US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU673

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000673 
 
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, APRIL 3-9, 
2004 
 
REFERENCE:  (A)  KATHMANDU 0588 
 
            (B)  KATHMANDU 0516 
(C)  KATHMANDU 0638 
(D)  KATHMANDU 0620 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  A Maoist nighttime attack on a police post in the west 
left nine policemen dead and six injured.  Five other 
security personnel and nineteen rebels were killed in 
separate clashes.  The extradition of arrested Maoist senior 
politburo member Mohan Vaidya (Ref A) reportedly has been 
delayed indefinitely, pending his trial in India.  The 
Government of India condemned attacks by Maoists this week 
against Indian nationals and vehicles as "blatant acts of 
terrorism."  Maoists released 37 captives taken after the 
deadly attack in Myagdi District (Ref B).  The five 
political parties continued their protests, while the 
Government of Nepal (GON) warned of possible Maoist 
infiltration of the protests.  The Kathmandu Valley endured 
a one-day general closure (bandh) declared by the political 
parties on April 3 and a nationwide Maoist-declared 3-day 
bandh on April 6-8.  Maoists reportedly murdered five 
civilians in separate incidents this week.  Maoist bombs 
damaged buildings and an ambulance.  Maoists continue to 
forcibly gather up thousands of villagers for participation 
in their programs.  The recent spike in violence and 
protests has caused a decline in tourist arrivals.  Maoist 
surrenders reportedly have surpassed 800 since the 
announcement of the GON's amnesty program.  End Summary. 
 
DEADLY ATTACKS ON POLICE POSTS 
------------------------------ 
 
2.  Maoists in Ilam District, which borders India on the 
east, attacked a police post on April 8 killing two 
policemen.  Forty-one other security personnel reportedly 
were taken hostage by the rebels and remain missing.  The 
local press reported that police on the Indian side said the 
Maoists launched the attack from Indian soil, and found 
large numbers of bullet casings nearby.  Prior to the Maoist 
offensive, a female cadre, speaking on a loudspeaker in both 
Hindi and Nepali, allegedly warned people on the Indian side 
not to interfere or cross the border.  On April 4, a 
nighttime attack on another police post in the southern 
district of Dhanusha left nine officers dead and six 
injured.  Armed Maoists, which estimates numbered as high as 
500 and as low as 30, stormed the post and were able to 
overrun it.  Fifteen police remain unaccounted for.  On that 
same day in the western district of Kavre, three Royal Nepal 
Army (RNA) soldiers were killed after their vehicle ran over 
a Maoist-planted landmine. 
 
3.  Nineteen Maoists reportedly were killed by security 
forces this week: seven in the districts of Doti, Bardiya 
and Kailali on April 5; seven in the districts of Dolakha 
and Dhangadi on April 4; three in Morang District on April 
3; and two in Morang on April 2. 
 
INDIA DELAYS EXTRADITION OF VAIDYA; 
MAOISTS TARGET INDIAN NATIONALS 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  On April 8, the local press reported that Maoist senior 
politburo member Mohan Vaidya, also known as Kiran, who was 
arrested in India on March 30 (Ref A), was placed in 
judicial custody and charged with "waging war against 
India."  Several days earlier, on April 3, the local press 
reported that officials with India's Central Bureau of 
Investigation (CBI) would not immediately extradite Vaidya. 
The recent developments suggest that Vaidya will likely be 
tried in Indian court for being involved in "anti-social 
work on Indian soil," and reportedly for establishing 
contact with Indian militant organizations.  Vaidya is the 
highest-ranking Maoist to be arrested since the start of the 
so-called "Peoples' War."  On April 2, Indian police 
reportedly also arrested a Maoist commander from Nepal's 
Rautahat District, which borders India on the south. 
 
5. Maoists conducted several attacks against Indian 
commercial interests, allegedly in retaliation against the 
Indian government's arrest of Mohan Vaidya.  On April 4, 
Maoists torched 18 tankers parked near the India-Nepal 
border in the far-western district of Kailali.  The rebels 
reportedly forced the drivers of the vehicles out of the 
trucks at gunpoint, and subsequently torched the tankers one 
by one.  The trucks had Indian license plates, though they 
purportedly are owned by Nepalese businessmen.  In a 
separate incident on that same day, Maoists reportedly fired 
on a group of three Indian nationals and set their truck on 
fire in Bhairahawa after the men resisted rebel extortion 
demands.  A note left at the scene reportedly said the 
rebels were avenging Vaidya's arrest and warned that Indian 
financed institutions would be the "next targets."  On April 
6, the local press reported that Maoists in the far-western 
district of Bardiya, which borders India on the south, 
forced over 20 Indian businessmen to leave the district and 
issued warnings to 40 others. 
 
6.  India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a press 
statement on April 5 condemning the attacks against Indian 
nationals in Nepal as "blatant acts of terrorism," and 
called for the apprehension and punishment of the 
responsible individuals. The statement also said that the 
Government of India holds Maoist leaders responsible, and 
demanded full security from the Government of Nepal (GON). 
In response, the GON said its security agencies had been 
alerted to "reinforce security measures." 
 
MAOISTS RELEASE CAPTIVES 
------------------------ 
 
7.  On April 6, Maoists released 37 hostages (Ref C), 
including the Chief District officer (CDO), the highest 
ranking civil servant, and the Deputy Superintendent of 
Police (DSP), the highest-ranking police officer, held for 
sixteen days after the massed attack by the rebels in Myagdi 
District (Ref B). The captives were turned over to the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the far 
western district of Rolpa, and later brought to Kathmandu. 
Six policemen remain unaccounted for. 
 
