joining the political mainstream and concern over the Maoist pursuit of local parallel governments. Military officials and others noted that Maoist extortion and continued recruitment were violations of the Code of Conduct (ref A) and stressed the need for a mechanism to monitor the Code of Conduct. Appellate Court judges voiced concern about the rule of law during this transition period. End Summary. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LESS CRITICAL OF MAOISTS -------------- ¶2. (C) On June 6-7, the Ambassador visited the western Nepal city of Pokhara in Kaski District and the district headquarters of Lamjung District, Besisahar. Surprisingly, the government's chief representatives in the two districts were the least critical interlocutors when the subject of Maoist extortion and intimidation arose. Badri Ghimire, Acting Chief District Officer (CDO),Kaski District, explained to the Ambassador that, since the end of the pro-democracy movement, Maoists had been engaged in "peaceful" activities, including "negotiating" with businessmen over "donation" amounts. Implying that Maoist extortion was not so bad, Ghimire noted that the King himself had asked for donations for local festivities during his travels throughout Nepal earlier this year. Ghimire added that Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal had proposed that the GON give money to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as a solution to extortion. (Note: Madhav Kumar Nepal had actually suggested the GON provide support, such as meals, not money to the Maoists. End Note.) Ghimire mentioned the Maoists had used 350 buses to bring people to Pokhara from five neighboring districts for a May 29 rally. The Acting CDO commented that the rally was not a show of Maoist power because people were "not that interested" in what was happening. ¶3. (C) Netra Prasad Sharma, CDO of Lamjung District, told the Ambassador that Maoist extortion in the rural parts of Lamjung District was up and that Maoists were "consulting" with some of the businessmen in the District Headquarters of Besisahar. Sharma acknowledged that Maoists had declared their own governments at the Village Development Committee (VDC) level, but said the people's governments "do nothing." He also noted that the political parties were more active in rural areas since the pro-democracy movement. Sharma mentioned that a Maoist leader named "Pratap" had called him recently and asked for a meeting, but then failed to show for the meeting and had made no further contact. MAOISTS MUST GIVE UP WEAPONS TO ACHIEVE PEACE, POLITICIANS WORRIED -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Political leaders stressed to the Ambassador that Maoists needed to give up their weapons before joining the mainstream. Our interlocutors also feared that the Maoists might not be moving toward constituent assembly elections. A Member of Parliament (MP) representing Lamjung District, Ram Bahadur Gurung, emphasized that the Maoists must put down their weapons first in order to resolve the political crisis. Santa Bahadur Ghising, Kaski District Chairman, People's Front Nepal (PFN),said that, in order for Nepalis to convince the Maoists to give up arms, the Government of Nepal (GON) should declare constituent assembly elections quickly. Iman Singh Gurung, Kaski District Chairman, Communist Party of Nepal - Manandhar, commented that the Maoists needed to join the mainstream to prevent any further bloodshed. Soviet Adhikari, Kaski District President, Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) speculated that the Maoists "may" hand over weapons for constituent assembly elections. The Ambassador agreed that the Maoists needed to lay down arms first to gain the trust of the people before becoming part of the government. He added that there should be multi-party democracy in Nepal and that it was up to the Nepali people to decide what kind of government that would be. BUSINESSMEN SAY EXTORTION ONGOING... -------------- ¶5. (C) Business leaders in Pokhara commented on changing Maoist extortion demands and their fear for the future of the economy. Hotel owner Sundar Kumar Shrestha said that before the pro-democracy movement Maoists had been demanding money, while now they were asking for free rooms in his hotel. The President of the Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rajendra Kumar Lalchan, noted that Maoists were asking for clothes as a "donation" and had even asked for a new motorcycle. In a separate meeting, Pokhara Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Ramesh Shrestha, explained that, while there was not much Maoist extortion occurring in Pokhara, Maoists had been asking people for motorcycles, automobiles, and food. Shrestha noted that people were more afraid of Maoists before the pro-democracy movement and now were talking openly with Maoists. He hoped this dialogue would allow negotiators to find a weakness in the Maoists and convince them to join the mainstream. ...EXPRESS CONCERN FOR FUTURE -------------- ¶6. (C) Shrestha expressed his lack of confidence with political leaders and doubted whether politicians could make positive changes in Nepal. He worried about what the GON's future economic policy would be. Lalchan said the economic situation was bad in Nepal and he feared for the next generation. He noted there were no new foreign investments coming to Nepal and stressed that the political leaders needed to develop policies to attract foreign investment. Ashok Palikhe, Chairman of the Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management College, commented that the GON needed to create new economic and security policies to ensure peace and prosperity in Nepal. HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS MOST WORRIED ABOUT MAOISTS -------------- -- ¶7. (C) Representatives of the Nepal Human Rights Commission (NHRC),local human rights NGO the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC),and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) highlighted that, since the end of the pro-democracy movement, Maoist extortion was more prevalent, Maoist violence continued, and there were Maoist "People's Courts" in many western districts. Jeevanta Wagle, INSEC's Western Regional Coordinator, reported the Maoists were threatening businesses and even demanding money from members of the seven-party alliance. Benedetta Odorisio, Acting Chief of OHCHR's Field Office, said that around Pokhara Maoists were increasingly bold with extortion and were even asking for motorcycles. Prem Thapa, Officiating Director for NHRC, noted that there were people joining the Maoists' PLA in hopes that the PLA would merge with the Nepal Army. He also noted that in several districts Maoists were compelling people to use "People's Courts" instead of GON courts. Wagle commented that there was a need for a "transitional justice system," but lamented that the concept did not exist yet in Nepal. Thapa reported that in