US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU2309

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 002309 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, PGOV, PREL, KMDR, NP 
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT: November 18 to 24, 
2003 
 
 
-STATE FOR NP, AC, PM 
-STATE FOR IN/R/MR 
-STATE FOR SA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
-STATE FOR SA/PPD 
 
1.  U.S. 
 
-- Maoist fiat forces Peace Corps out: Thirty American 
Peace Corps volunteers have been forced to leave the 
district following an ultimatum by an armed group of 
Maoists asking them to leave within four days.  The 
volunteers were running a temporary Peace Corps office 
at the Butwal Technical Institute (BTI). It is said 
that the ultimatum was issued keeping in view 
Prachanda's hostile attitude towards the Americans. 
(Pro-India "The Himalayan Times," E/D, 11/19) 
"...It is believed that the Maoist action is reaction to 
the latest American decision to freeze the assets of 
the rebels.  The American support to the government 
specially to fight against the "people's war" and their 
expressions had irritated the Maoists.  The enmity 
between Maoists and America has grown after the second 
ceasefire broke..."  (Leftist "Jana Aastha," V/W, 11/19) 
 
Internal conflict and American interest: "...With the 
closure of Peace Corps training center in Butwal, the 
conflict between America and Maoists has heightened. 
Though the consequences cannot be predicted, it is sure 
to make the Americans furious.  American objective of 
sending the Peace Corps volunteers was not only limited 
to cut off cost but also to collect information through 
the volunteers..." Foreign forces can make Nepal a 
playground while Nepalese are busy in fighting a war 
among them.". There is skepticism over America's 
involvement in projects on whether they are benefiting 
to Nepal or if they are being used to their interest. 
America has time and again used internal conflicts for 
its benefit.  This should be realized by the political 
forces committed to democracy, human rights and rule of 
law." (Leftist "Saptahik Aawaj," V/W, 11/21) 
 
-- WMD awareness training organized: The U.S. embassy 
conducted a Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD awareness 
seminar, as a part of worldwide effort, from 17 to 21 
November. (Major dailies, 11/22) 
 
-- Washington denounces killings: The U.S. Government 
Tuesday "denounced" the killing of Brig. Gen. Sagar 
Bahadur Pandey and his wife Pushpa Pandey along with 
other security personnel, the U.S. Embassy said.  The 
U.S. government "strongly condemns" the "continuing 
attacks by the Maoists," a statement said.  The U.S. 
Embassy extended sympathies to the Pandey family and 
the families of others who died in the attack.  "There 
is overwhelming support within Nepal and the 
international community for a negotiated settlement. 
The United States continues to believe strongly that 
this conflict can be settled only through peaceful 
means. We urge the Maoists to restore the cease-fire 
and resume the negotiation process," the statement 
said. (Major media reports, 11/19) 
 
2.  POLITICAL AFFAIRS 
 
-- PM leaves for India, talks in Delhi to focus on 
terrorism: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa left for 
New Delhi as a part of his four-nation tour in 
connection with the upcoming SAARC summit.  "There will 
be discussions on terrorism.  Terrorism has not hit 
Nepal alone, India is equally affected," said Thapa 
before leaving. (Centrist "Spacetime," V/D, 11/24) 
 
-- UML leader Nepal meets Maoist leaders: A three- 
member CPN-UML team led by general secretary Madhav 
Kumar Nepal met with top Maoist leaders - Prachanda and 
Dr. Baburam Bhattarai - in Lucknow. (Major reports, 
11/20) ".. The Maoist leadership is learnt to have 
rejected the feelers of political reforms put forth by 
UML.  Upon return from his meeting, Nepal predicted a 
political upheavals in the country within a week. 
(Major reports, 11/21) "... The Maoists, however, 
expressed surprise at the remarks made by UML leader 
Nepal on the meeting. (Major reports, 11/23)"... Nepal's 
meeting with the Maoist leadership met with criticism 
from UML's political allies as well as the government. 
The Nepali Congress reacted sharply to the hush-hush 
meeting.  NC president Girija Prasad Koirala accused 
the UML leaders of meeting without informing the other 
parties involved in the agitation against regression. 
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa also said that Nepal 
should not have met people labeled as terrorists.  "As 
responsible leader, he should have given a second 
thought before taking the step.  He should have thought 
for his personal security at least." (Major reports, 
11/24) 
 
