US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU1571

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001571 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, PGOV, PREL, KMDR, NP 
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: AUGUST 
12 TO 18, 2003 
 
 - STATE FOR NP, AC, PM 
 - STATE FOR IN/R/MR 
 - STATE FOR SA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 - STATE FOR SA/PPD 
 
1.  PEACE TALKS 
 
 -- Third round of peace talks: The 
government conceded (8/17) two key demands 
of the Maoists   an interim government that 
would also include them and a round table 
conference   but rejected their demand for a 
constituent assembly to draft a new 
constitution.  The Maoists said they were 
disappointed by the government's proposal. 
"You cannot resolve the problems the country 
has been facing for the last 234 years on 
the basis of the government's proposal," Dr. 
Baburam Bhattarai commented.  Dr. Bhattarai 
said the chances of the talks' success were 
getting dimmer.  The Maoists called the 
government's proposal a "hopeless offer and 
an attempt aimed at mere cosmetic changes in 
the present political system."  Dr. 
Bhattarai expressed his unhappiness over 
what he said was the government's total 
silence on the issue of restructuring the 
Royal Nepal Army (RNA) and their earlier 
demand that the king should have nothing to 
do with it. (Pro-India "Himalayan Times," 
E/D and centrist "Kathmandu Post," E/D, 
8/18) 
 
 -- Prachanda's reaction: If the government's 
concept paper is its final stance, everybody 
should know, the talks has failed, Maoist 
leader Prachanda said Sunday. (Independent 
"Nepal Samacharpatra," V/D, 8/18) 
 
 -- Parties unimpressed: The political agenda 
the government revealed Sunday has failed to 
impress the political parties, the portrayed 
third party in the peace process. ("The 
Himalayan Times," 8/18) 
 
 -- Parties' stance over talks: Nepali 
Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala urged 
the government talks team that whatever 
agreement is reached between the two sides 
must be endorsed by a reinstated parliament. 
 ("The Himalayan Times," 8/17)  Madhav Kumar 
Nepal, general secretary of the UML, 
disclosed that the agitating political 
parties were ready to cooperate with the 
government-Maoists peace negotiation if the 
dissolved House of Representatives was 
reinstated or an all-party government 
formed. (Centrist "Kantipur," V/D, 8/17) 
-- Maintain bottom line: Maoist students: 
The Maoists' student wing warned of revolt 
against the party leaders if the bottom line 
of the elections for the constituent 
assembly was not maintained. (Media reports, 
8/17) 
 
 -- Government to be flexible: The King has 
extended best wishes for the good results of 
the talks.  The government is ready to be 
flexible on all issues except on the issues 
of king and democracy. ("Nepal 
Samacharpatra," 8/16) 
 
 -- Talks team leaders appointed: The 
government has designated Finance Minister 
Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani as the convener 
of the government talks team, whereas 
Minister of Information and Communications 
Kamal Thapa has been designated as member- 
secretary of the team. ("The Himalayan 
 
SIPDIS 
Times," 8/16) 
 
 -- Maoists must lay down arms: Indian envoy: 
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shyam Saran 
Thursday asked the Maoist rebels to lay down 
their arms and come to people to pave the 
way for a lashing peace in the country. 
Ambassador Saran's assertions, which come in 
the wake of Maoist's visibly soft and 
appeasing approach towards India and 
strident hardline against the U.S., assume 
significance in the context of "global axis" 
against terrorism. ("The Kathmandu Post," 
8/15) 
 
 -- Government sincere and truthful: PM 
Thapa: Prime Minster Surya Bahadur Thapa 
said (8/12) the government was fully aware 
of the price that the country woul 
d have to 
pay if there was any deceit by any side in 
conduct of the peace process. 
 
