STUDENT LEADERS FEEL LEFT OUT OF NEPAL'S POLITICS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 003164

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER NP
SUBJECT: STUDENT LEADERS FEEL LEFT OUT OF NEPAL'S POLITICS

REF: KATHMANDU 3089

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

Summary
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1. (C) In meetings December 1 and 2 in KATHMANDU and
Biratnagar (eastern Nepal),student leaders from a range of
political parties told Emboff that they were feeling
increasingly left out of politics in Nepal. Although they
disagreed on many social issues, they were united on the need
for greater inclusiveness and internal democracy within the
parties, as well as a voice for youth in the upcoming
Constituent Assembly elections. Leaders in both locations
were considering ways for the different parties' student
groups to work together to create a unified front to
represent youth. They reported that Maoist student groups
continued to engage in violence and intimidation against
groups from the other parties, both in the capital and in the
countryside.

Students Feel Left Out Of Politics
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2. (C) On December 1 and 2, student leaders in KATHMANDU and
Biratnagar complained to Emboff that they felt increasingly
left out of party politics. They complained that students
had played the determining role in the People's Movement in
April but now the parties had turned their backs on them.
Students also complained about a lack of inclusiveness in the
parties. The younger generation was kept out of leadership
positions and did not participate when policies and programs
were being formulated. This privilege was reserved for older
members of the parties or family members of the leadership.
The students complained that, unless they agreed to be
"puppets of the leadership," they were encouraged to leave
the party, or were forced out. Parul Chhetri, student leader
of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist
(CPN-UML) in Biratnagar, told emboff that the political
leaders gave "false and hollow promises" to student leaders
in exchange for loyalty, but students were quickly catching
on.

A New Front For Youth Voices
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3. (C) Students in both locations told Emboff they wanted to
create a "unified front" to represent the voice of youth.
There were hundreds of thousands of youth in the country who
would be voting for the first time in the upcoming elections,
they said. The students felt that if they could mobilize
this bloc of voters, then the party leadership would be
forced to listen to them and include them in the governance
of the nation. Student leaders stated that, although they
disagreed on many of the major social issues, they agreed
that working together was the only way to gain power in the
system. They were concerned that the only party that had
strong youth representation currently was the Maoists and
that the Maoists continued to gain popularity among young
voters.

Maoist Intimidation Continues
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4. (C) Students complained that Maoist intimidation continued
in the countryside and in the KATHMANDU Valley. Rupesh
Khatiwada, a CPN-UML student leader in Biratnagar, said that
students on his campus had recently attempted to hold
elections, but when the Maoist candidate realized he was
losing, he had called his militia members to the campus and
"suddenly, everyone was voting for him." Khatiwada said that
stories like this were common in campuses in eastern Nepal.
The other student leaders in Biratnagar agreed. Gagan Thapa,
a Nepali Congress (NC) student leader in Kathmandu, shared a
recent incident where Maoist students had stormed onto a
campus in KATHMANDU and attempted to enter the NC student
offices. Thapa said that the Maoist students had arrived

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with knives, swords and guns, and when the NC students
refused to let them in, they attacked. Nine motorcycles were
destroyed in the attack and 14 NC student leaders ended up in
the hospital with minor injuries.


5. (C) The students said that, if a student leader had
national name recognition, then that leader could participate
actively in politics freely almost anywhere in the country.
The problem, they said, was on the local level, where the
Maoists still threatened student activists. Thakur Gaire, a
Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) student leader, recounted
that he had participated in an NC-D student program outside
of Pokhara (central Nepal). While he was present, there were
no problems, but after he left the local Maoist student group
had forced local NC-D student leaders to leave the community.
Other students also indicated that they had heard similar
stories across Nepal.

Police Have A Double Standard
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6. (C) Gagan Thapa complained that the police had a double
standard for Maoists. When the Maoists began their attack
against the NC, the police watched and then left the campus
premises. However, the next day, when the NC students joined
a protest against the government, the police immediately
intervened, using tear gas and water cannons. Other students
in KATHMANDU agreed that the police had a double standard for
dealing with Maoists as opposed to others who broke the law.
One student thought that the police might be afraid of the
Maoists and for that reason did not try to stop them.

Comment
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7. (C) Student leaders are becoming more and more frustrated
by their lack of participation in mainstream politics. It is
promising that they are beginning to work together to create
a unified front to counter Maoist political activism in rural
Nepal. Their willingness to do so in the face of a
continuing pattern of Maoist intimidation is particularly
praiseworthy. The students expressed their appreciation for
Post's efforts to reach out to them and hoped for support for
greater youth participation in democratic politics in future.
Student leaders have a chance to make a real difference in
the coming days and weeks, and we will continue to encourage
them to play an active role leading up to the Constituent
Assembly elections scheduled for June 2007.
MORIARTY