US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU1672

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 KATHMANDU 001672 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS TO EU COLLECTIVE 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ 
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST 
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
LONDON FOR POL/BELL 
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 GREEN/DORMANDY 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA ALVERSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PINS, PTER, CASC, PGOV, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MAOIST ATROCITIES ESCALATE, JUNE 5-PRESENT 
 
REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 1300 
           (B) KATHMANDU 0120 
           (C) KATHMANDU 1339 
 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION 
------------------------ 
 
1.  Since the formation of Sher Bahadur Deuba's 
coalition government, Maoist atrocities have 
intensified.  Every day brings new reports of Maoist 
killings, maimings, or threats of brutality.  Most 
recently, the insurgents chased the former Mayor of 
Gularia Municipality from a funeral procession, hacked 
off his limbs and head, and threw his body on the 
funeral pyre of his dead relative.  The Maoists also 
killed the Mayors of Pokhara and Dhangadhi.  The acts 
of the rebels continue to plague the people of Nepal. 
Maoists attacked schools by exploding bombs on their 
premises, and thousands of schools remained closed due 
to the indefinite educational strike called by the 
Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent 
Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R).  In June and 
July, the "People's War" claimed 52 innocent civilians' 
lives.  The rebels continued to abduct civilians across 
the country to participate in Maoist programs and have 
forced the families of security forces to leave their 
homes.  The Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) 
report states that the Maoist insurgency has so far 
claimed the lives of 9,996 people.  Human rights abuses 
are committed on every side of the conflict, but the 
significant difference is that the Maoists' abuses are 
tactical policy. 
 
2.  In discussing with host governments the question of 
whether the Maoists are a terrorist organization, posts 
may wish to draw from the below accounting of 
atrocities committed by the Maoists over the past two 
months.  This list of Maoists actions is drawn from 
press reports and an NGO known for its willingness to 
criticize the GON.  Journalists in Nepal have no 
incentive to slant their reporting on this issue (to 
date, Maoists have killed six journalists and just this 
week threatened nine other journalists) and we believe 
their reporting to be accurate and fair.  END SUMMARY 
AND INTRODUCTION. 
 
DEATH TOLL RISES 
---------------- 
 
3.  Since the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as 
Prime Minister on June 5, Maoist atrocities have 
increased against all sectors of Nepali society, rich 
and poor alike.  The Maoist insurgents commit such acts 
to create a sense of fear and terror among Nepal's 
population.  According to the report of Informal Sector 
Service Center (INSEC), a local human rights NGO, since 
the Deuba government came into existence, the Maoists 
have killed 137 people.  The INSEC report stated that 
the Maoist insurgency has so far claimed the lives of 
9,996 people.  The number of people killed by the 
Maoists totaled 3,409 while the state accounted for the 
deaths of 6,587. 
 
MAOIST BRUTALLY KILL LOCAL POLITICIANS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4.  Over the past two months, Maoists have threatened 
local politicians who disagreed with the Maoist 
platform, then have brutally carried out those threats 
against those who refused to resign.  They have also 
been targeting the cadres of various legitimate 
political parties who oppose the Maoists' policy and 
programs. 
 
-- Maoists shot dead an employee of the Food for 
Education Program in the mid-western district of 
Dailekh on June 4. 
 
-- On June 5, insurgents killed a VDC Chairman of the 
eastern district of Udayapur, and a civilian in Jhapa 
District. 
 
-- On June 10, a government official was shot and 
wounded in the capital. 
 
-- On June 18, Maoists abducted and killed a nominated 
Chairman of Mainamaini Village Development Committee 
(VDC) in the eastern district of Udayapur by slitting 
his throat 
 
-- On June 24, the insurgents hacked to death a 
civilian in the eastern district of Dhankuta.  The 
deceased was the nephew of former Prime Minister Surya 
Bahadur Thapa. 
 
-- On July 2, the Mayor of Pokhara Harka Bahadur Gurung 
in the western district of Kaski was gunned down as he 
was leaving his residence.  The All Nepal National 
Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) 
district committee member told the press that they had 
killed Gurung for ignoring their demand to resign from 
office.  Three bullets had pierced his head and one 
each struck him on his left chest and back, according 
to police. 
 
-- Mayor of Dhangadhi Municipality in the far-western 
district of Dhangadhi was shot dead by the Maoists on 
July 12.  Mayor Dhan Bahadur Bam was heading towards 
his office in a car when a group of five to six Maoists 
assassinated him. 
 
