US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU828

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000828 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, PGOV, CASC, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MAOISTS ATTACK CIVILIAN VEHICLES AS COMPLIANCE 
WITH GENERAL STRIKE ERODES 
 
REFS: A) KATHMANDU 813, B) KATHMANDU 804 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Kathmandu continued to move toward 
normalcy on the fourth day of the Maoists' five-day 
general strike with traffic even heavier than yesterday. 
A bomb went off April 26 injuring two on a bus about one 
kilometer from the Embassy, while on April 25 Maoists 
bombed a private residence and a taxi, wounding the driver 
and a passer-by.  Police arrested one man carrying a bomb 
in his jacket.  A local journalist who canvassed Kathmandu 
Valley residents during the strike found increasing 
frustration at the costs the insurgency levied on working 
people and the economy.  Post confirmed as false press 
reports that on April 25 Maoists had left a bomb on the 
street near the Embassy and had attacked remote Red Cross 
and foreign aid offices and a Kathmandu orphanage.  By 
bombing public conveyances the Maoists hope to make good 
on their promises to enforce the strike, but so far to 
little effect.  End Summary. 
 
Fourth Day Busier, But Marred By Bombings 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) April 26 marked the fourth day of a five-day 
general strike, or "bandh," called by Maoist insurgents. 
Traffic in the capital was heavier than previous days, 
more shops were open, and more people were out in the 
street (Reftels).  A mid-day lull caused by heavy rains 
from a Spring storm was broken, violently, by a bombing in 
the vicinity of the private residence of Nepal's King and 
the Embassy. 
 
Maoists Attack Public Conveyances in Kathmandu 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
3. (U) The bomb exploded on a public bus at about 3:00 
p.m. April 26 as it plied a main road in front of 
Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, 
approximately 100 meters south of the King's private home 
and one kilometer north of the Embassy.  Two pedestrians 
suffered minor injuries and were seen at the nearby 
emergency room, according to a teaching hospital official. 
[Note:  Initial reports had three passengers wounded.]  At 
around 6:00 p.m. April 25, a bomb went off in a taxi in 
the Dhalkhu area of the capital.  The driver and a 15-year- 
old pedestrian were wounded.  Three people, including one 
woman, had hailed the driver, instructed him to take them 
to an intersection, and asked him to wait while they went 
to meet a friend.  After about five minutes a bomb they 
had left behind in the taxi went off. 
 
4. (U) Also on April 25, a bomb exploded outside a private 
residence in the city center, causing slight damage to a 
perimeter wall.  On the same day police arrested a Maoist 
concealing a socket bomb in his jacket as he walked along 
a main road in the Boudha neighborhood. 
 
More Citizens Stand Up 
---------------------- 
 
5. (U) In another show of defiance against the Maoists, a 
trade group organized a motorcycle rally April 26 to 
protest the 5-day general strike.  A journalist for 
Nepal's leading daily newspaper told Poloff that he and 
his colleagues had spent the second and third days of the 
bandh criss-crossing the Kathmandu Valley on motorcycles 
talking to local residents, including bus and taxi 
drivers, storekeepers, farmers and students.  They found a 
population increasingly angry at the Maoists' actions and 
frustrated by the mounting toll the insurgency was taking 
on the economy.  Many found it increasingly difficult to 
feed themselves and their families. 
 
Bad Press 
--------- 
 
6. (U) Misinformation carried the day April 26 at Nepal's 
English-language newspapers.  The front page of the 
Himalayan Times featured a sidebar on a bomb that had 
allegedly been defused by security forces only 100 meters 
north of the Embassy.  In fact, police sources told us, a 
suspicious package thought to be a bomb was found in the 
street, but when security forces attempted to neutralize 
it with explosives, that package turned out to contain 
only garbage.  The April 26 Kathmandu Post carried an 
erroneous story alleging that Maoists had attacked the 
Tehrathum district offices of German and British 
development agencies and the Nepal Red Cross.  In 
actuality, Maoists had attacked a field office of an NGO - 
the Demali Society - affiliated with those organizations. 
Nothing on display would identify Demali as an affiliate 
of the Red Cross or other organization, however. 
 
7. (U) An incident involving a bomb at an orphanage 
reported in the press and by police (Ref A) also turned 
out to be exaggerated.  On April 25 Maoists threw a petrol 
bomb at a small bus traveling on Kathmandu's ring road. 
The bottle missed its target and smashed on the pavement. 
The perpetrators attempted to run away, but were chased by 
locals - and reportedly some of the orphans - into a 
building near the orphanage.  Police arrived and took the 
bombers into custody.  The press reported, erroneously, 
that the bomb had been defused inside the orphanage. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (SBU) By setting off bombs on taxis and buses, the 
Maoists are trying to make good on their promise to 
enforce the bandh.  Their actions have not yet had the 
desired effect, however, as following the well-publicized 
April 25 taxi blast, even more cabs hit the street April 
26.  As the journalists' informal poll shows, Kathmandu 
residents have become increasingly frustrated with the 
costs the Maoists have imposed on Nepal's economy, 
society, and reputation.  Many have begun to assert their 
rights, and many more have decided to get on with life 
despite the Maoists' threats. 
 
MALINOWSKI