US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU476

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000476 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY 
NSC FOR MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PREF, PTER, ECON, NP, WTO, U.S-Nepali Relations 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: DAS TORKEL PATTERSON'S MARCH 16 MEETING 
WITH FOREIGN SECRETARY 
 
REF: A. A. 03 SECSTATE 305118 
     B. B. KATHMANDU 74 (NOTAL) 
     C. C. KATHMANDU 417 (NOTAL) 
     D. D. 03 KATHMANDU 2501 (NOTAL) 
     E. E. KATHMANDU 466 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert K. Boggs for reasons 1.5 
(B, D) 
 
====== 
SUMMARY 
======= 
 
1. (C) On March 16, Torkel Patterson, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and Ambassador Malinowski 
 
SIPDIS 
met with Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya.  Ambassador 
Malinowski congratulated Nepal on its official ratification 
of its membership to the World Trade Organization. Acharya 
said that the Government of Nepal (GON) appreciates continued 
USG support on issues like the Maoist insurgency and training 
programs for Royal Nepal Army troops.  Reconfirming GON's 
commitments to human rights, Acharya said that the Nepalese 
Foreign Minister would present a unilateral declaration at 
the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.  In addition, 
there are plans to establish a new "high-powered" committee 
to investigate detention and allegations on human rights 
abuses.  Mentioning that his Indian counterpart planned to 
press the Government of Bhutan "behind the scenes" on the 
Bhutanese refugee problem, Acharya said that the GON was 
committed to repatriation and to ensuring security at the 
refugee camps.  Despite recent pressure from the Chinese 
Government, the GON has no plans to change its policy of 
permitting Tibetan refugees to transit Nepal.  On the subject 
of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), 
Acharya said that the recent summit was viewed as a success 
and "if Afghanistan wanted to join it could probably happen." 
 On the subject of Nepal's vast hydropower potential, Acharya 
cited an opportunity for U.S. investment, but, DAS Patterson 
cautioned that many investors see the current security 
situation as an obstacle.  Acharya indicated that there has 
been no official decision to send Nepalese troops to Iraq and 
referenced recent domestic debate on the issue.  END SUMMARY. 
 
=================== 
U.S.-Nepal 
Bilateral Relations 
=================== 
 
2.  (SBU) On March 16, Torkel Patterson, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and Ambassador Malinowski 
 
SIPDIS 
met with Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya. Both 
expressed concern about the health of Nepal's Ambassador to 
the U.S. (Note: Ambassador Rana died on the afternoon of 
March 16 in Washington, DC.  End Note.)  Ambassador 
Malinowski congratulated Nepal on its official ratification 
of its membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
Acharya indicated that the Government of Nepal appreciated US 
support and mentioned that the King signed the cabinet-level 
ordinance on March 15. 
 
3.  (SBU) Acharya said that the GON supports the U.S. in the 
fight against global terrorism and appreciates the USG 
listing the Maoists under its E.O. 13224 Terrorist Finance 
Assets Freeze List (REF A).  Acharya indicated that the GON 
welcomes continued USG support on training programs targeted 
for the Royal Nepal Army (RNA).  Despite much debate about 
the Terrorist and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), both 
domestically and within European circles, Acharya said the 
GON plans to renew the Act by cabinet-level ordinance within 
the next month. Since TADA was originally passed by 
Parliament, Acharya indicated that he did not understand why 
there was opposition against the GON plan to renew the Act 
prior to its expiration. 
 
============= 
Human Rights 
============= 
 
4.  (C) After the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) 
meeting in Geneva, Acharya mentioned that Foreign Minister 
Bekh Bahadur Thapa will travel to Washington, DC.  Acharya 
stated that the GON would not agree to the Swiss-sponsored 
consensus resolution tabled at the UNCHR meeting, because it 
puts Maoist "extremists" on the same level as the GON (REF 
B).  Acharya opined that the Europeans, instead of pushing "a 
document," should work with the GON to develop capacity and 
other accountability mechanisms to enhance its approach to 
human rights. DAS Patterson said that the USG did not want to 
isolate Nepal and is interested in helping Nepal meet its 
commitments. 
 
