US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU2045

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 KATHMANDU 002045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
MANILA FOR ADB 
LONDON FOR POL - RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2012 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, NP 
SUBJECT: FOLLOW-ON TO THE CONFERENCE ON NEPAL IN LONDON: 
DONOR REPS IN KATHMANDU ENDORSE CONTINUING SUPPORT DESIPITE 
MAOIST CRISIS 
 
 
Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION ROBERT K. BOGGS.  REASONS: 1.5 ( 
b, d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  The British Embassy in Kathmandu convened a 
meeting on October 11 of representatives of bilateral and 
multilateral donors to Nepal as a follow-up to the London 
meeting on Nepal in June.  Despite continuing donor 
disquietude about Nepal's political and security problems, 
there was fundamental consensus among the 22 donors that the 
international community should recognize the constraints 
imposed on the Government of Nepal by the Maoist insurgency 
and not impose unreasonable preconditions for continuing 
developmental assistance.  This meeting is being viewed by 
the British Embassy as the activation of an "International 
Contact Group" that will meet periodically to maintain the 
momentum and coordination begun in London.  Reservations by 
the Indian and Chinese Governments have forced the FCO to 
revise its initial proposals for a more elaborate 
architecture of multilateral dialogue on Nepal.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) The British Embassy in Kathmandu took advantage of the 
visit to Kathmandu of Undersecretary of State of the UK, Mike 
O'Brien, to convene a meeting of 22 bilateral and 
multilateral donors and representatives of the Nepalese 
Government and military.  The meeting was billed as a 
follow-up to the International Meeting on Nepal held in 
London in June 2002 although this meeting's abbreviated 
length (two hours) necessitated a much more general, less 
comprehensive discussion than had occurred in London.  There 
was little discussion of specific developmental aid since the 
June meeting and no discussion of security assistance by any 
of the participants.  Mike O'Brien made clear that his 
Embassy intended to issue a Chairman's Statement at the 
conclusion of the meeting which would attempt to capture the 
spirit of the meeting, but which would not be a formally 
cleared, multilateral document.  (See para 10 for the final 
version of the Chairman's Statement.)  Several 
representatives specified that the meeting must be considered 
informal, since they had no authorization from their capitals 
to participate in a more structured contact group. 
 
3. (C) Ambassador Malinowski set the tone of the subsequent 
discussion by pressing for an appropriately strong 
condemnation of Maoist tactics, including terrorism, human 
rights abuses against civilians, and destruction of economic 
and social infrastructure.  He said that he had received 
repeated assurances from GON leaders that the Government was 
willing to negotiate with the Maoists when the climate for a 
fruitful political process had been created.  The Ambassador 
reiterated the interest of the US in social and political 
reform, including the reduction of corruption, but argued 
that unreasonable preconditions should not be imposed on 
Nepal during this time of crisis.  He acknowledged that the 
operations of the GON security forces do sometimes obstruct 
the free flow of food to insurgency-affected areas, but the 
root cause of this was Maoist depredations.   He urged the 
donors not just to complain about or solely criticize GON 
actions or inactions, but to be prepared to work with the GON 
in efforts to effectively combat the insurgency and to 
develop -- like the U.S. and the UK -- new programs to 
specifically help the GON counter the Maoists. USAID/NEPAL 
Director Joanne Hale called upon the donor community to join 
the US in strengthening the rural justice system, the lacunae 
in which tend to be filled by Maoist summary courts.  Hale 
also described USAID plans to rebuild, through quick 
income-generating programs,  rural infrastructure destroyed 
by the Maoists and to rehabilitate child victims of Maoist 
violence.  Hale pledged USAID's willingness to work with 
other donors on our new programs. 
 
4.  (C) The Russian and Australian Ambassadors and the Danish 
Representative agreed that the Chairman's Statement should 
give stronger emphasis to the Maoists' destruction of 
infrastructure.  The German Ambassador too agreed that the 
Chairman's Statement should place stronger onus on the 
Maoists as the root cause of many of Nepal's current 
problems, but felt that some criticism of the GON was 
justified.  The Norwegian Ambassador--usually a vocal critic 
of the GON--acknowledged that progress on reforms was being 
achieved due to the dedicated efforts of some civil servants 
and members of civil society, but expressed concern that 
governmental corruption is being aggravated by Maoist 
extortion.  Although the Government's counterinsurgency 
operations did place unfortunate restriction on the movement 
of food and medicines to some areas, she said, the morale of 
the security forces is important and should be bolstered by 
increased development expenditure in the rural areas.  The 
Indian Charge emphasized the importance of supporting Nepal's 
fledgling democracy and constitutional monarchy.  The donor 
community should do nothing, he warned, to lower the morale 
of the Nepalese people, Government or security forces.  He 
urged the donor community to reiterate its support for the 
security and development of Nepal.  The Chinese Ambassador 
predictably warned against foreign interference in the 
internal affairs of the Kingdom. 
 