-- On July 31, a Nepal Sadbhavana Party activist in 
Nawalparasi was killed. 
 
-- Former District Development Committee (DDC) chairman 
of Kailali District was severely injured in a Maoist 
attack on August 2. 
 
-- On August 3, Maoists abducted a former mayor of 
Bardiya District from funeral procession and 
hacked off his limbs and head. The rebels threw his 
body on the burning pyre of his dead relative. 
 
MAOISTS KILL JOURNALIST, THREATEN OTHERS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
5.  The Maoists assassinated Dekendra Raj Thapa, a 
journalist-cum-human rights activist, in the mid- 
western district of Dailekh on August 11.  Thapa was a 
reporter for the state-owned Radio Nepal and also an 
advisor to the Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), 
a Nepali NGO.  Maoists murdered him for allegedly 
"spying for the security forces."  Following the 
assassination of Thapa, the Maoists issued death 
threats against nine other journalists.  The Maoists 
also banned journalists from entering rural areas 
unless they register with Maoists' "administrations." 
Maoists prohibited reporting from those areas by 
journalists not registered with their 
"administrations." 
 
 
HEINOUS ACTS AGAINST THE POOR 
----------------------------- 
 
6. Maoist brutality has not been reserved for the rich 
or powerful only.  Poor Nepalis have also suffered 
Maoist acts of brutality.  The poor villagers targeted 
by the Maoists are either accused of being  "spies" or 
of helping the security forces. 
 
-- On June 6, Maoist rebels severely injured a civilian 
in the mid-western district of Kalikot for his refusal 
to follow them to attend a Maoist program.  He lost an 
eye as the incensed rebels pierced it with a sharp 
weapon. 
 
-- On June 22, Maoists hammered the legs of eight 
Dalits (lower caste) in the far-western district of 
Achham for working as ploughmen for their landlord, 
which Maoists have said is "against party policy."  The 
Dalits' legs were broken, and the Maoists further 
warned any locals against medically helping the Dalits, 
on pain of death. 
 
-- The Maoists killed a wheelchair-bound man in Morang 
district on July 19. 
 
-- On July 23, the Maoists abducted and beheaded a 
civilian and knifed another to death in the central 
district of Rautahat. 
 
-- The rebels beheaded a woman in the eastern district 
of Morang on July 24. 
 
-- On July 28, the rebels beheaded a civilian in the 
eastern district of Sunsari, allegedly for spying and 
assisting the security forces. 
 
-- On July 31, the insurgents beat to death a teacher 
of a local school in the mid-western district of 
Dailekh. 
 
MAOISTS INTENSIFY ABDUCTIONS 
---------------------------- 
 
7.  The Maoists have been abducting civilians, students 
and teachers across the country to participate in 
Maoist programs. It is Maoist policy to kidnap groups 
of school children, as young as ten-years-old, and take 
them away for "indoctrination."  The rebels round them 
up and take them forcefully to their controlled areas 
for indoctrination. The Maoist rebels keep them for a 
few days and then free them unharmed.  One of the 
students who was abducted and taken to an unknown place 
in Makwanpur district along with 42 children on July 18 
said, "They did not give us any physical torture but 
the mental torture we received cannot be measured." 
-- On June 6, 280 students and 212 teachers were 
kidnapped from the mid-western district of Jajarkot, 
and two teachers were abducted in the central district 
of Dhading; 61 civilians were abducted from the mid- 
western district of Surkhet, and 84 others were 
abducted from the eastern districts Morang, Bhojpur and 
Nuwakot. 
 
-- The rebels abducted 500 civilians, including 45 
teachers, from the mid-western district of Kalikot on 
June 6. 
 
-- On June 8, the rebels abducted 200 teachers in the 
eastern district of Sindhuli, and six civilians from 
the mid-western district of Surkhet. 
 
-- On June 9, the insurgents kidnapped 49 civilians, 
including 38 teachers, from the eastern district of 
Dhankuta. 
 
-- On June 10, the Maoists abducted 11 civilians from 
the far-western district of Doti, a Junior Technical 
Assistant (JTA) of Agriculture Development Office in 
the eastern district of Siraha, and 18 students from 
the eastern district of Udayapur. 
 
-- The Maoists abducted 500 students from the far- 
western district of Dadeldhura on June 11. 
 
-- On June 12, the rebels abducted four-dozen teachers 
from the western district of Tanahu, and two-dozen 
teachers from the western district of Lamjung. 
 
