TRIP REPORT: AMBASSADOR TRAVELS TO POKHARA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 003175 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV NP SUBJECT: TRIP REPORT: AMBASSADOR TRAVELS TO POKHARA Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On December 1, in a speech in Pokhara, the Ambassador reaffirmed that the U.S. welcomed the signing of the recent peace deals and would now push for their successful implementation. Until Maoist actions matched their words, Maoists laid down their arms, and renounced violence and intimidation, the Ambassador said, the U.S. would continue to view the Maoists as terrorists. He clarified that the long history of U.S. assistance to the Nepali people would continue. The Ambassador clarified that the U.S. had no position on the monarchy but rather it was an issue for the Nepali people to decide. During separate meetings in Pokhara, local civilian officials and human rights organizations pointed to an increasing number of communities that were standing up to Maoist intimidation. Army officials worried that Maoists were planning to put new recruits into cantonment sites, keeping seasoned fighters outside the arms management scheme. Army and police officials said they hoped their civilian leadership would begin to embrace its security forces, providing the support and direction needed. In a visit to a a local Tibetan refugee camp, camp leadership requested the Ambassador's assistance in pushing for movement on the U.S. resettlement offer of 5,000 refugees. Tibetan Refugees Seek Continued U.S. Support and Quick Resettlement -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) In meetings with the Ambassador during his visit to Pokhara, Wangyal Lama, Director of the Lodrik Welfare Fund which supports two of the Tibetan refugee camps in the Pokhara area stressed his hope for quick movement on the U.S. offer to resettle 5,000 Tibetan refugees. Lodrik Welfare Society, with a total of 4,473 beneficiaries, is led by former U.S.-backed guerrillas from Mustang, a remote corner of Nepal bordering Tibet, who fought against the Chinese invading Tibet in the 1960s. The majority of the Mustang resistance force survivors, about 30 percent according to Wangyal, live in the Lodrik-managed camps as do their children. Wangyal highlighted the long relationship between the American government and Tibetan refugees and said he hoped U.S. support would continue. The Ambassador assured Wangyal that the U.S. would continue to push the GON to get the resettlement process underway. The Ambassador was enthusiastically received at Paljorling Settlement located within Pokhara with a population of 400 refugees. Wangyal described the difficulties of finding work within the camps and said many refugees were forced to look outside for jobs. The camp had lost some of its carpet weaving business, therefore more refugees were selling Tibetan handicrafts in tourist areas. Ambassador Stresses Important Role for Journalists in Peace Implementation -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) During closing remarks at a journalism training seminar hosted by the Nepal Press Institute (funded by an Embassy public diplomacy grant) and a speech in Nepali at the first National Congress of the National Network for Weekly and Fortnightly Papers of Nepal, the Ambassador stressed the important watchdog role journalists would play in ensuring successful implementation of Nepal's recently signed peace agreements. With a free and functioning press, the Ambassador emphasized to the over 120 representatives from newspapers across the country, abuses and violations of the agreements could be addressed. The Ambassador pledged continuing U.S. support for a free press in Nepal. Maoist Deeds, Not Words Matter -------------- ¶4. (C) During his speech, and in response to repeated KATHMANDU 00003175 002 OF 004 questions regarding perceived U.S. support of the monarchy, the Ambassador clarified that the U.S. had no position on the fate of the monarchy, but believed the decision was for the people of Nepal. The Ambassador said the U.S. had no attachment to the King and said that he guessed the Maoists propagated this rumor to avoid answering difficult questions about their own activities. The Ambassador also faced many questions about why the U.S. had not changed its position vis-a-vis the Maoists now that there was a peace deal and the Maoists would be entering an interim government. The Ambassador said the U.S. welcomed the signing of the recent peace deals but would now push for their successful implementation. Until Maoist actions matched their words, they laid down their arms, and they renounced violence and intimidation, the Ambassador said, the U.S. must continue to view the Maoists as terrorists. He clarified, however, that the long history of U.S. assistance to the Nepali people would continue. While having Maoists in an interim government would pose a challenge to assistance efforts, the Ambassador pledged continuing support. At the same time, the Unites Sates would ensure that such assistance did not benefit unreconstructed Maoists. Security Officials Call on Civilians to "Own" their Security Institutions -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) During a meeting with local civilian and security officials, army and police leaders said they hoped the civilian leadership would embrace the security forces, providing the support and direction needed to implement peace agreement provisions. Brigadier General Dilip Rana, Acting Commander of the Nepal Army's (NA) Western Division, and Brigadier General Mahesh Karki reiterated that the army accepted its subordination to civilian power, but described low morale within the NA due to the lack of appreciation or respect shown by civilian leadership for the NA's role in fighting the Maoist insurgency. Instead, Karki said, the Army was only blamed for past abuses and its association with the monarchy. Nepal Army and Cantonment; Integration -------------- ¶6. (C) Karki said NA officials who would take part in the joint Maoist-GON-UN Monitoring Teams (mandated in the recent arms management deal to oversee the cantonment process) would be deployed from Kathmandu rather than be drawn from local Army divisions near the cantonment sites. Rana expressed concern that the Maoists going into cantonments were recent recruits, leaving their seasoned fighters outside the cantonment scheme. He said the Army accepted the peace deals and would work toward their implementation. However, they also would continue to be ready to respond if the situation were to fall apart and the Maoists resumed fighting. Karki said the issue of Maoist integration into GON security forces would likely not be addressed until after the Constituent Assembly was convened. He said that the Army had the firm position that any Maoists integrated would have to come in as new recruits. Reviving Law Enforcement -------------- ¶7. (C) Deputy Inspector General of Police Amar Newbang Subba of the Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) said the Home Ministry, APF, and civilian police had begun extensive planning for providing security in the lead-up to Constituent Assembly elections next June. Subba said the APF role in election security would be to provide reinforcements to civilian police if needed. While still lacking extensive direction from civilian leadership, Subba said the peace agreement provisions calling for