US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU2323

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 002323 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ 
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER 
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY 
TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE 
TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST 
FINANCING 
JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN 
NSC FOR MILLARD 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LILIENFELD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS, PTER, CASC, PGOV, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, NOVEMBER 22-28 
 
REFERENCE:  KATHMANDU 0140 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  Forty Maoists, one Royal Nepal Army soldier and twelve 
police died in clashes this week, while twelve security 
personnel were injured.  Maoists reportedly killed three 
civilians and abducted five.  Three children died after 
bombs left by the insurgents exploded.  Police seized a 
large cache of weapons from a business south of Kathmandu, 
while Nepal's donor community expressed concern over the 
security situation.  On November 24, a vernacular newspaper 
reported that senior Maoists have been invited to 
participate in an international conference of rebels to be 
held in Mumbai, India.  On November 21, the Royal Nepal Army 
(RNA) announced plans to recruit 8,000 additional soldiers, 
including 100 women.  Ninety-six percent of schools in the 
far-western district of Achham remain closed due to Maoist 
threats.  The Government of Nepal (GON) has issued warrants 
for the arrest of senior Maoist leaders, including 
Prachanda, Baburam Bhattarai, and Krishna Bahadur Mahara. 
End Summary. 
 
CASUALTIES ACROSS NEPAL 
----------------------- 
 
2.  A November 27 blast outside a Coca-Cola factory in 
Bharatpur, in the west, killed one policeman and a Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) soldier.  Three other policemen were 
injured.  On November 26, two policemen reportedly were 
ambushed and killed by Maoists while on duty in the eastern 
district of Dolakha.  According to witnesses, the rebels 
fired six rounds at the officers, and also detonated a 
socket bomb as other security personnel arrived to help. 
Five Maoists reportedly were killed that same day in the 
western districts of Dang and Dailekh.  On November 25, ten 
Maoists were killed in separate clashes.  Two rebels were 
killed in Nuwakot, north of Kathmandu, four died in the 
eastern districts of Rautahat and Jhapa, and four others 
were killed in the western Terai districts of Dang and 
Bardiya.  Five policemen died and seven others were injured 
in two separate Maoist landmines on November 24. Two of the 
officers were killed by a remote detonated landmine in the 
central district of Syangja, and three others were killed by 
a similar device in the eastern district of Jhapa.  Six 
rebels were killed that same day in clashes with security 
forces.  Four died in Rautahat and Morang Districts, in the 
east, while two more died in Nuwakot District. 
 
3.  On November 23, the press reported that fourteen 
insurgents were killed.  Seven, including a Maoist district 
commander, were killed in the southern district of Dang, and 
two others in the western district of Banke.  Five rebels 
also died in the eastern districts of Panchthar and Sunsari. 
On November 22, a policeman was killed and two Royal Nepal 
Army (RNA) soldiers were injured in a Maoist ambush in 
Nawalparsi, central Nepal.  Three Maoists were killed by 
security forces in a separate incident that same day in the 
far-western district of Bardiya.  On November 21, two police 
were killed in a Maoist planted landmine in the far-eastern 
district of Therathum, and rebels killed another officer 
standing guard at a courthouse in Rupandehi.  Also on that 
day, security forces killed two Maoists in Dhankuta 
District. 
 
POLICE SEIZE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES 
-------------------------------- 
4.  Police in Bhaktapur District, immediately south of 
Kathmandu, seized a cache of explosives from a business on 
November 24.  Among the items seized were 86 cases of 
gelatin, which is widely used in making improvised bombs. A 
portion of the cases were imported from a company based in 
India.  Police officials said there was enough material to 
blow up almost 100 vehicles, and is the same substance used 
in recent explosions by the Maoists. 
 
DONORS CONCERNED OVER SECURIY SITUATION 
--------------------------------------- 
 
5.  Several leading members of Nepal's donor community have 
expressed concern over the security situation, and the 
future of development projects.  In a meeting held on 
November 27 between the Government of Nepal (GON) and 
representatives of major donors, including the World Bank 
(WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan Bank for 
International Cooperation (JBIC), the latter said lack of 
security has delayed the implementation of crucial 
development projects, including highway construction, 
drinking water projects, and hydropower projects.  Both WB 
and JBIC asserted that the future of these projects was in 
jeopardy because of the security situation. 
 
