US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU1674

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001674 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/OP/NEA 
STATE PLEASE ALSO PASS USAID - DCHA/OFDA 
LONDON FOR POL - RIEDEL 
MANILA FOR USAID - DCHA/OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, CASC, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: BOMB BLAST MARS LAPSE OF EMERGENCY IN NEPAL 
 
REF: A. (A) KATHMANDU 1640 
 
     B. (B) KATHMANDU 1373 
     C. (C) KATHMANDU 1255 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (SBU) A mid-morning bomb blast in the heart of 
Kathmandu's commercial center marred the  August 28 lapse of 
the state of national emergency.  One person was injured in 
the blast, which is believed to have been set by Maoist 
insurgents.  The explosion marked the second bombing in 
Kathmandu in three days.  We expect that Prime Minister Deuba 
will push for re-imposition of the emergency, which has been 
in virtually continuous operation for the past nine months, 
upon his return from Europe at the end of the week.  End 
summary. 
 
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ONE INJURED IN MORNING BLAST 
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2.  (U) One person suffered minor injuries in an explosion on 
the third floor of a busy shopping center in downtown 
Kathmandu at 11:00 a.m. local time August 28.  The explosion, 
which occurred in a hallway near a branch of the state-owned 
Rastriya Banijya Bank, shattered glass but otherwise caused 
no major damage to the office or surrounding shops.  The 
blast took place on New Road, a popular and congested 
commercial district about 4 km from the Embassy. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Local police, who report receiving a series of 
telephone calls warning of similar explosions in the 
vicinity, are conducting searches throughout the area but 
have so far located no other devices.  Authorities suspect 
the blast was set by Maoist insurgents, who had earlier 
declared August 27 the official start of an agitation 
campaign leading up to a national strike, or "bandh," they 
have called for September 16 (Ref B).  (Note:  Shopowners in 
the building targeted by the bombing had orgainzed a car 
rally in defiance of the Maoists' five-day bandh last April. 
End note.)  The blast coincides with the lapse of the state 
of national emergency, which had been in virtually continuous 
operation since its imposition by the Government November 26. 
 
 
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TWO DEAD IN APPARENT ACCIDENTAL BLAST 
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4.  (U) Two men were killed in a bomb blast at a rooming 
house in Kathmandu the night of August 26.  The explosion, 
which took place in a residential area about 6 km from the 
Embassy, apparently occurred when the victims, subsequently 
identified as suspected Maoists, were attempting to assemble 
the device in the room.  There is some speculation that a 
nearby Army facility housing armored Ferret cars might have 
been the prospective target.  No Army property was damaged in 
the blast.  Police have made two arrests in the case.  On the 
same day suspected Maoist gunmen killed a policeman during a 
bank robbery in Nepal's southern plains that netted them 
nearly USD 1 million. 
 
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EMERGENCY:  TO EXTEND OR NOT EXTEND? 
------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) The state of emergency, which lapsed at midnight 
August 27, can be extended for another three months by royal 
ordinance at the request of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur 
Deuba, now on an official visit to the EU in Brussels.  Most 
observers expect the emergency, which suspends a number of 
key civil rights, including the rights to assembly and free 
press, to be reinstated upon his return to Kathmandu, either 
August 31 or September 1.  Deuba has stated both privately 
and publicly--most recently to reporters in Brussels--that 
the state of emergency will be lifted prior to November 13 
national elections.  Many Western donors, including some EU 
member states, have questioned whether their governments will 
provide election assistance requested by the Nepali 
Government if the state of emergency remains in effect during 
polling. 
 
6.  (SBU)  The expiration of the emergency had no immediate 
visible effect on the streets of Kathamandu, where armed 
soldiers continue to patrol major thoroughfares.  Many 
Opposition politicians have spoken out against extension of 
the emergency, arguing that existing anti-terrorism laws 
offer the security forces and the Government ample latitude 
to apprehend and prosecute suspected insurgents (Ref C). 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (SBU)  This morning's bomb blast is fairly typical of 
Maoist "gearing-up" activities before previous general 
strikes.  Similar incidents may follow in the days leading up 
to the September 16 bandh.  Opposition protests 
notwithstanding, the explosion, coupled with the bank heist 
and fatal bomb blast two days earlier, make extension of the 
emergency for at least the next two months all but a foregone 
conclusion.  Whether or not Deuba will be able to keep to his 
oft-repeated pledge to lift the emergency before elections 
remains to be seen. 
MALINOWSKI