FINANCE MINISTER DISCUSSES NEXT STEPS WITH UN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 003112

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR EAID UN IN FI NP
SUBJECT: FINANCE MINISTER DISCUSSES NEXT STEPS WITH UN


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

Summary and Introduction
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1. (C) During a November 26 meeting with the Ambassador,
Finance Minister Mahat gave his views on what the United
Nations was doing and should be doing soon to assist the
peace process. He expressed appreciation for Secretary
General Annan's November 22 letter to the UN Security Council
President which the UNSC President had conveyed to Council
Members on November 24. Mahat described as very positive
Annan's stated intent to proceed with: (1) deployment of a
technical assessment mission to determine how to best to
assist up to the election of a constituent assembly; (2)
simultaneous deployment of up to 35 arms management monitors;
and (3) deployment of up to 25 electoral personnel. The
Ambassador agreed. Mahat asked that the U.S. use its
influence to get the UN Security Council to take up the
issue. In response to a question from the Minister, the
Ambassador indicated the U.S. would also look at what
additional assistance the U.S. could provide in the lead up
to the elections. Other matters discussed with Mahat are
reported septel.

Finance Minister Welcomes UN Secretary General's Assistance
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2. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on November 26,
Finance Minister Ram Saran Mahat expressed his gratitude for
Secretary General Kofi Annan's November 22 letter to UN

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Security Council President Jorge Voto Bernales. Mahat
characterized Annan's three-page letter, which Bernales
transmitted to Security Council Members on November 24, as
extremely positive. In it, Annan stated he intended to take
three new steps to support Nepal's peace process. First, he
planned to deploy a technical assessment mission to determine
the scope, requirements and concept for a UN political
mission that could provide the assistance required to secure
a peaceful transition to a constituent assembly election.
Second, he planned to deploy up to 35 monitors to serve as
the vanguard for the proposed monitoring of arms and armed
personnel. Third, he planned to deploy up to 25 electoral
personnel to begin to provide the required technical advice
to the Nepali electoral authorities and the parties,
including the Maoists.

A Good Start For a Stronger UN Mandate
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3. (C) Mahat stated that Annan's letter provided a good start
to strengthening the existing UN peace mission in Nepal. The
Government of Nepal (GON),the Minister said, had wanted the
Secretary General's personal representative to the peace

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process, Ian Martin to have a stronger mandate and more
resources. That was why Foreign Minister Oli had written to
the Secretary General on November 16 and requested the UN's
assistance "as quickly as possible." The GON's request
pertained not only to the five areas set forth in the
identical August 2006 letters from Prime Minister Koirala and
Maoist Supremo Prachanda to Annan, the original basis for the
UN Mission, but also to specific provisions of the November 8
Agreement. The Ambassador agreed that the letter was very
positive. He added that Ian Martin was expected to arrive
in New York on November 27 and would presumably be involved
in pushing for a possible Presidential Statement and, at a
later date, a UN Security Council Resolution.

UN Security Council Action Desired
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4. (C) The Finance Minister said that the UN Security Council
could give the UN peace mission an even stronger mandate. He
asked that the U.S. use its influence in this regard. A
stronger mandate would embolden Martin and his team to take a
more pro-active role in addressing the Government's concerns
about the draft tripartite technical agreement that the UN
was negotiating with the Government and the Maoists (septel).
Even the Indians wanted to see the UN more involved.
Demobilization and disarmament of combatants was very
technical and only the UN had the expertise to do it
successfully. If the UN were not actively involved in those
two steps, Mahat remarked, the basic purpose of UN
involvement would be lost.

Additional U.S. Assistance Requested
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5. (C) Minister Mahat asked if the United States would be
able to provide additional assistance with the transition
leading up to elections scheduled for June 2007. He asked
specifically about assistance to internally displaced persons
(IDPs),the elections and police. The Finance Minister
stated that the Government was looking for cash support for
IDPs, and that priority would be given to those who had been
displaced because Maoists had killed or handicapped their
family members or had confiscated their property or burned
their homes. For the police, the Nepali Government wanted
vehicles, communications equipment, assistance for
infrastructure reconstruction and training. The Ambassador
indicated that IDPs were important and that he would look
into what the U.S. could do. Mahat noted that the Indians
were providing some communication equipment and vehicles to
the police as well as training. The Ambassador stressed
police training was important and was an area where the U.S.
could probably be helpful.

Comment
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6. (C) The Secretary General's November 22 letter to the
Security Council President is excellent news indeed. If we
understand the letter correctly, Annan is proposing
simultaneously to deploy a technical assessment mission and a
vanguard of up to 35 arms monitors as well as up to 25
election monitors to Nepal. What appears to be needed now is
the Security Council's imprimatur. Kari Karanko, the Finnish
Charge d'Affaires, told the Ambassador November 24 that
Finland had 15 personnel assigned to the peacekeeping mission
in Sri Lanka who could be deployed immediately to Nepal even
without UNSC action. He said that Norway has five monitors
ready to go. There may be additional countries that can help
bridge the gap on a bilateral basis. However, the sooner the
Security Council acts, the more likely it becomes that Nepal
will get the assistance it needs.
MORIARTY