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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000002 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: COMPROMISE ON ARMY INTEGRATION SPECIAL 
COMMITTEE 
 
REF: A. 08 KATHMANDU 1163 
     ¶B. 08 KATHMANDU 1154 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) On December 26, Nepal's four major political parties 
agreed to equal representation on the Army Integration 
Special Committee (AISC).  The question now is whether the 
parties can finalize the AISC's leadership and terms of 
reference.  If successful, this would end a stalemate that 
has prevented the committee from addressing the integration 
of the former Maoist combatants into Nepal's security forces. 
 
 
Parties Compromise on Composition of Special Committee 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On December 26, Nepal's four largest political 
parties in the Constituent Assembly reached a compromise on 
the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC), the first 
major movement in regards to the committee since its 
establishment, after long delays, on October 28.  According 
to media reports, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the 
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML), the 
Nepali Congress (NC), and the Madhesi People's Rights Forum 
(MPRF) agreed to have two representatives each on the 
committee.  The parties also decided to finalize the terms of 
reference through consensus. 
 
Unresolved Leadership Issue 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) As of January 2, disagreements over the chairmanship 
of the AISC continue.  The Maoists have proposed that Prime 
Minister Pushpa Dahal lead the expanded AISC.  The UML is 
unwilling to give up the chairmanship.  The NC, meanwhile, 
strongly prefers that a non-Maoist head the powerful body. 
Prakash Mahat, a senior NC leader, told Emboff January 2 that 
the NC ultimately would follow the decision the Maoists and 
UML make. 
 
Stalemate Stalled Committee 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) The AISC, which Article 146 of Nepal's interim 
constitution empowers to supervise, integrate, and 
rehabilitate former Maoist combatants, has had a rocky start 
(reftels).  The other political parties objected to the 
Maoists heading the committee and delayed its creation.  In 
late October, three of the four largest parties agreed to a 
five-person AISC under the leadership of Home Minister and 
Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam of the UML.  Defense 
Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa (Maoist), Peace and Reconstruction 
Minister Janardan Prabhakar Sharma (Maoist), MPRF leader 
Mohammad Habibullah, and one person from the NC were to round 
out the AISC.  The NC refused to appoint a representative. 
The main opposition party, believing that it had not been 
adequately consulted about the committee, balked at allowing 
two Maoists on the AISC.  It also rejected the terms of 
reference set by the Maoist-led government because they were 
not consistent with the terms set out in the June 2008 
agreement to amend the interim constitution and move forward 
with the peace process. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The apparent willingness of the major political 
parties to compromise on the body that will tackle the 
integration issue is a positive step, but only a beginning. 
Increasing the number of AISC members from five to eight and 
allowing each party equal representation is likely to foster 
more goodwill among politicians and the population at large 
than would a committee, tasked to devise an integration 
 
KATHMANDU 00000002  002 OF 002 
 
 
scheme, that is 40 percent Maoist.  Particularly promising is 
the ostensible change of heart by the Nepali Congress.  On 
January 1, the NC agreed to end its boycott of parliamentary 
proceedings after the Prime Minister committed to addressing 
the NC's nine-point demands, including the return of property 
seized by Maoist cadres.  We hope these developments are the 
beginning of a new phase of political cooperation rather than 
a blip before the return to the quarreling status quo.  With 
former combatants idling in cantonments, army recruitment in 
limbo, and time ticking for a new constitution, the political 
parties can ill afford to delay. 
POWELL