US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU380

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000380 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
LONDON FOR RIEGEL 
 
E.O. 12958:    N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: PM URGES RATIFICATION OF EMERGENCY IN SHADOW OF 
ACHHAM INCIDENTS 
 
REF(S):  (A)  KATHMANDU 0377 (B) KATHMANDU 0379; 
(C) KATHMANDU 0333 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  Parliament reconvened in the late afternoon of Feb. 
18 after angry Opposition MPs had disrupted an earlier 
session, demanding Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, 
rather than the Home Minister, take the podium to report 
on the Maoist attacks in Achham (Ref A) the previous 
day.  In his address the PM also urged ratification of 
the state of emergency, allowing its continuation for 
another three months.  Suggested press guidance on the 
attacks in Achham follows in Para 6 below.  End summary. 
 
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PM ASKS PARLIAMENT TO RATIFY EMERGENCY 
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2.  The Parliamentary session interrupted mid-day Feb. 
18 after angry Opposition MPs surrounded the dais and 
shouted down the Home Minister (Ref B) resumed after a 
five-hour delay at 5:00 p.m. the same day, with Prime 
Minister Deuba, rather than the Home Minister, 
addressing the assembly.  The session concluded 
relatively peacefully in under two hours, although 
Opposition MPs peppered the PM with questions about the 
security situation in the country, according to one 
member of his Cabinet. 
 
3.  The PM began by reading out the Home Minister's 
report on the Maoist attacks at Achham (Ref A), 
reporting updated casualty figures as follows:  55 Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) soldiers (out of a 58-man platoon); 77 
policemen; 5 civilians; and 13 insurgents.  Another five 
policemen were killed in a separate incident in Sarlahi 
District the same day (Ref A).  In addition, Deuba 
reported the Maoists stole 80 rifles, 2 shotguns, and 10 
revolvers from police at the District Police station, 
jail, and airport in Achham. 
 
4.  The PM used the report on Achham as a lead-in to 
urge ratification of the state of emergency, which would 
allow its continuation for an additional three months 
(Ref C).  Deuba charged that the Maoists' bad faith in 
breaking off the ceasefire after three rounds of 
negotiations had left the Government of Nepal (GON) no 
alternative but to seek declaration of the state of 
emergency.  The three-month span of the emergency thus 
far has been insufficient to quell the insurgency, Deuba 
said; to do so requires more "time and patience."  The 
Maoists' actions have made them the enemy of the Nepali 
people, Deuba charged; the emergency is needed to stop 
the bloodshed perpetrated by the Maoists.  He 
underscored that the emergency is targeted only at 
Maoists, and should not adversely affect the general 
population.  He added that the GON is giving ICRC access 
to Maoist prisoners and allowing the organization to 
scrutinize actions taken by security forces during the 
course of the emergency.  The GON has received strong 
moral support from the world community, Deuba noted, 
including from Secretary of State Colin Powell during 
his Jan. 18-19 visit to Nepal and from donors at the 
Nepal Development Forum Feb. 4-7. 
 
5.  Deuba promised to seek all-party consensus in 
pursuing needed social, economic, and administrative 
reforms, including stronger legislation to curb 
corruption.  Finally, he appealed to the assembled MPs 
to transcend "petty interests" at this time of national 
crisis and to unite in support of GON efforts to restore 
security.  A vote on ratification of the emergency is 
scheduled to take place Feb. 22. 
 
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SUGGESTED PRESS GUIDANCE 
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6.  The Embassy proposes the following press guidance on 
the incidents at Achham: 
 
Begin text of suggested guidance: 
 
The Government of the United States denounces the 
violent attacks perpetrated by Maoist insurgents in 
Achham District the morning of Feb. 17.  We extend our 
condolences to the families of the more than 130 victims 
of this senseless bloodshed.  We reiterate our support 
for the right of the Government of Nepal to safeguard 
its citizens, as provided for under the Constitution. 
Once more we urge the Maoists to lay down their arms 
immediately and to engage in the peaceful pursuit of 
their aims within the democratic framework of Nepal's 
Constitution. 
 
End text of suggested guidance. 
 
MALINOWSKI