US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU989

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000989 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/NEA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
STATE ALSO PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS HQ 
USAID FOR ANE/AA GORDON WEST AND JIM BEVER 
MANILA FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
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: PINS, PTER, CASC, PGOV, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, May 24-30 
 
REFERENCE  (A) KATHMANDU 0860 
           (B) KATHMANDU 0945 
           (C) KATHMANDU 0901 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.   Representatives from the negotiating teams of the 
Government of Nepal (GON) and Maoists have been unusually 
quiet this week, with no progress reported in setting a date 
for the third round of talks.  Members from both teams 
reportedly are blaming each other for the stalled 
negotiations.  In an interview on May 29 with a London based 
newspaper, Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist ideologue and head of 
the talk team, said that Maoists had spared the Kathmandu 
Valley out of fear of the United States.  Amnesty 
International (AI) released a report on May 28 that cited a 
sharp increase in human rights abuses by both security 
forces and Maoists. The Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National 
Independent Students' Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) 
withdrew its strike against private schools.  The Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) continues its humanitarian assistance and 
medical treatment outreach efforts.  The Maoists' disregard 
for the ceasefire and code of conduct continues.  The 
insurgents reportedly continue to extort money, abduct 
civilians, disrupt agricultural sales, and brutally assault 
civilians.  End Summary. 
 
WAITING AND WATCHING 
-------------------- 
 
2.  Progress in peace talks appears to be stalled, with no 
mention of a date for the third round.  Representatives from 
both sides reportedly are blaming each other for the delay. 
In a statement issued on May 29, Baburam Bhattarai warned of 
the possibility of stopping peace talks. Bhattarai accused 
the Government of Nepal (GON) of violating the ceasefire and 
failing to implement agreements reached during the second 
round (Ref A), particularly the restriction of movement by 
the Royal Nepal Army (RNA).  Krishna Bahadur Mahara told 
reporters on May 28 that the insurgents are "waiting and 
watching" for the next round.  Mahara also criticized the 
government for not responding to the Maoists' proposals set 
forth during the second round of talks.  Ram Bahadur Thapa, 
another Maoist talk team member, criticized the GON, 
decrying its failure to present an agenda and its "lack of 
seriousness." 
 
MAOISTS FEAR U.S. INVASION 
-------------------------- 
 
3.  In an interview on May 29 with a London-based newspaper 
Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist ideologue, claimed that the 
Maoists control almost eighty percent of Nepal, and that the 
insurgents have the upper hand in the "Peoples' War."  The 
Maoist leader said the insurgents had the capability to take 
control of the Kathmandu Valley, but chose not to for fear 
it would provoke an "American invasion."  He claimed that 
the U.S. had openly threatened the Maoists, but that the 
Maoists could not be defeated.  Bhattarai also admitted that 
the Maoists had murdered soldiers and policemen, but 
declared that such killings are justifiable under the "law 
of war." 
 
AI REPORT CITES INCREASING VIOLATIONS 
------------------------------------- 
 
4.  Amnesty International (AI) released its "Annual Report 
2003: 2002 in Focus," on May 28 and blasted both the Maoists 
and security forces for human rights abuses.  The report 
declared that 2002 saw a dramatic rise in unlawful killings, 
disappearances, torture and abductions by the Maoists, and 
also accused security forces of arbitrary arrests and 
unlawful detentions.  The annual report states that the 
insurgents stepped up attacks on political parties, most 
often targeting members of Nepali Congress (NC) and the 
Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). 
AI also pointed out that the Maoists recruited children, and 
were responsible for the executions of security personnel. 
AI announced on May 19 that it will send a delegation to 
Nepal to discuss its concern over human rights violations by 
both the security forces and the insurgents, despite a three- 
month ceasefire. 
 
RNA HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE CONTINUES 
------------------------------------- 
 
5.  The Royal Nepal Army (RNA) conducted free health camps 
across Nepal, providing an estimated five thousand people 
with medical treatment (Ref B).  In the southeastern 
district of Udayapur, locals, some of whom walked two days 
to attend the camp, were given free medicines as well as 
treatment.  Items such as shoes, slippers, and food were 
also distributed.  In the eastern city of Biratnagar, RNA 
personnel provided medical treatment and medicines, and also 
distributed clothes, stationary, and money to local schools. 
 
ANNISU-R WITHDRAWS STRIKES 
-------------------------- 
 
6.  Private schools reopened on May 24 after the Maoist- 
affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students' Union- 
Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) withdrew its strike and unlocked 
accounting offices (Ref C).  The ANNISU-R reached an 
agreement with school officials that included a revised fee 
schedule to be in place by June 15.  The agreement also 
states that public schools will not be allowed to collect 
fees for grades one through five.  ANNISU-R had locked up 
the accounting and administration offices in over eight 
thousand private schools throughout Nepal, including over 
forty schools in the Kathmandu Valley. 
 
MAOIST VIOLATIONS RAMPANT 
------------------------- 
 
7.  In apparent increasing disregard for the ceasefire, 
Maoists throughout Nepal reportedly continue to commit 
violations of the code of conduct and civilian human rights. 
Maoist cadres abducted nine people on May 24 in Kailali 
District.  The insurgents claimed the people were guilty of 
looting, and witnesses said they were taken into the jungle. 
A Nepali Congress (NC) member was abducted in Rautahat 
District on May 25. His whereabouts remain unknown.  An 
eighteen-year-old boy, abducted by Maoists on May 21 in 
Siraha District, was released after the insurgents broke his 
leg.  The Maoists accused the youth of supplying information 
to police.  The body of a Royal Nepal Army (RNA) soldier, 
who had been abducted by Maoists on May 9 from Makwanpur 
District, was found on May 24.  The soldier was brutally 
murdered and found with his hands and feet bound. 
 
8.  Maoists in Sindhuli District reportedly have banned 
farmers from selling their produce at a weekly fair out of 
fear that there will be insufficient amounts left for the 
insurgents to eat.  The farmers, who participate in the 
weekly fair for their livelihood, have been threatened with 
severe consequences if they ignore the Maoists' orders. 
Maoists in Dailekhi District blasted teargas into a hotel on 
May 27 after the owner apparently refused to provide food 
and shelter to the insurgents.  In Bara District, a group of 
Maoists stormed into the home of a former police constable 
on May 28 and stole weapons and ammunition. 
 
9.  The Nepali Congress (Democratic) publicly condemned the 
Maoists on May 25, declaring that the insurgents have not 
changed and continue to do what they did prior to the 
ceasefire.  A group of former Village Development Committee 
(VDC) Chiefs have also publicly declared the Maoists to be 
in gross violation of the ceasefire, and threatened that 
they would resort to revenge against the Maoists if their 
depredations continued.  Many VDC workers are still unable 
to return to work, and in Taplejung District VDC secretaries 
said the Maoists have stopped them from carrying out their 
duties.  As a result, villagers have not been able to 
register the births and deaths of family members. 
 
10.  A report presented on May 24 at a conference organized 
by the Institute of Human Rights Communication, Nepal, 
declares that the insurgency has claimed the lives of almost 
two hundred children and displaced eight thousand others. 
The report also states that many children could not continue 
with their education because Maoists had taken over schools 
and used them as barracks and for political training. 
Healthcare in Maoist-infested areas also suffered, as 
programs, such as immunization clinics, were halted by the 
insurgency. 
 
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