The king parties as US takes tough stand

NEW DELHI: Increasingly, impatient with the King, the US on Wednesday cancelled a planned visit by the Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and his delegation of lawmakers to Kathmandu and cut down on its developmental and cultural activities there. The embassy will keep minimal staff in the country. The underlying message from Washington is clear, the King better clean up his act. The US action is likely to be followed by the Europeans.

Both India and the US fear that the King’s action will strengthen the Maoists in Nepal and weaken the political forces in the Himalayan kingdom. The monarch’s trump card, when he took over the reigns of power more than a year ago ago, was the threat of the Maoists. Taking full advantage of Washington’s tough line on any form of violence to secure political gains after 9/11, the US was initially supporting the Palace. But the King’s obduracy and his refusal to yield ground to the democratic forces is now becoming untenable. India which has long held that constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy are the twin pillars of stability for Nepal, is now gradually reconciling to the idea that perhaps Nepal could function as Republic. Officially, however, New Delhi has not spelled this out.

On Monday, the United States in a hard hitting statement from Washington urged the Royal Nepalese government, to restore democracy soon and hold talks with opposition political parties. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “As a friend of Nepal, we must state that King Gyanendra’s decision 14 months ago to impose direct palace rule in Nepal has failed in every regard. The demonstrations, deaths, arrests and Maoist attacks in the past few days have shown there is more insecurity, not less.”

New Delhi, too, issued a statement reminding the Palace that a purely military solution to the current political crisis is not feasible and that all parties concerned must seek a political solution. And in a pointed reference to the King, New Delhi said: “The resort to repressive measures by the government in Nepal can only undermine prospects for this process. We hope that in view of the seriousness of the situation, a genuine effort will be made by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal to initiate a dialogue with the political parties at the earliest.”

The king to attend a party on the occasion of the Nepali New Year

KATHMANDU: Though Nepal continued to burn under a general strike and curfew, it was still party time for King Gyanendra. The monarch, who has since February been camping in Pokhara city, a tourist destination, will return to attend a cocktail dinner being hosted by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) on the occasion of the Nepali New Year that begins on Friday.

Protesters have called a meeting on Wednesday near the party venue in memory of the civilians killed in the past six days. It is feared that security forces would try to prevent the meeting, escalating the boiling public resentment against the royalist government and security forces. Independent journalists have also said they will boycott the party.