Tanahu and Lamjung Districts Maoists were asking teachers to donate twelve days of their salary and civil servants to donate three months' salary. EVIDENCE OF PARALLEL GOVERNMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Rishi Raj Joshi, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, stated that he had heard the Maoists were running "People's Courts" in Kaski District. He added that, while there were stories of public hearings, he had no details of any proceedings or verdicts issued by the "People's Courts." Major General Amar Panta, Nepal Army Western Division Commander, commented that Maoists have been saying that weapons were not the only obstacle to achieving peace. The Ambassador stressed that weapons were the "only issue" and that Maoists wanted the authority to blackmail the constituent assembly process by agreeing to only temporarily lay down arms. Major General Panta described a property dispute case in Kaski District in which the plaintiff and defendant withdrew their case from the Appellate Court and brought it to be tried in the "People's Court." Lamjung District CDO Sharma said he had heard of Maoist "People's Courts" in rural areas and Maoist declarations of their own Maoist government at the VDC level. Besisahar Army Battalion Commander Prakash Pokharel mentioned that soldiers returning from leave had reported the existence of "People's Courts" in Lamjung. CODE OF CONDUCT OBSERVED BY ARMY, BUT NOT MAOISTS; NEED MONITORING SYSTEM -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Pokhara Hotel owner Sundar Kumar Shrestha, noted that the Maoists were not following the Code of Conduct and were unable to punish their cadre who violated the code. Major General Panta said that Maoists had continued to extort and recruit soldiers in violation of the Code of Conduct. He lamented that there was no mechanism to punish those who disobeyed the Code of Conduct. Panta and Besisahar Battalion Commander Prakash Pokharel both asserted that the Army had not engaged in recruitment since the establishment of the Code of Conduct. In his numerous meetings, the Ambassador explained that the GON needed to develop and implement a monitoring system for the Code of Conduct, then start constituent assembly election negotiations. MAOISTS DISRUPTING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Other examples of Maoists not following the Code of Conduct, included violating the provisions for the non-obstruction of development projects. Lamjung District CDO Sharma mentioned that Maoists had obstructed a Save the Children (SAVE) child birth registration project. He said SAVE had successfully conducted activities in four VDCs but were obstructed in others. Sharma added that Maoists were demanding five percent of the total budget of an income generation program for women funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). APPELLATE COURT JUDGE FEARS "DARK PERIOD" FOR RULE OF LAW... -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) In a June 6 meeting, Rishi Raj Joshi, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, commented that he worried about increasing lawlessness in Nepal; Joshi stressed the need to restore the rule of law. He commented that, between the Parliament's declaration of sovereignty (ref B) and the Constitution of 1990, he was confused about which laws were in place and did not understand under which laws the country was being governed. Joshi stated that the country had to have a functioning constitution. He termed the current transition period a "dark period" legally speaking. Joshi requested the Ambassador to push for a restoration of the rule of law in his discussions with GON leaders in Kathmandu. ARMY STRESSES LOYALTY TO GON -------------- ¶12. (C) Major General Amar Panta, Nepal Army Western Division Commander, stressed that the Army was ready to serve the country, was loyal, and was awaiting orders from the GON. While expressing his loyalty, Panta seemed frustrated by the fact that Army actions now required orders from the new GON and that he had not yet received any major decisions or orders regarding the Army. Besisahar Army Battalion Commander Prakash Pokharel opined that, if the GON did not meet Maoist demands in negotiations, the Maoists would return to the jungle. STUDENT LEADERS COMMITTED TO DEMOCRACY -------------- ¶13. (SBU) A group of ten student leaders involved in the pro-democracy movement relayed their experiences to the Ambassador. Dilip Neupane, President of the Kaski District Committee of the All Nepal National Free Students' Union, said people came out during the pro-democracy movement to fight feudalism. He added that Nepalis had learned that a peaceful movement could bring change. Santosh Poudel, a student at Manipal College of Medical Sciences, explained that because he was not happy with the royal government he had formed pro-democracy movement committees to gather support for the movement. He also organized discussion programs on the restoration of democracy and examining the income of the royal family versus the average Nepali. Poudel said the police did not interrupt the peaceful discussion programs. RURAL AREAS BENEFIT FROM U.S. ASSISTANCE -------------- ¶14. (U) The Ambassador visited a USAID-funded "Green Road" (labor-intensive, environment friendly, un-paved rural road) project and a community assistance program and observed the benefits of these projects for the local community. Three Members of Parliament from the area joined the Ambassador to highlight the government's role in facilitating infrastructure projects that directly benefited their rural constituents. The road is being funded under USAID's "Infrastructure for Incomes" (INFRIN) program, part of a larger program addressing unemployment and unsatisfactory infrastructure among rural populations. South of Besisahar, in Udipur, several women from a hydropower project-affected community who benefit from the USAID-funded "Strengthened Actions for Governance in Utilization of Natural Resources" (SAGUN) program explained to the Ambassador how the SAGUN program had given them the skills to interact at the District Development Committee (DDC) level of local governance. The women, who were mostly from an "untouchable" caste, told the Ambassador that they had become aware of their legal rights through the program. Several members of the hydropower-affected community requested that the U.S. continue to support the SAGUN program in their area. COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (C) The common themes of our interlocutors were continuing Maoist extortion, pursuit of parallel governments, and doubts over Maoist intentions to join the mainstream. The majority of people share the view that the Maoists must put down their weapons before joining the mainstream. The dissonant voice of the top local bureaucrats may reflect their fears that it was better not to be too critical of the Maoists as the latter might become their bosses at some point. SCHWARTZ