Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KATHMANDU2079
2007-12-17 03:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:
NEPAL: 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM
how-toVZCZCXRO1316 OO RUEHCI DE RUEHKT #2079/01 3510302 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 170302Z DEC 07 ZDK FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7607 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 6199 RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 6520 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1777 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4545 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5783 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2058 RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 3916 RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1935 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3037
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002079
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS AEMR NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM
REF: A. STATE 146856
B. STATE 145633
KATHMANDU 00002079 001.8 OF 002
General Assessment
------------------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002079
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS AEMR NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM
REF: A. STATE 146856
B. STATE 145633
KATHMANDU 00002079 001.8 OF 002
General Assessment
--------------
1. Nepal experienced no significant acts of international
terrorism in 2007; however, several incidents of domestic
terrorism and politically-motivated violence occurred in
urban areas and in the Terai. None was aimed at U.S.
citizens or facilities. Nepal was not a state sponsor of
terrorism, nor did it offer safe haven to international
terrorists, but a U.S.-designated terrorist organization
became part of the interim government. Despite officially
ending its ten-year insurgency with a comprehensive peace
agreement in November 2006 and entering into the interim
government in April 2007, the Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) -- the only U.S.-designated group of concern
operating in Nepal -- continued to engage in violence,
extortion, and abductions. The Maoists withdrew their
ministers from the interim government in September but left
their members in place in the interim Parliament. The
government was ineffective at holding the Maoists accountable
for violating the peace process, and law enforcement efforts
were minimal. The Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA)
ostensibly settled into UN-monitored cantonments but
circumvented the disarmament and combatant verification
process to a significant degree. The Maoist Young Communist
League, which included former PLA members, grew increasingly
prominent during the year, carrying on the Maoist militia's
tactics of abuse, abduction, assassination, intimidation, and
extortion in cities and villages.
Unrest in the Terai
--------------
2. Ethnic tensions in the southern Terai plains increased in
2007. From mid-January to early March, as Madhesis --
Nepalis with cultural and linguistic ties to India --
protested against the failure of the interim constitution and
the interim government to address their concerns, an
often-violent popular uprising known as the Madhesi Andolan
wracked the region, leaving at least 42 dead. Over a dozen
extremist groups in pursuit of independence or autonomy
followed the Maoist lead of negotiation via armed struggle.
Competing factions of Madhesis clashed with each other, with
the Maoists, with hill-origin Nepalis, and with police,
instigating numerous rows, strikes, demonstrations, and
Indo-Nepal border road closures. The most violent of these
groups were factions of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha
("People's Terai Liberation Front"),which had broken with
the Maoist-affiliated Madhesi Mukti Morcha ("Madhesi
Liberation Front") insurgency in 2004 in order to bring about
the secession of the Terai from the rest of Nepal. The
Maoists exacerbated bloodshed in the Terai in a scramble to
regain influence it had lost in the region. On March 21,
confrontation between Maoists and Madhesis at a rally in Gaur
resulted in the massacre of 27 people -- most of them Maoists.
Domestic Terrorism Risk Increasing
--------------
3. The Government of Nepal largely ignored the conflict in
the Terai, setting the stage for the spillover of violence
into the capital. On September 2, near-simultaneous blasts
in three locations in Kathmandu killed three people and
injured scores of commuters and bystanders. There were no
American casualties. Two little known groups, the Terai
Utthan Sangh ("Terai Upliftment Union") and the "Terai Army",
claimed responsibility. The Terai Army's claim of
responsibility, in particular, vowed additional attacks in
the future. Separately in December, a faction of the
Terai-based Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Anandi Devi (NSP-A),led
by a former Commerce Minister, founded a militant youth wing.
U.S. - Nepal Cooperation
KATHMANDU 00002079 002.2 OF 002
--------------
4. The United States did not request the cooperation of the
Government of Nepal for any investigation or prosecution of
an international terrorist act against U.S. citizens or
facilities in 2007. Anti-money laundering legislation
remained stalled in Parliament, although the government
responded favorably to U.S. requests to be prepared to freeze
the assets of individuals and entities involved in the
financing of terrorism when or if such assets were
discovered. The United States provided substantial
antiterrorism assistance and training to Nepal's security
forces, including courses on crisis management, post-blast
investigations, and terrorist crime scene investigations.
