US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU607

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000607 
 
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, MARCH 27-April 
2, 2004 
 
REFERENCE:  (A)  KATHMANDU 0588 
            (B)  KATHMANDU 0516 
(C)  KATHMANDU 0591 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  Indian police arrested Maoist senior politburo member 
Mohan Vaidya (Ref A).  The Home Minister rejected the United 
Nation's (UN) call for a ceasefire, declaring that the 
Government of Nepal (GON) will not allow the Maoists 
"another chance to regroup."  Nepal was unusually subdued 
this week with only sporadic incidents of violence which 
left two security personnel and five Maoists dead.  Maoists 
still have not released the 33 captives taken after the 
attack in Myagdi District (Ref B).  The GON released its 25- 
point human rights commitment paper to mixed reviews (Ref 
C).  Britain's special envoy to Nepal said elections could 
resolve the current crisis, but must have the right 
environment.  Maoists reportedly have warned NGOs not to 
visit the two western districts because they are "under the 
state of war."  Maoists torched two passenger buses, and 
detonated several bombs in Kathmandu and its surrounding 
areas.  Three children were killed by Maoist bombs, and two 
women died after rebels prevented an ambulance from reaching 
the hospital.  Forty students were taken from the west 
reportedly for conscription into the Maoist militia.  End 
Summary. 
 
HIGH-LEVEL MAOIST CAUGHT IN INDIA 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  On March 30, Indian police arrested Maoist senior 
politburo member Mohan Vaidya, also known as Kiran, in the 
Indian city of Silguri along with another Maoist cadre (Ref 
A).  Vaidya is the highest-ranking Maoist to be arrested 
since the start of the so-called "Peoples' War."  According 
to the local press, a GON official said that the government 
would "immediately" request extradition.  Maoist supremo 
Prachanda issued a statement the following day condemning 
Vaidya's arrest as a "trade-off" between the GON and India. 
 
HOME MINISTER REJECTS UN 
------------------------ 
 
3.  At a press conference on March 27, Kamal Thapa, Home 
Minister and Minister of Communication and Information, 
rejected the United Nation's (UN) call for a ceasefire, 
declaring that the Government of Nepal (GON) will not allow 
the Maoists "another chance to regroup."  Minister Thapa 
accused the rebels of attempting to resume peace talks as a 
ploy to reorganize and strengthen their army by accumulating 
"arms and ammunition and training their cadres."  He said 
dialogue was not possible until the "Maoists lay down arms 
and show commitment."  In response to Kofi Annan's offer 
last week of assistance, Thapa said the GON did not "need 
any foreign mediation" and was "capable enough" to solve the 
current crisis on its own. 
 
SUBDUED VIOLENCE 
---------------- 
 
4.  After suffering brutal attacks last week, violence in 
Nepal was unusually subdued this week with only sporadic 
incidents.  Maoists gunned down a Royal Nepal Army (RNA) 
lieutenant in Kathmandu Valley on March 27, and a former 
police inspector with the National Investigation Bureau on 
March 31 in the western district of Kavre.  Seven security 
personnel were injured on March 27 after the bus they were 
traveling in drove over a Maoist-planted landmine in Kaski 
District.    Security personnel killed three Maoists and a 
civilian in Kaski District on March 27 during a security 
operation.  On April 1, two rebels died and three civilians 
were injured after a Maoist landmine detonated in the far- 
western district of Jumla. 
 
FAMILIES PLEAD FOR RELEASE OF MAOIST CAPTIVES 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  Family members of kidnapped security personnel, 
including the Chief District officer (CDO), the highest 
ranking civil servant, and the Deputy Superintendent of 
Police (DSP), the highest-ranking police officer, made a 
desperate appeal for their release.  On March 27, the 
families were joined by local human rights activists who 
urged the Maoists to adhere to international laws and 
release the 33 captives, who were taken after the massed 
attack in Myagdi District (Ref B). The Maoists reportedly 
have allowed the International Red Cross to visit the 
hostages, but are adamant that the GON release three of 
their senior members (Matrika Yadav, Suresh Ale Magar, and 
Tilak Sharma) from detention before they set the hostages 
free.  There has been no public comment from the GON 
regarding the captives. 
 
GON RELEASES HUMAN RIGHTS PAPER; 
RECEIVES MIXED REVIEWS 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  In an apparent response to international criticism of 
Nepal's human rights situation, Prime Minister Surya Bahadur 
Thapa revealed a 25-point commitment paper on March 26 
highlighting the GON's action plan to stop further abuses 
(Ref C).  Among some of the points listed, the GON pledged 
to take measures to prevent illegal detentions and maintain 
a record of all detainees.  In addition, Thapa said the GON 
would work to facilitate the monitoring and investigations 
of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). 
 
7.  Reaction to the announcement was mixed.  On April 1, 
Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand 
Ramcharan welcomed the GON's public commitment, but said the 
GON must also firmly support nationwide monitoring to ensure 
adherence to international standards.  The European Union 
(EU) praised the GON for taking a "much needed first step," 
but also echoed the need for providing technical, financial 
and logistic support to the NHRC.  The EU called upon the 
Maoists to observe the same standards on human rights 
contained in the government's paper, and criticized the 
increase in violence by the rebels despite their so-called 
public commitment to the Geneva Convention. 
 