-- On June 13, the rebels abducted 79 civilians, 
including 76 local businessmen, from the central 
district of Sindhuli, 40 students from the eastern 
district of Taplejung and three civilians from the 
western district of Gorkha. 
 
-- Maoists abducted 300 students from the far-western 
district of Baitadi, and 90 others from the eastern 
district of Taplejung on June 16. 
 
-- On July 18, Maoists abducted 50 students and 12 
teachers from a school within the Kathmandu Valley for 
a "three day military training course."  All the 
students and teachers were released unharmed on July 
20. 
 
-- On August 2, over 5,000 locals in the far-western 
district of Achham were abducted to participate in 
Maoists' "people's training." 
 
-- Maoists abducted six teachers and a dozen CPN (UML) 
activists in Rukum District on August 2. 
 
-- On August 3, over 500 villagers were kidnapped in 
Panchthar District. 
 
-- On August 13, Maoists six dozen students from 
several schools in Palpa District for "indoctrination." 
 
-- The rebels abducted 450 students from a school in 
Ramechhap District on August 16. 
 
-- On August 17, Maoists abducted one civilian in Jhapa 
District and five others from Terhathum District. 
 
MAOIST CAMPS "HARSH" 
-------------------- 
 
8.  In an interview with The Kathmandu Post published 
on July 12, a youth who escaped from a Maoist 
indoctrination camp alleged abuse and misery. 
According to the escapee, there were over 300 people, 
some as young as thirteen years old, in the Maoist camp 
located in the far-western district of Dadeldhura. 
Many of the occupants suffered from scabies and 
intestinal illnesses and some civilians died.  He added 
that the Maoists forced their captives to walk for long 
periods of time "without food and water."  While in 
captivity the people were also taught to "use guns and 
make bombs." 
 
INSURGENTS ATTACK SCHOOLS 
------------------------- 
 
9.   The Maoists also target schools and teachers, who 
oppose their activities and policy.  As a result, 
students, and their parents, live in fear; education 
has been placed virtually on hold for almost eighty-six 
percent of the rural population. 
 
-- On June 4, a Maoist-planted bomb damaged a private 
school in the western district of Dailekh. Furniture, 
supplies, and new textbooks were destroyed. 
 
-- On June 5, Maoists reportedly took over a school in 
Dhankuta district, mistakenly declaring that "American 
imperialists" were running it. 
 
-- Maoist rebels reportedly detonated a bomb inside a 
school in the central Terai district of Chitwan on June 
6 causing extensive damage to furniture, doors and 
windows. 
 
-- On June 7, a group of students affiliated with 
ANNISU-R reportedly assaulted teachers in the eastern 
district of Saptari for conducting classes during the 
educational strike.  The teachers were released only 
after they agreed to stop holding classes. 
 
-- On June 9, Maoists detonated five powerful bombs on 
the premises of a privately owned Indian school south 
of Kathmandu.  According to media reports, a group of 
forty armed Maoists broke into the school and 
overpowered the three guards.  Seven buses were damaged 
as well as 45 computers and furniture inside the 
school. 
 
-- On June 13, Maoists shot dead a teacher in 
Kathmandu, and two other civilians were also killed in 
the capital. 
 
-- Armed rebels shot dead a civilian in the central 
district of Bara on June 14, and a teacher was 
assassinated in the capital by Maoists in a "drive-by" 
style shooting. 
 
-- On June 25, Maoists shot dead a civilian in the 
eastern district of Dhankuta, and a teacher and student 
were killed in the western district of Lamjung when a 
Maoist-planted bomb exploded on the premises of the 
school. 
 
-- On June 25, a teacher and student were killed in the 
western district of Lamjung when a Maoist-planted bomb 
exploded on the premises of the school. 
 
-- On July 31, the insurgents beat to death a teacher 
of a local school in the mid-western district of 
Dailekh. 
 
-- On August 1, rebels beat a teacher in Dailekh to 
death. 
 
10.  Thousands of schools across Nepal were closed down 
due to an indefinite educational strike called by the 
ANNISU-R.  The shut down of the schools affected over 8 
million students and began June 6.  After the strike 
was widely condemned by various organizations the 
ANNISU-R called it off on June 17.  However, since July 
17 ANNISU-R has forced the closure of 47 private 
schools in the far-eastern district of Jhapa alleging 
they were operating without permission.  Over 15,000 
students are affected by the closures.  The District 
Education Office of Jhapa told the Embassy that those 
schools remained closed. 
 
