US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU229

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000229 
 
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, PHUM, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JANUARY 31- 
FEBRUARY 6, 2004 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.   Twenty-four insurgents and two policemen reportedly 
were killed and thirty security personnel injured in clashes 
this week.  The Chief of the Army Staff visited troops in 
the "Maoist Heartland."  RNA officials said the rebels have 
suffered a "heavy setback." More than 200 Maoists have 
surrendered since the announcement of the Government of 
Nepal's (GON) amnesty program.  The governments of Nepal and 
India emerged from a two-day meeting publicly proclaiming 
their commitment to fight terrorism and cross-border crime, 
but failed to cement an agreement on an extradition treaty. 
On February 2, the Maoist website announced plans to hold a 
mass meeting in New Delhi on February 15.  Representatives 
from Amnesty International (AI) told reporters that the 
Government of Nepal should "take immediate steps to invite 
the UN" to visit as soon as possible to prevent a human 
rights catastrophe.  Maoists reportedly have plans to 
declare a "Maoist Central Government" under the leadership 
of Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai.  Maoists reportedly 
murdered four civilians.  The Nepal Tourism Board said 
tourist arrivals increased.  End Summary. 
 
SENIOR MAOIST INJURED IN CLASH? 
------------------------------- 
 
2.  On February 1, a vernacular newspaper reported that 
Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara was possibly injured 
in air raids carried out by security forces on January 19. 
Mahara reportedly received bullet wounds to his knee. 
Twenty-four insurgents reportedly were killed in separate 
clashes: on February 5, two in Dhading District and one in 
Kaski; on February 4, eight insurgents were killed, three in 
the eastern districts of Dolakha and Rautahat, two in the 
central district of Kaski, and three in the western district 
of Kailali; on February 3 three insurgents were killed in 
the central districts of Gorkha and Dhanusha and another in 
Nawalparasi; on February 2 three rebels were killed in the 
western districts of Bajura and Bardia, and another in the 
eastern district of Sindhuli; and four others died in the 
western district of Rukum on February 1. 
 
3.  On February 3, Maoists gunned down two officers in the 
far-western district of Banke.  Thirty Armed Police Force 
(APF) personnel and two civilians, including an eight-year- 
old child, were injured after Maoists ambushed their convoy 
traveling in the western district of Kailali. 
 
RNA CHIEF VISITS MAOIST HOT SPOTS 
--------------------------------- 
 
4.  On February 2, Chief of the Army Staff General Pyar Jung 
Thapa visited troops in the "Maoist Heartland" in the mid- 
western districts of Nepal.  Thapa traveled to the districts 
of Salyan, Jajarkot, Rukum, Surkhet, and Rolpa, once 
considered the headquarters of the Maoists.  Security 
personnel have been conducting search operations in the 
heartland for several weeks.  On February 5, RNA officials 
showed a videotape of soldiers entering the Maoist 
strongholds as part of an offensive in the western 
highlands.  RNA spokesman Colonel Deepak Gurung said the 
rebels have suffered a "heavy setback." 
 
MAOIST SURRENDERS TOP TWO HUNDRED 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.  On February 4, Home Ministry Spokesman Gopendra Bahadur 
Pandey said that 212 Maoists had surrendered since the 
announcement of the Government of Nepal's (GON) amnesty 
program.  Pandey also told reporters that forty-six of the 
surrendered Maoists had begun training at a rehabilitation 
center in the central district of Tanahun.  Minister for 
Information and Communication Kamal Thapa praised the 
rehabilitation efforts and said the Government of Nepal 
(GON) wants to resolve the Maoist problem by changing their 
way of thinking, not through killing. 
 
INDIA-NEPAL TERRORISM PLEDGE 
---------------------------- 
 
6.  On February 3, Home Ministry Spokesman Gopendra Bahadur 
Pandey said the governments of Nepal and India were 
committed to fighting terrorism, but had failed to cement an 
agreement on extraditing Maoists listed on Interpol notices, 
or on India's request that Nepal agree to extradite third 
country nationals to India.  The two-day talks between the 
Home Secretaries of India and Nepal yielded public 
agreements to curb and control cross border terrorism, 
illegal trade and criminal activities.  In addition, the two 
sides agreed to set up integrated check posts along the 
border, form a border district committee, and for Indian 
intelligence personnel to provide training to Nepalese 
police personnel. 
 
7.  Home Ministry Joint Secretary Umesh Mainali said that 
persistent differences regarding an extradition treaty had 
stalled its signature, while Indian Home Secretary K. 
Gopalaswamy said the treaty "could be a reality" depending 
on the pace of future proceedings.  Despite a general 
consensus to cooperate, Indian officials remained vague in 
their response to extraditing senior Maoists.  Indian Home 
Secretary K. Gopalaswamy said "we must have timely and 
 
SIPDIS 
specific information on their whereabouts," but later 
explained that some might not have been extradited because 
they were not found to have been "involved in objectionable 
activities in India."  Officials with India's Special 
Services Bureau refuted allegations that India has not been 
cooperative, pointing out that 57 out of 97 Maoists detained 
in India had been extradited. 
 
