US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU1071

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR POL CHARLES GURNEY 
NSC FOR E.MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, NP, U.S-Nepali Relations 
SUBJECT: NEW NEPAL PRIME MINISTER ASKS U.S. FOR 
UNDERSTANDING AND PATIENCE 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 1060 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES ROBERT K. BOGGS.  REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND 
 (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Nepal's Foreign Secretary, Madhu Raman 
Acharya, convoked the Charge' privately on June 10 under 
instructions from the new Prime Minister and Acting Foreign 
Minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa.  The Secretary explained the 
PM's current efforts to persuade the major political parties 
to participate a new cabinet and to request USG patience as 
he pursues this politically difficult goal.  The Prime 
Minister signaled that he will be naming several cabinet 
officials on June 11 from his own party, but expects to be 
able to add representatives from other parties in coming 
weeks.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) According to the Foreign Secretary, Prime Minister 
Thapa wanted to underscore to the USG that the King's decree 
of June 4 appointing Thapa as PM responded to all three of 
the principal demands of the major political parties at that 
time.  These demands were the following: the delegation to 
the new PM of full executive powers, a new cabinet appointed 
by the PM in consultation with the parties, and 
representation in the cabinet by all the parliamentary 
parities.  Since his appointment, Thapa has paid calls on the 
leaders of most of the major political parties.  Although 
Thapa's invitations to join the new cabinet have been met so 
far with refusals, the PM believes that this is just 
posturing by the opposition leaders and that in fact they 
have signaled some flexibility.  In addition to top leaders, 
the PM has met with a number of second-echelon members of the 
party central committees.  The PM reportedly believes that 
some serious rethinking is going on within party 
policy-making circles and is confident that the parties will 
in time join his government.  In the meantime, the PM is 
adhering to a policy of not alienating the parties further, 
making no derogatory statements about them and not permitting 
excessive use of force against party demonstrations. 
 
3. (C) On the afternoon of June 11, Acharya said, the PM will 
announce his choices for ministers for a very small cabinet. 
Some 3-5 members of the PM's own National Democratic Party 
(RPP) will be chosen to run the government "for the time 
being."  PM Thapa intends to "keep the door open" for further 
appointments, and will reserve the right to shift portfolios 
as new ministers are added.  The PM's political priorities 
will be to pursue peace negotiations with the Maoists to a 
successful conclusion, hold parliamentary and local-level 
elections, maintain continuity in Nepal's foreign policy, 
fight corruption and strengthen governance. 
 
4. (C) The Foreign Secretary enumerated a number of ways in 
which Nepal's political environment allegedly had improved 
since Thapa's appointment on June 4.  The parties, he 
asserted, have become reconciled to the fact that the new 
prime minister is another monarchical appointee rather than 
the candidate of their choice.  The party leaders, he also 
claimed, realize that their street agitations are not 
generating popular support nor going anywhere politically. 
Some Nepali Congress leaders, Acharya said, already 
acknowledge that PM Thapa is an improvement over his 
predecessor.  One advantage that Thapa enjoys that was not 
true of his predecessor is the full support of his own party. 
 Of the opposition parties' main current demands--the 
announcement of a date for elections or the reinstatement of 
the House of Representatives--the Maoists would not permit 
elections.  Acharya would not comment on the prospects for 
the resuscitating Parliament.  Speaking for himself, the 
Secretary said, he suspected that some of the political 
 
SIPDIS 
parties would not join the Thapa government but would support 
it from outside.  In conclusion, Acharya said, the Prime 
Minister asked for patience from the USG, since it would take 
time for the changed political situation to clarify. 
 
5. (C) Comment.  The new Prime Minister's private message to 
the USG was clearly self-serving and not particularly 
revealing, since rumors of his impending cabinet appointments 
have featured widely in the press.  It is hard for us to be 
as sanguine as the Prime Minister claims to be about his 
ultimate success in drawing the main parties into his 
government although Kathmandu is rife with rumors that the 
Nepali Congress will join after a few weeks (reftel).  The 
PM's message is, however, indicative of his energetic and 
skillful handling of potential political allies and, in this 
case, an important foreign donor. 
BOGGS