US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU89

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000089 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER 
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL 
TREASURY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL/DAUFHAUSER AND DAS JZARATE 
TREASURY ALSO FOR OFAC/RNEWCOMB AND TASK FORCE ON TERRORIST 
FINANCING 
JUSTICE FOR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL/DLAUFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PTER, CASC, PGOV, NP, IN, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: NEPAL:  UPDATE ON MAOIST ACTIVITIES, JAN 11-17 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  Progress toward Government-Maoist peace talks reportedly 
is at a standstill.  The Government of Nepal announced the 
creation of a 20,000-man task force to combat the 
insurgency.  The GON responded to criticism over food 
distribution programs and human rights abuses.  Human Rights 
Watch released its annual report on January 14, citing human 
rights violations by both the GON and the Maoists as other 
organizations demanded more international involvement. 
Maoists killed two policemen and injured four others, and 
also killed a soldier.  An eight-year-old girl was killed 
after being used as a human shield by the Maoists, and 
several other children were injured in a clash between 
security forces and Maoists.  Maoists abducted several 
workers from the CPN-UML and burned down the residences of 
several government officials.  Maoists also have started 
issuing identification cards and refusing entry into Rolpa 
District to those without them. 
 
PEACE TALKS STALLED 
------------------- 
 
2.  Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand told the press on 
January 11 that no progress had been made in bringing the 
Maoists to the negotiating table.  Chand said the Government 
of Nepal (GON) remained committed to resolving the conflict 
but there were no new "significant developments."  The GON 
has not responded to the Maoist agenda for talks, which 
includes a round-table conference, an interim all-party 
government, and elections to a constituent assembly. 
 
3.  Sudeep Pathak, one of three members of a committee 
formed to facilitate dialogue between the Maoists and the 
GON, expressed concern that there would be more bloodshed if 
the talks do not materialize.  Pathak warned that Nepal 
would be turned into a battleground if the GON, Maoists and 
civil society continue to deny the seriousness of the 
current crisis. 
 
4.  Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) issued a 
memorandum to the GON requesting information on the location 
of three Maoist leaders, one of whom is the leader of the 
All Nepal National Free Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNFSU- 
R), as a gesture to create a favorable environment for 
dialogue.  HURON criticized the GON's attitude, saying it 
was inhibiting the prospects of peace, and appealed to the 
GON to take the initiative to reach a peaceful solution. 
 
GOVERNMENT FILES CASE AGAINST MAOISTS, 
CREATES TASK FORCE 
-------------------------------------- 
 
5.  The Government of Nepal (GON) filed special court cases 
against ten senior Maoist leaders, including Pushpa Dahal 
(aka Prachanda) and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, accusing them of 
being the "chief perpetrators of crimes against the state." 
The GON is seeking warrants against the ten Maoists and 
demanding life imprisonment for the violence and terror they 
have caused. 
 
6.  The GON announced that a special task force, comprised 
of twenty thousand army and police personnel, was preparing 
for deployment to areas hit hardest by the Maoists. 
According to press reports, the task force is being trained 
to use newly acquired weapons from the United States and 
Belgium, and are expected to complete training next month, 
at which time deployment would start. 
 
PEACE ELUSIVE, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ABOUND 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7.  Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group, 
issued its annual report on January 14, and said that the 
international community needs to pay more attention to the 
"cycle of slaughters" by the insurgents and reprisals by 
government forces. The group declared that the Maoists and 
the GON are guilty of severe human rights abuses against 
civilians including detention, torture, abduction and 
execution.  The report also criticized the abuse of basic 
freedoms such as press and assembly, citing the imprisonment 
of over 130 journalists, some of whom remain in custody even 
after the expiration of the state of emergency (Note:  The 
state of emergency was lifted in August 2002.) 
 
8.  Murari Raj Sharma, Nepal's representative to the United 
Nations, told attendees at the UN Security Council meeting 
that the Maoists have turned children into "sacrificial 
lambs," and were preventing the development and advancement 
of Nepal.  Sharma also demanded more involvement of the 
international community to stop the misery and death faced 
by children in Nepal.  Four non-governmental organizations, 
including Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN), announced the 
launching of "Children as a Zone of Peace" campaign, 
designed to help children affected by the Maoist insurgency. 
Gauri Pradhan, President of CWIN, said the campaign would 
work to provide basic needs such as food, shelter and 
education to children, and counseling services as well. 
Pradhan said over 4,000 children have been displaced and 
over 2,000 have been orphaned as a result of the insurgency. 
 
