US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU838

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000838 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, CASC, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: NORMALCY RETURNS AFTER FIVE-DAY STRIKE; MAOISTS 
DECLARE STRIKE A SUCCESS, CRITICIZE U.S. 
 
REFS: A) KATHMANDU 828, B) KATHMANDU 813, C) KATHMANDU 804 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Normalcy returned to Nepal's capital 
April 28 after a five-day general strike called by Maoist 
insurgents ended the day before.  On the strike's last day 
scattered violent incidents were reported in the Kathmandu 
Valley, including the deaths of three Maoists who had 
tried to stop traffic on a suburban road.  Also on April 
27, in Khotang district after at least 12 Maoists were 
killed in an encounter with security forces, the 
insurgents retaliated by attacking an airport tower in the 
district.  In three recent statements, Maoist leaders 
Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai declared the general 
strike a success; complained of the bounty put on the 
heads of Maoist leaders; and criticized U.S. and foreign 
involvement in Nepal.  End Summary. 
 
Strike Over, Normalcy Returns 
----------------------------- 
 
2. (U) Life returned to normal in Kathmandu April 28 after 
a five-day Maoist-declared general strike shut down many 
businesses and nearly all long-distance transport April 23- 
27.  Many larger stores in the capital opened tentatively 
April 27, although traffic remained light.  According to 
media reports, in Kathmandu a few scattered attacks on 
vehicles occurred and two bombs were defused by police. 
Three Maoists were killed after they tried to block 
traffic on a road south-west of the capital, a Defense 
Ministry press release said. 
 
Maoists Retaliate by Destroying Airport Tower 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) On April 27, the last day of the general strike, 
"at least 12" Maoists died in clashes with security forces 
in Khotang district, about 90 miles southeast of 
Kathmandu, according to a Defense Ministry press release. 
The 12 Maoists were killed after they encountered security 
forces on a remote trail four hours walk east of the 
district headquarters.  Initial news reports stated that 
22 Maoists died in the operation; the exact number of 
casualties is unknown.  Maoists retaliated by destroying 
the airport tower at Lamidanda in Khotang during the early 
morning hours of April 29.  A team of civil air officials 
who inspected the site confirmed the incident to a 
Kathmandu journalist. 
 
New Maoist Press Releases Criticize Bounty, U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
4. (SBU) In press releases dated April 25 and April 27, 
Maoist leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai complained 
about the government's offer of a reward for top Maoist 
leaders and U.S. involvement in Nepal.  Prachanda's April 
25 statement accused Nepal's leaders of plotting "to hand 
over the entire country to the American imperialists," and 
asserted that the government's offer of a reward for 
Maoist leaders "will never be successful." 
 
Maoists Declare Strike "Success" 
-------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) In an April 27 statement, Baburam Bhattarai, 
writing as "Coordinator, United Revolutionary People's 
Council, Nepal," thanked all those who made the April 23- 
27 general strike a "grand success."  Battarai also 
complained about Nepal's leaders offering a reward for 
high-level Maoists, and "trying to invite foreign powers 
along with America for military intervention causing great 
danger to the country's sovereignty.  In his own April 27 
statement, Prachanda also labeled the general strike as 
"successful" and criticized the government's plans to 
involve "foreign devils" in its struggle with the 
insurgents. 
 
6. (U) Post obtained Nepali-language versions of the 
Maoist leaders' three statements late in the day April 29. 
Post will send its own full translations to SA/INS April 
30. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (SBU) That the Maoist general strike was not a clear 
success was obvious to all Nepalese, Maoist assertions to 
the contrary not withstanding.  Scattered acts of Maoist 
violence did not succeed in cowing most urbanites, and the 
strike was widely flaunted in most cities and the larger 
towns.  The Maoists now refer to the U.S. and other 
unspecified foreign powers with increasing frequency. 
However, in their statements the Maoists seem to take at 
least as much umbrage to the prices put on their heads as 
to reports of U.S. involvement.  With another Maoist- 
declared strike behind them, many Nepalese have already 
begun to hear rumors of the next strike. 
 
MALINOWSKI