US warns terrorist risk in India due to Nepal's instablity

The United States has warned that the political instability in Nepal poses serious terrorist threat to India. The country reports on Terrorism 2009 issued by the State Department in Washington on Thursday states “Given Nepal‘s continued instability, however, there is a possibility that members of extremist groups could transit Nepal, especially into India.”

The report has been published at a time when seasoned diplomat Shyam Sharan as a special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was busy in parleys with Nepali political leaders in Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Post in its Friday edition has reported that the Maoist leaders tried to address India’s security concern during the meeting with the visiting envoy.


The Nepali parliament has failed to elect the new prime minister despite three elections has been conducted since July 21. Both UCPN (Maoist) Chairman and Nepali Congress (NC) Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel has failed to garner majority and according to sources, the indecisiveness would only end once India backs one of the two candidates.


What the report states about Nepal ?
While Nepal experienced no significant acts of international terrorism, several incidents of politically-motivated violence occurred in the country. Maoist -affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) criminal activity continued, including intimidation and extortion. In response to the YCL violence, other political parties condoned the use of violence by their youth wings. Unrest in the southern Terai plains remained high with the proliferation of numerous armed groups and an inadequate police presence. More than 100 armed groups are estimated to be operating in the Terai, some in pursuit of independence or autonomy, most composed of opportunistic criminal elements. Competing factions clashed with each other, with the Maoists, with hill-origin Nepalese, and with police, instigating numerous strikes, demonstrations, and Indo-Nepal border road closures. A Special Security Plan (SSP) was put in place in July to curb violence and end the culture of impunity. Despite this program, police still do not have an active presence in many parts of the Terai.

Nepal experienced several acts of religiously-motivated violence, most prominently the bombing of a Catholic Church in May. The attack was conducted by the Nepalese Defense Army (NDA), a Hindu extremist group that was responsible for shooting a Catholic priest and bombing a mosque in 2008. The leader of this group has since been arrested and their activities appear to have ceased.

There were no indications that Nepal was a safe haven for international terrorists. Given Nepal‘s continued instability, however, there is a possibility that members of extremist groups could transit Nepal, especially into India. The large ungoverned space along the Nepal/Indian border exacerbates this vulnerability, as do security shortfalls at Tribhuvan Airport, Nepal‘s international airport. In June, Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) member Muhammad Omar Madni traveled through Nepal enroute to New Delhi.

 Nepal is not a regional financial center and there were no indications that the country was used as an international money laundering center.

There were no prosecutions or arrests for money laundering in 2009. However, YCL illicit financial activities, including smuggling, extortion, and protection demands, increased in 2009.The United States sponsored the attendance of Nepalese security force officers at various international counterterrorism events.

About the UCPN (Maoist): In April, 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) won the national Constituent Assembly election and formed a Government under Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Following Dahal‘s May 2009 resignation, the Maoists continued in political opposition and remained a U.S.-designated terrorist entity under the Terrorism Exclusion List and Executive Order 13224.

For full  report:
http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/USGOV_CountryReportsOnTerrorism2009.pdf