NEPAL: POLICE ILL-PREPARED IN WESTERN NEPAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001178

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: POLICE ILL-PREPARED IN WESTERN NEPAL

REF: KATHMANDU 741


1. SUMMARY: (SBU) Nepali Police Officers operate with
obsolete equipment and are ill prepared to contribute during
a national disaster or other emergency, EmbOffs found during
a trip to Western Nepal. Police facilities are in a state of
disrepair and officers are forced to share cramped quarters,
often in huts, with dirt floors. Officers lack basic
investigative equipment and rely solely on confessions or
witness testimony. Officers are armed with antiquated
firearms, and the majority of vehicles are inoperable.
Detention facilities are overcrowded and unsanitary. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) EmbOffs traveled to the Kailali, Bardiya, Banke,
Dang, Kapilbasta, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Chitawan, and Kaski
districts of Western Nepal, and met with senior police
officers and community leaders. The trip included visits to
over 18 different police facilities to include district
police offices, traffic police offices, border police posts,
and community centers. The police facilities were
dilapidated, faced a shortage of equipment, and contained
rudimentary facilities. Some of the police facilities also
contained temporary detention facilities. All of the
detention facilities were overflowing, some to the extent
that detainees were forced to lay on one another.

Low Police Salaries and Poor Standard of Living
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3. (SBU) The officers reside in cramped living quarters in
crumbling buildings and in some instances huts, with thatched
roofs, and dirt floors. Beds consist of wooden cots, with no
padding. A building suitable for ten police officers would
be crammed with over 50. Washing facilities were normally
outdoor, and kitchen facilities often consisted of a wooden
shack. The police are armed primarily with obsolete .303
caliber British Enfields, and what little ammunition is
available is corroded and unreliable. The police are unable
to effectively patrol their areas of operation due to lack of
vehicles, or funds to maintain or repair the vehicles. The
Kaski District police office contains 16 vehicles and has an
annual budget of 50,000 Nepal Rupe (NPR),approximately USD
670.00, for fuel, maintenance, and repair. The average
salary for a constable is 10,000 NPR per month, approximately
USD 134.00, and fortunately some are able to receive postings
to the United Nations (UN) for comparatively-lucrative
peacekeeping missions. Two police inspectors remarked that
many who enlist in the traffic police force do so because of
the constant exposure to the public, which equals more
opportunities to receive bribes.

Crime Rate
--------------

4. (SBU) None of the sites visited reported high crime
rates. Officers explained the border along Western Nepal was
less used than in the East and, consequently, there were
fewer cases of drug smuggling, human trafficking, or armed
group activity. Drug abuse was on the rise and the most
common drug involved consisted of Indian Heroine, more
commonly known as "brown sugar." Due to the open border with
India, small amounts of heroine are easily bought into Nepal.
The amounts carried are usually less than 100 grams, which
avoids the stiff penalties of possession over 100 grams. Of
those arrested for drug use in the city of Pokhara, a primary
tourist destination in Nepal, all were locals.

Appalling Detention Facilities
--------------

5. (SBU) In most cases, detention facilities were converted
from office spaces by installing an iron door and placing a
hole in the corner of the room for a toilet. The stench from
the facilities could be smelled from several meters away.
One such facility was designed to hold 60 inmates and was
packed with over 200. The women were kept separated from the
men and were normally detained for drugs and prostitution.
The police reported few instances of human trafficking and
explained that trafficking is normally a difficult crime to
prosecute because of the manner in which the girls travel.

KATHMANDU 00001178 002 OF 002


Many are promised employment as household servants in foreign
countries and sign a release waiver as a term of employment.
If pressed into the sex trade, many of the victims believe
the release waiver prevents them from pressing charges.

Special Security Plan/Local Peace Committees Absent
-------------- --------------

6. (SBU) None of the sites visited have received financial
assistance from the Government of Nepal's Special Security
Plan (SSP) (reftel). Police buildings damaged during the
insurgency remained untouched. One senior officer described
the SSP as nothing more than a motivational speech because it
lacks both strategy or financial support. Police officers
were unaware of any active Local Peace Committees and opined
that money allocated for specific projects is diverted before
reaching its intended destination. Police Superintendent
Ramesh Khalel stated that funds never reach their proper
destination due to government corruption.

Maoist Support and Young Communist League Activity
-------------- --------------

7. (SBU) Officers have not witnessed any recent increase or
decrease in Maoist support. Most noted that the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) cantonment camps remained quiet and
aside from the occasional scuffle between the Maoist
affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) and the United
Marxist Leninist (UML) Youth Force, the YCL did not cause
problems. YCL members do not advertise themselves as Maoist
affiliates and the only way to differentiate them from other
Maoist affiliates would be their level of fanaticism towards
the Maoist Party. Only in the Chitawan District did officers
mention YCL corruption of local businesses, and remarked that
the YCL routinely involve themselves in official matters.
Despite attempts to repeat of rephrase the question, the
officers would not elaborate.

Comment
--------------

8. (SBU) The biggest issue facing the Nepal Police community
in Western Nepal is not crime of armed groups, but
substandard living, lack of equipment, and consequently low
morale. The instability of the Nepal Government has left
Senior Police Officers fearing for their careers, and the
uncertainty over their future government leadership prevents
them from making key decisions. The issue of the condition
of the Nepal Police Force will likely continue to be brushed
aside until the government reaches some semblance of
stability. In the meantime officers will remain ill prepared
to face any threat, whether criminal elements or a natural
disaster.
BERRY