TMCnet News
Nepal king urges parties to promote democracy+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KATHMANDU, Feb. 19_(Kyodo) _ King Gyanendra urged Nepalese political parties on Sunday to participate in reviving democracy in the country. "We call on all willing political parties to come forth to fully activate...the stalled democratic process," he said in a message to the nation to mark the 56th National Democracy Day. "Let us listen to others, put across our views, do away with discord and enhance mutual understanding," said the monarch, who has been criticized for his continued refusal to open dialogue with mainstream parties to resolve the nation's political stalemate. The king and major political parties have fallen apart after he grabbed power last year in what he described as an effort quell the communist insurgency. The political stalemate deepened earlier this month when all major parties boycotted municipal elections called by King Gyanendra. In statements released to mark the National Democracy Day, Nepalese political leaders vowed to continue their fight for "complete democracy." Former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who heads the Nepali Congress Party, said Nepal needs to ensure that people's sovereign rights are not taken away by anyone in the future on any grounds. The Marxist-Leninist Party, Nepal's second-largest political party after the NCP, said it would step up efforts to replace the monarchy with a democratic republic. |