NEPAL: MADHESI CABINET MINISTER RESIGNS TO PROTEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002065 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: MADHESI CABINET MINISTER RESIGNS TO PROTEST GOVERNMENT INACTION Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Several senior Madhesis, including Minister of Science and Technology Thakur and three other Members of Parliament, resigned their positions in the Cabinet, Parliament and respective political parties on December 10 to protest the government's failure to address Madhesi concerns. They indicated that they were contemplating creating a new Madhesi party. Minister Thakur was the most senior Madhesi in the Nepali Congress, dealing a major blow to party leader and Prime Minister G.P. Koirala as well as highlighting the depth of Madhesi disillusionment. Madhesis Resign from Cabinet and Parliament -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 10, Nepali Congress (NC) Minister of Science and Technology Mahanta Thakur declared at a press conference in Kathmandu that he had tendered his resignation from the Cabinet, the Interim Parliament, and his party in frustration over the inability or unwillingness of the Government of Nepal to address Madhesi grievances in the Terai. Hridayesh Tripathi, a former Minister of Industry and Commerce from the Madhesi-based Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Anandi Devi (NSP-A),Mahendra Yadav of the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML),and Ram Chandra Raya of the Rastriya Prajatantrik Party (RPP) announced their resignations from the Interim Parliament and their respective parties at the same press conference. Several other lower-level Madhesi politicians joined them in making similar announcements. Possible New Party in the Works -------------- ¶3. (U) The lawmakers indicated they were contemplating the creation of a separate Madhesi party. At the press conference Tripathi expressed displeasure about the role of the UN Mission in Nepal and its presence in the Terai. He said he wanted a federal state for the Terai, for which he and his compatriots would agitate through a strong but peaceful movement. In an press interview the evening of December 10, Tripathi also stated that the Interim Parliament no longer had any relevance because it functioned as a rubber stamp for the Six-Party Alliance and the Maoists and had proven incapable of addressing Madhesi issues. He indicated that the people of Madhes had taken the lead during the Madhesi uprising from January to March 2007, not the politicians. The new grouping intended now to provide the leadership which had been lacking. Thakur Steadfast in Decision -------------- ¶4. (C) According to press reports, Thakur refused Prime Minister G.P. Koirala's plea in person after the press conference to withdraw his resignation and remain in the NC. A high-level NC delegation had no more success in convincing Thakur to reconsider. 65-year-old Thakur, a four-time minister, was the most senior Madhesi leader in the NC, and his resignation is widely considered by local observers to be a major blow to the Prime Minister. Thakur had been the Prime Minister's interlocutor to Madhesi groups in spring 2007 and had also played a key role in brokering the 12-Point Agreement between the then Seven-Party Alliance and the Maoists in November 2005, in part because of his close ties to India. Additional Biographic Information -------------- ¶5. (C) Thakur previously was Minister of Information and Communications (1997-1998),of Forest and Soil Conservation (1999-2000),of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs KATHMANDU 00002065 002 OF 002 (2000-2001) and of Agriculture and Cooperatives (2006-2007). He is a prior Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and a former Nepali Congress Treasurer. Thakur was elected to Parliament on a NC ticket in 1991, 1994 and 1999 and is a lawyer by profession. Hridayesh Tripathi began his career in politics as a student with the Nepal Communist Party. He was first elected to Parliament on the NSP ticket in 1991. He served briefly as Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation in 1997 and was Minister of Commerce and Industry in the first Interim Government from May 2006 until April 1, 2007. Until his resignation, Tripathi was a senior leader of the NSP-A's establishment faction, which is a member of the current government. Mahendra Yadav was first elected to Parliament in 1991 on the Communist Party ticket, and joined the UML the following year. Yadav served as State Minister for Construction and Transport in 1997. Ram Chandra Raya served on the Rastriya Panchayat in 1981 and 1986 and represented the RPP in Parliament from 1999. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) senior adviser Awadesh Kumar Singh told Emboff December 11 that news of the resignation of Thakur and the other Madhesi leaders had been warmly welcomed in the Terai. The MPRF (Upendra Yadav faction) leader added that the MPRF intended to picket the homes of all the other roughly 35 non-Maoist Madhesi MPs until they also resigned from the Interim Parliament. The resignations, particularly of the prominent Thakur, signify the depth of Madhesi disenchantment with the Nepali Government. In spite of bitter rivalries within the MPRF and the NSP-A, there are early indications that all these groups are prepared to work together under Thakur's leadership. If Thakur, who is a committed democrat and widely respected in the Terai and in New Delhi, is able to unite the Madhesis, his new grouping may be the Terai's best chance for forcing the government to address Madhesi grievances without spiraling into additional violence and instability. If not, the predictions of Embassy interlocutors and Nepalese politicians -- that the problem in the Terai will soon far overshadow the challenge of mainstreaming the Maoists -- may prove correct. POWELL