the re-establishment of a police presence in the countryside was enough for the police to move forward in planning. Karki felt that the police were challenged in re-establishing law and order in the countryside because they did not have the confidence of local populations and were not able to provide a sweeping enough KATHMANDU 00003175 003 OF 004 police presence in Nepal's remote areas. Numerous and widespread international monitors, he said, would be necessary as an intermediate measure to reestablish confidence in the countryside during the short election timeframe. When asked what would assist in encouraging a re-established police presence in the countryside, Subba said training and equipment. He said police recruitment was not a problem and described 3,000 applications he had received recently to fill 200 slots. The police officials said they had heard no discussion of the Maoists being integrated into the police or APF. Meeting with Student Leaders at American Corner -------------- -- ¶8. (SBU) In a meeting with 11 student leaders at the American Corner in Pokhara, the Ambassador described the important role the students could play in pushing for the internal democratization of their political parties, ensuring they allowed for diverse views and equal access to underrepresented groups, particularly in the lead up to Constituent Assembly elections. The students welcomed the November agreements between the GON and the Maoists, but said they were not fully satisfied, expressing concern regarding Maoist adherence to agreement provisions and the need for abolition of the monarchy. They mentioned mass student union meetings on December 13 in five regions to launch a campaign to advocate for a direct referendum to decide the fate of the monarchy (as opposed to decision through a Constituent Assembly vote). Some students said they were willing to begin another People's Movement if the King again came to power. The students also said that they had heard the U.S. was pushing for a ceremonial monarchy. Again, the Ambassador stressed that he was trying to reinforce publicly at every opportunity that the fate of the monarchy was in the hands of the Nepali population and that the U.S. remained neutral on the issue. ¶9. (SBU) Many students raised the need for Nepal to maximize its use of natural resources and take advantage of the future potential of hydropower potential. The Ambassador emphasized the sweeping impact the focused and responsible development of Nepal's hydropower could have on the country's development. The Ambassador encouraged the students to look at models of natural resource development from other countries as well as demanding within their own parties that their politicians focus on hydropower development as a central issue. Human Rights Groups' Role -------------- ¶10. (SBU) In meetings with leaders of local human rights groups, the Ambassador described the important role the human rights community would have in monitoring adherence to the peace agreement. The human rights representatives said that, while Maoist violence continued, there had been a decline in Pokhara. Conditions in the neighboring district of Lamjung remained worrisome, however. They pointed to an increasing number of communities that were standing up to Maoist intimidation and refusing to give in to Maoist demands. They reiterated that the police lacked confidence and must be supported to re-assume their role in security provision. The representative from the National Human Rights Commission's (NHCR) regional office said that NHRC monitors had visited some of the cantonment sites and planned more visits. He expressed some concern that Maoists would place recently recruited fighters in the cantonments and leave seasoned fighters out, pointing to the Maoists recent recruitment drive. The regional representative from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that it was awaiting a UN Security Council mandate to determine its potential role in monitoring the cantonment process, but thought an OHCHR role was likely. All the groups felt they would have a role to play in monitoring agreement provisions. Local Political Party Leadership -------------- KATHMANDU 00003175 004 OF 004 ¶11. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador, local political leadership, including Yagya Bahaudur Thapa from the Nepali Congress, Nepali Congress-Democratic leader Soviet Bahadur Adhikary, and Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) local chief Rabindra Adhikary, said they had begun campaign planning for the Constituent Assembly elections. The leaders of the three main parties, who said they meet daily to strategize, were generally optimistic regarding progress in the peace process, but remained concerned about continuing fear in the countryside due to Maoist intimidation. They referenced the many front organizations based on ethnic divisions the Maoists were propagating. The leaders said they were able to campaign in local villages, but described the challenges in reaching remote communities. They favored a delay in the tight election timeframe to increase the likelihood of a free and fair process. ¶12. (C) The party leaders said they were proponents of more interaction and engagement between the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists to promote the Maoists' evolution as a political party. The national level should learn from the districts in terms of how to engage Maoists, they said. The CPN-UML representative said he thought security in the lead-up to elections could be improved if the Maoists and SPA signed a political party code of conduct. Comment -------------- ¶13. (C) The discussions in Pokhara reflected a generally optimistic yet wary outlook on the peace process, with concern focused on security to promote free and fair Constituent Assembly elections. While Maoist recruitment and intimidation continues, there are a few hopeful indications that Maoist power is declining, with some villages fighting back. Interlocutors repeatedly raised concerns that the Maoists will be putting new recruits into cantonment sites, while keeping seasoned fighters out. We will continue to push the UN to set up an effective registration and vetting process and the GON to create mechanisms to ensure Maoist adherence to arms management provisions. We will also look to support the police in re-establishment of a police presence in the countryside and planning for election security and will push for civilian leadership to "own" their security forces, providing necessary mandates, direction, and support. Police presence will be central to the achievement of free and fair elections. ¶14. (C) Raised in almost every meeting with the Ambassador, rumors persist that the U.S. supports the monarchy, despite continued public statements by the Ambassador clarifying the issue. We were pleased when Kantipur, the nation's largest daily newspaper, published the full text of the Ambassador's speech in its December 2 edition. Several weeklies across Nepal also published the entire text. We will continue to counter at every opportunity Maoist claims that the U.S. is promoting the King. The Ambassador also faced repeated questions regarding when and if the U.S. will engage the Maoists as they come into Government. As the interim government forms, we will have to carefully and quickly craft a U.S. approach and red-lines for engaging a GON that includes Maoists. MORIARTY