Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KATHMANDU1984
2006-07-25 12:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

PRACHANDA STRIKES OUT AGAINST MAOIST-ONLY

Tags:  PGOV PTER NP 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKT #1984/01 2061219
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 251219Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2487
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 4607
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 4861
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9978
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2850
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4257
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0030
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1877
C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001984 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: PRACHANDA STRIKES OUT AGAINST MAOIST-ONLY
DECOMMISSIONING

REF: A. KATHMANDU 1744


B. KATHMANDU 1576

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

SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001984

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: PRACHANDA STRIKES OUT AGAINST MAOIST-ONLY
DECOMMISSIONING

REF: A. KATHMANDU 1744


B. KATHMANDU 1576

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

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Maoist Supremo Prachanda sent a letter to United
Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan July 24 protesting
that the Government of Nepal (GON) had sent its July 2
request for assistance (ref A) to the UN without consulting
the Maoists. The Maoist letter denounced the GON letter for
referring to decommissioning Maoist weapons as opposed to
"management of arms" language in the eight-point agreement
(ref B). Seven Party Alliance (SPA) leaders acknowledged
that the decommissioning language upset the Maoists but
insisted that decommissioning was necessary and could be
worked out in further negotiations. The Prime Minister's
foreign policy advisor told DCM on July 25 that he would
advise Prime Minister Koirala to telephone Secretary General
Kofi Annan about UN involvement in Nepal. End Summary.

PRACHANDA DECRIES GON'S PLAN TO DECOMMISSION ONLY MAOIST ARMY
-------------- --------------


2. (U) On July 24, Maoist leader Prachanda sent a letter to
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stressing that "any talk of
decommissioning only the People's Liberation Army's (PLA)
arms before the election to the constituent assembly is just
unthinkable." He noted his "strong protest and disagreement"
over the Government of Nepal's July 2 letter, which he
complained was written and sent unilaterally by the GON
without any consultation with the Maoists. Prachanda's own
letter to Annan refers to the June 16 eight-point agreement
between the Maoists and the SPA, requesting the UN to assist
in the "management of the armies of both sides" as compared
to the July 2 letter sent by the GON that requested the UN to
"assist in the monitoring of the combatants of the Maoists
and decommissioning of their arms." Prachanda asserts that
"such arbitrary and unilateral application of two different
yardsticks to the two armies is highly objectionable and
totally unacceptable to us." His letter ends, however, on a
sweet note, saying that the Maoists will be happy to
cooperate in any manner with the UN team planning to arrive

in Nepal on July 26.

POLITICOS CONFIDENT MAOIST DECOMMISSIONING CAN BE NEGOTIATED
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Political leaders were not overly concerned about
Prachanda's letter to the UN, many stating that
decommissioning could be achieved either through negotiation
or as a precondition for Maoist participation in the peace
process. Jhalanath Khanal, Central Committee Member of the
CPN-UML, acknowledged that the GON decision to send the
letter to the UN unilaterally had irked the Maoists but
opined that arms decommissioning could be settled at the
negotiation table without any problem. He argued that the
Nepal Army should not be decommissioned. Minendra Rijal,
Spokesperson for Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D),agreed
that a misunderstanding had erupted between the SPA and the
Maoists over arms decommissioning. He believed any issues
could be resolved through the peace talks process. C.P.
Mainali, General Secretary of the CPN-ML -- a small leftist
party -- noted that the SPA and Maoists had only previously
discussed arms management, not decommissioning, and thought
the problem should be solved through negotiations. Anil Jha,
Joint General Secretary of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party -
Anandi Devi (NSP-A),stated that the Maoists should not have
objected to the GON's letter to the UN because the Maoists
would have to lay down their arms in any case before
constituent elections. He added that the SPA could not even
consider constituent assembly elections before the Maoist
weapons were decommissioned.

PRIME MINISTER NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN DECOMMISSIONING ISSUE
-------------- --------------


4. (C) NSP-A leader Jha explained that Prime Minister G.P.

Koirala was the only political leader whom the SPA and Maoist

leaders respected enough to deal with the arms
decommissioning issue. Suresh Chalise, the PM's
international relations advisor, told DCM on July 25 that he
was planning to advise PM Koirala to telephone UN General
Secretary Annan to discuss UN involvement in Nepal.

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COMMENT
--------------


5. (C) A skilled tactician, Prachanda has sought to seize the
initiative on the eve of the UN assessments team's visit to
Nepal. Try as he might to reshape it, however, the issue of
arms management/decommissioning remains the pressing question
of the day. The arrival of the UN assessment team on July 26
should provide significant symbolic effect and a morale boost
for those pushing for the decommissioning of Maoist weapons.
However, the GON will still face the daunting task of working
through the options on arms management/decommissioning and
helping the UN to establish an effective role in Nepal's
delicately balanced peace process.

PRACHANDA'S LETTER
--------------


6. (U) The following is an unofficial version of Prachanda's
letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Begin Text.

H.E. Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations

SIPDIS
New York.

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

This is to draw your attention to the letter sent to you by
the Government of Nepal on 2 July 2006 and to register our
strong protest and disagreement over certain crucial points
of the letter.

Firstly, the letter was written and sent unilaterally and
secretively without any consultation with us in utter

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violation of the spirit of ongoing negotiations between the
Government of Nepal and the C.P.N (Maoist). We came to know
about the letter through the media after nearly three weeks,
and hence this delay to register our disagreement over it.

Secondly, and more importantly, the content of the letter,
particularly as stated in points nos. 3 and 4, is in complete
violation of the 12-point Understanding of 22 November 2005
and 8-point Agreement of 16 June 2006 reached between the two
sides. For your kind recollection, clause-3 of the 8-point
Agreement clearly states: "To request the United Nations to
assist in the management of the armies and arms of both sides
(emphasis added) and to monitor it for a free and fair
election to the constituent assembly". Against this, the said
letter self-professedly and provocatively talks of "Assist in
the monitoring of the combatants of the Maoists and
decommissioning of their arms" and "Monitor to assure that
the Nepal Army is inside barracks" etc. Such arbitrary and
unilateral application of two different yardsticks to the two
armies is highly objectionable and totally unacceptable to
us. Particularly any talk of "decommissioning" of arms of
only the PLA before the election to the constituent assembly
is just unthinkable. As everybody knows, the so-called Nepal
Army is still loyal to the autocratic monarchy and its
democratic restructuring and keeping under credible
international monitoring is more imperative and important for
free and fair election to the constituent assembly.

We would like to reiterate our appreciation to the United
Nations and to you personally for the positive role played so
far in favour of democracy, peace and progress in Nepal and
expect the same in future. We shall be happy to co-operate in
any manner with the UN team planning to visit Nepal soon.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of our highest
consideration.

Prachanda
Chairman
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
24 July 2006

End Text.
MORIARTY