5. (C) The representatives of three leading multilateral 
donors--the IBRD, UNDP, and ADB--expressed striking unanimity 
on the following points: 
 
-- Nepal is now in the throes an unprecedented economic and 
developmental crisis; 
 
-- Donors should not give the impression that the GON bears 
primary responsibility for this crisis, since this would only 
strengthen the hand of the Maoists; 
 
-- The international community must recognize the devastating 
impact that the Maoist insurgency is having on the capacity 
of the government to deliver social services and implement 
development programs; 
 
-- Donors should not try to dictate a schedule for GON 
negotiations with the Maoists nor set unrealistic political 
preconditions for the continuation of developmental support. 
 
6. (U) The GON was represented by several senior Foreign 
Ministry officials, a member of the National Planning 
Commission, and a major general working in the National 
Security Council Secretariat.  The ranking Foreign Ministry 
representative presented the donors with the Government's 
"Action Plan to Exppedite Reforms."  The major general argued 
forcefully for more international resources to rehabilitate 
surrendered Maoists and the victims of Maoist violence. 
 
7. (U) List of Attendees: 
 
Mr. Michael Malinowski, US Ambassador 
Mr. Ruediger Wenk, Delegation of the EU Charge d'Affaires 
Dr. Giap Dang, EU Delegation 
Ms. Carla Hogan Rufelds, Canadian Cooperation Office 
Mr. Louis Simard, Canadian Cooperation Office 
Mr. Crispin Conroy, Australian Ambassador 
Mr. Kazumi Suzuki, Japanese DCM 
Mr. Saburo Sato, Japanese Embassy 
Mr. Shota Kamishima, Japanese Embassy 
Mrs. Ingrid Ofstad, Royal Norwegian Ambassador 
Mr. Ashok Kumar, Indian Charge d'Affaires 
Mr. Gert Meinecke, Royal Danish Charge d'Affaires 
Mr. Ruediger Lemp, German Ambassador 
Mr. Ulf Wernicke, Director, GTZ 
Mr. Claude Ambrosini, French Ambassador 
Ms. Amandine Pobe, French Embassy 
Mr. Valery Nazarov, Russian Ambassador 
Mr. Wu Congyong, Chine Ambassador 
Mr. Jan de Witte, SNV Nepal 
Mr. Peter Koch, Dutch Ambassador (SNV) 
Mr. Kenichi Ohashi, World Bank (IBRD) 
Ms. Joanne T. Hale, Director, USAID 
Mr. Robert K. Boggs, US DCM 
Mr. Henning Karcher, UNDP 
Mr. Anton Hagen, SDC (N) Swiss 
Mr. Asko Luukkainen, Finnish Charge d'Affaires 
Mr. Gyan Chandr Acharya, Joint Secretary, Europe and America 
Division, MFA 
Dr. Shankar Sharma, National Planning Commission 
Maj-Gen Rookmangud Katawal, National Security Council 
Secretariat 
 
SIPDIS 
Professor Sridhar Khatri, Institute of Foreign Affairs 
Mr. Madhav Ghimire, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Dr. Rambhaktar Thakur, Joint Secretary, MFA 
Mr. Sukhwinder Singh, IMF 
Ms. Erika Joergensen, WFP 
Mr. Richard Vokes, Asian Development Bank 
Mr. Bruno Georges, as observer for Belgian Delegation 
 
8. (C) Comment.  The tenor of the October Donors' Meeting in 
Kathmandu essentially replicated that of the June meeting in 
London.  The local donor representatives are deeply concerned 
about the continuing deterioration in Nepal's economic 
situation, which they attribute primarily to the Maoists. 
Although they hold the GON responsible for administrative 
lapses and political infighting, they do not want to issue 
public statements or set political preconditions that would 
encourage the Maoists to believe that international opinion 
is shifting in their favor.  They were particularly cautious 
about making political statements on October 11, the same day 
that the King announced his appointment of a new prime 
minister and a number of new cabinet ministers.  Many donor 
representatives are concerned about the series of political 
missteps by the elected government that led the King to 
dissolve the Cabinet on October 4, and are reporting 
pressures from their capitals to justify continued 
development assistance in the face of Maoist violence and 
constitutional issues in Kathmandu.  The donor community is 
united, however, in giving the King the benefit of the doubt 
as his new government takes steps against governmental 
corruption and tries to establish a modus vivendi with the 
political parties that would provide a common front in future 
negotiations with the Maoists. 
 
