US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU340

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA 
 
E.O. 12958:    N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, ASEC, CASC, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MAOISTS PAMPHLETEER, PREPARE FOR STRIKE IN 
CAPITAL 
 
REF:  (A) KATHMANDU 0333; (B) KATHMANDU 0278 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U) Maoist insurgents continue to publicize a 
nationwide strike called for Feb. 22-23 in commemoration 
of the seventh anniversary of the insurgency and had 
some success enforcing a local strike in the mid-western 
and western regions Feb. 10.  Security forces have 
increased checkpoints along city streets and major 
arteries into the capital in response to reports that 
Maoist activists plan to infiltrate Kathmandu in the run- 
up to the strike.  A small improvised bomb exploded at a 
tax office located about one kilometer from the U.S. 
Embassy Feb. 11, slightly injuring three people inside 
the Government of Nepal (GON) facility.  Air service to 
and from Lukla, which serves travelers heading for the 
Everest Base Camp, was restored Feb. 11.  End summary. 
 
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PAMPHLETS AND POSTERS 
IN CAPITAL 
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2.  (U) Maoist activists continue to publicize the 
upcoming nationwide strike, or bandh, called for Feb. 22- 
23 (Ref B) in commemoration of the seventh anniversary 
of the insurgency--including in Kathmandu.  Pamphlets 
and posters promoting adherence to the bandh have been 
observed along several major thoroughfares in the 
capital, and at least one activist postering a city wall 
was reportedly shot and injured by police the night of 
Feb. 11. Security forces have increased checkpoints 
along city streets and major arteries into the capital 
in response to reports that Maoist activists plan to 
infiltrate Kathmandu in the run-up to the strike. 
 
3.  (U) A pamphlet distributed by the Maoist-affiliated 
All Nepal Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) in 
Kathmandu Feb. 10 called for residents to observe the 
strike to protest the "martial law" perpetrated on the 
population by the King and Prime Minister.  Besides 
calling for an end to the state of emergency and anti- 
terrorism ordinances, the flyer also demands the 
dissolution of the Constitution and current government; 
the institution of "revolutionary land reforms"; an end 
to gender- and caste-based discrimination; and a halt to 
the "interference of imperialists and expansionists" 
(which typically refers, in standard Maoist demonology, 
to the U.S. and India respectively). 
 
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STRIKE OBSERVED IN WEST 
------------------------ 
 
4.  (U)  The Maoists experienced some success in locally 
enforcing a strike called for the mid-western--long 
regarded the insurgents' strongest base--and western 
regions Feb. 10.  Public transportation reportedly 
ground to a halt on all major highways in the region for 
the day; a bus and two trucks traveling to Surkhet in 
defiance of the ban were set on fire.  The day before 
insurgents destroyed a District Development Committee 
Office and the home of a former State Minister in 
Bardiya District in the west. 
 
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KATHMANDU TAX OFFICE HIT 
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5.  (U) In the late morning of Feb. 11 a small 
improvised device exploded in a bathroom of an Inland 
Revenue Office in the capital, approximately one 
kilometer from the U.S. Embassy and less than half a 
kilometer from the French Embassy.  Three local 
employees of the tax office were slightly injured. 
Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the 
bombing, police suspect Maoist involvement. 
 
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LUKLA AIRPORT BACK IN BUSINESS 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) Air service to and from Lukla Airport, which had 
been suspended as of Feb. 2 (Ref B), resumed Feb. 10 
after the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) sent reinforcements to 
guard the facility.  RNA helicopters evacuated foreign 
tourists, including two American citizens, who had been 
stranded in Lukla, the major entry point for travelers 
to Mt. Everest Base Camp, the previous week. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (SBU)  A December 7 bandh called by the insurgents 
during the state of emergency went generally unobserved 
in the capital, and the Maoists apparently are trying to 
ensure that the Feb. 22-23 strike is not a similar bust. 
In previous years, commemoration of the February 
anniversary of the insurgency typically kicks off the 
start of increased dry-season activity for the Maoists. 
This year, the anniversary coincides with Parliamentary 
debate on the success of the emergency in controlling 
the insurgency (Ref A), raising the stakes for both the 
Maoists and the GON to demonstrate who has the upper 
hand. 
 
MALINOWSKI