-- Crisis in RPP: Prime Minister Surya Bhadur Thapa 
defied his party's directive to him to quit.  In a 
press meet held after an audience with the King 
following an ultimatum from his party, Thapa said, "I 
am accountable to the King and the people since I was 
appointed prime minister in a special situation in 
accordance with Article 127.  As I was not appointed on 
the recommendation of the party, there's no relevance 
in it seeking my resignation."  Rastriya Prajatantra 
Party (RPP) had after three days of heated discussions, 
asked the PM to step down by 10 a.m. Friday and make 
way for the formation of an all-party government. 
(Major reports, 11/21) ". The central disciplinary 
committee later decided to seek clarifications from PM 
Thapa for his defiance of party directives.  The party 
has extended the deadline by 24 hours as PM left for 
New Delhi, India. (Major reports, 11/22-24) 
 
-- NC (D) demands Deuba government's reinstatement: The 
Nepali Congress (Democratic) has urged all democratic 
forces to join the movement against regression and 
reinstate the Deuba government.  The central working 
committee meeting of the NC (D) reviewed the situation 
after October 4, 2002 and demanded for reinstatement of 
the Deuba government stating that the move to oust him 
was unconstitutional and undemocratic. (The Himalayan 
Times, 11/21) 
 
-- Bhattarai wants Deuba restored: Senior leader of the 
Nepali Congress Krishna Prasad Bhattarai said the Deuba 
government before the royal move of October 4, 2002 
needs to be restored to bring the country back to 
constitutional track.  Upon his return from five-weeks 
journey of India, Bhattarai said, "the Deuba government 
should be restored to end the current political 
stalemate in the country."  He said that Deuba should 
snatch the chair and not look for the King's grace.  He 
also said, for the first time since the political 
crisis broke, that he backed Sher Bahadur Deuba led 
Nepali Congress (Democratic). (Major reports, 11/20) 
 
-- Cadres flay Koirala for stepping down movement: 
Nepali Congress workers expressed concerns over the 
steeping down of mass movement of 4th September on the 
pressure of the Palace and the foreign powers.  Koirala 
accepted that the "decisive" movement was stepped down 
due to the pressure of foreign envoys.  "There were 
chances of the movement going out of control as the 
Maoists had just broken the cease fire and the foreign 
envoys also gave assurance for reinstatement of the 
parliament if the movement was toned down," said 
Koirala.  He also added that the parties are ready to 
work with the Maoists.  "It is possible to ally with 
Maoists if the words of Prachanda are implemented," he 
said. (Centrist "Kantipur," V/D, 11/18) 
 
3.  MAOIST POLITICS 
 
-- Maoists have defamed communists: Leaders of the five 
agitating parties have called on the Maoists to 
immediately stop "actions that are helping regression." 
"Prachanda and Baburam have insulted Maoism and 
communists," said Amik Sherchan, president of 
Janamorcha Nepal. (Centrist "Spacetime," V/D, 11/24) 
 
-- Maoists' "people's law": Maoist workers hav 
e started 
going to villages with handwritten version of "People's 
Law," which among other things legalizes death 
sentence.  The Maoists' law talks elaborately on love, 
marriage and sex and encourages love marriage.  It also 
states that those who cannot love will be wed with the 
help of a mediator.  It prohibits child marriage and 
permits divorce.  The law allows "anti-imperialist and 
anti-feudalists" to possess pistol, air gun, gun and 
other weapons but with permission from the "regime." 
(Pro-UML "Drishti," V/W, 11/18) 
 
