Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KATHMANDU741
2009-08-10 07:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

NEPAL: HOME MINISTER CONFRONTS SECURITY CHALLENGES

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC IN NP 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8585
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKT #0741/01 2220734
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 100734Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0608
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7070
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7388
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2719
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 5431
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 6557
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3167
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 4702
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3612
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000741 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/ITA, DS/IP/SCA AND SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC IN NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: HOME MINISTER CONFRONTS SECURITY CHALLENGES

REF: A. KATHMANDU 732

B. KATHMANDU 692

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Jeffrey A. Moon. Reasons 1.4 (b/
d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000741

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/ITA, DS/IP/SCA AND SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC IN NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: HOME MINISTER CONFRONTS SECURITY CHALLENGES

REF: A. KATHMANDU 732

B. KATHMANDU 692

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Jeffrey A. Moon. Reasons 1.4 (b/
d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Home Minister Bhim Rawal has unveiled a
new security plan intended to curb violence and end impunity.
Key aspects of the plan have been developed in coordination
with the U.S.-sponsored Security Sector Reform (SSR) project
and include redoubling efforts to increase security personnel
and preventing strikes that frequently paralyze the Nepali
capital. The fresh energy and determination that Rawal
brings to this effort are impressive, but challenges he faces
include Maoist opposition to the plan, an ineffective and
politicized police force, and ethnic suspicions of his
intentions. Rawal consulted widely to obtain support for his
proposed reforms, but the plan will not be fully implemented
before planned Maoist demonstrations throughout the month of
August. End Summary.

Security Plan Unveiled
--------------

2. (SBU) Home Minister Bhim Rawal, a Communist Party of
Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML) leader who oversees
Nepal's internal security portfolio, unveiled a special
security plan on July 29 to improve the law and order
situation across the country. The security plan calls for
16,000 new security officers. The proposal would augment
police patrols and effectively place the Nepal Police, Armed
Police Force, and National Investigation Department under a
unified command. Rawal expressed determination to end
"bandhs"--ad hoc, widely-enforced strikes that frequently
include road blockades to disrupt traffic and force closure
of public offices and educational institutions. The plan
also focuses on curbing organized crime and other serious
offenses as well as countering the threat of armed groups in
the Terai.


3. (SBU) Rawal previewed the plan during a July 20 briefing
for the diplomatic community, but did not offer the details
described above. In a written statement distributed at the
briefing, he reported an increase in crime of 10.77 percent
during the preceding eleven months and--580 bandhs and

strikes and 465 road obstructions--between February and April

2009. Describing the security plan at a U.S.-sponsored Nepal
Transition to Peace (NTTP) Forum on July 31, Rawal emphasized
his intention to crack down on armed groups in the Terai and
to oppose any political protection for criminals. He
described a code of conduct designed to ensure that police
comply with human rights standards.

Coalition Support
--------------

4. (C) Parties in the governing coalition have offered
strong support for the plan. Ganga Tuladhar, a UML politburo
member, told Emboff on July 31 that Rawal was sincere in his
efforts to curb crime and predicted that the plan would
improve the security environment. Tuladhar reported that the
Home Minister held several rounds of talks with the leaders
of all major political parties to obtain support for the work
of the security agencies. He conducted similar discussions
with the heads of the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force.

Practical Difficulties
--------------

5. (C) Tuladhar and other Rawal supporters concede, however,
that the plan will be difficult to implement because it
addresses long-term, systemic problems that cannot be solved
easily. Narayan Khadka, a Nepali Congress (CA) party leader,
commented to Charge on August 4 that the greatest obstacle to
implementation would be political meddling within the police
force. Retired Lt. Gen. Vivek Shah, a former royalist
believed to have Maoist ties, recalled during a July 31
conversation with Charge that various Home Ministers had
tried unsuccessfully in the past to introduce similar
reforms. Shah had no confidence that Rawal would succeed
where so many others had failed.

