US embassy cable - 05KATHMANDU2391

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA FRONT OFFICE 
SA/INS (GOWER) SA/PPD (SCHWARTZ, SCENSNY, ROGERS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KMDR, KPAO, NP, U.S-Nepali Relations 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S REMARKS CALLING FOR FREE MEDIA, FAIR 
ELECTIONS IN NEPAL 
GARNER WIDE MEDIA ATTENTION 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  Ambassador Moriarty made front-page headlines October 26 and 
27 in a series of comments supporting free media and questioning 
the call by His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMGN) for 
elections amidst a crackdown on the press and a continuing 
refusal by the government to reach out to the political parties. 
Just days after security forces' midnight raid on private 
Kantipur FM, the Ambassador visited the radio station on October 
25 to see firsthand the gaping hole where satellite up-linking 
equipment had been seized by the government to prevent Kantipur 
from sending its signal to eastern Nepal to provide for 
simultaneous broadcasts.  A day later the Ambassador met with 
journalists and made his first public comments about HMGN's 
recent call for municipal and national elections, warning they 
would be a "hollow exercise" if the government did not create the 
conditions for free and fair polls.  END SUMMARY. 
 
USG OUT IN FRONT ON SUPPORT FOR FREE MEDIA 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2.  On October 25, the Embassy released the text of a statement 
by Department Spokesperson Sean McCormack, who said the USG was 
"deeply disappointed and concerned by the shocking seizure at 
gunpoint of radio equipment from the Kathmandu office of Kantipur 
FM Station, an independent FM radio station, by state authorities 
on October 21."  The same day Ambassador Moriarty visited 
Kantipur FM to see firsthand the hole where the up-linking 
equipment had been.  During his visit the Ambassador noted, "Free 
media is a cornerstone of democracy; therefore, we are concerned 
and worried and my government is worried."  News and photographs 
of the Ambassador's visit and the Spokesperson's statement was 
featured on popular Kantipur TV that evening and dominated the 
front pages of The Kathmandu Post (E/D, circ: 30,000), Kantipur 
Daily (V/D, circ: 100,000 plus), and other daily newspapers in 
both English and Nepali on October 26. 
 
3.  The Ambassador continued this show of support for free media 
and democracy at a program on October 26 with journalists in 
Butwal, a town in Rupandehi District in the Terai.  In prepared 
remarks that highlighted recent successes for electoral democracy 
in Afghanistan and Iraq, Ambassador Moriarty said that in Nepal, 
elections without the robust participation of legitimate 
political parties would be a "hollow exercise."  He again called 
on the Palace to reach out to the political parties to find a way 
back to democracy, saying: "Nepalis and the international 
community alike worry that the King is less interested in 
conducting free and fair elections than in elections 
intentionally designed to validate his continued rule."  The 
Ambassador also called on the political parties to participate in 
elections if the King were to reach out and if the polls could be 
conducted freely and fairly.  He then went on to question the 
Maoists' intentions during the ceasefire and urged caution by the 
political parties when they approached Maoists for talks. 
 
4.  The next day the Ambassador toured three FM stations in the 
neighboring city of Tansen and conducted an impromptu press 
conference, repeating the USG message about elections and media 
freedom.  One radio station, which claims to broadcast into 20 of 
Nepal's 75 districts, aired his remarks that same morning, 
reaching thousands of Nepalis who do not get Kathmandu 
newspapers. 
 
5.  The Embassy released the Ambassador's October 26 comments to 
journalists in Butwal in both English and Nepali to media houses 
in Kathmandu for maximum exposure.  All daily English and Nepali 
newspapers covered his remarks and his visit to Butwal and 
Tansen, most on their front page.  The Ambassador's comments 
dominated local newspapers in Rupandehi District as well. 
 
CONFUSION ON THE CHINA ISSUE 
---------------------------- 
 
6.  During the question and answer session in Butwal, journalists 
asked the Ambassador about recent news that China had offered 
military assistance to HMG and that the government was courting 
support from Pakistan and Russia.  The Ambassador replied that 
while HMGN had a right to self-defense and to seek weapons from 
any legitimate supplier, he hoped that the King would not see 
such arms deals as a way to escape pressure from the 
international community, namely the West and India, to compromise 
with the political parties and return to democracy.  In that 
sense, the USG was watching the arms deal with great concern. 
The next day in pro-Indian newspapers The Himalayan Times (E/D, 
circ: 40,000) and The Annapurna Post (V/D, circ: 60,000), the 
Ambassador's comments were not wholly reported.  The media said 
the USG "objected" to Chinese military aid but did not report his 
concern that such transactions would lead the King to ignore the 
need to reconcile with the political parties. 
 
7.  In comments in Rautahat District on October 30, Vice-Chairman 
of the Council of Ministers Dr. Tulsi Giri decried this so-called 
U.S. "objection" to Chinese military aid and went on to call 
President George W. Bush the world's worst human right violator 
and say that HMGN would never bow down to U.S. pressure. 
 
ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS 
------------------------- 
 
8.  COMMENT: The USG was one of the first in the international 
community to comment publicly on the Kantipur FM raid. 
Subsequently, The Kathmandu Post (sister paper of the station) 
placed the Ambassador's comments about free and fair elections 
above similar comments by the British Ambassador and the Prime 
Minister of India.  Local journalists in Butwal also were 
extremely pleased to have such a candid interaction with the 
Ambassador, and one said: "Since 23 years I am associated with 
media and within this time period I have not found any ambassador 
or foreign diplomat had got such coverage in local, national and 
international media during his/her visit in this region."  The 
Ambassador's domination of last week's headlines made clear USG 
support for democracy and civil liberties in Nepal. 
 
MORIARTY