INDIAN AMBASSADOR SUPPORTS JUNE ELECTIONS AND LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000678 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM NP SUBJECT: INDIAN AMBASSADOR SUPPORTS JUNE ELECTIONS AND LAW AND ORDER REF: A. KATHMANDU 669 ¶B. NEW DELHI 1534 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty for reasons 1.4(b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Indian Ambassador Mukherjee told the Ambassador April 2 that he supported Prime Minister Koirala's decision to hold Constituent Assembly elections by June 20. He suggested, however, that the GON might have to stagger the elections. The Ambassador replied that the U.S. would do everything possible to ensure free and fair elections, but the Maoists needed to realize that the international community would condemn seriously flawed elections. The Ambassador worried that Koirala's decision to re-appoint Krishna Prasad Sitaula as Home Minister had made the country's challenges harder, not easier. Mukherjee indicated that he had encouraged the Prime Minister to re-establish law and order in the country now that the Maoists were part of an interim government. The Indian Ambassador added that his government would urge Madhesi rights groups in the Terai to be on their best behavior. GOI Supports June Elections -------------- ¶2. (C) Indian Ambassador Shiv Mukherjee, who had recently returned from New Delhi, stressed to the Ambassador April 2 the importance of holding Constituent Assembly elections as scheduled. He said that Nepal's Election Commission (EC) needed to work back from the proposed date of June 20 and come up with realistic deadlines that would lead to technically successful elections. Mukherjee also emphasized that the EC needed broad powers to punish anyone who violated election guidelines. Mukherjee believed that insistence by the Government of Nepal (GON) that nationwide elections be held on one day could prove unfeasible; staggered elections might be required to move election security from one region to another. U.S. To Pull Out All The Stops -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador replied that the U.S. wanted to do everything possible to ensure free and fair elections. He promised personally to seek a consensus within the diplomatic community on sending a message to the Maoists that the international community would condemn seriously flawed elections. Mukherjee noted that he was trying to pass along the same message. He endorsed the Ambassador's proposal to seek additional U.S. and international support for foreign election observers and training for domestic observers. GOI Agrees On Need For Law and Order -------------- ¶4. (C) The Ambassador told Mukherjee that Prime Minister Koirala's decision to retain Krishna Prasad Sitaula as Home Minister in the interim government formed April 1 (ref A) would make it very difficult for the GON to address the key issue of enforcing law and order. Mukherjee agreed and said he had made the point to the Prime Minister that law and order had to be addressed. The Indian Ambassador suggested that police needed to be encouraged every step of the way. He said that PM Koirala needed to tell the Maoists that they had one week to fulfill their prior peace commitments, including ceasing extortion, turning in their weapons, and giving back seized land, and that after one week, the GON would arrest all those perpetrating crimes. Mukherjee noted that PM Koirala had floated this idea by him once before and that he had given the PM India's support in this regard. Madhesi Problem Not Addressed -------------- KATHMANDU 00000678 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) The Ambassador emphasized that the re-appointment of Sitaula had also made it more difficult to address the other key issue: including marginalized groups, particularly the Madhesis, in the political process. Mukherjee agreed when the Ambassador noted that one of the key demands of the Madhesi rights movement was the dismissal of Sitaula as Home Minister. Mukherjee indicated that the diplomatic community, particularly his own government, needed to lean heavily on the various Madhesi groups in the Terai to play nicely in the run-up to the election and to recognize their own interest in successful and timely elections. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Ambassador Mukherjee's readout of the current state-of-play in Nepal indicates that the Government of India is in "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" mode with respect to the elections (as suggested Ref B). That said, the GOI probably realizes the future prognosis for national security in the run-up to elections is even worse now that PM Koirala gave into what we strongly suspect was Maoist pressure to retain the totally ineffective Home Minister. With less than three months to national elections in Nepal, the need for international election observers and training for domestic observers is now urgent. MORIARTY