VZCZCXRO0460
PP RUEHCI RUEHCN
DE RUEHKT #0316/01 0381207
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071207Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4871
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4965
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0823
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 5633
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 5336
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 3642
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0956
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0337
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 3099
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1491
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2396

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PTER BT IN NP
SUBJECT: COMMUNIST PARTY OF BHUTAN INTENSIFIES ACTIVITIES 
IN BHUTANESE REFUGEE CAMPS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty for reasons 1.4(b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C/NF)  According to several recent reports in the Royal 
Government of Bhutan's (RGOB) news service and the Indian 
press, the Communist Party of Bhutan - Marxist Leninist 
Maoist (CPB) has intensified its activities in the Bhutanese 
refugee camps in eastern Nepal.  A close Embassy contact and 
refugee from Khudunabari Camp, Narayan Subedi (please 
protect), confirmed these reports, suggesting that between 
1,000 and 3,000 refugee youth had been indoctrinated into the 
CPB movement.  Subedi also indicated that the CPB was 
actively seeking "donations" in the camps and provided 
RefCoord a scanned copy of a CPB donation card. 
 
Press Reports Indicate Increased CPB Activity 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C/NF)  A 24 January news report from Kuensel on-line, the 
Royal Government of Bhutan's (RGOB) news service, claimed 
that a Bhutanese refugee from Beldangi 2 camp had been 
arrested in Bhutan for planning terrorist activities. 
According to the article, the arrested refugee admitted that 
he, along with a small group of other CPB members, had 
received training from Nepali Maoists in January 2006 and 
another small group had recently gone to Bhutan to provide 
surveillance on a public works project.  A close Embassy 
contact and Bhutanese refugee from Khudunabari Camp, Narayan 
Subedi, separately confirmed February 6 to RefCoord that CPB 
President Chabilal Kharel and General Secretary Vikalpa 
Chetri were refugees in their mid-20s from Khudunabari and 
Beldangi 2 camps, respectively.  A separate article appearing 
in the Indian press around the same time reported that the 
RGOB's seeming apathy toward the Bhutanese refugees had 
injected fervor into the CPB movement.  The Indian journalist 
appears to have spoken with a CPB leader, who allegedly 
claimed that a "revolution" would be launched to "overthrow 
the monarchy" in Bhutan. 
 
CPB Recruitment in the Refugee Camps 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (C/NF)  On February 6, Subedi detailed his conversation 
with a former classmate from Khudunabari Camp who had 
recently traveled to the Bhutan-Indian border to participate 
in a CPB committee meeting.  According to the classmate, the 
CPB plans to establish camps in eastern Bhutan soon and that 
"by July our first target will be fulfilled." He refused to 
elaborate on the nature of their target.  The classmate 
indicated that CPB members were working in small groups 
inside Bhutan, particularly in Samchi and Sarbhang along the 
mid-western section of the India-Bhutan border.  Subedi 
believed anywhere between 1,000 - 3,000 refugee youth between 
ages 21 - 29 had received some kind of indoctrination into 
the CPB outside the camps.  Many of these youth are now 
absent from the camps, he added. 
 
CPB Actively Seeks Donations From Refugees 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Subedi reported to RefCoord that the CPB had 
actively begun collecting "donations" from refugees in the 
camps.  Donations ranged from NRs 10 to 10,000 (USD .15 to 
150), he said.  Subedi sent RefCoord a scanned copy of the 
CPB "Levy Card."  The flag symbol and style on the card is 
the same as Nepal's Maoists, including the slogans "Workers 
of the world unite, Let's unite for people's democracy, and 
Let's smash down the absolute monarchy."  The sector, 
subsector and hut number of the family who provided the 
donation are detailed on the card.  The back of the card in 
English says the following: 
 
Begin Text. 
 
KATHMANDU 00000316  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
-- CPB (MLM) is only the party of exploited Bhutanese 
 
-- CPB (MLM) fights for the new democracy in Bhutan 
 
-- CPB (MLM) believes only in the peoples' war 
 
-- CPB (MLM) can't exist without the support of the Bhutanese 
 
-- CPB (MLM) considers everyone as the agent who opposes the 
just revolution 
 
-- CPB (MLM) appeals every patriotic Bhutanese to sacrifice 
everything, even their life, for the future generation's 
democracy and the country as a whole. 
 
End Text. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5. (C/NF) RefCoord's recent visit to the Bhutanese refugee 
camps revealed a growing awareness among refugees that 
third-country resettlement, not repatriation to Bhutan, would 
be the most likely solution to their plight.  As this 
awareness grows, some political leaders in the refugee 
community have become increasingly radical in their demands 
for repatriation.  These leaders, such as Tek Nath Rizal, 
have undoubtedly secured moral and technical, if not 
financial, support from Nepal's Maoists.  Other refugee 
community leaders speak publicly about the benefits of 
third-country resettlement, but live in fear of retaliation 
from either the CPB or the Maoists.  Without concrete action 
on resettlement soon, Post fears that the growing 
polarization between those with a political agenda in Bhutan 
and those who support resettlement could result in violence. 
That said, the Prime Minister's February 7 agreement to a 
resettlement program (septel), if implemented, would go far 
to undermine radicalization in the camps. 
 
MORIARTY