4.  MAOIST INSURGENCY 
 
-- Maoist section commander killed: More than a dozen 
Maoists were killed in latest clashes with security 
forces in various parts of the country.  Six Maoists, 
including a section commander, were killed Sunday 
morning when the security forces stormed their base in 
Dang district.  The forces claim to have recovered two 
SMGs, two American-made pistols and other weapons. 
(Centrist "The Kathmandu Post," E/D, 11/24) 
 
-- Education institutions closed down in Bheri-Karnali: 
The Maoists' students union has called for indefinite 
'bandh' of schools in a dozen districts of mid-western 
region, affecting 400,000 students. (Centrist 
"Rajdhani," V/D, 11/23) 
 
-- Maoists bury farmer alive: In one of the most 
gruesome acts, Maoist rebels buried alive a 27-year-old 
farmer in remote Humla.  Villagers said that the rebels 
first goaded him to dig a ditch and then forced him to 
lie in it.  "When he resisted to lie down in the ditch 
he was forced to dig, the Maoists chopped off his legs 
and buried him alive despite pleas for mercy," said the 
villagers forced to watch.  Locals said that Budha was 
killed because his elder brother had a job in police 
force. (The Kathmandu Post, 11/21) 
 
-- Maoists extort money from tourists: The Maoist 
rebels have extorted huge sum of money in Baglung from 
two groups of tourists on their way to Dolpa.  The 
Maoists had taken U.S. $ 50 each from the first group 
of 14 Danish and U.S. $ 75 each from the second group 
of 11 German tourists. (Rajdhani, 11/21) 
 
-- Spanish national hacked over donation: Suspected 
Maoists hacked a Spanish national trekking on Mt. 
Kanchanjungha base camp area after he refused to give 
the money demanded by rebels the second time.  Locals 
say Roman Garcia, had donated Rs. 10,000 at Selele 
before moving towards the base camp.  In Gufapokhari 
another armed group stopped and demanded Rs 15,000. 
But he refused to meet their demand.  "When he moved 
ahead, the rebels followed him a few yards and hacked 
him from behind," the villagers said.  He was brought 
to Dhankuta on a horse and later to Dharan in an 
ambulance.  (The Kathmandu Post, 11/20) 
 
-- Maoists' attempt of smuggling arms from Tibet 
thwarted: China has arrested four persons, including 
high-level Maoist leaders trying to smuggle a sack of 
Chinese pistols and explosives from Tibet.  The four 
have been taken to Shigatshe for questioning.  Maoists 
have been using Chinese pistols in murderous attacks, 
particularly in Kathmandu Valley.  This is the first 
evidence of Maoists bringing arms from China.  A few 
days ago the Chinese ambassador to Nepal had said that 
his government had no evidence that the Maoists brought 
arms from China. (Centrist "Nepal Samacharpatra," V/D, 
11/19) 
 
5. ECONOMY 
 
-- WB loan comes with skepticism: The board of the 
World Bank approved U.S. $ 70 million for the 
implementation of poverty reduction plans, tagged along 
with suggestions to the government to take immediate 
steps to address the present situation of uncertainty. 
". Issuing the joint a group of donors said, "The 
 current 'democratic vacuum' represents a threat to the 
 entire reform and development program."  The 
 development partners have called for an inclusive 
 negotiated peace settlement to enable the underlying 
 causes of the conflict to be addressed in a sustainable 
 manner." (Major reports, 11/20) 
 
 6.  HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
 -- NHRC wants UNHRC in: The Natio 
nal Human Rights 
 Commission (NHRC) wants the government to invite UN 
 experts working in the field of torture and 
 disappearance to address the country's burning issues. 
 (Major reports, 11/19) 
 -- Human Rights Promotion Center formed: Amid protests, 
 a National Human Rights Promotion Center has been 
 formed at the Prime Minister's Office.  Chief Secretary 
 will head a nine-member advisory committee.  A National 
 Director, a senior civil servant, will head the Center. 
 The Director has not been named. (www.neDalnews.com, 
 11/20) 
 
