VZCZCXRO1455
OO RUEHCI
DE RUEHKT #0675/01 0921019
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021019Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5459
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 5568
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 5867
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1076
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 3883
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5190
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1239
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 3319
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1579
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2559
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000675 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DEMANDS LAW AND ORDER 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) On March 29, Sushil Pyakurel, a Nepali human rights 
activist, told the Ambassador that if the Government of Nepal 
(GON) did not begin to effectively enforce law and order, the 
country was in danger of falling into chaos.  In the name of 
bringing the Maoists into the mainstream, the GON and civil 
society had ignored other groups with legitimate complaints, 
creating a fresh round of violent protests.  The peace 
process thus far had been too secretive, and had been 
hijacked by the political parties, at the expense of the 
common Nepali.  The GON had allowed the Maoists to do 
whatever they wanted anywhere in the country with no 
repercussions, while arresting other protesting groups and 
stopping them from participating in rallies.  Pyakurel 
worried that there was no strong leadership to save the 
country from impending disaster. 
 
Where Is Law and Order? 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Prominent Nepali human rights activist and former 
National Human Rights Commission commissioner Sushil Pyakurel 
told the Ambassador March 29 that if the GON did not begin 
enforcing law and order, the country was in danger of falling 
into chaos.  Maoist excesses had continued, and everyone 
(government, civil society, and the police) seemed to be 
condoning or ignoring those abuses for fear of derailing the 
peace process.  The GON needed to crack down on Maoist 
violence immediately if there were to be any chance for a 
free and fair Constituent Assembly election, he warned. 
 
Ignorance is not Bliss 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Pyakurel complained that the GON had focused only on 
solving the Maoist problem, and had ignored all the other 
political and social issues Nepal faced (including unrest in 
the Terai, other ethnic and regional issues, and the rights 
of dalits and women).  If the government continued along such 
a path, it was likely that the current violence in the Terai 
would continue and spread to other areas and sectors of 
society as well.  Even Pyakurel's own civil society 
colleagues were not taking these other issues seriously, with 
many of them stating that bringing the Maoists into 
mainstream politics was Nepal's only pressing challenge. 
 
Peace Process Hijacked 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Pyakurel worried that the peace process had been 
hijacked by the political parties, which were not interested 
in the best interests of the Nepali people.  Most of the 
parties' decisions had been made in private, behind closed 
doors, with the results made public only after the parties 
had signed agreements.  Until the process became more 
inclusive, incorporating the views of all Nepalis, the peace 
process would not solve the country's problems and place it 
on the track toward progress, the human rights activist 
predicted. 
 
Double Standard in Law Enforcement 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Pyakurel stated that one of Nepal's biggest problems 
was the double standard the GON's security forces applied to 
the Maoists versus other groups.  The Maoists had been 
allowed to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, 
with no repercussions.  In many parts of the country, Maoist 
violence, intimidation, extortion, and abduction were 
commonplace, and the police had done nothing to stop these 
abuses.  Regrettably, many of Nepal's civil society groups 
had supported this GON policy.  However, when groups such as 
the Terai-based Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) or other 
ethnic or civic organizations attempted to hold mass meetings 
 
KATHMANDU 00000675  002 OF 002 
 
 
or enforce their general strikes, the police had immediately 
issued curfew and prohibitory orders, and sometimes exercised 
excessive force.  This double standard was bad for the GON 
and bad for the police, Pyakurel said. 
 
Who Will Save the Country? 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) The human rights activist asked the Ambassador in 
exasperation, "Who will save the country?"  The Ambassador 
responded that he shared many of Pyakurel's concerns, but was 
unsure what could be done to fix the situation.  Pyakurel 
stated that it was time for the international community, 
including the Government of India, to take a strong, unified 
stand against Maoist abuses.  He urged the U.S. to push the 
GON to enforce law and order effectively and rapidly.  He 
noted that it would be particularly important in the run-up 
to the Constituent Assembly election for the international 
community to have numerous observers on the ground to monitor 
the situation.  The Ambassador agreed, and added that the 
international community also needed to be ready to call the 
legitimacy of the election into question if the election 
turned out to be other than free and fair.  Pyakurel 
concurred. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) Human rights activist Sushil Pyakurel has a 
well-established record as a critic of King Gyanendra and the 
Seven-Party Alliance.  In the past, he was not one to 
criticize the Maoists.  Thus, his apparent conversion to the 
view that there should be no double-standard for the Maoists 
is all the more striking.  We gather Pyakurel is not alone in 
experiencing this change of heart.  With luck and 
encouragement, he and his civil society colleagues will start 
to make their views about the need for law enforcement, 
including against the Maoists, public. 
MORIARTY