US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU2040

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2013 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, UK, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOISTS ABDUCT AND RELEASE BRITISH ARMY 
OFFICERS 
 
REF: (A) KATHMANDU 2022 (B) MALINOWSKI/DAS CAMP 
 
     10/20/03 TELCON 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski for Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  On October 19, a group of armed Maoists 
seized four British Army Gurkha officers or employees, 
including one active duty British Lieutenant Colonel and two 
Nepali Gurkha retired officers, in Baglung District in 
mid-western Nepal.  The insurgents reportedly harangued the 
group for "imperialist exploitation" of Nepali youth and 
forced the group to accompany them to Maoist district 
headquarters.  The British Government decided not to inform 
or involve the Government of Nepal and launched its own 
search and rescue operation.  On October 21, one of the 
Nepali abductees reportedly called the British recruitment 
office in Pokhara, saying that all four had been released and 
would be returning to Pokhara that same evening.  The British 
Embassy is confident that the group will return safely to 
Kathmandu by October 22.  The incident follows an upsurge in 
Maoist rhetoric and activity against British and Indian Army 
recruitment programs in Nepal, but marks the first time the 
Maoists have abducted a foreign government official.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. (C) According to British Charge D'Affaires John Chick, on 
October 19 at approximately 1800 hours in Baglung District in 
mid-western Nepal, one active duty British Lieutenant 
Colonel, two retired Nepali British Gurkha officers and one 
Nepali recruitment officer were accosted by a group of armed 
Maoist insurgents.  (Note.  The highest ranking abductee, Lt 
Col Adrian Griffith, is listed on the UK Embassy's diplomatic 
roster as Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, HQ, BGN.  This is 
at least the third time Maoists have targeted British Gurkha 
officials.  The first incident occurred in September 2002 
when insurgents kidnapped a Nepali employee of the British 
Welfare Office in Taplejung District in eastern Nepal. 
Another British Gurkha employee apparently was grabbed by the 
Maoists, but quickly released unharmed, about two or three 
weeks ago.  End Note.)  According to a BBC documentary film 
crew present at the site, the insurgents began to berate them 
ideologically, calling the group "imperialist exploiters" of 
Nepali youth.  After the verbal confrontation, the Maoists 
forced the four officers to accompany them to the Maoist 
district headquarters, saying the group could expect to be 
released within seven hours.  However, the insurgents allowed 
the BBC crew to depart.  After reaching Baglung District 
headquarters by foot at approximately 1200 hours on October 
20, the BBC crew contacted the British Embassy in Kathmandu 
to report the abduction. 
 
3. (C) The British Embassy, in consultation with London, 
decided not to involve the Government of Nepal and requested 
that the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) and National Police to 
refrain from launching search and rescue operations. 
Claiming they could handle the incident themselves, the 
British Embassy sent two teams from the Gurkha pension and 
recruitment offices in Pokhara (roughly 50 km east of 
Baglung) to locate and extract the victims.  One team was 
sent to the designated rendezvous point where the British 
Army officers were to arrive on October 21, while the second 
team was sent to retrace the group's steps, ascertain their 
whereabouts and attempt to bring them out.  Neither team was 
successful in making contact with the abductees.  We expect 
that the GON and particularly the RNA will not be at all 
pleased that the British did not deem to formally inform the 
host government of this important incident. 
 
4. (C) At approximately 1300 hours on October 21, the British 
Embassy received a telephone call from the British Army's 
recruitment office in Pokhara.  The recruitment office had 
received a call just moments earlier from one of the Nepali 
victims, who said the group had been released and was on its 
way to Pokhara.  John Chick said he was "99 -percent" 
confident that the group was safe and expects they will 
arrive in Pokhara this evening and return to Kathmandu for a 
debrief on October 22.  Chick did not know where the group 
was or how the group had contacted the Pokhara recruitment 
center, although the Lieutenant Colonel did have in his 
possession a satellite telephone.  Chick said they were not 
certain whether the abduction constituted a warning to 
British Army recruitment programs in Nepal or whether it was 
perhaps a mistake by local Maoist commanders, unsanctioned by 
central leadership. 
 
5. (C) Comment.  Since early October, we have witnessed an 
upsurge in Maoist rhetoric and activity against British and 
Indian army recruitment programs.  Last week, Maoists in Ilam 
District in eastern Nepal forced the closure of one British 
recruitment center after attacking two Nepali men seeking 
recruitment into the U.K.'s Gurkha Battalion (reftel).  As 
such, it would not be surprising if the insurgents, even if 
only at a local level, had decided to interfere in the 
British recruitment effort by harassing and abducting 
recruitment officers. 
 
6. (C/NF) Comment Continued: In addition, only last week 
British courts rejected a long-standing claim that Nepalese 
citizen British Gurkhas were discriminated against in pension 
benefits.  While the British Government may have won the case 
on its merits, the decision stoked a round of complaints from 
the chatter classes, some Nepalese nationalists, and the 
predictable left.  The British position was not helped by 
some of the local British rationalization on the case.  For 
example, an argument that a retired Nepalese Gurkha captain 
receives more in pension benefits than the Nepalese Prime 
Minister does in salary. 
 
7. (C) Comment Continued: Thankfully, it appears the 
abductees were released quickly and without harm.  That said, 
the incident marks the first time the Maoists have abducted 
an foreign official.  At this stage, it is unclear whether 
the incident was merely an aberration, perhaps perpetrated by 
an overzealous local commander, or indicates a change in 
Maoist policy at the central level.  In either case, the 
incident poses a serious challenge to continued British 
recruitment efforts outside their main recruitment centers. 
End Comment. 
MALINOWSKI