AMBASSADOR URGES BRITISH TO SEND MAOISTS MESSAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000719

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EAID UK NP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR URGES BRITISH TO SEND MAOISTS MESSAGE
OF ACCOUNTABILITY

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

Summary
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1. (C) On April 5 British Ambassador Hall, briefed the
Ambassador on the April 2-5 visit to Nepal by Gareth Thomas,
UK International Development Minister, and the additional
British Pound (BP) 13 million (USD 25.6 million) in aid
Thomas had promised to the Government of Nepal's (GON) Peace
Trust Fund. According to Hall, Home Minister Sitaula told
Thomas he planned to enforce law and order and Thomas told
Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Mahara that the
Maoists would be held accountable. The Ambassador and Hall
also discussed the Maoist entry into the Interim Government
and the outlook for the proposed June 20 Constituent Assembly
election. The Ambassador stressed the urgent need for the
international community to deliver a strong and unified
message to the Maoists that the international community would
forcefully condemn human rights violations and election
misconduct. The Maoists needed to know that if the
Constituent Assembly election were not free and fair, the
international community would call the election a failed
exercise, he emphasized.

British Increase Contribution to Peace Trust Fund
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2. (U) The United Kingdom's Ambassador to Nepal, Dr. Andrew
Hall, told the Ambassador on April 5 that Gareth Thomas, UK
International Development Minister, on the eve of his
arrival, had announced support of 13 million pounds to the
GON Peace Trust Fund. The UK Department for International
Development (DFID) press release elaborated that the UK would
provide an immediate boost of BP 4.6 million (USD 9 million)
to the peace process, followed by an additional BP 8.5
million (USD 17 million) depending on Nepal's progress on
public financial management. The initial boost constitutes
BP 1.5 million (USD 3 million) from the UK's aid budget to
Nepal and BP 0.8 million (USD 1.6 million) from the UK's
Global Conflict Prevention Pool. A further BP 2.3 million
(USD 4.5 million) was to come from the UK Multilateral Debt
Relief Initiative for 2006/07, which the GON had allocated to
the Peace Trust Fund. The Ambassador congratulated HMG for
stepping up to the plate in assisting Nepal's electoral
process.

UK Minister Talks Law and Order with Home Minister and Maoists
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3. (C) Hall reported that during the delegation's meeting
with the newly re-appointed Home Minister, Krishna Sitaula,
the latter appeared confident and had assured the delegation
that he planned to enforce law and order. The Ambassador
remarked that, after Sitaula's failure to enforce law and
order over the last 11 months, it would be difficult for the
Home Minister to command police confidence. Hall stated
that, although he did not attend the meeting with the Maoist
leaders, Thomas reported that he had told Senior Maoist Dr.
Baburam Bhattarai and the newly appointed Information
Minister Krishna Mahara that the Maoists would be held
accountable. They would need to prove their credentials to
win the support of the international community. HMG would not
boost assistance to Maosit-controlled ministries until the
Maoist abandon violence.

British Support Maoist Entry into Government
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4. (C) Hall reported that, in spite of what he conceded was
the failure of the Maoists to meet any of Prime Minister
Koirala's conditions for entry into the Interim Government,
"everyone" in the diplomatic community had wanted the Maoists
to join an interim government on April 1. The British were
not alone. The Ambassador pointed out to the contrary that,
prior to the Government of India's reversal, many big foreign
players including the U.S., India, Japan, China and Germany

KATHMANDU 00000719 002 OF 002


had supported delaying Maoist entry into the Interim
Government until they complied with their peace commitments.
Hall did not respond.

British View June 20 Election as Problematic
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5. (C) Hall agreed with the Ambassador that the international
community needed to make every effort to create an atmosphere
of accountability in the run-up to the Constituent Assembly
election. He also conceded that a June 20 election would be
difficult to manage. The Ambassador emphasized the need to
pressure the Maoists to correct their behavior. Both
Ambassadors agreed that it was critical to find a solution to
the unrest in the Terai, although the Ambassador did not
agree with Hall that the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF)
was the main problem. The Ambassador told Hall that he
believed there was genuine anger among the Madhesis and other
ethnic groups in the country, and that it was imperative for
the Interim Government to find a constructive way of dealing
with minority groups. Not just the MPRF, but even moderate
mainstream Madhesis held both the Maoists and the
re-appointed Home Minister responsible for excessive use of
force in the Terai; the GON would find it difficult to bring
the Madhesis into the election process until it recognized
that fact.

Comment
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6. (C) The UK's Parliamentary Minister for International
Development will not be the last Minister to arrive in Nepal
in the coming weeks bearing additional funds to assist
Nepal's peace process and the upcoming elections. Thomas's
law and order message to the Home Minister and top Maoist
leaders is also good news. The Maoist are now in the
government. The need of the hour is a strong, unified
message from the international community that elections must
be free and fair or the international community will not
accept them. We will continue our efforts to ensure this
position becomes broadly accepted in the days ahead.
MORIARTY