5.  (C) According to Acharya, Foreign Minister Thapa is 
prepared to present a unilateral declaration at the UNCHR 
meeting to "reaffirm" Nepal's commitment to human rights. 
Nepal's declaration focuses on three main issues: 
disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture, he said. 
 Acharya mentioned that most of the disappearances are 
actually legal detentions under the TADA Act.  He added that 
there have been "no allegations of torture from former 
detainees."  Acharya suggested that reports of RNA torture 
"are not real," and he did not view allegations "seriously." 
In addition, he said that there "have been only one or two 
real cases of rape."  The GON, according to Acharya, plans to 
establish a "high-powered committee" to look into detention 
cases and other allegations.  This committee would be chaired 
by security personnel, but would include members of the 
National Human Rights Commission and the International 
Committee of the Red Cross. 
 
6.  (C) DAS Patterson said he was disturbed by a map 
depicting the number of killings by GON security forces 
versus the number of Maoists killings.  "It might take time," 
Acharya responded, to fully train and inform RNA troops about 
their obligations to protect human rights, but all levels of 
the GON are committed to this matter. Admitting that there 
have been mistakes, Acharya firmly denounced atrocities and 
asserted that human rights abuses would be "investigated and 
punished."  As a case in point, he cited a recent RNA 
decision to court martial a Major for the extrajudicial 
killings which occurred at Ramechhapp in August 2003 (REF C). 
 
 
====================== 
Refugees Issues: 
Bhutanese and Tibetan 
====================== 
 
7. (C) Acharya indicated that the GON will fulfill the 
Government of Bhutan's request for an investigation into the 
December 2003 incident at Khundunabari Camp (REF D) if the 
Bhutanese are actually committed to the process.  Acharya 
mentioned that the GON is committed to ensuring security for 
the camp and has decided to establish a Unified Command post 
close to the camp.  He expressed concern over recent reports 
indicating that the Maoist student wing is active within the 
camps.  In response to the Ambassador's question on Indian 
support of the repatriation process, Acharya stated that the 
Government of India indicated it has plans to influence 
Bhutan "behind the scenes" during the Indian Foreign 
Secretary's visit to Bhutan later this month.  He added that 
 
SIPDIS 
recent high-level USG visits highlighting the Bhutanese 
refugee issue have been extremely helpful. 
 
8.  (C) With regard to Tibetan refugees, Acharya recounted 
that during his October 2003 visit the Chinese Vice Minister 
for Foreign Affairs had pressured the GON to treat Tibetans 
as illegal aliens and not as political refugees.  Acharya 
acknowledged that mistakes do happen, but the GON has no 
plans to change its policy of allowing Tibetans to transit 
Nepal (REF E). 
 
=============== 
Economic Issues 
=============== 
 
9.  (SBU) Acharya opined that the announcement of the South 
Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) made the South Asian 
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)  a success.  He 
indicated that SAARC still requires stakeholder "buy in" and 
that things might move slowly with regard to modalities. 
Acharya indicated that there is no mechanism nor has there 
been any discussion on adding new members, like Afghanistan, 
to SAARC.  That said, "if Afghanistan wanted to join SAARC, 
it could probably happen," Acharya replied. 
 
10.  (SBU) DAS Patterson stated he saw growth potential in 
Nepal's hydropower sector.  Acharya agreed, adding that Nepal 
needs a "big private sector project" and despite feasibility 
studies, nothing really has happened in the hydropower 
sector.  Acharya commented that the Pakistani proposal for a 
South Asian energy grid, linking gas and electricity 
throughout South Asia, appears to have broad-based support. 
The Ambassador encouraged the GON to "think big" and look 
beyond South Asia towards the possibility of developing an 
energy grid linking Central Asia to Singapore.  Acharya hoped 
for increased U.S. investment.  DAS Patterson, however, 
replied that the poor security situation presents a major 
obstacle for U.S. investment. 
 
============== 
Troops to Iraq 
============== 
 
11.  (C) There has been no formal GON decision to send RNA 
troops to Iraq, Acharya said.  He added that there has been 
domestic debate on this issue focusing on Nepal's domestic 
security needs with the Maoist insurgency and also on placing 
RNA troops in Iraq under U.S. command.  DAS Patterson 
mentioned that the Government of Japan had similar concerns, 
and Japan placed its troops in a location in the southern 
sector of Iraq which is under Dutch and British command.  The 
Ambassador mentioned that there is a large contingent of 
Nepalese ex-Gurkha officers serving as security guards in 
Iraq.  Acharya indicated that the GON plans to officially 
announce next week a GON sponsored program to allow 
ex-British Gurkhas to work in Iraq (which to date have been 
forced to work through third-country contracts). 
 
12.  This cable has been cleared Deputy Assistant Secretary 
Torkel Patterson. 
MALINOWSKI