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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000232 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2017 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: JTMM WREAKS HAVOC IN TERAI 
 
REF: 06 KATHMANDU 3252 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty for reasons 1.4(b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM)(Terai 
People's Liberation Front), a Maoist splinter group, has 
played a key role in racheting up violent protests wracking 
Nepal's Terai, or southern belt.  The JTMM broke with the 
Maoists in 2003 over its demand for an independent state for 
the Madhesi people in the Terai.  The Maoists declared war 
against the organization in July 2006.  At the same time, the 
JTMM split into two factions and intensified its violent 
activities in the Terai.  The ongoing protest program the 
Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) launched in the Terai on 
January 16 against the Interim Constitution has helped the 
JTMM to strengthen its political base.  Eleven people have 
died in the unrest, which does not appear to be abating 
despite Prime Minister Koirala,s January 31 appeal for 
dialogue.  Biographical information for leaders of both JTMM 
factions is provided in paras. 6 and 7. 
 
JTMM is Born 
------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) is a 
splinter faction of the Maoist-affiliated Madhesi Mukti 
Morcha (MMM)(Madhesi Liberation Front).  (Note: Madhesis are 
a historically disenfranchised group that immigrated to the 
Terai from India, mostly over the past 50 years.)  Jaya 
Krishna Goit was ousted from the presidency of the MMM in 
July 2003 because he supported a single, independent Madhesi 
state in the Terai.  Senior Maoists insisted that the Terai 
should become two separate autonomous regions.  Goit formed 
the JTMM in July 2004, and his group has been battling 
against the Maoists and the Government of Nepal for control 
of the Terai since that time.  In July 2006, Nagendra Kumar 
Paswan (alias Jwala Singh) snatched the leadership of the 
JTMM from Goit.  Both JTMM (Goit)and JTMM (Singh) factions 
intensified their violent activities after the Maoists 
declared war against the JTMM in July 2006.  The numbers of 
JTMM cadre are unknown and could range from the low hundreds 
to a couple thousand. 
 
JTMM's Violent Activities in Terai 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In recent months, JTMM (Goit) and JTMM (Singh) have 
both engaged in brutal acts of violence, particularly in the 
Terai Districts of Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha and Rautahat. 
The JTMM factions have mostly been targeting the Pahaadi 
(people originally from the hill districts of Nepal).  A list 
of recent activities follows: 
 
-- In September 2006, the JTMM shot and killed MP Krishna 
Charan Shrestha of the pro-Royalist Rastriya Prajatantra 
(National Democratic) Party in Siraha District. 
 
-- In December 2006, after imposing "prohibitions" on Pahaadi 
drivers operating vehicles in the Terai, JTMM (Singh) killed 
a child and injured two other passengers after attacking a 
bus at Bhardaha in Saptari District, torched a cargo truck at 
the same spot on the same day, and torched a truck and 
abducted four passengers, also in Saptari District. 
 
-- In December 2006, JTMM (Goit) murdered Krishna Neupane, a 
district-level leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-United 
Marxist Leninist, at Hazariya in Sarlahi District. 
 
-- In January 2007, JTMM (Goit) detonated bombs in five 
different places in Kanchanpur in Saptari District to force 
compliance with its three-day Terai "bandh" (closure) from 
January 12 to 14. 
 
-- On January 16, 2007, JTMM (Goit) threatened all private 
and public sector offices in the Terai to forcibly retire all 
Pahaadi employees and retain only Madhesis. 
 
 
KATHMANDU 00000232  002 OF 003 
 
 
Demands of Both JTMM Factions 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Both JTMM factions have raised similar demands, 
including: 
 
-- Declaration of an independent state in the Terai; 
 
-- Expulsion of Pahaadi "rulers" from the Terai; 
 
-- Creation of an indigenous Terai army, police, and 
administration; 
 
-- Revenue collected from the Terai to be utilized for the 
development of the Terai only; 
 
-- Cessation of infiltration of "Nepalis" into the region; 
 
-- The Government of Nepal to declare those the Maoists and 
the government have killed in the unrest since January 16 to 
be "martyrs" and provide Nepali Rupees 1,500,000 as 
compensation to each family; 
 
-- Delineation of national electoral constituencies on the 
basis of population; 
 
-- Citizenship to be distributed to Terai people by Terai 
administrators; 
 
-- Return of lands the Maoists confiscated during the 
insurgency; and 
 
-- An end to Maoist extortion and abduction. 
 