8.  On February 5, Indian Ambassador Shyam Saran weighed in 
on the issue too, opining that there were 
"misunderstandings" regarding Maoist issues.  Saran again 
denied allegations that India was not cooperative, declaring 
that "when we arrest Maoist leaders in India, there is 
outcry in Nepal" for apprehending them during a period of 
peace negotiations.  (Note:  Saran was referring to the 
arrest of Maoist leader C.P. Gajurel, who was arrested in 
Chennai while trying to board a plane to London using a fake 
British passport. He remains in custody in India.  End 
note). 
 
9.  On February 2, the Maoist website announced plans to 
hold a mass meeting in New Delhi on February 15.  The 
meeting is one of many activities planned to commemorate the 
start of the so-called "Peoples' War" eight years ago.  The 
Nepali press has not reported an official response by the 
Government of India. 
 
AI: NEPAL NEEDS UN INTERVENTION 
------------------------------- 
 
10.  On February 4, representatives from Amnesty 
International (AI) told reporters that the Government of 
Nepal should  "take immediate steps to invite the UN" to 
visit as soon as possible for guidance on human rights 
issues.  The two-member team said urgent action was 
necessary to prevent a human rights catastrophe.  AI 
condemned both the GON and the Maoists for a multitude of 
human rights abuses, and urged both sides to sign the human 
rights accord drafted by the National Human Rights 
Commission (NHRC).  Following investigative trips to several 
districts throughout Nepal (during which the two visitors 
received the full cooperation of the RNA), AI issued 
findings alleging "extra-judicial executions" by security 
forces, and said the security forces follow a "strategy of 
disappearances" as part of their counter-insurgency 
offensive.  AI has demanded an independent and impartial 
investigation into the disappearances and killings.  On 
February 5 at a press briefing, Chief of the Royal Nepal 
Army's Human Rights Cell, Brigadier General B.A. Kumar 
Sharma, said security forces had not "troubled anyone 
unnecessarily," and that those mistakenly arrested "are 
usually released after a simple and short interrogation." 
 
11.  AI's report also condemned the Maoists for the 
abduction and killing of civilians, and the coerced 
recruitment and indoctrination of students, adding that a 
separate investigation will be conducted into recent reports 
of mass abductions from schools.  Sixty-two schools in the 
far western district of Achham have closed indefinitely 
since Maoists started abducting schoolchildren.  Eighteen 
students were abducted on January 31.  The AI report called 
on the Maoists to stop any use of children in activities 
associated with the insurgency. 
 
12.  On February 2, the Heads of Mission of the European 
Union (EU) issued a statement calling on the GON to take 
"urgent steps" to improve the "seriously deteriorating human 
rights situation."  The EU urged the GON and the Maoists to 
declare a ceasefire and resume peace negotiations.  In a 
statement issued on February 4, Maoist leader Prachanda said 
his "party welcomes concerns shown by the United Nations, 
the European Union, and international human right 
organizations on Nepal's current situation."  The Maoist 
leader reportedly also said his party might be willing to 
resume talks under UN mediation.  Royal Nepal Army (RNA) 
spokesman Colonel Deepak Gurung dismissed Prachanda's 
statements as propaganda, and said the Maoists were trying 
to buy time to regroup due to heavy losses. 
 
MAOISTS WANT CENTRAL POWER 
-------------------------- 
 
13.  On February 3, it was reported that the Maoists would 
declare a "Maoist Central Government" under the leadership 
of Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai on February 8. 
Maoists already have declared nine "Autonomous Regional 
Maoist Governments" throughout Nepal.  Rebels reportedly 
initiated extortion campaigns soon after the declarations, 
threatening villagers who refuse to comply. 
 
MAOIST VIOLENCE 
--------------- 
 
14.  On January 28, Maoists in the western district of Rolpa 
reportedly ordered two hundred families to leave their 
homes, claiming the area as their territory.  The rebels 
subsequently set fire to the health post.  On February 2, 
Maoists detonated two bombs on that same day at the house of 
the mayor in Saptari District. 
 
15.  On February 2, Maoists reportedly murdered three 
civilians in the eastern district of Dhanusha, and gunned 
down another civilian on January 31 in the Maoist stronghold 
of Dang District. 
 
TOURIST ARRIVALS UP 
------------------- 
 
16.  According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), tourist 
arrivals by air increased by forty percent in January 
compared to totals in January 2003.  Chinese tourists 
accounted for the majority of arrivals.  However, the 
Immigration Office also noted that visitors from the United 
States and United Kingdom also showed increases.  NTB 
officials expect the numbers to continue on the upswing, 
particularly from India due to the upcoming religious 
holidays in February. 
 
MALINOWSKI