US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU1561

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001561 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R, R/MR, I/RW, I/REC; PA, SA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: Nepal insurgency 
1.  "On deaf ears" 
 
Editorial in the centrist "Kathmandu Post" (E/D, 8/6): 
"Voices raised against gruesome Maoist brutalities have 
fallen on deaf ears.  The Maoist high command that is 
prompt in responding to anything concerning their 
ideology and general activities take refuge to their 
underground status whenever questions over their 
credibility and motives arise.  At least the Maoist 
leadership, if not the grassroots cadres, should know 
that they are accountable to the people.  The people 
want to know why the Maoists are intensifying their 
barbaric acts; why they are resorting to the law of 
jungle in taking action against anyone who they think 
opposes their ideas and why the Maoist insurgency 
revolves around brutal killings and inhumane activity. 
If the insurgents consider themselves a political 
entity, and if they don't like to be called terrorists, 
the high command should respond to the people's outcry- 
immediately... If the Maoists believe in diversity of 
ideas and existence of multiparty democracy, the free 
press should not have been tampered with.  But the 
comrades have forced two journalists from Dailekh to 
leave the district.  The only crime they committed was 
they were trying to report how much money the rebels 
were extorting from local businessmen.  Whether these 
activities are taking place with the knowledge of the 
high command or not".matters a lot to assess the 
direction and credibility of the Maoist Movement.  The 
silence of the high command means acknowledgement of 
the cadres' heinous activity.  Which also means they do 
not recognize the rights of the people who do not side 
with them.  In such a case, people may resort to 
keeping weapons for personal security-an act that could 
ignite a full-blown civil war in the country." 
 
We join the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ)- 
the apex body of the associations of journalists- 
Amnesty International, and all human rights 
organizations in protesting against the barbaric 
behavior of the Maoists, and the cowardly act of 
snatching pens from journalists.  Despite being aware 
that our voice in all likelihood will once again fall 
on deaf ears, we condemn all forms of inhumane acts by 
the Maoist rebels, and urge the Maoist leadership to 
stop their atrocities immediately.  If the Maoists 
continue to defy the people's call, the media, as FNJ 
has also mentioned, will have to seriously consider 
their stance on the Maoist insurgency." 
 
2.  "Wrong signals" 
 
Editorial in the pro-India "Himalayan Time" (E/D, 8/6): 
"Amnesty International (AI) has asked Maoist leader 
Prachanda to halt abductions of civilians immediately 
and release the abductees without conditions, and also 
to help minimize the impact of the armed conflict on 
children.  AI has expressed concern over recent serious 
human rights violations, including those against human 
rights defenders and journalists.  In another serious 
development, the Maoists have threatened to close down 
more than a dozen companies from August 17 in the three 
districts of the Kathmandu Valley and outside." 
 
"This is not the first time AI has made such an appeal 
but it is as valid today as it was yesterday.  There is 
no doubt that efforts should be continued to find a 
peaceful settlement of the civil war but there is no 
less need to protect the innocent from the ravages of 
the conflict.  International conventions and rules 
should guide the warning aides.  If due processes are 
bypassed, then the law of the jungle prevails.  In a 
similar manner, the ultimatum to close down the 
companies in question tends to ignore the laws, rules 
and regulations 
 and dispute resolution procedures." 
 
"Under any system, including that preferred by the 
Maoists themselves, there need to be factories and 
investment.  Without these, workers would have no jobs. 
If the threatened factories are shut down, thousands of 
workers will lose their jobs.  Summary justice cannot 
build a civilized society.  Negotiations are the best 
means of settling disputes.  While the trade unions 
should recognize the limits of management, the latter 
should also take into account the legitimate interests 
of the workers, including the implementation of the 
lawful provisions.  Profit maximization may be a major 
objective of any entrepreneur, but a fair share of 
profit should go to the workers and employees as well. 
Economic units should not be made the playground of 
politics." 
 
3.  "The writing on the wall" 
 
Editorial in centrist "Nepali Times" (E/D, 8/6): Eight- 
and-half years, and this is what the Maoist war has 
done to this country.  It has created the conditions 
for a return to absolute monarchy, militarized the 
kingdom to a level not seen since the Angle-Nepal wars 
200 years ago, brutalized society with ruthless cruelty 
and snatched away from the people the civil liberties 
they secured in 1990. 
 
And who benefits from this mad war?  A few arms 
merchants and their clients in Kathmandu, plus a 
handful of hardline comrades spellbound by a 
discredited ideology.  But the conflict does provide an 
opportunity for us to reform the structural problems in 
this society: the top-heavy military-monarchy combine, 
genuine devolution, redistribution of opportunity and 
restoring the people's right to electoral 
representation." 
 
"The people want the middle way.  There is a lesson in 
this week's internet poll (www.nepalitimes.com) for the 
Maoists: at press time, nearly a quarter of the 
respondents were saying they would vote for the CPN- 
(Maoist) party if it renounced violence and took part 
in elections.  What are you waiting for, comrades?" 
 
MORIARTY