US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU1814

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001814 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
LONDON FOR POL - GURNEY 
NSC FOR MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, NP, Political Parties, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: NEPAL:  COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER ON ALL-PARTY 
GOVERNMENT, MAOISTS 
 
Classified By: AMB. MICHAEL E. MALINOWSKI.  REASON:  1.5 (B,D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) In a September 16 meeting with the Ambassador, 
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) 
General Secretary Madhav Nepal emphasized that he hopes the 
Palace will invite the political parties to form an all-party 
government.  A strong leader is needed to deal with the 
Maoist problem, he stressed, and intimated that he could 
provide such leadership.  He criticized the Government of 
Nepal (GON) for having been too lenient toward the Maoists 
during the ceasefire and complained vocally of some donors' 
plans to direct aid programs to Maoist-affected areas.  End 
summary. 
 
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NEPAL SEEKS ALL-PARTY INVITE 
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2.  (C)  On September 16 the Ambassador met with Communist 
Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) General 
Secretary Madhav Nepal at Nepal's request.  The Ambassador 
 
SIPDIS 
thanked Nepal for modifying the all-party protest that began 
on Sept. 4.  Nepal replied that he had never intended to 
adopt a confrontational line with the GON.  The country has 
entered an abnormally complicated period that requires the 
cooperation of all constitutional forces, he declared, and a 
strong leader capable of uniting those forces.  The times 
have placed extraordinary demands on Prime Minister Surya 
Bahadur Thapa, a man of poor health and advanced age, Nepal 
suggested; the best course of action would be for the Prime 
Minister to resign.  Then an all-party government could be 
formed and "a new process," possibly including the revival of 
Parliament, could take place.  The Ambassador asked whether 
the political parties would agree to join an all-party 
government--even one of very limited duration--under Thapa. 
Nepal initially ruled out such a possibility, but then 
modified his response to note his party's "strong 
reservations" about such a proposal.  In any event, he said, 
any proposal would have to be vetted and approved 
simultaneously by the five parties.  His first preference, he 
stressed, would be for a new all-party government to be 
formed. 
 
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WHAT'S IN A NAME? 
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3.  (C)  Nepal questioned rhetorically whether indicatations 
that the King is considering forming an all-party government 
are "only another drama."  He recalled that the King's 
earlier solicitation for proposals for an all-party 
government--and his subsequent rejection of Nepal as the 
consensus candidate--had only deepened the atmosphere of 
mistrust and suspicion.  He took great pains to assure the 
Ambassador that his party's positions had been misrepresented 
in the press.  The UML has always supported multiparty 
democracy, he asserted, and has no aim to establish a 
republic.  Despite its Communist name, his party is firmly 
anti-Maoist, he averred, and has always stood for strong 
moral values and good governance.  His speeches have been 
misinterpreted by the Palace, he lamented, and have 
contributed to a "misunderstanding" with the King.  He added 
that he had never criticized the monarch in public, as many 
claim he has done. 
 
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MAOIST MISREPRESENATIONS 
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4.  (C)  Nepal complained that many liberal European 
politicians and human rights organizations, including Amnesty 
International, have been taken in by the Maoists' populist 
rhetoric.  He has no such illusions, he asserted, noting that 
he had challenged the Maoists' description of their militia 
as the "people's army" by pointing out to the Maoist 
leadership that armed insurgents have killed hundreds of 
innocent Nepalis.  The Maoists should be clear that they are 
using the so-called "people's army" to serve their own lust 
for power, he noted.  He added that he had been displeased to 
read that some European donors, including DFID (UK), DANIDA 
(Denmark) and the EU, are targeting their assistance programs 
to Maoist-affected areas.  A large percentage of such funds 
will surely be subverted by the Maoists to serve their own 
purposes, he predicted, instead of helping the needy.  He 
criticized the GON decision to release several Maoist Central 
Committee members during the ceasefire.  Instead, the GON 
should have released low-level cadres to show "flexibility" 
during the peace talks but held on to the few leaders in 
detention.  The Maoists used the ceasefire as a "golden time" 
to build up their strength, he charged.  The GON could have 
held talks without calling a ceasefire to keep the pressure 
on the Maoists, he suggested. 
 
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COMMENT 
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5.  (C) Comment:  Popular, albeit flawed, wisdom holds, 
despite our repeated reassurances to the contrary, that the 
USG would object to a government headed by a party with the 
word "communist" in its name.  Nepal seemed to take 
considerable effort to stress to us his party's democratic 
credentials, perhaps in an effort to allay putative US 
"suspicions" of a possible UML government.  We are not, 
however, the ones he has to convince.  Palace mistrust of 
Nepal and his party is more personal than political, and runs 
deeper than questions of mere nomenclature.  Nepal's more 
subdued public tone since the Sept. 4 protests is an obvious 
effort to mend fences.  Whatever his personal opinion of 
Nepal, the King needs the participation and backing of the 
UML, Nepal's largest party, if he is serious about seeking an 
all-party government. 
 
 
MALINOWSKI