NEW DELHI JOINS THE FRAY OVER NEPAL'S PEACE PROCESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002774 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PARM UN IN NP SUBJECT: NEW DELHI JOINS THE FRAY OVER NEPAL'S PEACE PROCESS Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Nicholas J. Dean. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) USAID-contracted peace facilitator Siebert told Charge October 18 that the Government of India (GOI) has recently engaged in a powerful way in Nepal's peace process. Siebert said the intervention took place after a visit to New Delhi on October 13 by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Mukherjee. According to the peace facilitator, Ian Martin, the UN Secretary General's personal representative to the peace SIPDIS process, traveled to Delhi on October 16-17 at the GOI's request. Siebert stated that UN operations after a peace agreement, if one were concluded, would be heavily influenced by India's views. India was a factor even the Maoists could not ignore. India Weighs In -------------- ¶2. (C) On October 18, Hannes Siebert, the USAID-contracted peace facilitator, informed the Charge that the Government of India's role in the peace process had become energized. New Delhi sent clear messages over the October 14-15 weekend to both sides in the negotiations, Siebert said, that it expected to be consulted on the modalities of arms management and the role the United Nations would play in Nepal if a peace agreement were reached. He stated that the immediate cause for India newly found vigor was the visit on October 13 to Delhi by India's Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee. According to press reports, Mukherjee met there with Foreign Secretary Menon, Defense Minister Mukherjee, Home Minister Patil and National Security Advisor Naryanan. Martin Follows Mukherjee -------------- ¶3. (C) Siebert revealed to Charge that the trip to New Delhi on October 16-17 by the UN Secretary General's personal representative to the peace process, Ian Martin, which was headline news in Nepal on October 18, was at the GOI's request. Martin's principal meeting was with Secretary Menon, and the principal topic, Siebert told Charge, was management of arms and armed personnel. Tamrat Samuel, from the UN's Department of Political Affairs, accompanied him. India Influential -------------- ¶4. (C) The peace facilitator remarked that India's views would heavily influence the eventual form of UN peace operations in Nepal. Even the Maoists recognized the role of the Indians: "The Indian factor was an argument the Maoists would not argue with." The exact nature of the UN's role, he said, was still being worked out as the negotiators from the Government of Nepal (GON) and the Maoists tried in ongoing informal sessions to resolve the difficult issues surrounding the People's Liberation Army, the Maoist militia, their arms and what steps, if any, to take with respect to the GON's security forces. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) We see intense Indian engagement in the peace process, particularly on the crucial issue of arms management, as an extremely positive development. While we did not ascribe to the views among some members of the Seven Party Alliance who had bemoaned to us privately of a lack of a sufficiently robust, public role by India, there was clearly room for greater involvement. India has clout with all the parties. We will continue our active cooperation with the Indian Embassy here to do whatever we can to make sure that India and the U.S. remain on the same page as the peace process moves forward. DEAN