MAOIST LETTER DEMANDS U.S. REMOVAL OF TERRORIST TAG

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002152 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2016 TAGS: PTER PGOV NP SUBJECT: MAOIST LETTER DEMANDS U.S. REMOVAL OF TERRORIST TAG Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On August 7, a group of five individuals associated with the Magar National Liberation Front, an organization associated with the Maoists, appeared at the Chancery and delivered a letter to the U.S. President. The letter demanded that the USG remove the terrorist tag on the Maoists and stop interfering in "Nepal's internal political matters." The group also delivered copies of five other letters addressed to the Government of Nepal (GON)(2),the Maoists, and the governments of China and India. The letters did not contain any direct threats against U.S. or foreign interests. Maoist Group Attempts Direct Contact With The Embassy -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On August 7 at approximately two o'clock in the afternoon, five members of the Magar National Liberation Front, an ethnic-based organization connected to the Maoists formed in 1997, appeared at the Chancery and asked to speak to the Ambassador. The RSO, instead, took six letters from the group without comment. The Embassy's locally employed staff translated the letters from Nepali into English. The letters contained no direct threats against U.S. or foreign interests. Post has emailed copies of the letters to SCA/INS. ¶3. (C) The letter addressed to the President of the United States (c/o the Ambassador) listed four major demands: -- Help from the USG with the peace talks. -- Removal of the terrorist tag on the Maoists. -- Cessation of comments on Nepal's "internal political matters." -- Putting the Nepal Army and the People's Army, and the Government of Nepal (GON) and the Maoist "government" on equal footing. Five Other Letters Went Out -------------- ¶4. (C) The other five letters were addressed to Prime Minister Koirala, the GON peace talks team, Prime Minister Koirala, the Maoist talks team, the President of China, and the Ambassador of India. The main demands of the letter to the GON were to "establish a federal government, right to self-determination, ethnic and regional autonomy, secularism, proportional representation, special rights and special reservation." The letter to the Chinese President welcomed "China's role to take Nepal to a peaceful progressive political outlet" and protested the "American-Indian conspiracy to take the country back to a warring state." The letter to the Ambassador of India demanded the release of Maoists held in India. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) We view these letters as a sign of continuing Maoist desire to gain legitimacy and their frustration with the USG's unwillingness to meet with them. In our view, the U.S. policy remains a useful tool to pressure the Maoists to deal in good faith with the key party: the Government of Nepal. MORIARTY