5. This report has been posted on Intellipedia-S per
Reftels. The website link is
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/
South Asia Terrorism Reports#Nepal.
POWELL
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS AEMR NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM
REF: A. STATE 146856
B. STATE 145633
KATHMANDU 00002079 001.8 OF 002
General Assessment
--------------
1. Nepal experienced no significant acts of international
terrorism in 2007; however, several incidents of domestic
terrorism and politically-motivated violence occurred in
urban areas and in the Terai. None was aimed at U.S.
citizens or facilities. Nepal was not a state sponsor of
terrorism, nor did it offer safe haven to international
terrorists, but a U.S.-designated terrorist organization
became part of the interim government. Despite officially
ending its ten-year insurgency with a comprehensive peace
agreement in November 2006 and entering into the interim
government in April 2007, the Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) -- the only U.S.-designated group of concern
operating in Nepal -- continued to engage in violence,
extortion, and abductions. The Maoists withdrew their
ministers from the interim government in September but left
their members in place in the interim Parliament. The
government was ineffective at holding the Maoists accountable
for violating the peace process, and law enforcement efforts
were minimal. The Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA)
ostensibly settled into UN-monitored cantonments but
circumvented the disarmament and combatant verification
process to a significant degree. The Maoist Young Communist
League, which included former PLA members, grew increasingly
prominent during the year, carrying on the Maoist militia's
tactics of abuse, abduction, assassination, intimidation, and
extortion in cities and villages.
Unrest in the Terai
--------------
2. Ethnic tensions in the southern Terai plains increased in
2007. From mid-January to early March, as Madhesis --
Nepalis with cultural and linguistic ties to India --
protested against the failure of the interim constitution and
the interim government to address their concerns, an
often-violent popular uprising known as the Madhesi Andolan
wracked the region, leaving at least 42 dead. Over a dozen
extremist groups in pursuit of independence or autonomy
followed the Maoist lead of negotiation via armed struggle.
Competing factions of Madhesis clashed with each other, with
the Maoists, with hill-origin Nepalis, and with police,
instigating numerous rows, strikes, demonstrations, and
Indo-Nepal border road closures. The most violent of these
groups were factions of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha
("People's Terai Liberation Front"),which had broken with
the Maoist-affiliated Madhesi Mukti Morcha ("Madhesi
Liberation Front") insurgency in 2004 in order to bring about
the secession of the Terai from the rest of Nepal. The
Maoists exacerbated bloodshed in the Terai in a scramble to
regain influence it had lost in the region. On March 21,
confrontation between Maoists and Madhesis at a rally in Gaur
resulted in the massacre of 27 people -- most of them Maoists.
Domestic Terrorism Risk Increasing
--------------
3. The Government of Nepal largely ignored the conflict in
the Terai, setting the stage for the spillover of violence
into the capital. On September 2, near-simultaneous blasts
in three locations in Kathmandu killed three people and
injured scores of commuters and bystanders. There were no
American casualties. Two little known groups, the Terai
Utthan Sangh ("Terai Upliftment Union") and the "Terai Army",
claimed responsibility. The Terai Army's claim of
responsibility, in particular, vowed additional attacks in
the future. Separately in December, a faction of the
Terai-based Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Anandi Devi (NSP-A),led
by a former Commerce Minister, founded a militant youth wing.
U.S. - Nepal Cooperation
KATHMANDU 00002079 002.2 OF 002
--------------
4. The United States did not request the cooperation of the
Government of Nepal for any investigation or prosecution of
an international terrorist act against U.S. citizens or
facilities in 2007. Anti-money laundering legislation
remained stalled in Parliament, although the government
responded favorably to U.S. requests to be prepared to freeze
the assets of individuals and entities involved in the
financing of terrorism when or if such assets were
discovered. The United States provided substantial
antiterrorism assistance and training to Nepal's security
forces, including courses on crisis management, post-blast
investigations, and terrorist crime scene investigations.
5. This report has been posted on Intellipedia-S per
Reftels. The website link is
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/
South Asia Terrorism Reports#Nepal.
POWELL