NEPAL: TERRORIST THREATENING CHRISTIANS ARRESTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000881

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER KIRF ASEC CASC IN NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: TERRORIST THREATENING CHRISTIANS ARRESTED

REF: A. KATHMANDU 871

B. KATHMANDU 741

C. KATHMANDU 440

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


1. (C) Summary: The leader of the Nepal Defense Army (NDA),
Ram Prasad Mainali, was arrested on September 5 in the
eastern Terai district of Morang. The NDA is a Hindu
extremist organization that gained prominence over the past
couple of years for attacks against Christians as well as
Muslims and political targets. Following the bombing of a
Catholic church near Kathmandu on May 23, which killed three
people, several Christian churches began paying "protection"
money to the NDA. The NDA has not staged any attacks since
Mainali's arrest. Previous attacks did not specifically
target U.S. or other Western residents in Nepal. End summary.

Police Arrest Extremist Leader
--------------

2. (C) Police in the eastern Terai district of Morang
arrested Ram Prasad Mainali, the leader of the Nepal Defense
Army, on September 5. A number of police contacts noted the
arrest of Mainali, who headed the Hindu extremist
organization responsible for a series of attacks against
Christian, Muslim, and political party targets, was an
example of the crackdown on crime Home Minister Bhim Rawal
spurred with the special security plan he introduced in late
July (Refs A and B). SP Dependra Subedi, District Police
Chief of Morang, told post's Senior Law Enforcement Advisor
on September 18 that the NDA leader's arrest was a
well-planned operation. Subedi had led the surveillance and
use of confidential informants to pinpoint Mainali's location
and timing for the raid. The police chief was proud his team
was able to capture Mainali and several accomplices without
the use of deadly force.


3. (C) Police contacts, including Kuber Singh Rana, DIG in
Major Crimes Unit, and SSP Surendra Shah, had initially
declined to comment on the arrest beyond confirming media
reports because they did not want to draw attention to a
previously bungled attempt to detain Mainali. The police
privately admitted that Mainali, who was arrested in
Kathmandu in August 2007 on charges of carrying guns and
explosives and released on bail in December 2007, should have
remained in custody. Former Home Minister Krishna Sitaula
had used his influence to get Mainali bonded, and the
Attorney General did not follow up on the case during
Maoist-led government. Police contacts did not want the fact
that Mainali should have been on trial or in jail during the
recent string of attacks brought into public discussion.
Nevertheless, they were happy to consider the arrest of
Mainali and other criminal and extremist leaders a direct
success of the special security plan.

Background of the Nepal Defense Army
--------------

4. (SBU) According to police contacts, the NDA (previously
the Hindu Defense Army) began as an underground wing of the
Rastriya Prajatantra Party, a republican party with royalist
leanings. Ram Prasad Mainali (aka Paribartan Giri aka
Phanindra),age 46, took over the NDA and gave it its current
direction in 2007. An active Maoist cadre from 1996 - 2001,
Mainali temporarily relocated to India in 2001 and was a
member of the Hindu chauvinist party Shiv Sena. Mainali
claimed in a Nepali media interview to be an ex-policeman
with a following of 1,200 former cops, soldiers, and people
victimized by the Maoists. Most of the NDA influence is in
the eastern Terai with alleged support from "Indian
elements," according to an Embassy contact affiliated with a
church in Kathmandu.


5. (SBU) A leaflet allegedly circulated by the NDA Central
Command asserts the group strives to discard the secular
state in favor of a Hindu nation with a constitution that
reflects Hindu beliefs. Residents of Nepal would abide by
"Hindu law". Non-Hindus would have limited religious

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freedom. Anti-nationalist or anti-India activities would not
be tolerated -- the manifesto rants against "brokers of
terrorist organizations" such as the United States and
Pakistan. The group claims to have a "suicide squad" to help
Hindus who face problems "in any part of the world." The NDA
also professes to promote Dalit ("Untouchable") education,
rights, and integration into society.

Threats and Extortion
--------------

6. (C) Following its attack against a Catholic church in the
Kathmandu Valley on May 23 (Ref C),which killed three and
injured more than a dozen, the NDA made a series of public
threats against Nepalese Christians. Shortly after the
bombing, Mainali gave an interview to local newspapers in the
eastern Terai in which he issued an ultimatum for "all"
Christians to leave Nepal within 30 days, or the NDA would
carry out more attacks. (Note: Church leaders believe the
threat pertained only to Nepalese Christians; there was no
mention of any threats to foreigners. There are
approximately 400,000 Christians in Nepal. End note.) The
NDA did not conduct additional attacks against religious
targets, but they coerced Christian groups to pay money to
remain safe. Father Lawrence Maniyar, a Jesuit priest,
announced to the press in mid-June, "Church officials have
been receiving extortion calls from the NDA. While the
Catholic churches have refused to pay, there are reports of
smaller Protestant churches outside of Kathmandu, where
security is far less, raising money to appease them." Mukti
Suvedi of Caritas Nepal told Emboff on August 28 that the NDA
had actually begun targeting Catholic churches for money
after the NDA claimed responsibility for the murder of a
Jesuit priest in July 2008. Suvedi said Catholic leaders
maintained their refusal to pay and had pushed the Prime
Minister and Home Minister to prevent NDA extortion threats.
Other Embassy contacts, including Amcits, affiliated with
Christian groups in Kathmandu confirmed several Protestant
churches paid "protection" money to the NDA after the
Catholic church bombing.


7. (C) On September 23, Suvedi told Emboff that to his
knowledge, the NDA has not approached churches for money
since the arrest of Mainali.

Attacks
--------------

8. (SBU) The NDA threats were increasingly focused against
Christians, but Nepal's Muslim community -- four percent of
the total population -- were also victims. The NDA has
claimed responsibility for several attacks over the past two
years, including bombings of two mosques in Morang district
in the eastern Terai that killed two people in 2008. The
group took credit for:

- August 11: small bomb at the Nepali Congress party office
in Kathmandu; no casualties; on the same evening, police
diffused another bomb at the Transportation Management
Department in Lalitpur, just south of Kathmandu;
- May 23: three killed and more than a dozen injured when a
woman planted a bomb at a Catholic church in Lalitpur; NDA
leaflets found at site;
- July 2008: shooting death of a Catholic priest in Dharan,
eastern Nepal;
- January 2008: eight injured in Kathmandu when a bomb was
thrown into the road following a multi-party rally to launch
campaigning for the Constituent Assembly election;
- May 2007 - small bomb at Maoist party office; no casualties;
- March 2007 - small bomb at Communist Party of Nepal -
United Marxist-Leninist party office; no casualties.

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

9. (C) The NDA never specifically targeted U.S. or other
Western residents in Nepal, but the bombing of the Catholic
church attracted widespread media attention that led to fears
that the NDA or another group would focus future attacks on
Kathmandu for maximum political impact, increasing the risk
to foreign travelers and residents. On July 27, post issued

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a warden message about the NDA's threats toward those
perceived to be conducting religious outreach, reminding
Americans in Nepal to be vigilant about security and to avoid
large gatherings. The arrest of Mainali -- another event
that garnered widespread media attention -- indicates the
Home Minister's special plan has had a positive impact on
security. The NDA has a strongly-worded manifesto but, like
most of the 100 or so armed groups operating in Nepal,
appears more interested in extorting money than promoting its
ideology -- a practice that reportedly has stopped following
the arrest of its leader. Whether the organization is
willing or able to regroup remains to be seen.
MOON