PARLIAMENT TAKES FINAL ACTIONS BEFORE RECESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001562 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2016 TAGS: PGOV NP SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT TAKES FINAL ACTIONS BEFORE RECESS REF: A. KATHMANDU 1494 ¶B. KATHMANDU 1268 Classified By: CDA Larry Schwartz. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Parliament Further Curbs King's Power -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On June 15, the Government of Nepal (GON) took further actions to curb the powers of the King. The House of Representative passed a regulation that took away the King's power to appoint the Chief of Army Staff, putting the Nepal Army completely under civilian control. The House also transferred the King's authority to issue ordinances to the Cabinet, allowing the Cabinet to promulgate an ordinance after consultation with the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The House also took a third step to remove the requirement that the Parliament notify and obtain prior consent from the King before making decisions. According to press reports and our contacts, these new steps removed the King completely from Parliamentary affairs -- a key demand of the Maoists and of the April people's movement (Ref A). All politicos we spoke to saw the new regulations as a positive development. Parliamentary Committees Formed -------------- ¶2. (C) Parliament created three special committees to look into security, appointments and other matters related to the May 18 House of Representatives declaration (Ref B): Special Security Committee, House of Representatives Proclamation Implementation Special Committee and Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee. The House also reinstated nine regular committees: Finance Committee, Public Accounts Committee, Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee, Natural Resources Committee, Environmental Protection Committee, Population and Social Committee, State Affairs Management Committee, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Committee, and Development Committee. Manohar Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary in the Parliament Secretariat, informed us that the nine regular committees were nothing new, but simply a reinstatement of the committees created by the Parliament in 1999. He said that the final make-up of these committees would be decided within the next few days. Parliament Recesses -------------- ¶3. (C) The last decision made by the Parliament was to adjourn for seventeen days, until July 2. Anil Jha, Joint General Secretary of Nepal Sadbhavana Party-Ananda Devi, told us that the adjournment was a positive development because it provided time for the GON to engage in talks with the Maoists. Lilamani Pokharel, Vice President of People's Front Nepal (a party close to the Maoists) agreed, adding that since there was no representation of the Maoists in the Parliament, a recess could allow the Maoists to better trust the GON's intentions. Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) The government has kept faith with its promise to remove the King from all parliamentary affairs -- effectively turning him into a ceremonial monarch. The decision to recess has probably improved the atmosphere for ongoing talks between the GON and the Maoists (Septel). SCHWARTZ