 -- AI urges government to invite UNHRC: Amnesty 
 International called on the Nepal government to invite 
 the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commission's 
 experts to the country as a matter of urgency in view 
 of the increase in reports of human rights violations 
 by both sides to the conflict.  "The organization is 
 gravely concerned at the sharp rise in reports of 
 arbitrary arrests and detentions and disappearances in 
Nepal since the collapse of the cease-fire in August 
and the resumption of fighting between the security 
forces and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) 
(Maoist)," said a statement issued from London.  "We 
reiterate our call for the government to invite members 
of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearances and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture 
to visit the country.  Over sixty cases of arrests and 
"disappearances" by the security forces have been 
reported since the end of August. We believe the real 
figure to be much higher."  (www.amnestv.orq) [News 
carried by major newspapers, 11/21] 
 
7.  ARMY 
 
-- 8,000 more to join army ranks: Amidst allegations of 
"militarization," the ministry of defense has proposed 
to enlist over 8,000 more recruits into the Royal Nepal 
Army.  If approved, this means additional one billion 
rupees in the current fiscal year.  Sources also 
revealed that the finance ministry is planning to 
divert Rs. 1.70 billion allocated for the election to 
meet the recruitment and training costs. (The Kathmandu 
Post, 11/22) 
 
-- SC issues notices, army refuses to accept: A couple 
of army barracks in Kathmandu have declined to accept 
Supreme Court notices related to 'illegal' detention of 
suspected Maoists, sources at the Court said.  The apex 
court issued show cause notices to four army barracks 
recently, responding to separate Habeas Corpus pleas, 
registered by family members of the detainees. 
According to sources, four army barracks - Bhairav Nath 
Gan, Chhauni Gan, Bhadrakali Gan and Jagadal Gan - 
declined to accept the notices the apex court issued a 
few days back. (The Himalayan Times, 11/21) 
 
8. NEPAL-FOREIGN 
 
-- Britain and Norway to stop aid: Donors are thinking 
of stopping aid due to the government's failure to hold 
elections even 14 months after the dissolution of House 
of Representatives.  Norway's parliament is still to 
decide on the formal request made by Prime Minister 
Surya Bahadur Thapa to continue assistance.  Britain is 
also thinking of stopping financial assistance to Nepal 
if the Maoist problem persists and elections were not 
held.  It is said that Norway and Britain are stopping 
their aid in support of agitation launched by the 
parliamentary parties. (Pro-Nepali Congress 
"Bishleshan," V/W, 11/21) 
 
-- Nepal may face aid cuts, Germany: German ambassador 
to Nepal Rudiger Lemp cautioned that foreign aid to 
Nepal would dry up gradually unless it makes a serious 
effort to resolve the current crisis in the country. 
"Questions may arise about the justification of 
spending the money if these issue remain unresolved," 
he said.  "We as a donor country strongly feel that the 
present conflict is eating up resources that the 
country badly needs." (Major reports, 11/22) 
 
-- Afghan entry into SAARC to be discussed: A formal 
proposal to include Afghanistan into SAARC body could 
be tabled into the SAARC body could be tabled at the 
Islamabad summit in January in the nation appli 
es for 
membership. (The Rising Nepal, 11/22) 
 
-- In its 11/22 editorial titled "Heinous acts," 
referring to the bombings in Istanbul, The Kathmandu 
Post writes, "... The U.S. has experienced its own form 
of religious - and ethnic - terrorism in the form of Ku 
Klux Klan.  The United States also overtly and covertly 
encouraged the Taliban - and al-Qaeda - in Afghanistan 
to fight the Soviet occupation.  In effect, the U.S. in 
Afghanistan was telling the Taliban - and al-Qaeda - to 
launch a jihad against foreign occupiers".. The Turkey 
outrage, therefore, should make all aware of the need 
to thoroughly examine whether the steps taken so far 
were adequate in addressing the concerns of those who 
indulged in political and religious terrorism." 
 
MALINOWSKI