8.  The NHRC, which initially lauded the government's plan 
as positive, is in a war of words with the GON over 
accusations against the Commission.  On April 1, the local 
press reported that the NHRC received a letter from the Home 
Ministry accusing the Commission of smearing the image of 
security forces through its one-sided reporting.  The letter 
reportedly alleged that the NHRC was being directed by the 
Maoists on what to report, and therefore demanded that the 
NHRC include a representative of the security forces on each 
of its investigation teams.  Sushil Pyakurel, member of the 
NHRC, dismissed the demand as "silly," and fired back that 
the GON was infringing on the impartiality and independence 
of the commission. 
ELECTIONS CAN SOLVE CURRENT CRISIS 
---------------------------------- 
9.  On March 26, Sir Jeffrey James, the British special 
envoy to Nepal, said elections could resolve the current 
crisis if they occur under the right environment.  Speaking 
to reporters, James said a voting atmosphere "free of fear, 
intimidation and violence," was necessary for credible and 
acceptable elections to Nepalis.  Declaring that it is "more 
necessary than ever" to find a solution, James called on a 
"negotiated settlement" to the current conflict.  On March 
28 Home Minister Kamal Thapa challenged the Maoists to "make 
use of" the elections to prove they are sincere in trying to 
resolve the country's problems.  Thapa also urged the 
insurgents to declare a ceasefire during the elections. 
 
MAOISTS RESTRICT NGOS; 
DISRUPT HEALTHCARE 
--------------------- 
 
10.  Maoist leaders in the western districts of Banke and 
Bardiya, two of the districts hit hardest by the insurgency, 
reportedly have warned NGOs not to visit the areas.  A March 
30 press report said that the rebels had declared the 
districts "under the state of war," and are restricting any 
NGOs from entering.  Healthcare workers in the Maoist 
heartland district of Rukum, also in the west, report being 
subjected to harassment and intimidation by both the 
security forces and the insurgents.  A report commissioned 
by the Department for International Development (DFID), the 
German Technical Cooperation, and the Swiss Agency For 
Development and Cooperation (SDC) said the healthcare 
workers are warned by security forces not to treat the 
Maoists, while the rebels accuse them of spying for security 
forces.  A member of the National Human Rights Commission 
also alleged use of stimulants among frontline Maoists. 
 
11.  Maoists torched two passenger buses in separate 
incidents.  On March 28, rebels ambushed a bus traveling 
from Kathmandu, killing one and injuring a dozen others.  On 
March 29, a bus heading towards Rupandehi District was 
torched by armed rebels who forced the bus to stop and 
ordered the passengers off by gunpoint.  Two bomb blasts 
tore through a Ministry of Defense office building in 
Kathmandu on March 29.  No casualties were reported.  On 
March 31, suspected Maoists detonated three bombs in three 
different government office buildings in Bhaktapur, just 
outside the Kathmandu Valley.  On March 24, Maoists in the 
western district of Dhanusha ordered two French tourists out 
of their vehicle and subsequently pushed it into the river. 
The rebels said the tourists had violated the Maoist vehicle 
ban.  On March 28, Maoists ambushed a vehicle in Banke 
District carrying exam papers for students waiting at the 
examination center.  Minor damage was caused, but students 
were able to take the exam. 
 
12.  In the far-eastern district of Teharathum two girls 
were killed after a bomb detonated inside a house on March 
26.  Maoists reportedly claimed responsibility, saying it 
was an "accidental blast."  On March 30, a four-year-old boy 
was killed and another seriously injured in the central 
district of Gorkha after a bomb left behind by Maoists 
exploded.  On March 28, a woman in Dadeldhura District, 
which borders India on the west, died from excessive 
bleeding after Maoists prevented the ambulance from taking 
her to a hospital in India.  In that same district, a 
pregnant woman also died after family members could not 
reach the hospital due to the Maoist-imposed blockade in the 
area. 
 
13.  Maoists in the western district of Baglung reportedly 
abducted 40 students from various parts of the district. 
Their whereabouts remain unknown, but locals believe they 
were taken for conscription into the Maoist militia.  On 
March 31, the local press reported that as many as 1000 
people were rounded up by the Maoists in the far-western 
district of Bajura to participate in the rebel's "Public 
Campaign" programs.  According to locals, the insurgents had 
announced a week earlier that a member from each family 
would have to go with them.  Three other civilians were also 
taken by insurgents; a Village Development Committee (VDC) 
secretary from the eastern district of Udayapur on March 29; 
 
SIPDIS 
and a former soldier and civilian in Makwanpur District on 
April 1.  Five teenagers abducted by the Maoists last month 
reportedly are working in a Maoist labor camp after refusing 
to take part in Maoist activities.  Three of them are 
married women. 
 
MALINOWSKI