NEWLY APPOINTED ARMY CHIEF STILL FACING HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002557

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MARR NP
SUBJECT: NEWLY APPOINTED ARMY CHIEF STILL FACING HUMAN
RIGHTS ACCUSATIONS

REF: KATHMANDU 2433

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

Summary
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1. (C) PM Koirala swore in Rookmangud Katawal as the new
Chief of Army Staff on September 18. Katawal, who has
repeatedly affirmed his intention to loyally serve the
democratic Government of Nepal (GON) received cabinet
approval on September 5. The government's decision came in
the face of complaints by human rights activists and some
politicians that his human rights record made him unfit for
the position. Their criticism focused on Katawal's tenure as
commander of the mid-western division headquarters from
December 2003 to September 2004 and his actions during the
people's movement in April 2006. According to the Defense
Secretary, there is no plan by the GON to issue a formal

SIPDIS
response to the human rights accusations against Katawal.
Whether the High-Level Probe Commission will issue any
findings on the General's activities remains to be seen.

Katawal Takes Over As Army Chief
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2. (C) On September 18, Prime Minister GP Koirala swore in
Gen. Rookmangud Katawal as the new Chief of Army Staff
(COAS),the senior position in Nepal's armed forces. This
followed a ceremony on September 10 at which the Prime
Minister pinned on Katawal's fourth star. Gen. Katawal, who
was previously the second-ranking member of Nepal Army (NA),
received cabinet approval to become the COAS on September 5
(reftel). Although there had been some speculation that
another senior general might get the nod, the tradition in
the NA has been for the deputy to assume the top job.
Seniority matters. What was unusual about the appointment
process was that, for the first time in Nepal's history, it
was the Prime Minister who swore Katawal in, not the King.
Even after the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1990,
the King, whose Shah dynasty has long been closely tied to
the NA, retained control of the armed forces. It was not
until after the second people's movement in April 2006 that
the King was stripped of his role as commander-in-chief.

Katawal Proclaims His Democratic Bona Fides
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3. (C) Since the people's movement in April, Katawal, like
outgoing COAS Gen. Thapa, has been consistent in publicly
affirming his loyalty to Nepal's democratic leadership. He
reaffirmed the same to emboff in a conversation on September

19. He has appeared on several occasions before the State
Affairs Committee, the parliamentary committee tasked with
oversight of the Defense Ministry. The chairman of that
committee told emboff recently that he had been completely
satisfied with Katawal's cooperation. Katawal reports to
Prime Minister Koirala on two accounts. The PM is the
commander-in-chief and he is also -- as is customary in Nepal
-- the Defense Minister. The Defense Ministry (MOD) is in
the process, with U.S. and U.K. assistance, of building its
capacity to manage and give direction to the NA. That
responsibility previously fell to the Palace; the Defense
Ministry was little more than a shell and remains so still.
According to our MOD sources, Katawal and the soldiers under
his command are making every effort to subordinate themselves
to the MOD's civilian control.

Not All Views Are Rosy
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4. (C) Although the volume of criticism of Katawal seems to
have died down in recent days, a number of human rights
activists and several Members of Parliament -- mostly on the
far left -- began raising their voices as soon as Katawal's
appointment became known. On September 4, a group of 16
leaders of various human rights organizations sent a letter
to UN Secretary General Annan denouncing the appointment of
Gen. Katawal as the new COAS. The letter alleged that
Katawal had been involved in "documented gross human right
violations." The letter claimed that Katawal had been

involved in torture, extra-judicial executions, and forced
disappearances. The Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC),a
leading Nepali human rights NGO, subsequently shared detailed
information with the Embassy about Katawal's alleged human
rights abuses or those that may have occurred under his
command. Only one involved allegations against Katawal
personally. The rest were on a chain-of-command basis. The
INSEC paper has been emailed to SCA/INS.

Allegations of Human Rights Abuses
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5. (C) According to INSEC, Katawal allegedly threatened in
April 2004 to kill a journalist who had reported on a deadly
aerial attack on a school in the mid-Western region in which
7 people died and 30 people were injured. (Note: Throughout
the insurgency, the Maoists frequently used schools as a base
of operations. In this case, the Maoists were conducting a
"cultural program." End Note) INSEC also listed 64
individual gross violations of human rights that Nepali
security forces committed in the mid-Western region from
December 29, 2003 to September 10, 2004 while Katawal was the
regional divisional commander. The Nepal Armed Police Force
and the Nepal Police were operating at that time under a
unified command which the NA headed. Katawal is also facing
unspecified charges of violating human rights for his role in
April 2006 in attempting to suppress the people's movement.
He testified to the High-Level Probe Commission about these
charges in early August. The Commission has yet, however, to
make any of its findings public.

No GON Rebuttal Planned
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6. (C) Nepal Army sources have told post that the NA has no
intention of responding to the human rights allegations
against Katawal. It would, in their view, be inappropriate.
That task, Army sources believe, is one for the civilian
leadership. Defense Secretary Upreti, the senior civil
servant in the Ministry of Defense, who reports directly to
PM and Defense Minister Koirala, told emboff September 18
that he is unaware of any intention by his Ministry or the PM
to address these allegations against the COAS.

Comment: Assessing the Allegations
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7. (C) Even if it is true that Katawal threatened to kill a
journalist in April 2004, U.S. interests would not be best
served by breaking off contact with the new Chief of Army
Staff on that basis alone. Similarly, the unspecified
charges against Katawal for his role in April 2006 do not yet
appear to substantiate such drastic USG action in the absence
of a Commission report. In our view, the most troubling
accusations concern human rights abuses that occurred while
Katawal was division commander in mid-Western Nepal during
the first nine months of 2004. However, Embassy sources
indicate he exercised maximum restraint in conducting
operations, mindful of minimizing collateral damage.

Next Steps
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8. (C) Going forward, we will continue to urge the Government
of Nepal (GON) to address these allegations head on. In our
view, it would ultimately strengthen the Nepal Army,
including its public standing, to air and answer the charges
against the country's senior soldier. Post will also carry
on our ongoing dialogue with the GON more broadly on the
central importance of human rights compliance by the NA and
the other security forces. Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) representatives told us on September
19 that it is generally pleased with the progress the NA has
made in the past three years and that the biggest challenge
remains cleaning up past mistakes. OHCHR also told emboff on
September 19 that it does not plan to investigate Katawal.
In spite of all its faults and failings, the GON maintains a
genuine commitment to human rights which sets it apart from
its Maoist opponents.
MORIARTY