US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU278

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000278 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA 
 
E.O. 12958:    N/A 
TAGS: NP, PTER, PGOV, CASC, ASEC, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MAOISTS KILL 16 POLICE; CALL FOR NATIONWIDE 
STRIKE 
 
REF(S):  (A)  KATHMANDU 0184; (B) 01 KATHMANDU 2388 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) Maoist insurgents continued their attacks 
against police with a deadly assault on a police post in 
Kavre District the morning of February 5.  On February 4 
Maoists also attacked an airport and guest house in the 
popular tourist area of Lukla, Solukhumbu District, 
causing property damage but no injuries.  To celebrate 
the seventh anniversary of the insurgency February 13, 
the Maoist leadership has called for a series of local 
strikes (bandhs) across the country, culminating in a 
nationwide bandh February 22-23.  End summary. 
 
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ANNIVERSARY PREPARATIONS 
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2.  (U)  Maoist violence--especially against the police- 
-is increasing as the February 13 date marking the 
seventh anniversary of the Maoist insurgency approaches. 
The Maoists' number-two leader, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai 
(who has appended a new title--Coordinator of the United 
Revolutionary People's Council--to his official 
communications) has called for a series of local strikes 
(bandhs) across the country from Feb. 7-21, culminating 
in a nationwide bandh Feb. 22-23 in honor of the 
anniversary. 
 
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POLICE TARGETED AGAIN 
----------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  Although attacks against civilians in remote 
areas continue, the Maoists appear once again to be 
targeting police.  In addition to the eight policemen 
killed in two separate attacks Jan. 23 and 28 (Ref A), 
two more policemen were killed in a targeted landmine 
explosion on a major highway near Pokhara January 31. 
In the single most lethal attack against security forces 
since the imposition of the state of emergency November 
26, in the early morning hours of February 5 insurgents 
attacked a police post along the highway in Bhankunde, 
Kavre District, approximately 50 km south of Kathmandu. 
After killing 16 policemen and injuring 4, the Maoists 
carted away 39 rifles, 4 shotguns, and 10 pistols.  The 
attack apparently lasted several hours (from 1:00 a.m. 
to 5:00 a.m., according to one report); there were no 
reports of Maoist casualties.  Despite the ferocity of 
the assault and its proximity to Kathmandu, the local 
press--both vernacular and English--carried no stories 
of the attack. 
 
4.  (SBU) The police post is located directly in front 
of a project camp for Nepali laborers and staff building 
a new highway funded by the Japanese government. 
According to a Japanese embassy official, the Maoists 
made no attempt to enter the project site or to take any 
equipment from the site.  (Note:  Japanese project staff 
live in Dhulikhel and were not present at the time of 
the attack.  End note.)  The Japanese Embassy views the 
incident as an attack against the police, rather than 
the project, and intends to continue work on the road. 
 
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GROUNDED IN LUKLA 
--------------------- 
 
5.   (U) Maoists also set off a small pressure cooker 
bomb at the airport in Lukla, Solukhumbu District, at 
about 11:00 p.m. February 4, blasting out several 
windows and slightly damaging a tower.  A similar bomb 
exploded at a guest house in the town. No injuries were 
reported as a result of either blast.  The timing of the 
attacks appears to have been designed to avoid 
casualties. 
 
6.  (SBU)  According to the Flight Operations Director 
at Lukla Airport, airport staff had been receiving 
threats for several days leading up to the attack and 
had closed down the airport Feb. 2, pending the arrival 
of Royal Nepal Army (RNA) troops to protect the 
facility.  Airport staff confirmed helicopter-borne RNA 
troops arrived the afternoon of Feb. 5--after the attack- 
-and said flights out of Lukla will most likely resume 
Feb. 6.  (Note:  With an airport as the entry point for 
most tourists to the Mount Everest Base Camp, Lukla is a 
popular tourist destination, although it sees little 
tourist traffic at this time of year.  End note.)  The 
Consular section has received no requests for assistance 
from Amcits, although we understand that at least one 
American may be in Lukla. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (SBU)  The Maoists are stepping up their violent 
activities just as Parliament is preparing to consider 
an extension of the emergency.  The nationwide bandh the 
Maoists had called for December 7 fizzled (Ref B); 
whether the Feb. 22-23 bandh will be a similar non-event 
remains to be seen.  With or without a strike, however, 
the Maoists are increasing their pressure on the 
government in the run-up to the anniversary of the 
movement.  The police have long borne the brunt of the 
Maoists' campaign against the government.  During the 
first ten months of 2001 the Maoists killed twice as 
many police as in the previous year, while the number of 
Maoists killed by police fell by almost 50 percent from 
2000 levels.  Maoist violence against security forces 
declined sharply after the imposition of the emergency 
and deployment of the RNA November 26.   The recent 
uptick in violence against police--and the resumption of 
the time-tested tactic of overrunning police posts and 
making off with the arsenal--suggests that the Maoists 
may have rethought the wisdom of taking on the RNA.  To 
celebrate their anniversary, the insurgents seem to be 
once again focusing their efforts on their habitual, 
tried-and-true targets--the police--with disturbing 
success so far.  The Embassy will continue to monitor 
the situation as more information--including whether 
flights from Lukla resume Feb. 6 as planned--becomes 
available. 
 
Malinowski