NEPAL'S POLITICIANS STRUGGLING TO FIND THE WAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001983 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM UN IN NP SUBJECT: NEPAL'S POLITICIANS STRUGGLING TO FIND THE WAY FORWARD REF: KATHMANDU 1961 Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Nepal's peace process, which established an interim government and brought the Maoists into the Parliament, is experiencing a crisis. Despite weeks of talks, the Six-Party Alliance and the Maoists have yet to agree on a new date for the Constituent Assembly election, which was postponed indefinitely in early October. They are also no closer to an agreement on the electoral system. In the wake of the Interim Parliament's surprising adoption November 4 of the Maoist proposal in favor of a fully proportional system (reftel),the Maoists appear to have become even more insistent that the Nepali Congress must back down. Key members of the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist, meanwhile, have distanced themselves from their party's parliamentary vote. The issue of declaring Nepal a republic is likewise unresolved. Progress in other areas of the peace process is uneven at best with the worsening public security situation, particularly in the Terai, a growing worry. Peace Process Encountering Roadblocks -------------- ¶2. (C) Since the April 2006 People's Movement forced King Gyanendra to relinquish power to the then Seven-Party Alliance and the Maoists and reinstate the 1999 Parliament, Nepal's peace process has shown considerable progress. In the intervening months, Nepal has witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and the Arms Management Agreement, the adoption of an Interim Constitution and the creation of an Interim Parliament with Maoist participation. In April 2007, the Maoists joined the Interim Government. The process, however, was rarely smooth, and there was frequently talk, when the process broke down, of a crisis. At each step along the way, some observers claimed that the next step would finally persuade the Maoists to comply with their peace commitments under the CPA and the other agreements. Instead their pattern of rampant abuses continued. The creation of a Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction strengthened to some degree the Government of Nepal's (GON's) capacity to implement its peace process commitments, but the GON also failed on this score in a number of areas. In his report to the Security Council on 
October 18, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that the peace process was "facing its most difficult challenges to date," and urged the parties to review the CPA and its implementation and develop a road map to carry the process forward. No Agreement on Election Date or System -------------- ¶3. (C) The Secretary General's report came two weeks after the Six-Party Alliance and the Maoists decided to suspend all preparations for the Constituent Assembly election, which had been scheduled for November 22. This was the second time the election had been postponed. Despite six weeks of talks, the parties and the Maoists appear today no closer to a deal on a new election date. One reason is that they have yet to agree on the electoral system. The Nepali Congress (NC),from Prime Minister G.P. Koirala down, has made its position clear: the parties and the Maoists agreed to a mixed system. End of discussion. The Maoists continue to agitate for a fully proportional system and point out that Madhesis and Janajati also want that system adopted. (Note: While the Madhesi People's Rights Forum and the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities agreed separately in August to accept the mixed system, they announced in October that the delay in the election voided that acceptance. End note.) UML Parliamentary Vote Did Not Help KATHMANDU 00001983 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶4. (C) Until recently, many Nepalis had hoped that the special session of the Interim Parliament invoked by the Maoists would prompt a political consensus on the way forward. Instead, the general view is that the surprising, last-minute decision on November 4 by the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) to support the Maoist proposal for a fully proportional system in return for Maoist support for the UML proposal for the Government of Nepal (GON) to act immediately to make Nepal a federal, democratic republic, only complicated the process. Even though several key UML Members of Parliament, including cabinet ministers, have since distanced themselves from the party's parliamentary vote, the Maoists now claim to have a parliamentary majority behind their demand for a change in the electoral system. The normally carefully nonpartisan Speaker of the Parliament, Subash Nemwang (UML),has been quoted publicly urging the NC to respect the special session decision and act accordingly when the Interim Parliament's regular session resumes on November 19. On the declaration of the republic, the NC stands by its previous offer of a commitment now to vote in favor of a republic at the first session of the Constituent Assembly. Progress In Other Areas Uneven -------------- ¶5. (C) The peace process has not been without successes in recent months, but progress has been extremely uneven. The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has told us privately that it expects to finish the task of verifying Maoist combatants by the first half of December. Since September, UNMIN's Mine Action Unit has destroyed the caches of large numbers of unsafe improvised explosive devices at several of the Maoist cantonments. However, no progress has been made on discharging any of the cantonment residents who have been found to be minors or recent recruits. In mid-September, on the same day that the remaining Maoist ministers submitted their resignation to the Prime Minister, the parties and the Maoists finally agreed to appoint members of the National Human Rights Commission. While the Maoists have chosen to remain in Parliament, those ministerial resignations are still pending. Human rights violations, notably abductions and extortion by the Maoists and their Young Communist League, are increasing. Many of the other peace agreement commitments, including monitoring committees, have yet to be established, or if established, made operational. Public Insecurity A Growing Concern -------------- ¶6. (C) The public security situation in much of the Terai continues to deteriorate with already weak structures of appointed local government hard pressed to function in the face of violent opposition from Madhesi extremist groups. Large numbers of the Pahadi (hill people)-dominated civil service have left their posts. Promises of enhanced security from the capital give little comfort at a time when the Nepal Police, also largely Pahadi, are underequipped, demoralized and unwelcome in much of the Terai. While the Armed Police Force is better resourced and motivated and forward deployed in the Terai, even it is reluctant to move beyond the towns and major roads. Furthermore, the GON's inability or unwillingness to act against the most egregious Maoist violations has been apparent in the face of an upsurge of Maoist abductions and killings of GON and NC officials. It also failed to hold the Maoists to account for the murder of Birendra Sah, a Madhesi journalist whose case has become a cause celebre. Even in the capital, crime, especially extortion and abduction, is on the increase. Politicians Wondering What To Do -------------- ¶7. (C) Nepal's politicians appear to be at a loss on what to do, and have left it to the Maoists to frame the debate. The KATHMANDU 00001983 003 OF 003 Maoists are threatening mass public protests on November 18 to ensure they get their way in the Interim Parliament session. While the Maoists do not have the votes to force the Parliament to declare Nepal a republic immediately or to change the electoral system, they are generally believed to have the ability to create chaos in Kathmandu. NC and the UML have the two-thirds majority necessary to amend the Interim Constitution, but their leaders have told us that they want to preserve some basic consensus with the Maoists. An amendment will be necessary by mid-December at the latest to change the date for the Constituent Assembly election. The GON is currently required to hold it by the end of the Nepali month of Mangsir (by December 15). Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Given the current political stalemate, it is a good time to assess how the United States and the rest of the international community can assist in helping the Nepalis to move the process forward. Without ignoring the electoral and republican issues, we believe we need to encourage Nepalis to pursue agreement on a new election date and possible new format at the same time that they identify and act on key elements of the peace process. Progress in those latter areas might help to break the current logjam. While the possibility of major Maoist-provoked unrest is possible in Kathmandu in the coming days, the parties and the Maoists continue to engage in dialogue and the Maoist ability to incite popular indignation seems to be relatively limited. Their public popularity continues to decline. Ultimately, the Nepalis will have to overcome this impasse. But working particularly with India and civil society and other actors, the U.S. can help to influence developments here in a positive direction. POWELL