US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU740

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000740 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/SA 
DEPT PLEASE ALSO PASS USAID/ANE/SA 
LONDON FOR POL/CGURNEY 
NSC FOR MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, CASC, ASEC, NP, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: APRIL 23 KATHMANDU STRIKE WELL OBSERVED; 
POLITICAL PARTIES JUSTIFYING STUDENT EXCESSES 
 
REF: A. KATHMANDU 712 
     B. KATHMANDU 677 
     C. KATHMANDU 723 
 
Classified By: DCM ROBERT K. BOGGS.  REASON:  1.5 (B,D). 
 
Valley Strike:  Quiet Streets 
============================= 
 
1.  (U)  A general strike, or bandh, called for Kathmandu 
Valley by the Nepali Congress (Democratic) Party student 
union was generally widely observed on April 23.  A few 
private and commercial vehicles were seen plying the streets, 
while most shops remained shuttered.  There were a few 
scattered reports of minor vandalism to private and 
government vehicles, but the capital remained largely 
peaceful throughout the day.  The international schools, 
including the school attended by most Mission children, 
closed for the day (Ref A).  The Embassy has received no 
reports of threats or injuries to American citizens as a 
result of the strike.  The Peace Corps Country Director 
reported that all volunteers were coping well with the 
strike.  The Embassy will hold an Emergency Action Committee 
in the coming days to address two additional national strikes 
called by student unions for April 28 and 29 (Ref B). 
 
Political Parties Use Students as Surrogates 
============================================ 
 
2.  (C)  Emboffs, including the Ambassador and DCM, have 
complained to senior political leaders that students in their 
affiliated unions have committed acts of violence and 
vandalism during demonstrations over the past few weeks. 
Most of our interlocutors, while trying to disassociate 
themselves from the violence, have attempted to portray the 
protests as spontaneous expressions of public dissatisfaction 
that they claim they have not orchestrated and cannot 
control.  Spokesmen for the two largest parties, the 
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML) and 
the Nepali Congress (Koirala), have tried to draw parallels 
between the current student unrest and the popular 
demonstrations of the 1990 People's Movement, which resulted 
in the restoration of democracy.  When asked to make an 
unequivocal public statement denouncing violent protests, 
they have demurred, trying to justify their public silence on 
this issue by assuring us that they are telling their 
students in private to avoid violence.  (Note:  The notable 
exception has been former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress 
(Democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who told the 
Ambassador on April 21 that his party was passing a 
resolution against violence and that his students' strike 
would thus eschew violence.  As promised, today's strike was 
noticeably more peaceful.  End note.)  Other leaders, 
however, seem decidedly unwilling to counsel their student 
wings against violence.  On the contrary, Nepali Congress 
(Koirala) President G.P. Koirala lashed out against the 
government in the press for a second time on April 23, 
charging it was the source of the current political turmoil. 
 
 
Comment 
======= 
 
3.  (C)  Ever since King Gyanendra appointed the interim 
government in October, the political parties, outraged by 
what they perceive as his efforts to marginalize them, have 
been promising to "launch a joint struggle" against his 
action.  Public indignation against the King's move, however, 
has proven tepid thus far, and the parties are clearly 
delighted to use their ever-volatile student wings as 
surrogates.  Unlike the 1990 demonstrations, which were aimed 
at achieving well-defined democratic reforms, the current 
protests are diffuse and ill-focused, with no cohesive set of 
demands and no recognizable public support.  The number of 
different student groups on the street--and the relative 
anonymity that gives them--can increase the potential for 
acts of violence.  Moreover, even though the 
Maoist-affiliated wing has officially disassociated itself 
from the strikes that have occurred since the April 16 
decision to postpone student elections, the possiblilty 
remains that its members might infiltrate these 
demonstrations, thereby increasing the chance for the 
protests to turn violent.  We will continue to urge the 
democratic political leaders to adopt a more responsible 
stand on this important matter. 
MALINOWSKI