KATHMANDU 00000741 002 OF 003



Maoist Opposition
--------------

6. (C) At least two groups have publicly withheld support
for the Home Minister's security strategy: the Maoists and
Madhesis. On July 31, the Home Minister told NTTP forum
participants that he was still in the process of convincing
the Maoists to buy into the security strategy. That
statement undoubtedly remains accurate because the Maoists
announced on August 6 a month-long series of political
demonstrations to protest the President,s April 2009 to
reinstate the Army Chief of Staff. According to Sanat
Basnet, the Inspector General of the Armed Police, Rawal,s
new strategy will not be fully implemented prior to Maoist
demonstrations anticipated throughout the month of August, in
which case current rules of engagement would apply. The
government has yet to formally coordinate a security strategy
for responding to Maoist unrest, but Basnet told Emboff on
August 7 that police would use batons, tear gas and "other
measures" necessary to respond to Maoist protestors.

Madhesi Fears
--------------

7. (C) Madhesi leaders have voiced concerns that the plan
will be a pretext for targeting Madhesis. Upendra Yadav,
chairman of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MRPF),the
largest Madhesi party and the fourth-largest party in the
Constituent Assembly, gave a speech in the eastern district
of Udayapur during which he characterized Rawal's plan as a
deliberate attempt to suppress the voice of the Madhesi
people.


8. (C) Madhesis cite anecdotal evidence to support those
suspicions. In an August 3 conversation with Emboff,
Jitendra Prasad Sonar, a Constituent Assembly member from the
Terai Madhes Democratic Party, accused security personnel of
abusing force under the pretext of controlling criminal
activities in the Terai. Laxman Lal Karna, a Constituent
Assembly member from the Sadbhavana Party,faulted the
government for selecting the most sensitive Terai districts
for massive security operations without first differentiating
between criminal and political groups and engaging in
dialogue with those willing to negotiate a solution to their
grievances. (Note: Previous government attempts to
negotiate with armed groups in the Terai have yielded limited
results. End note.) Abhishek Shah, a young Constituent
Assembly member from the MPRF, offered support for the
security plan with the caveat that the government needed to
be open and honest in its implementation -- and work with
Indian security agencies to curb criminal activities on both
sides of the border.


9. (C) Madeshi politicians may oppose the plan, but Madeshi
businessmen in the Terai reportedly welcome increased efforts
to enhance security. Criminal gangs in the Terai frequently
target businessmen for extortion and kidnapping, so the
business community has much to gain from an enhanced security
program. USAID contractors in Terai have received anecdotal
evidence suggesting that average citizens are also pleased by
increased security in the region, but are suspicious that
authorities will use the plan to suppress Madhesis.

Pro-American Rising Star
--------------

10. (C) Comment: Plain-spoken, tough-willed, and a strong
leader, Rawal is a familiar and forthcoming embassy contact
who is competent, intelligent and sincere. He is a rising
star within the UML who displays great potential for the
future. He has a favorable attitude toward the United States
and has participated in the Department of Defense-sponsored
Security Stabilization Reform (SSR) Core Group as well as
USAID,s Nepal Transition To Peace (NTTP) project. Rawal
continues to consult with SSR colleagues on how best to
implement the reforms described above.


11. (C) Post shares the skepticism of many observers that
any Home Minister in Nepal, including Rawal, can quickly or
easily reform the security sector. Strong political forces

KATHMANDU 00000741 003 OF 003


will complicate -- and probably prevent -- significant
reforms, but Rawal has already taken small steps toward
changing the security environment. Since his appointment as
Home Minister on June 17, for example, Rawal sent an SMS to
all cell phones in the country with directions on how to
contact the police by landline, cell, and email should a
person feel threatened or witness a crime. Much remains to
be done, of course, but Rawal strikes post as one of the few
Nepali politicians most likely to achieve whatever change is
possible while serving as Home Minister.


12. (SBU) Additional biographic information about Rawal was
reported in reftel. End Comment.
MOON