9. (C) Comment, continued.  Since the October 11 confab at 
the British Embassy, Ambassador Malinowski has consulted 
repeatedly with his British counterpart Keith Bloomfield 
about additional steps to maintain the momentum created by 
the June meeting on Nepal in London.  The October 11 meeting, 
Bloomfield explained, might be considered the activation of 
the most comprehensive of four multilateral working groups on 
Nepal endorsed by the FCO.  Unfortunately, he said, both the 
Indian and Chinese Governments, with which the British 
Government has consulted about its proposed four working 
groups, have declined to participate in multilateral 
discussions focussing narrowly on Nepali security or 
political issues.  Ambassadors Malinowski and Bloomfield 
agreed that, despite Indian and Chinese misgivings, 
international dialogue and coordination on Nepal should be 
pursued as far as practicable.  The British Embassy here is 
consulting with FCO on a concept for a more limited 
architecture of discussions.  Embassy will keep Department 
informed as this revised proposal takes firmer shape.  End 
comment. 
 
10. (U) Final text of final British Chairman's Statement 
(issued October 22): 
 
Begin text: 
"The international meeting on Nepal held in London in June 
2002 noted the deep concern of the international community 
over the conflict in Nepal, particularly the vicious Maoist 
outrages as well as human rights abuses.  The participants in 
the meeting agreed that an integrated approach of security, 
reform and development was necessary to address the conflict. 
 The meeting recognized that the basis for international 
support for such an approach would be democratic political 
leadership committed to tackling corruption and building 
national consensus, whilst determinedly pursuing a strong 
security response. 
 
We note that since the meeting in June, the people of Nepal 
have continued to suffer.  We condemn the threat to democracy 
posed by the continuing Maoist insurgency and the wanton 
destruction of life and property by them and insist that 
political change will not be brought about by violence.  We 
unreservedly condemn all acts of terrorism and abuses of 
human rights.  The community gives strong support to the 
government which has begun to address reform and development 
through the immediate action plan and to provide peace, 
protection and security to all its citizens, and regrets that 
the security situation did not allow local and national 
elections to be held this year, 
 
This meeting reviewed and welcomed progress and urges the 
Government of Nepal and the international community to 
continue implementing the London recommendations, 
particularly in the following areas: 
 
-- Security:  The meeting welcomed recent security efforts 
and supports the government's determination to show the 
Maoists that they cannot win by violence; 
-- Cross-Party Approach:  By seeking to develop a cross-party 
political process which ends the violence; 
-- Corruption:  The meeting welcomed the new anti-corruption 
law and progress by the CIAA in investigating corruption 
allegations and urges the Government to ensure legal action 
is taken against those who breach a position of trust; those 
who pay bribes are to be condemned as much as those who 
receive them. 
-- Development:  Within security constraints by increasing 
visible development efforts particularly in the mid- and 
far-west of the country, including by improving the 
circumstances of dalits, women and ethnic groups.  There also 
needs to be continued efforts to coordinate activities by the 
development agencies to coordinate their efforts and to work 
with the Nepalese Government; 
-- Human Rights:  The meeting welcomed the commitment of the 
government to human rights and international humanitarian 
standards and particularly the establishment of the human 
rights cell in the Royal Nepal Army, and urges the government 
to investigate thoroughly allegations of human rights 
violations and seek the prosecution of offenders, as well as 
redress and rehabilitation of victims; 
-- Democracy:  By setting quickly a timetable for elections 
for local representative bodies and parliament; 
-- Food and Medicine:  By seeking to get food and medicine to 
all areas of the country without artificial hindrances; 
-- Reform:  The meeting welcomed progress made and urges the 
government to accelerate reform in key areas of central 
government to enable the authorities to effectively tackle 
the causes of the conflict, deliver services and support 
democracy. 
 
This meeting believes that continued progress on these points 
is desirable particularly through: 
 
-- practical support for a resolution of the conflict; 
-- further support for reform and development in nepal; 
-- support for post-conflict reconstruction in nepal. 
 
This meeting agreed to convene further meetings to coordinate 
help for Nepal in tackling the current crisis and long term 
problems." 
End text. 
 
 
 
 
 
MALINOWSKI