US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU121

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000121 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, NP, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: POLITICAL PARTY BICKERING CONTINUES DESPITE 
KING'S OVERTURE 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 55 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Nepal's political parties, like the King, 
continue to talk about how best to restore democracy in the 
kingdom, but persistently resist working together.  On 
January 14, the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist 
Leninist (CPN-UML) party published a political "roadmap" that 
calls for an all-party government, but fails to respond to 
King Gyanendra's request for a common seven-point agenda 
(reftel).  Most political parties have responded critically 
to the roadmap, although limited support has been expressed 
by the leadership of Nepali Congress (Democratic) and the 
Maoist leadership.  The Prime Minister restated his 
commitment to holding elections after a "few months" and 
urged the parties to cooperate.  It is unlikely that the 
CPN-UML roadmap will provide the common ground for the 
parties.  Instead, the only common position among all the 
parties is their insistence that an all-party government 
precede the development of a national consensus.  End Summary. 
 
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UML Proposal Calls for All-Party Government 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) On January 14, the Communist Party of Nepal - United 
Marxist Leninst (CPN-UML) released a "Proposal for the 
Resolution of the National Problem."  In the proposal, the 
communist party charges both the government and the Maoists 
with being insincere in their efforts to reach a peaceful, 
negotiated settlement to the conflict.  The paper also 
devotes a long paragraph to the costs of the insurgency in 
terms of lives lost, the numbers of people who have been 
displaced and the numerous industries that have been shut 
down.  The party outlines a nine-point "roadmap" that would 
"establish peace, restore the democratic-constitutional 
process and lead the country forward along with national 
consensus." 
 
3. (SBU) The CPN-UML proposal does not address the seven 
national issues raised by King Gyanendra in his recent 
meetings with political party leaders (Reftel).  Rather, 
CPN-UML calls first for dismissal of Prime Minister Thapa and 
formation of an all-party government with the appointment of 
a Prime Minister recommended by the political parties. 
According to the roadmap, the all-party government would 
develop a common program addressing the issues raised by the 
King and create a conducive environment for a cease-fire with 
the Maoists.  After a cease-fire is negotiated, the 
government should convene a roundtable conference, with 
Maoist participation, to review the common program and decide 
upon whether Nepal's constitution should be amended or 
re-drafted.  In addition to the roundtable conference, the 
government would organize national elections for a new 
parliament to be observed by the international community. 
The elected parliament would appoint a commission to either 
amend or re-draft the constitution, which would then be 
accepted by a two-thirds majority vote. 
 
4. (SBU) The CPN-UML roadmap does not specify whether the 
constitution's preamble with its pillars of multiparty 
democracy and constitutional monarchy would remain intact. 
To the contrary, the press on January 15 quoted CPN-UML 
leader K.P. Oli with saying that "only a new constitution can 
put an end to the prevailing crisis." (Note.  In the view of 
some observers, "national consensus and national unity" -- 
two of the seven points in the King's proposal -- are thought 
to be euphemisms for agreement to preserve the constitutional 
monarchy.  End Note.) 
 
----------------------------------- 
Other Parties Downplay UML Roadmap 
----------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) According to CPN-UML's Jhala Nath Khanal, the 
biggest challenge facing the party is in implementing the 
roadmap.  On January 15, CPN-UML Chairman, Madhav Nepal, met 
with the leaders of the other main political party leaders: 
G.P. Koirala of Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba of Nepali 
Congress (Democratic), the monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra 
Party (RPP) and smaller left-wing parties to discuss the 
roadmap.  Khanal claimed that all parties except for Nepali 
Congress were receptive initially to the CPN-UML proposal. 
However, press reports indicate that none of the political 
parties consider the roadmap a viable political framework. 
Nepali Congress contacts have indicated that their party 
would not support the CPN-UML roadmap, which they believe is 
merely a ploy by Madhav Nepal to position himself as a 
candidate for Prime Minister.  Similarly, leaders of the 
Nepal Sabhavana Party publicly criticized the roadmap for 
diverging from the spirit of the 18-point agenda accepted by 
the five-party alliance in mid-2003. 
 
6. (SBU) Ironically, cautious support has come from Nepali 
Congress (Democratic) and Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai. 
NC(D) leaders have not discarded outright the CPN-UML 
proposal, although one Central Committee member said the 
proposal was "half-baked" and lacked clarity.  He welcomed 
the King's meetings with political party leaders as a 
positive development and indicated that NC(D) would develop 
its own paper responding directly to the King's seven-point 
agenda.  Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai also reportedly 
issued a statement "cautiously welcoming" the roadmap as a 
step in the right direction. 
 
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PM Thapa Renews Commitment to Elections 
--------------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) On January 13, Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa 
issued a press statement renewing his government's commitment 
to conducting elections "within a few months."  However, to 
accomplish that task, he recognized that the cooperation and 
understanding of the political parties would be essential. 
Thapa called upon the parties to create an "environment of 
conciliation" in order to ameliorate the country's current 
political crisis. 
 
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Comment 
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8. (SBU) The political parties thus far have failed to 
respond positively to the King's request that they present 
him a common plan addressing seven key issues, such as the 
insurgency, elections and anti-corruption.  Although the 
CPN-UML roadmap encourages a spirit of collectivism, it, too, 
fails to address the King's seven points.  The political 
parties' lukewarm response to the CPN-UML plan is likely due, 
in part, to this failure, but also to avoid perceptions that 
CPN-UML is taking the lead on a forward-looking agenda.  We 
may see the other political parties advertising alternative 
visions for the future in coming days.  Whatever different 
forms these various partisan "roadmaps" take, one key element 
will likely be similar: the insistence that all-party 
government precede the national consensus.  The King's 
seven-point program raises issues of national prominence on 
which any viable all-party government would have to develop 
consensus anyway.  But the question of precedence -- whether 
all-party government first, as the parties want, or consensus 
first, as the King has stipulated -- is a major sticking 
point that will likely continue to hamper progress toward 
conciliation between the parties and the palace.  End 
Comment. 
MALINOWSKI