INSURGENCY CONTINUES TO CLAIM CIVILIAN LIVES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
11.  The "People's War" continues to claim innocent 
civilians' lives throughout the country, but mainly in 
rural Nepal.  The Maoists indiscriminately kill young 
and old alike. 
 
-- On June 5, two civilians were killed when a Maoist- 
planted bomb exploded in the central district of Kavre. 
 
-- On that same day, the Maoists also shot dead a 
civilian in the far western district of Kailali. 
 
-- On June 6, a civilian was killed in the central 
district of Dolakha and another in the central district 
of Chitwan. 
 
-- On June 7, a Maoist-planted landmine in the mid- 
western district of Kalikot killed a civilian, and 
another civilian was killed in the central district of 
Makwanpur. 
 
-- On June 10, a civilian was killed in the western 
district of Rupandehi. 
 
-- At least seven civilians were injured when a group 
of Maoists detonated a bomb in the residence of the 
district president of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) 
in the mid-western district of Dailekh on June 10. 
 
-- The rebels killed two civilians after abducting them 
in the eastern district of Siraha on June 12. 
 
-- Insurgents killed another civilian on July 12 in the 
western district of Kapilbastu. 
 
-- On that same day, two more children were killed when 
a bomb left behind by Maoists detonated in the western 
district of Arghakhanchi. 
 
-- On July 12, a Maoist bomb in the western district of 
Banke killed one woman and injured three others. 
 
-- On July 16, Maoists dragged an ill 76-year-old man 
from his bed and shot him to death in the mid-western 
district of Dang. 
 
-- On June 17, Maoists killed five members of an anti- 
Maoist counteraction committee and a civilian in the 
western district of Kapilbastu. 
 
-- The insurgents in the western district of Rupandehi 
killed another civilian on June 18. 
 
-- On July 19, Maoists killed a farmer in Bara 
District, and another was killed in the western 
district of Dailekh after failing to pay the rebels' 
demand of USD 500. 
 
-- On that same day, insurgents killed a man in 
Rupandehi, accusing him of spying for the government. 
 
-- On June 26, one child was killed and two children 
injured when a grenade carried by a Maoist exploded in 
the far-western district of Kanchanpur. 
 
-- On that same day, the insurgents killed another 
civilian in the central district of Sarlahi. 
 
-- On June 27, four civilians and three security 
personnel were injured in a Maoist-laid mine explosion 
in the central district of Sindhupalchok. 
 
-- On June 30, four civilians, including two children, 
were injured in a Maoist-planted bomb explosion in the 
central district of Dhading.  Three civilians were also 
killed on that same day, including an elderly man and 
his son in Saptari district. 
 
-- On July 31, the rebels killed a farmer in Mahottari 
District alleging him to be a spy. 
 
-- A fifteen-year-old boy was abducted and killed by 
the Maoists on August 7. 
 
-- One civilian was killed in Dailekh District on 
August 10. 
 
-- One civilian was shot dead in Pokhara, Kaski, on 
August 11. 
 
--Maoist shot dead one civilian in Sarlahi and another 
in Makwanpur District on August 13. 
 
-- Maoist shot dead one civilian in Sarlahi and another 
in Makwanpur District on August 13. 
 
-- A civilian was killed in Dang District on August 14. 
 
-- One civilian was killed in a Maoist-planted bomb 
explosion in Mahottari District on August 14. 
 
-- A twelve-year-old boy died and three others were 
injured when Maoists detonated a socket bomb in Chitwan 
District on August 15. 
 
-- On August 15, one civilian was killed and two others 
were injured in Morang District. 
 
-- Maoists killed the chief of the Nepal Red Cross 
Society, Ilam chapter, in Ilam District on August 18. 
 
MAOISTS THREATEN FAMILIES OF SECURITY PERSONNEL 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
12.  The Maoist insurgents have been compelling the 
family members of the security forces to ask their 
relatives to resign from the security forces, or else 
face the consequences.  The Maoist tactics include 
kidnapping, threats against family members, torture, 
killings, and forcing them to vacate their homes. 
 
-- The Maoists abducted a Royal Nepal Army (RNA) 
soldier in the western district of Syangja on June 12. 
 
-- On July 15, Maoists forced 13 families to leave 
their homes in the district of Bardiya because their 
relatives were working with security forces.  The 
rebels ordered the families to leave with only 24 hours 
notice after failing to persuade their relatives to 
leave the security forces. 
 
