US embassy cable - 05KATHMANDU1353

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS 
LONDON FOR POL/BELL 
NSC FOR DORMANDY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PINS, NP, IN, Political Parties, Maoist Insurgency, Government of Nepal (GON) 
SUBJECT: KOIRALA DISTRUSTFUL OF MAOISTS AND KING 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 04531 
 
Classified By: Charge Elisabeth Millard. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (C)  Charge found former Nepalese PM and current leader of 
the seven party alliance 80-year-old GP Koirala fit and spry 
when calling on him at his residence on June 21 after his 
return from a "medical" trip to India.  Koirala said that 
there was an important role for the international community 
to play, noting that he distrusted both the King and the 
Maoists.  Koirala said that recent overtures to the Maoists 
were both a test to gauge the true nature of the Maoist 
commitment to dialogue and a means to pressure the King. 
Charge cautioned that such an approach was dangerous and 
pressed for dialogue between the parties and the palace. 
 
International Role 
------------------ 
 
2. (C) Koirala stated he had the opportunity to meet with GOI 
officials and politicians in India (reftel) to discuss the 
role of the international community in Nepal.  He had noted 
that Maoists are not only a Nepali problem, and urged India 
to take initiative with the international community to work 
toward a political solution.  Koirala suggested a third party 
facilitator or mediator, such as the UN, would be necessary 
to bring all the parties together. 
 
Arms 
---- 
 
3. (C) Koirala mentioned he told the Indians that while it 
was their decision on how to supply arms to Nepal, he hoped 
they would consider if their actions would encourage and 
support democracy or autocracy.  Koirala expressed the view 
that while the Maoists and the RNA had arms, the parties did 
not and could not defend themselves if attacked by either 
group.  The Charge expressed concern about describing the 
Maoists and the RNA as equals, noting the RNA's raison d'tre 
is largely to defend against the insurgency. 
 
Parties Testing the Maoists 
--------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Koirala said that he wanted to test the Maoists, so he 
sent a message to them.  While they responded that they were 
flexible and had expressed interest in a face to face 
meeting, Koirala noted that this might be positive only on 
the surface.  Only time would tell their true intentions. He 
admitted that the parties were also using their dialogue with 
the Maoists to pressure the King.  The Charge said that such 
an approach was dangerous -- the Maoists were trying to 
deepen the divide between the parties and the palace.  It was 
hard to understand any approach which provided the insurgents 
with legitimacy less than two weeks after their most deadly 
attack on civilians. 
 
Parties Distrustful of the King 
------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Koirala said that there has been no recent 
communication between the seven parties and the King.  The 
parties would wait and see if and how the King reached out to 
the parties once he returns to Nepal on June 22.   The Charge 
offered the idea of using the proposed municipal elections as 
an opportunity to work toward democracy.   Koirala 
acknowledged that they had discussed various options, but he 
reiterated the parties stand against municipal elections 
stating that participation would "legitimize all 
unconstitutional acts by the King."  Koirala noted that the 
King had deceived the people of Nepal before by calling for 
multiparty elections and he could do so again.  The Charge 
noted that the international community's eyes were on Nepal 
and so the current situation was different. 
 
Future Steps 
------------ 
 
6. Koirala noted that now the parties were waiting to see 
what both the King and the Maoists do. The King had to create 
the conditions for dialogue, and the Maoists had to show by 
their actions if they were sincere.  Koirala mentioned that 
his party's convention would be in August and at that time 
the NC's policy would be clearly formulated. 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (C) Post found Koirala's distrust of the Maoists 
reassuring, but we are still concerned that the gambit may 
backfire with disastrous consequences. We continue to push 
for dialogue between the seven parties and the King, and urge 
the parties not to legitimize the Maoists before they give up 
arms and renounce terrorism. 
MILLARD