US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU588

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000588 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2014 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, IN, NP, Maoist Insurgency, India Relations 
SUBJECT: NEPAL:  INDIAN AMBASSADOR PROVIDES INFORMATION ON 
ARREST OF HIGH-LEVEL MAOIST 
 
REF: A. KATHMANDU 280 
 
     B. 03 KATHMANDU 1649 
 
Classified By: AMB. MICHAEL E. MALINOWSKI.  REASON:  1.5 (B,D). 
 
1.  (C)  In a March 31 call on the Ambassador, Indian 
Ambassador Shyam Saran provided additional information on the 
March 29 arrest in Siliguri, West Bengal, of Nepali Maoist 
leader Mohan Vaidya.  According to Saran, the Indian 
Intelligence Bureau (IB) had been watching Siliguri for some 
time since it is believed to be a major financial center for 
Nepali Maoists.  IB agents were tipped off to some telephone 
numbers used by expatriate Nepali Maoist sympathizers in 
Siliguri, which led to Vaidya's apprehension.  (According to 
the Nepali press, Vaidya was in town for cataract surgery.) 
Vaidya was reportedly produced before the court on March 31. 
 
2.  (C)  Vaidya, one of five Standing Committee members, is 
the highest-ranking Maoist arrested since the beginning of 
the conflict.  (Note:  In party rolls, he is ranked just 
below Chairman Prachanda.  In terms of functional 
responsibility and importance to the movement, however, he 
likely trails behind ideologue Baburam Bhattarai and military 
strategist Ram Bahadur "Badal" Thapa.  His titles include 
head of the Eastern Central Command.  End note.)  He is the 
fourth high-level Maoist arrested in India since August 
(Reftels).  There was some speculation that he had traveled 
to the UK from India in late 2003, hypothetically for "track 
two" peace talks. 
 
3.  (U)  Mohan Vaidya was born in 1944 in Pyuthan District in 
mid-western Nepal, but grew up in the southwestern district 
of Dang on the Indian border.  A one-time schoolteacher, he 
holds a masters degree in Nepali literature from Tribhuvan 
University.  He became the General Secretary of the 
underground Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal)--a precursor to 
today's Maoist movement--in 1983 and spent two years in 
prison during 1988-1990.  He went underground again after the 
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched its armed 
struggle.  He is credited with authoring the "Prachanda Path" 
doctrine adopted at the Maoists' second national convention 
in March 2001. 
 
4.  (C)  Comment:  That Vaidya has already appeared in court 
in India suggests that he may not be swiftly extradited to 
Nepal, as fellow Maoists Matrika Yadav and Suresh Ale Magar 
were in February (Ref A). The capture of this "grand old man" 
of the movement (in fact, probably the oldest member of the 
Politburo) at the very least constitutes a psychological 
setback for the Maoists and at best may help disrupt their 
financial activities in India.  Most important, the arrest 
may indicate that Indian patience with Nepali Maoists 
operating on their soil may be waning. 
MALINOWSKI