BOMB BLASTS KILL THREE CHILDREN 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  Three children died when socket bombs left by Maoists 
exploded.  On November 27, a fourteen-year-old boy in 
Dailekh District was killed by a Maoist socket bomb he had 
been playing with.  On November 23, a Maoist-planted bomb 
killed two small boys in Nuwakot, just north of Kathmandu. 
The rebels reportedly also threatened retribution if the 
families of the victims reported these incidents to security 
officials.  Maoists reportedly set off several bombs this 
week.  On November 23, Maoists bombed the District Education 
office (DEO) of Banke, injuring one civilian.  On November 
21, rebels detonated a bomb at the Royal Nepal Airlines 
Corporation (RNAC) office in the same district.  The rebels 
asked employees to leave the building before setting off the 
explosion.  Damage estimates are over 135,000 USD.  On that 
same day, the insurgents detonated bombs at two vacant 
police posts in the southern district of Nawalparsi. 
 
7.  On November 19, Maoists reportedly shot and killed two 
Nepali Congress (NC) workers in the far-eastern district of 
Ilam.  On that same day in Jajarkot District, in the west, 
insurgents reportedly beat a civilian to death for singing. 
On November 21, the rebels abducted three civilians in the 
central district of Makwanpur, accusing them of providing 
water to security forces.  The insurgents also abducted two 
elderly women from Parbat District on November 22.  They 
were later released. 
 
MAOISTS RECEIVE INVITATION REBEL CONFERENCE 
------------------------------------------- 
 
8.  On November 24, a vernacular newspaper reported that 
senior Maoists have been invited to participate in an 
international conference of revolutionaries to be held in 
Mumbai, India.  The International League of Peoples' 
Struggle (ILPS) reportedly confirmed that one of the Maoist 
senior leaders would be present at the conference, along 
with over 100 rebel organizations, including groups from 
India, Turkey, Philippines, and Australia. 
SOLDIERS AND REBELS INCREASE RECRUITMENT 
---------------------------------------- 
9.  On November 21, the local press reported that the Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) plans to increase its strength by enlisting 
8,000 recruits.  RNA spokesman Colonel Deepak Gurung said 
the demand for additional troops is "not our wish, but the 
need of the country."  The RNA reportedly has also requested 
additional finances to enhance surveillance and intelligence 
capabilities.  An unnamed Defense Ministry official 
justified the training and increase in troops, declaring 
that the "achievements in the war against Maoists have not 
been as expected due to lack of adequate army personnel." 
 
10.  RNA officials said that almost 1500 women responded to 
an advertisement placed two weeks ago for female applicants. 
Brigadier General BA Kumar Sharma said the women will be 
placed in non-combatant positions, but will receive all of 
the necessary training to go into the battlefield in case of 
emergency. 
 
11.  Maoists reportedly are also increasing their training 
and numbers.  A vernacular newspaper reported on November 23 
that rebels from five neighboring districts in the west-- 
Rukum, Jumla, Dolpa, Kalikot and Jajarkot--received military 
training in Jajarkot.  Over 5,000 cadres reportedly 
participated in the training. 
 
INSURGENCY DESTROYING EDUCATION; 
INCREASING HARDSHIP 
------------------------------- 
 
12.  As of November 25, ninety-six percent of schools in the 
far-western district of Achham remain closed due to the 
Maoist insurgency.  The local press reports that of the 342 
schools in the district, 327 are closed, leaving over 45,000 
students without formal education.  The District Education 
Officer (DEO) said the students and teachers are afraid to 
open the schools because the Maoists forcibly recruit 
students from the classroom.  Over 500 youths from the 
southern district of Nawalparasi reportedly have fled to 
India to avoid forced recruitment by the Maoists. 
 
13.  Residents of Achham are already suffering under a 
Maoist imposed visa system, in which locals are required to 
obtain permission from the rebels to go from one village to 
another.  The rebels also have forced the closure of many 
government offices after expelling Village Development 
Committee (VDC) secretaries, and embargoing the importation 
of food and commodities from the outside.  According to the 
locals, there have been no food deliveries for over two 
months, since the rebels looted three tractor loads of food. 
Shops remain empty, electricity and drinking water are non- 
existent, and prices of goods that are available are high. 
 
WARRANTS ISSUED AGAIN FOR SENIOR MAOISTS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
14.  The Government of Nepal (GON) has issued warrants for 
the arrest of senior Maoist leaders, including Prachanda, 
Baburam Bhattarai, and Krishna Bahadur Mahara, filed under 
the Terrorist and Destructive Activities Act.  The Maoists 
are wanted in connection with the assassination of Mohan 
Krishna Shrestha, Inspector General for the Armed Police 
Force (APF), on January 26 (reftel).  The Patan Appellate 
Court has notified the Maoist leaders' respective home 
districts to serve the warrants. 
 
MALINOWSKI