9.  In a separate January 14 report, compiled from 
government and human rights organizations statistics, 
Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a local human rights 
group, said 7,383 people have been killed and thousands 
displaced since the start of the insurgency.  INSEC reports 
that both the government and the Maoists are responsible for 
killing children, teachers and civilians.  Dang District in 
the Western Terai has been hit especially hard and, 
according to INSEC, the human rights situation there is 
"pitiful."  INSEC reported a sharp increase in violence and 
murder in Dang District by the Maoists, who wish to make the 
district a new training and staging area. 
 
10.  Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Chairman of the National Human 
Rights Commission (NHRC), said peace in Nepal remains 
elusive while human rights violations continue.  Citing the 
lack of basic civil and political rights, Khatri said the 
NHRC would work to promote human rights through education, 
and also protect rights through monitoring and complaint 
investigations. 
 
INSURGENCY CONTINUES TO CLAIM INNOCENT LIVES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
11.  On January 16, Maoists entered a Community Police 
Center in Patan, the city adjoining Kathmandu on the south, 
and shot a police officer to death.  They also detonated 
three small blasts, which caused damage inside the building. 
On January 15, in Kailali District, Maoists abducted a 
soldier with the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) from his home and 
brutally killed him.  An eight-year-old girl was killed 
after reportedly being used as a human shield by Maoists 
during a clash with security forces in Bhojpur District. 
Four other children were also seriously injured in the 
crossfire.  On January 12 Maoists shot and killed a Village 
Development Committee secretary in Rautahat District after 
dragging him from his home in Gaur.  Four policemen were 
injured after being ambushed by Maoists in Taplejung 
District on January 12.  Maoists abducted and later killed a 
policeman in Pyuthan District on January 11.  A commercial 
pilot for Air Ananyan was shot and wounded on January 11 by 
assailants, suspected to be Maoists, as he left his home in 
Kathmandu for an early morning jog.  Maoists had attacked 
the same pilot a year ago and warned the airline to stop 
flying security personnel. 
 
12.  Maoists targeted Communist Party of Nepal-United 
Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) workers over the weekend.  On 
January 11 the insurgents attacked a mass meeting of CPN-UML 
workers in Bhojpur District and abducted several workers. 
The insurgents also detonated a bomb in Dang District on 
January 11 at a local meeting of CPN-UML workers.  Madhav 
Kumar Nepal, general secretary of CPN-UML, condemned the 
attacks and called for the immediate release of the 
activists who were abducted. 
 
PROPERTIES DESTROYED BY MAOIST VIOLENCE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
13.  On January 16 Maoists detonated three bombs and set 
fire to the home once occupied by former Prime Minister 
Surya Bahadur Thapa in Dhankuta District in East Nepal.  The 
house was completely destroyed, causing a loss of over a 
quarter of a million dollars.  On January 12 Maoists also 
set fire to an army official's residence in Nuwakot District 
and a Nepali Congress (NC) activist's residence in Rasuwa 
District, both north of the Kathmandu Valley. 
 
14.  In Rolpa District, the Maoist heartland, militants are 
issuing identification cards and refusing entrance to 
villagers who do not have one.  Those without identification 
cards have been taken hostage and robbed of their 
possessions and money.  According to the Mid-Western 
Regional Administration Office, 1700 people have been 
displaced from their homes in the mid-west region as a 
result of the insurgency, with the highest number, 741, 
being from Rolpa District. 
 
15.  According to press reports, local villagers throughout 
Nepal face not only violence and/or abduction by Maoists, 
but also close identity checks by security forces. 
Villagers fleeing from the Maoists are faced with harassment 
by security forces if they cannot produce identity cards, 
which they often are unable to obtain because their Village 
Development Committee offices have been abandoned. 
 
FOOD DISTRIBUTION JEOPARDIZED BY INSURGENCY 
------------------------------------------- 
 
16.  The Government of Nepal (GON), facing criticism for not 
distributing food supplies, explained that security 
concerns, such as the looting of storage facilities and 
supplies by Maoists, are hindering programs. According to 
the latest figures, Maoists have damaged storage facilities 
and looted food supplies worth more than 300,000 dollars. 
The Nepal Food Corporation, which distributes the food, has 
requested additional security for the contractors who 
deliver the supplies.  In Jumla District, there are reports 
that food supplies are not being delivered out of fear that 
they will fall into the hands of the Maoists.  Dr. Shankar 
Sharma, Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission 
(NPC), admitted that the supply of food grains is lacking 
due to security concerns, but claimed the GON is attempting 
to remedy the situation. 
 
MALINOWSKI