JOINT BRITISH-FRENCH-U.S. MEETING WITH PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000185


DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL NP
SUBJECT: JOINT BRITISH-FRENCH-U.S. MEETING WITH PRIME
MINISTER DAHAL

REF: A. KATHMANDU 178

B. KATHMANDU 174

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES RANDY W. BERRY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Summary: Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Dahal pledged
that unauthorized recruitment by the People,s Liberation
Army (PLA) would be halted immediately following a March 8
meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) in a
meeting with British and French Ambassadors, and American
Charge d,Affaires. Dahal was categorical that the AISC
would issue stop orders on his recommendation, and observed
that since PLA commanders accepted the civilian oversight of
the Special Committee, they would cease immediately.
Pressed, of continued PLA recruitment he said "it will not
happen." Ambassadors and Charge also raised the issue of
freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech for exiled
Tibetans. Dahal, while flatly promising there will be no
refoulements or excessive treatment of Tibetans, said some
"preventative measures in restricted areas" (presumably the
vicinity of the Chinese diplomatic facilities in Kathmandu)
may be taken. All three diplomats noted that mishandling
peaceful Tibetan gatherings, particularly those of a
religious nature, would have negative repercussions. End
Summary.

Meeting at Singha Durbar


2. (U) Charge d,Affaires Randy Berry, along with British
Ambassador Hall and French Ambassador Garault met with Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on March 8 at his Singha Durbar
office in Kathmandu. The Prime Minister,s Foreign Affairs
Advisor Hira Bahadur Thapa and Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra
Acharya were also in attendance.

Concerns Regarding Recruitment Passed


3. (C) Speaking on behalf of the three, British Ambassador
Hall raised the combined points of concern at the outset of
the meeting, particularly that:

--The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has been obliged to note
two serious breaches of the peace agreement, one relating to
recruitment by the Nepal Army, and now, a second recruitment
drive, this time by the PLA;

--Both recruitment actions are a clear breach of the spirit
of the peace agreement;

--UNMIN has no mandate to take responsibility for new PLA
recruits, nor will the three governments/Security Council
members be prepared to authorize it to do so;

--Formation of the Army Integration Special Committee was
welcomed, and that an immediate meeting of the Committee was
urged, as the body with legal supervisory authority over the
PLA, to issue an immediate stop order;

--The Prime Minister has previously pledged to the UN Special
Representative that discharge of disqualified non-combatants
and minors would begin by the end of February 2009, but no
action has yet been taken through early March;

--The international community stands ready to help the
Special Committee, but the Committee should engage with UN
agencies on discharge planning.

PM Dahal: PLA Will Cease Recruitment On AISC Orders


4. (C) The Prime Minister responded that he had already
summoned a meeting of the AISC, which would take place later
in the day on Sunday, March 8. The main objective of the
meeting, he indicated, would be to take up the recruitment
issue. He pledged that the AISC would reach a conclusion to
order an immediate halt to PLA recruitment, and that PLA
commanders would heed the order and stand down on Monday,
March 9. He reviewed some of the history of the Nepal
Army,s own prior recruitment moves, through its eventual
sanction - with his own support, he said. Unfortunately,
extremists within the Maoist and PLA cadres, he said,
interpreted such approval as a green light to proceed on
their own. Since he was no longer the head of the PLA, the
PM somewhat cleverly noted, he did not have the authority to
order them to stop. That was now the legal right and
responsibility of the AISC, which the Prime Minister chairs.
The PM concluded by saying that he was certain that the AISC
would act the same day, and that the stop order will be both
issued and respected. "I am sure of this," he said. Facing
some skepticism, the PM noted that the PLA must respect the
verdict of the AISC and the principle of civilian control,
just as the Nepal Army must.

Tibetans and Freedom of Assembly/Speech


5. (C) Diplomats took the opportunity to additionally raise
the issue of protection of Tibetan exiles, rights to free
peaceful assembly and freedom of speech. With the March 10
anniversary of the Dalai Lama,s flight nearing, there was
great anxiety within the Tibetan community that excessive
force and threats of deportation/refoulement awaited
peacefully protesting individuals. Carefully noting that
illegal activities and threatening protests against
diplomatic facilities must be dealt with as any unlawful
action would, diplomats also cautioned the Prime Minister
against use of force against lawful, peaceful demonstrations
and religious gatherings.


6. (C) The Prime Minister clearly pledged that, regardless
of how any protests that occurred progressed, there would be
no detentions resulting in a deportation or refoulement of
Tibetans to China. He would, as a matter of law, be forced
to act against those Tibetans protesting illegally or
violently. He stopped well short of promising that religious
gatherings and peaceful protests would not be interfered
with. He indicated that he understood the Western
perspective on the Tibetan issue, and was sensitive to it.
However, he went on to indicate that the Government of Nepal
(GON) may take some "preventative action in restricted areas"
to head off expected violent protests. Asked by the U.S.
Charge to clarify what "preventative action" would include,
the PM,s Foreign Affairs Advisor cheerfully volunteered that
it could include action against any Tibetans participating in
"anti-Chinese activities," using phrasing identical to
Chinese Embassy press releases urging the GON to take harsher
action against Tibetan exiles. All three diplomats noted
that action taken against peaceful protestors exercising
freedom of expression would lead to harsh condemnation in
their respective countries - both officially and also in the
media. The Prime Minister reiterated that he understood the
message of concern, and promised to proceed carefully.

Comment


7. (C) The Prime Minister stridently promised that the PLA
recruitment issue would be solved immediately, but needed to
be done through the proper, legal entities - meaning the
AISC. Later on March 8, the Special Committee did in fact
meet and ordered the PLA to stop recruitment. Also on March
8, a single judge of the Supreme Court issued an interim stay
order against PLA recruitment. The media quoted PLA
Commander Nanda Kishor Pun (aka Pasang) on March 9 saying
that he had not yet seen an official decision by the AISC.
The response on the Tibetan concerns was more troubling.
While the PM,s flat promise that deportation/refoulement of
Tibetans to China would not occur under any circumstance, his
vague reference to "preventive measures," particularly after
attempts by his advisors to clarify the meaning, left all
three diplomats with the feeling uneasy with the PM,s
response. What is more certain is that the PM cannot have
failed to miss USG, British, and French concerns regarding
treatment of Tibetan refugees. He repeated, several times as
the meeting concluded, that he "understood the concerns." On
both the recruitment and Tibetan issues, events are likely to
play out in the next few days. The PM,s categorical
statements on both should reassure, but nonetheless,
diplomatic observers in Kathmandu will continue to watch the
actual facts on the ground very closely.


BERRY