NEPAL: UNMIN MONITORING OF PLA COMBATANTS IN DOUBT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000804

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: UNMIN MONITORING OF PLA COMBATANTS IN DOUBT

REF: KTM 00741

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


1. (SBU) Summary: Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA)
combatants were detained outside of their cantonment on
August 24 carrying weapons and dressed in military fatigues.
UNMIN publicly expressed "serious concern" about the
incident, which it said was a clear violation of peace
agreements. Other GON officials and international observers
say similar incidents occur regularly and that the only
difference in the August 24 case was the new Home Minister,s
decision to publicize the incident as part of his new
security crackdown. Nepal's Peace and Reconciliation
Minister, the political parties in the coalition government,
and commentators are openly questioning UNMIN,s
effectiveness in monitoring PLA combatants in cantonments.
End Summary.

ARMED PLA DETAINED
--------------

2. (U) On August 24, in Kapilvastu (just west of Chitwan, in
the Terai),the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force stopped
and detained 19 Maoist combatants, some of whom were wearing
Maoist military fatigues and carrying weapons. UNMIN
dispatched a team of Arms Monitors who determined the 19
Maoists were registered members of a nearby cantonment, Main
Cantonment Site 4. They also confirmed the weapons carried
by the Maoists had barcodes and serial numbers and were
registered by UNMIN for Maoist use to provide security for
the cantonment. UNMIN Arms Monitors and police then escorted
the combatants back to the cantonment.

UNMIN'S "SERIOUS CONCERN"
--------------

3. (SBU) In an August 25 public statement UNMIN expressed
"serious concern" over the incident (release available at
http://www.unmin.org.np),and said it violated commitments
made in the December 2006 Agreement on the Monitoring of the
Management of Arms and Armies. They specifically pointed out
violations of the following provisions.
--Provision 4.1.2: Requires all Maoist army weapons and
ammunition to be secured under UNMIN control, except as
provided for perimeter security. Each cantonment is allowed
30 weapons for clearly defined perimeter security.
--Provision 5.1.1: Prohibits the "holding and carrying of
arms."
--Provision 5.3.2: Prohibits "unauthorized troop movements."


4. (C) UNMIN Political Officer Yohn Medina told Emboff
August 28 they were taking the incident very seriously and
thought this was a good opportunity to push forward on
integration issues. He lamented the fact that for the past
two years, and through three governments, parties have
resisted any movement on military integration and
rehabilitation.

MAOIST DEFENSE
--------------

5. (U) Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal told the press
August 26 that PLA combatants had not violated any
agreements, and claimed that the detained Maoists were part
of his security detail, which he said was permissible under
the agreements. Dahal said he used vehicles and escorts from
cantonments several times in the past without UNMIN comment
and that the incident was being blown out of proportion.

UNMIN EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONED
--------------

6. (C) On August 26, Nepal's Minister for Peace and
Reconciliation Rakam Chemjong publicly said that "UNMIN's
role in monitoring and supervising Maoist arms and armies is
not very effective and this failing has resulted in frequent
outings for the Maoist fighters." Nepali Congress (NC) party
Vice President Gopal Man Shrestha also told Emboff on August
27 the incident was a serious violation of the peace

KATHMANDU 00000804 002 OF 002


agreement, and blamed UNMIN for not properly monitoring the
camps.

COMMON OCCURANCE
--------------

7. (C) In an August 27 meeting with Charge, Indian DCM Ahok
Sinha commented that this type of activity was not new. He
accused the PLA of carrying weapons and moving about outside
the cantonments regularly. He questioned why the combatants
were detained this particular time and speculated the
Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML) and NC
were using UNMIN as a "punching bag" to vent their
frustration over the popular perception that UNMIN has in the
past favored the Maoists. International Crisis Group's Nepal
Director Rhoderick Chalmers told Emboff August 27 that the
event indicated the Maoists might not have as much control
over their cadre as previously thought. He said for the
Maoists to violate the arms agreements so explicitly was
"stupid" and shows that they are unpredictable.


8. (C) As recently as May 2009, Emboffs reported seeing
armed, uniformed Maoists outside the cantonments on the major
East-West highway operating roadblocks and asking for
donations. Trusted USG contractors and GON security
officials have also confirmed increased movement of Maoist
combatants in and out of camps. Many reports indicate
combatants are
traveling for non-military and non-political reasons, such as
attending to seasonal harvesting of crops and to escape
monsoon flooding in the camps. Our contacts report that no
UNMIN presence is visible around the cantonments on a regular
basis. Emboffs also noted during a recent trip on the
East-West highway that security forces had removed all
Maoist roadblock.

NEW SHERIFF
--------------

9. (C) Defense Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire -- the second
highest-ranking official at the Ministry of Defense -- told
Charge on August 28 that police forces have confronted,
detained, and released PLA combatants on numerous occasions
outside the cantonments. The only difference with this
incident, according to Ghimire, was new Home Minister Bhim
Rawal,s (UML) decision to publicize the incident as part of
his new, tougher security strategy (reftel). Ghimire
asserted that Rawal and the UML were trying to pressure UNMIN
to take a firmer monitoring approach toward the Maoists.
Ghimire,s knowledge of the situation was based on having
served for a year in his previous position as Home Ministry
Joint Secretary, where he helped Rawal draft the new security
plan before his promotion two weeks ago to the Defense
Secretary post.

COMMENT
--------------

10. (C) This incident highlights the importance of moving
forward quickly on integration and rehabilition of Maoist
combatants. UNMIN's monitoring powers seem limited, and are
unlikely to increase with the passage of time. Lax
monitoring also increases the possibility of an intentional
or unintentional exchange of gunfire between armed Maoists
and security forces that could escalate quickly into a
broader crisis.
MOON