HOME MINISTER RELINQUISHES ROLE AS NEGOTIATOR WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001132

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PREF KDEM BT NP
SUBJECT: HOME MINISTER RELINQUISHES ROLE AS NEGOTIATOR WITH
MAOISTS

REF: A. KATHMANDU 1059

B. KATHMANDU 1071

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

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Home Minister Sitaula stressed to the Ambassador June
6 that "it was no longer my job" to negotiate with Maoists on
behalf of the Seven-Party Alliance. Peace and Reconstruction
Minister Poudel would now be taking the lead. Sitaula told
the Ambassador that the four Young Communist League (YCL)
members who threw rocks at the Ambassador's vehicle May 25 in
Jhapa District would be held in custody for 25 days while
Police investigated. The Ambassador emphasized that a June 5
public statement by Maoist Information Minister Mahara
referring to the Prime Minister as a criminal was
unacceptable. Sitaula agreed, lamenting that Nepal faced a
new challenge as the Maoists simultaneously sat in government
and tried to disturb the peace. With Maoists threatening to
"re-take" Nepal's southern Terai from agitating Madhesi
groups, the Ambassador predicted a potentially explosive
situation. The Ambassador told Sitaula that the GON needed
to engage in dialogue with mainstream Madhesi leaders and
treat violent Madhesi elements as a law-and-order problem.
The Home Minister and Ambassador agreed that Bhutanese
refugees required more education on third-country
resettlement.

Home Minister No Longer Negotiator with Maoists
-------------- --


2. (C) When the Ambassador asked Home Minister Sitaula on
June 6 how negotiations were proceeding with the Maoists on
the vetting phase of arms management, Sitaula responded that
it was "no longer his job" to negotiate on behalf of the
Seven-Party Alliance with the Maoists. Sitaula clarified
that new Peace and Reconstruction Minister Poudel would now
be taking the lead and was heading a high-level Cantonment
Management Committee. Sitaula said he was not privy to the
results of the latest negotiation efforts. (Note: The
high-level Cantonment Management Committee also includes
Finance Minister Mahat. End Note.)

Attackers of Ambassador's Vehicle in Custody
--------------


3. (C) Sitaula told the Ambassador that the four Young
Communist League (YCL) members who had thrown rocks at the
Ambassador's vehicle May 25 in Damak in Jhapa District would
be held in custody for 25 days while an investigation was
conducted (Ref A). (Note: As a UN High Commissioner for
Refugee (UNHCR) vehicle approached the UNHCR office gate
carrying the Ambassador, UNHCR Nepal Chief Abraham Abraham,
and Emboff, roughly two dozen youths threw large stones.
They also shouted anti-American slogans and "Death to
Moriarty." No one was injured. End Note.) The Home
Minister confirmed that the attackers were in fact YCL
leaders from Jhapa.

Maoist Ministers Misbehaving
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador stressed to Sitaula that it was
unacceptable for a member of the Prime Minister's own cabinet
to call him a criminal. (Note: On June 5, Maoist Minister
for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara told
media that Prime Minister Koirala's statement calling the
Maoist-affiliated YCL a "young criminal league" was the
result of the PM's "criminal mentality." End Note.) There
was no other country in the world, the Ambassador said, where
a Minister could make such a statement and remain in the
cabinet; the Prime Minister should take firm action against
Mahara. The Ambassador also referred to recent calls by
Maoist ministers for "bandhs," or strikes, against the
Government. It was outrageous, and against their peace
agreement commitments, the Ambassador said, for Maoist
ministers to engage in such open opposition against their own

KATHMANDU 00001132 002 OF 003


government. Sitaula agreed, saying that Nepal faced a new
challenge in regard to law and order as the Maoists sat in
government while simultaneously trying to disturb the peace.

Hardliners vs. "Harder-liners"
--------------


5. (C) Sitaula noted that differences seemed to be arising
within the Maoists on how to proceed in the peace process.
The Ambassador concurred, but lamented that the differences
seemed to be arising between two camps: hardliners and
"harder-liners." The first camp believed the Maoists could
stay in government while continuing to use violence to gain
Maoist dominance, while the second camp thought all-out
confrontation was the route to grab state power. The
Ambassador bemoaned that this was not a healthy debate and
that he was more pessimistic now than he had been a month
ago. It was more important than ever before, the Ambassador
stressed to the Home Minister, that the seven parties stick
together and speak with a common voice.

Ambassador Predicts Confrontation in the Terai
-------------- -


6. (C) With Maoists threatening to "re-take" Nepal's
southern Terai from agitating Madhesi groups, the Ambassador
predicted a potentially explosive situation over the coming
month in the area along Nepal's southern border with India.
The Maoists, the Ambassador said, recognized that they would
have to regain influence in the Terai if they were to secure
sufficient votes in the Constituent Assembly election. If
and when Maoists terrorized Madhesi groups, the Madhesis
would fight back.

Talk to Mainstream Madhesis, Isolate the Violent
-------------- ---


7. (C) Sitaula asked the Ambassador what the GON could do to
address the violent Madhesi organizations operating in the
Terai, such as the Terai Cobras and the Maoist splinter
Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM or "People's Terai
Liberation Front"). The Ambassador responded that the GON
needed to engage in dialogue with the legitimate, mainstream
Madhesi leadership and treat other violent Madhesi elements
as a "law and order problem." The Ambassador urged that this
dialogue must happen quickly, otherwise the Madhesi movement
would likely become more violent in pursuit of its aims.
Negotiating with mainstream Madhesis, such as Madhesi Members
of Parliament, would also isolate the other groups.

Refugee Camps
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador highlighted to Sitaula that law and
order must be re-established in the Bhutanese refugee camps
following the violence of the past weeks (Ref B). The Home
Minister said that UNHCR should be more active in educating
the refugees about third-country resettlement. In recent
meetings he had had with refugee leaders in the camps, he had
found considerable confusion about the rationale and
procedures for resettlement. Misinformation, Sitaula
emphasized, was creating tension in the camps. The
Ambassador agreed, but also emphasized that the Communist
Party of Bhutan (CP-B) still sought revolution in Bhutan and
did not want resettlement to occur. The Ambassador mentioned
reports that the CP-B was terrorizing refugees who had
expressed interest in resettlement. While small in number
(the Ambassador estimated approximately 600 across the seven
camps),the CP-B could have a significant impact on the
camps' security environment and the success of the
resettlement process. The Home Minister said the GON was
trying to re-establish a police presence in the camps. He
and the Ambassador agreed that the Bhutanese leaders should
be called to Kathmandu to meet with UNHCR and the GON to
clarify resettlement parameters.

State Affairs Committee Dialoguing on Election Law
-------------- --------------


KATHMANDU 00001132 003 OF 003



9. (C) Home Minister Sitaula said he had come to his meeting
with the Ambassador from the Parliamentary Committee on State
Affairs. The Committee was debating the Constituent Assembly
Election Law. When asked by the Ambassador how negotiations
were proceeding, Sitaula said that the Committee was "close
to consensus" on a way forward.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Post is heartened to hear the Home Minister say he no
longer retains his position as the Seven-Party Alliance's
negotiator with the Maoists. He claimed he will now wear
only one hat, that of Home Minister, required to enforce law
and order against the Maoists. Whether this change is real
and will result in an improvement in law enforcement remains
to be seen. We agree with Sitaula that, once security
conditions allow, the planned robust refugee education
campaign on third-country resettlement should get underway
immediately.
MORIARTY