"The government will be fully sincere in the 
upcoming peace talks, and expects the same 
from the Maoists as well as the political 
parties.  Any deceit will land the country 
in a deep crisis," Thapa told "The Kathmandu 
Post" during an informal chat reiterating 
that "there is absolutely no truth, not even 
an iota, that the security forces will try 
to kill or arrest the Maoist negotiating 
team members."  "I am fully aware of the 
implications of such foolish acts" and 
nothing could be far from the truth than 
this kind of imagination, he said. ("The 
Kathmandu Post," 8/13) 
 
 -- Peace talks: " Foreign involvement is a 
double-edged sword.  Despite post 9/11 
convergence of geopolitical interest in the 
region, India and China are still suspicious 
of increased American presence in the 
Himalaya.  Both have ruled out outside 
mediation even in the peace process, saying 
that it would give a legitimate government 
and rebel forces equal status " (Nepali 
Times, 8/15) 
 
2.  SECURITY FORCE, MAOIST CLASHES 
 
 -- Talks day action sees 17 killed: At least 
17 armed Maoist rebels and a policeman were 
killed in clashes in Ramechap and Dolakha 
districts on Sunday. ("The Himalayan Times," 
8/18) 
 
 -- Abduction: A group of armed Maoists 
abducted five policemen in Bhojpur district 
on Tuesday night. (Media reports, 8/15) 
 
 -- Maoists kill soldier, abduct another: The 
Maoists brutally killed a soldier of the 
Royal Nepal Army after abducting him from 
his home in Nuwakot district on Monday, 
security sources said. (Media reports, 8/14) 
 
 -- Five Maoists killed, 2 soldiers injured: 
Five Maoists were killed (8/11) and two 
security personnel, including a Royal Nepal 
Army major, seriously injured in an 
encounter in Kailali district. ("Kantipur," 
8/12) 
 
3.  POLITICAL AFFAIRS 
 
 -- King Gyanendra to be constructive, not 
active: In an exclusive meeting, King 
Gyanendra told the editor of "Nepal" that he 
didn't "want to be an active king but rather 
a constructive king."  When asked about the 
recent demand by political parties that his 
wealth be declared, he said he had nothing 
in private possession.  Everything he 
possesses is that of the state.  It passes 
from one king to another; it is not lost and 
is not going to be taken away by anyone.  On 
the question whether Maoist leaders could 
meet him, he said that was not impossible. 
"But as the talks are going on with a 
certain procedure, there is no need for me 
to meet."  The king said that the Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) was under the Parliament. 
"No one can mobilize the RNA until and 
unless decided by the Security Council, 
which has the Prime Minister and Defense 
Minister" in it.  (Centrist "Nepal," 
V/fortnightly, 8/18) 
 
  -- "King-Maoist alliance to erase 1990 
achievement": Nepali Congress president 
Girija Prasad Koirala expressed suspicion 
that the king and the Maoists had forged an 
unholy alliance to abolish the achievement 
of the 1990's popular movement that restored 
democracy in the country. ("Kantipur," 8/13) 
 
 -- King, Maoists forge unholy alliance: 
Pokharel: CPN-UML Standing Committee member 
Ishwor Pokharel accused (8/14) the king and 
the Maoists of attempting to denigrate the 
multiparty democracy.  Pokharel said that 
there could be an unholy alliance between 
the king and the Maoists to scrape the 1990 
Constitution through regressive means. ("The 
Kathmandu Post," 8/15) 
 
4.  NEPAL-U.S. 
 
 -- U.S. clarifies its stance on 
antiterrorism: The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu 
clarified the "misunderstanding" reflected 
in recent public statements and some media 
reports on the Antiterrorism Agreement (ATA) 
signed by Nepal and the U.S. on April 25 
this year.  The Maoists had demanded the 
scrapping of the agreement in one of its 
letters addressed to the government on the 
resumption of the peace talks.  Since 
October 2000, the Embassy said, almost 
 200 
Nepali police officers from both the Nepal 
and the Armed Police Force have been trained 
under ATA, at a cost of approximately one 
million dollars. ("The Kathmandu Post," 
8/16) 
 
 -- Senator Feinstein to reintroduce garment 
bill: Senator Dianne Feinstein recently 
wrote a letter to the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs assuring that she would reintroduce 
a bill in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee 
proposing a quota and duty free access for 
Nepali garments to the American market. 
 ("The Kathmandu Post," 8/12) 
5.  OTHERS 
 
 -- Weapons seized from Maoists: The security 
forces seized two truckloads of weapons 
hidden by the Maoists at a former army man's 
house in Khotang district. (Centrist 
"Deshantar," V/W, 8/17) 
 
 -- Landslides claim 15 soldiers, one 
civilian: Fifteen army personnel have died 
and five, including an army major, were 
killed in a landslide in Rasuwa district 
following torrential rains and thunderous 
lightening. (Media reports, 8/17) 
 
MALINOWSKI