US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU902

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000902 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/SA 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2014 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, EAID, CASC, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: NEPAL:  MAOIST PRESSURE CAUSES EUROPEAN DONORS TO 
SUSPEND PROJECTS IN FIVE DISTRICTS 
 
REF: A. KATHMANDU 846 
     B. 03 KATHMANDU 2048 
 
Classified By: CDA JANET BOGUE.  REASON:  1.5 (B,D). 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1.  (C) On May 10 the Dutch, German and British bilateral aid 
agencies, citing Maoist pressure and threats, announced they 
will suspend projects in the northwestern districts of Mugu, 
Humla, Jumla, and Dolpa and in the southwestern district of 
Kailali as of May 16.  USAID sponsors activities in three of 
these districts through local implementing partners and has 
no expatriate staff on the ground.  With one exception (see 
para 4 below), USAID has received no reports of Maoist 
threats directed against the projects or partners' staff. 
The USAID Mission plans to convoke all of its partners to 
review the overall security situation.  Peace Corps maintains 
regular contact with three volunteers posted at Kailali 
district headquarters, communicating most recently on May 10. 
 Neither the volunteers nor the organizations they work with 
have reported receiving threats from the Maoists.  The 
Mission will continue to monitor events in these districts 
closely.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
EUROPEANS OUT OF FIVE DISTRICTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U)  In a May 10 press statement, the Dutch aid agency 
SNV, the British aid agency DFID and the German aid agency 
GTZ announced a decision to suspend development projects in 
the four northwestern districts of Mugu, Humla, Jumla, and 
Dolpa and in the southwestern district of Kailali as of May 
16.  World Food Program support to the affected projects in 
these districts will similarly be suspended.  In addition, 
SNV declared the suspension of all of its activities in the 
entire mid-western region.  The agencies cited continued 
Maoist threats and demands, including that NGOs register with 
and contribute to Maoist organizations, as well as the 
bombing of several NGO offices in Nepalgunj and Kailali (Ref 
A), as the reasons for the withdrawal.  According to the 
statement, "Support to these programs will re-start when it 
is clear that staff can operate in a safe environment . . . 
We call upon the Maoists to uphold their stated commitment to 
respect the Geneva Conventions, and not to 'carry out any 
physical action or exercise coercion against NGOs.'"  As a 
show of international support, in addition to the directors 
of the three bilateral agencies affected, the statement was 
also signed by the heads of the Swiss, Canadian and Japanese 
development agencies, as well as the Chiefs of Mission of the 
European Union and the Norwegian, Danish and Finnish 
Embassies.  (Note:  USAID in Kathmandu was not invited to 
sign the statement.  End note.) 
 
------------------------------------ 
USAID-SPONSORED ACTIVITIES IN MUGU, 
DOLPA AND KAILALI 
------------------------------------ 
 
3.  (SBU)  USAID's Vitamin A project is implemented via local 
female community health volunteers in all of Nepal's 75 
districts.  In addition, USAID, in partnership with CARE, 
sponsors a community natural resources management project in 
Mugu and Dolpa and a business development project, 
implemented through a number of different local and 
international partners, in Dolpa.  In Kailali USAID sponsors 
nine different activities through various partners.  Neither 
USAID or any of its NGO implementing partners--CARE, World 
Education, The Asia Foundation, World Wildlife Fund or Save 
the Children--maintains expatriate staff in any of these 
districts.  With no staff of its own permanently in the field 
in these districts, USAID relies upon its local partners to 
provide regular information on operating conditions, 
including the security situation.  The USAID Mission plans to 
schedule a meeting with all of its partners in-country after 
the conclusion of the May 11-12 general strike. 
 
----------------------------------- 
WWF LOCAL STAFF ABDUCTED, RELEASED 
----------------------------------- 
 
4. (C)  To date, USAID in Kathmandu has received no 
information of threats against its local partners in these 
districts with one notable exception.  About 1:00 a.m. on 
April 14, Tilak Dhakal, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) employee 
and the Nepali project coordinator for a community natural 
resources management project in Dolpa District, was abducted 
by Maoists in a village about four hours' walk from district 
headquarters.  (Note:  WWF is a sub-grantee on the project. 
CARE is the main grantee.  Dhakal's job requires him to cover 
long stretches of Dolpa, Nepal's largest district, on foot. 
He is well known in the communities covered by the project 
and apparently knew at least some of his abductors.  End 
note.)  The following day the project office in the district 
headquarters received a demand for NRs 500,000 (approximately 
USD 7,000) in ransom. 
 
5.  (C)  According to local WWF staff, Dhakal was walked 
several hours south to a village bordering the districts of 
Jajarkot and Rukum, where he stayed for several days.  He was 
reportedly treated well, but noted that his guards during the 
day, members of the Maosits' junior militia, seemed much 
ruder, younger and less educated than the more polished and 
polite local leaders, who returned every night to check on 
him.  On April 20 he was released unharmed, even though no 
ransom was paid.  Three armed members of the militia 
accompanied him back to the village from which he was 
abducted, and Dhakal reached Kathmandu on April 23.  He is 
expected to return to work in Dolpa at the end of June. 
 
6.  (C)  WWF Country Representative Chandra Gurung does not 
believe that Dhakal was abducted because he works for a 
USAID-funded project.  According to Gurung, at no time during 
Dhakal's abduction did the Maoists make reference to project 
funding sources or link his kidnapping in any way to the U.S. 
 Instead, Gurung speculated, the Maoists likely took Dhakal 
because of his local popularity and success as a community 
organizer, adding that the Maoists had been unable to start 
up "people's committees" in three particular villages where 
user groups Dhakal established were flourishing.  Dhakal 
reportedly attributes his sudden release to the strong 
support of the local population, who, according to WWF staff, 
were so dismayed by his abduction that they offered to raise 
the ransom themselves.  In addition, he believes the calm, 
measured reaction of WWF project staff to the crisis--polite 
in conversations with the Maoists but firm and consistent in 
refusing to pay--helped keep the situation under control. 
Gurung said that WWF intends to continue work on the project. 
 (Note:  Following his release, Dhakal went on leave.  USAID 
in Kathmandu will meet with Dhakal when he returns from leave 
the third week in May.  End note.) 
 
------------ 
PEACE CORPS 
------------ 
 
7.  (C) Peace Corps has three volunteers in district 
headquarters in Kailali.  (There are no volunteers in Dolpa, 
Mugu, Humla or Jumla.)  Neither the volunteers nor the 
organizations they work with have reported threats from the 
Maoists.  Peace Corps Kathmandu maintains regular contact 
with these volunteers, as it does with volunteers across the 
country, and contacted the warden (who is responsible for 
contacting the other two volunteers) most recently on May 10. 
 The warden has a cell phone. 
 
--------- 
COMMENT 
--------- 
 
8.  (SBU)  In an October 21 press statement, Maoist leader 
Prachanda announced that the insurgents would not attack aid 
projects, except those funded by "American imperialists" (Ref 
B).  Maoist intimidation and bombing of non-U.S.-funded 
projects, however, demonstrate that in practice the Maoists 
are clearly far less discriminating in selecting actual 
targets.  GTZ, DFID and SNV may be hoping that, as in WWF's 
case, popular pressure from local beneficiaries of the 
suspended projects may force the Maoists to reconsider their 
tactics.  The Mission will continue to monitor events in 
these districts closely. 
BOGUE