-- In Nuwakot district, just north of Kathmandu, 
Maoists forced six families to vacate their houses and 
subsequently locked up the houses on July 22.  The 
rebels were demanding that the villagers bring back any 
family members serving in the security forces. 
According to locals, over 10 people from the village 
are in the army or police. 
 
-- On July 30, the rebels abducted, tortured and 
brutally killed an unarmed Royal Nepal Army (RNA) 
soldier in Kaski District.  The Maoists beat him with 
iron rods before firing a bullet into his head. 
 
-- On July 31, Maoists abducted and killed an unarmed 
RNA soldier home on leave in Kaski district. 
 
-- On August 4, rebels shot and killed a police officer 
in Jhapa District after abducting him several days 
earlier. 
 
-- On August 6, the rebels abducted and then shot dead 
on RNA soldier in Dhankuta District. 
 
-- The Maoists killed two security personnel after 
abducting them in Kapilbastu District on August 9. 
 
REBELS CONTINUE TO DESTROY INFRASTRUCTURE AND DISRUPT 
DEVELOPMENT 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
13.  The insurgents attack local government office 
buildings and establishments to show their strength and 
presence in those areas, and to hamper the work of the 
local bodies.  They also target factories and 
industries that do not meet their extortion demands. 
 
-- On June 6, Maoists in the mid-western district of 
Salyan ordered all local health institutions to provide 
them with 25 percent of their drugs. 
 
-- On June 9, the rebels detonated a powerful bomb 
inside the Land Conservation Office in the western 
district of Tanahu, causing damage to seven rooms of 
the building. 
 
-- On June 11, Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at a 
repeater tower of the Nepal Telecom Limited in the 
eastern district of Sunsari. 
 
-- On the same day, the insurgents detonated a bomb at 
a seed production office in Sunsari district. 
 
-- On June 12, a powerful bomb ripped through an 
American-owned carpet factory in Kathmandu.  The 
factory was closed at the time and no injuries were 
reported. However, the explosion blew off the roof, and 
shattered all the windows, causing over USD 5000 in 
damages. 
 
-- On June 13, Maoists also blasted the premises of 
Shiva Mandir Village Development Committee (VDC) in 
Tanahu district causing damage to doors, windows, 
furniture and documents. 
 
-- Maoists also detonated a powerful bomb inside the 
local dealer office of Sumi Distillery and Chaudhary 
Group, a business house, in the central district of 
Dhading on June 17. 
 
-- On June 21, Maoists detonated a bomb at the 
Manakamana Cable Car Company after the cable car owner 
failed to pay taxes to the insurgents. 
 
-- On June 25, Maoists set ablaze offices of six VDCs 
in the eastern district of Siraha. 
 
-- In yet another incident, the insurgents torched a 
ranger post of the Royal Chitwan National Park in the 
central district of Chitwan on June 27. 
 
-- On that same day, the rebels also torched a truck 
transporting Coca Cola in the western district of 
Nawalparasi. 
 
-- On June 28, the rebels also bombed the office 
building of Backward Society Education (BASE), an NGO 
working for the cause of bonded laborers (Kamaiyas), in 
the far-western district of Kailali.  The BASE official 
told emboff that the second floor of the building 
collapsed in the explosion, damaging a vehicle, 
computers and furniture. Damages are estimated at USD 
33,333. 
 
-- On June 29, Maoists torched a vehicle belonging to 
the Soil Conservation Office in Dhading district, and 
also set fire to the Agriculture Service Center in 
Myagdi district. 
 
-- On July 15, a Maoist bomb damaged the Nepal 
Telecommunication Office (NTC) in Lalitpur district, 
south of Kathmandu. 
 
-- On July 30, Maoists torched a branch office of the 
Internal Revenue Department in Banke district. 
 
-- The Maoist rebels bombed a minor customs office in 
the central district of Rautahat on August 8. 
 
-- The rebels detonated a bomb inside the house of 
Bijay Raj Bhattarai, Secretary at the Ministry of Land 
Reforms, in Chitwan District on August 10. 
 
-- The rebels set ablaze a vehicle of National Bardiya 
Park in the mid-western district of Bardiya on August 
11. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
14. Maoist tactics include attacking all sectors of 
society indiscriminately.  The terrorist activities of 
the Maoists against the civilian population are 
designed to create fear in the minds of the Nepalese 
people.  They have succeeded in forcing thousands of 
people to flee the country in search of food, shelter 
and safety.  Many thousands more have been internally 
displaced.  Human rights abuses are committed on every 
side of the conflict, but the significant difference is 
that the Maoists' abuses are tactical policy.  END 
COMMENT.