GOVERNMENT JAILS UML LEADER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000807 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM NP SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT JAILS UML LEADER Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) On March 23, the government took Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary MK Nepal into police custody for "spreading false information" about the government. Nepal had been under house arrest of the previous two months. The government's actions followed a raid on the houses of MK Nepal and his brothers in which the government seized electronic communication equipment. The government's action came in advance of the seven-party alliance's planned April 6-9 general strike and April 8 mass meeting in Kathmandu. The government had gradually released activists detained on January 19, including Nepali Congress Democratic Leader Gopal Man Shrestha, who was released on March 22. Party leaders, local and international civil society activists all condemned the government's actions, and called on the government to release all political and civil society activists. Meanwhile, Maoists continued to bomb and kill people around the country. End Summary. Police Jail MK Nepal -------------- ¶2. (U) On March 23, following over two months of keeping Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary MK Nepal under house arrest, and a day after police snatched communication equipment from his house, the government took MK Nepal into custody and detained him in a hilltop police camp in Kakani, about 45 minutes drive from Kathmandu. The government accused MK Nepal of "assembling people in a public place" and spreading "false information" about the government. The 90 day arrest letter issued by the Kathmandu Chief District Officer under the Public Security Act (PSA) stated, "this warrant has been given ... so as to stop you from spreading false information about the present government, which may pose danger to the kingdom's sovereignty, integrity, peace and security." Also on March 23, police searched the residences of the UML leaders' brothers, Binod Nepal and Saroj Nepal, and took communication equipment from their homes as well. News media reported that Home Minister Kamal Thapa stated he was "too busy" to comment when asked if MK Nepal's arrest was an indication of tightening the noose on political parties' leaders in the run-up to the Parties' announced mass demonstration on April ¶8. The government had released Nepali Congress Democratic, NC(D),leader Gopal Man Shrestha from custody on March 22, leaving nine people in government detention since January 19. Parties Call Government Action Illegal -------------- ¶3. (C) Reacting to news of MK Nepal's arrest, Acting CPN-UML General Secretary Amrit Kumar Bohara deplored the act as "the height of arrogance and senselessness of authoritarian rule." He publicly called on the government to release MK Nepal and all political and civil society leaders. KP Oli, (UML) opined to Emboff that the government's arrest of MK Nepal was "illegal" and showed the King's "willful behavior, revealing that the King has no interest in entering into dialogue with the political parties." Minendra Rizal, NC (D) Spokesman, also termed the government action "totally illegal," and commented to Emboff that the arrest of MK Nepal was a "clear indication that the King intended to continue with his roadmap." He stated that "the people will not tolerate" such action, and noted the Parties intended to proceed with plans for an April 6-9 strike with a mass meeting on April 8. Editorials Baffled By Government Action -------------- ¶4. (U) The March 24 lead editorial in the English-language daily The Kathmandu Post, titled "Political Detention," noted "such tyrannical acts have escalated to such an extent that even the international community has been made baffled." The editorial highlighted the "mocking" manner in which the King was advocating democracy while "exercising a policy of zero tolerance against journalists, human rights activists, members of civil society and the political parties fighting for people's rights and press freedom," by detaining these people's representatives. The editorial also urged the government to release the political detainees and seek a political solution. The March 24 lead editorial in the English-language daily The Himalayan Times, titled "Daylight Grab," similarly criticized the government's "upgrading" of MK Nepal's house arrest to a government detention center. It worried "the way the government is going, it can literally detain anybody for any length of time...if the top leader of arguably the largest party in the now defunct parliament can be ill-treated thus, what is happening or may happen to ordinary citizens is anybody's guess." Supreme Court Endorses TADO -------------- ¶5. (U) On March 23, in a divided verdict against a petition filed by a local NGO, the Supreme Court ruled that the "controversial" provision in the Terrorist And Destructive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance (TADO) that allowed security forces to detain a person suspected of terrorist activity for one year was in keeping with the Constitution. In the majority ruling, the court noted "even the Public Security Act promulgated by parliament entertains preventive detentions by the authorities." The dissenting opinion noted that TADO was a penal law, but the provision in question was a preventive law, thus "preventive law cannot be incorporated in a penal law." The government must renew ordinances every six months, and TADO is expected to be renewed in early April. Maoist Violence Continues -------------- ¶6. (U) Maoists continued their violence throughout the country. On March 23, Maoists opened fire in a crowded bus park in the central terai Bara district, killing one security force member and injuring two civilians, including one media person. In the eastern city of Dharan, Sunsari District, Maoists also opened fire near a security installation, leading to the closing of all shops and citizens shuttering themselves in their homes, although there were no reported casualties. In the far-western city of Dhangadhi, Kailali District, a Maoist bomb injured a 9-year-old boy who was coming home from school. In the eastern border town of Kakarbhita, Jhapa District, Maoists attacked the Area Police Office. Though there were no casualties, the government sealed the Nepal-Indian border for one and one half hours following the incident in an attempt to catch the Maoists. In far-western terai Banke district, Maoists bombed the District Forest Office in the middle of the night, destroying the building but causing no casualties. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The government's sudden decision to place MK Nepal, one of the key leaders of the seven-party alliance, in police detention is regrettable but not unexpected. The government's justification for holding MK Nepal for the last two months under house arrest has been his alleged continued dialogue with Maoists. That said, the government's action to put MK Nepal out of the way is likely more a political move than any real security measure. It is perhaps part of a Palace effort to weaken the UML within the seven-party alliance, or, more worrisome, the augury of a crackdown to come in advance of the parties' planned April 8 demonstration. MORIARTY