PARTY PROTESTS CONTINUE; GON 
WARNS OF MAOIST INFILTRATION 
---------------------------- 
 
8.  Nepal's five principal political parties have staged 
daily demonstrations since the April 1 protest against 
"regression." (Ref D).  While the demonstrations remained 
largely peaceful, a particularly violent day on April 2 
resulted in the parties declaring a valley closure on April 
3.  Businesses were shut down and most public and private 
vehicles stayed off the roads. 
 
9.  On April 4, the Home Ministry issued a statement urging 
the political parties, civil society, and the media to 
cooperate with the government in maintaining peace and to 
refrain from violence.  The Home Ministry voiced concern 
over the "extreme and objectionable" chanting against the 
monarchy and the constitution.  The GON warned against 
infiltration of the protests by Maoists, and pointed to the 
violence, arson, and vandalism being perpetrated by the 
demonstrators as evidence of the terror the rebels would 
bring if the parties welcomed their participation. 
Representatives of the political parties, speaking to 
reporters, said they would never join the "murderous and 
violent" activities of the Maoists.  Despite this, Maoist 
supremo Prachanda, through a press statement issued on April 
2, voiced his support for the political parties' protests. 
 
THREE-DAY BANDH CLOSES KATHMANDU 
-------------------------------- 
 
10.  A Maoist-called three-day nationwide shut-down (bandh) 
during April 6-8 closed schools, shops and transportation, 
but remained generally peaceful.  There were a few 
incidents, including two bomb blasts in the Valley on April 
7 and another bomb in neighboring Bhaktapur District on 
April 8.  As is typical of the rebels, in the days leading 
up to the bandh, several bombs were exploded to force the 
general population to observe the bandh: two near the 
Election Commission headquarters and one in Chitwan District 
on April 3; two at a government building in Kathmandu 
District on April 5; two in the Valley on April 5; and one 
at the District Education Office in Dhading District on 
April 3, which killed one civilian and injured two others. 
 
MAOIST VIOLENCE CLAIMS CIVILIAN LIVES 
------------------------------------- 
 
11.  Maoists reportedly murdered five civilians in separate 
incidents this week.  A Deputy Secretary of the Communist 
Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) was killed 
in the far-western district of Bajura on April 8; another 
civilian was shot dead in Nawalparasi District on April 5; 
one in Jhapa District on April 6; a government employee was 
shot dead in Baglung District; and a 65 year-old man was 
abducted and killed in Rautahat District on April 2. 
 
12.  On April 8, in Dang District, a Maoist stronghold in 
the west, a group of rebels attacked an ambulance owned by 
the Red Cross. The vehicle was hit by socket bombs and 
sustained damage to the windshield.  On April 3, Maoists 
bombed the ancestral home of Home Minister Kamal Thapa in 
Makwanpur District, injuring two police guarding the house, 
and causing slight damage to the structure. 
 
MAOIST ROUND UPS CONTINUE 
------------------------- 
 
13.  Maoists continue to forcibly conscript thousands of 
villagers for participation in their programs.  On April 7, 
1500 youths reportedly were taken from schools in the far- 
western district of Kanchanpur.  According to security 
officials, they were taken by rebels who want to "re-educate 
them."  The majority of the youths were released the 
following day after attending an indoctrination program.  A 
district secretary with the CPN-UML said 3,000 villagers 
fled to India and neighboring districts after the mass round 
up, and criticized the government for failing to protect 
villagers.  On April 6, 31 youths from Panchthar District in 
the east also were taken and released the following day 
after attending Maoist programs.  On April 3, 60 teachers in 
the far-western district of Dadeldhura were taken by the 
Maoists to attend a "Teachers' Meet program."  They have not 
been released.  On April 8, villagers in Kanchanpar 
District, reportedly killed seven Maoists.  Eyewitnesses 
said the villagers were "angered by the Maoists," who had 
forced them to participate in a political program.  The 
villagers reportedly returned the next day to the program 
venue and beat the rebels to death. 
 
MAOISTS AFTER AUTOCRATIC RULE? 
------------------------------ 
 
14.  On April 4, the local press reported that a videotape 
seized by the RNA at the scene of the massed attack in 
Myagdi District (Ref B) shows Maoist commanders pledging to 
"cripple the coalition" and prevent elections in order to 
secure power for themselves.  The commanders allege that the 
"reactionary forces," including the parliamentary parties, 
have formed a conspiracy to form an all-party government, 
and therefore the rebels must "obstruct the polls," the main 
objective of the attack in Myagdi District. 
 
TOURISM INDUSTRY TAKES A HIT 
---------------------------- 
 
15.  The spike in violence and frequent "bandhs" have forced 
tourists to cancel trips to Nepal.  According to Tek Bahadur 
Dangi, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board, 
cancellations are "on a constant rise," because of the 
political unrest.  Dangi said the rate of tourist arrivals 
had shown some improvements, but the events of the past 
several weeks had once again caused the numbers to decline. 
Narendra Bajarcharya, president of Hotel Association of 
Nepal (HAN), said the recent strikes and protests have also 
caused tourists to shorten their stays, leaving with "a 
negative image of Nepal." 
 
MAOISTS SURRENDERS SURPASS 800 
------------------------------ 
 
16.  On April 2, the Home Ministry said the total number of 
surrendered Maoists had now reached 852 from 66 different 
districts since the announcement of the GON's amnesty 
program. 
 
MALINOWSKI