JTMM vs. MPRF: Demand for Inclusive Democracy 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The protest program the Madhesi People,s Rights 
Forum (MPRF), a democratic, Madhesi-based organization, 
launched in the eastern Terai on January 16 against the 
Interim Constitution has boosted the prominence of the JTMM 
because both groups share many of the same concerns.  The 
principal difference is that the MPRF has not called for an 
independent Terai state. (Comment: The occasional demands by 
some JTMM leaders for an autonomous Madhesi zone and 
proportional representation may reflect internal division 
within the JTMM over whether an independent Terai is 
achievable.  End Comment.)  The MPRF has alleged that the 
Interim Constitution which was adopted January 15 failed to 
address the issues of the Madhesis.  It has forcefully 
advocated that the Constituent Assembly election planned for 
June should be based on proportional representation, and has 
voiced concern that the Interim Constitution failed to 
guarantee an autonomous Madhesi region.  The killing of an 
MPRF protester by the Maoists in Lahan, Siraha District, on 
January 20 further inflamed tensions in the region.  The 
government has invited the MPRF, JTMM and other ethnic-based 
community leaders for talks to discuss their demands.  So 
far, the JTMM and MPRF have rejected the government's call 
for a dialogue.  Meanwhile, eleven people have died and 
scores have been injured in the protests. 
 
Biographical Note: Jaya Krishna Goit 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Jayakrishna Goit is elderly, perhaps in his 80s.  He 
was born into a Madhesi family in Saptari District.  Although 
never an elected official, Goit was with the Communist Part 
of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) until joining 
the Maoists in 1996.  In 2001, he was appointed head of the 
Maoist Madhesi People's Liberation Front.  After being ousted 
from that position in 2003 due to disagreements over an 
independent versus autonomous Madhesi state, Goit founded the 
JTMM in 2004. 
 
Biographical Note: 
Nagendra Paswan alias Jwala Singh 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Jwala Singh is JTMM Chairman.  He ousted Jaya 
 
KATHMANDU 00000232  003 OF 003 
 
 
Krishna Goit, who was the Chairman of JTMM, in July 2006. 
Singh started his political career in 1990 as a cadre of the 
United People's Front (UPF).  He worked as the Siraha 
District Secretary of Baburam Bhattarai's UPF faction.  Singh 
went underground with the Maoists in February 1996.  He also 
served as Siraha District President of the Federation of 
Nepalese Journalists from 1994 to 1996.  Singh is in his 
early 40s, and was born in Siraha District to a poor Dalit 
(low-caste) family. 
 
Comment: Madhesi Rights Movement Resonates in Terai 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8. (C) The Madhesi rights movement, whether led by the 
generally peaceful MPRF or violent JTMM, has clearly 
resonated with the Madeshi population in Nepal's Terai -- a 
population that has long felt marginalized by the political 
mainstream.  The Ambassador was struck by the depth of 
feeling among Madhesis during a trip to the Terai in 
mid-December (reftel).  Pressure has been building since 
January 16th on all of the parties in the Seven-Party 
Alliance to act.  On January 24, 53 Madhesi members of the 
Interim Parliament from the governing parties, including four 
ministers, submitted a list of demands to the Prime Minister. 
 On January 29, the sole minister from the Madhesi-based 
Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Anandi Devi (NSP-A), submitted his 
resignation citing Goverment inaction.  In response to the 
ongoing crisis, on January 31, in his first nationwide 
television address, Prime Minister Koirala offered to 
increase constituent representation for denser population 
areas, such as the Terai.  He also accepted the principle of 
a federal state, but did not provide any further 
clarification.  Even with these concessions, neither the JTMM 
nor the MPRF will likely scale down their protests until they 
see concrete action. 
 
Comment: Government Failed To Adequately Respond 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9. (C) The failure of the SPA and Maoists to consult with 
Madhesi leaders prior to the PM,s January 31 address as well 
as the Prime Minister,s appointment of Home Minister 
Sitaula, whose removal is a principal demand of the Madhesis, 
as chief negotiator has further enflamed passions in the 
Terai.  The Deputy Chief of Mission spoke January 31 with Dr. 
Suresh Chalise, the Prime Minister,s Foreign Policy Advisor, 
in search of answers, but Chalise was unable to respond 
substantively to our concerns.  There is still time for the 
Government of Nepal to address the genuine grievances of the 
Madhesis.  With a Constituent Assembly looming, however, we 
anticipate that other groups could also take their 
long-standing grievances against the central government, long 
dominated by high-caste Pahaadis, to the streets.  The 
Government's mishandling of the current crisis gives little 
reassurance that it is up to the task of addressing these 
grievances. 
MORIARTY