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U.S. asks Nepal king to restore democracy(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The U.S. State Department has called King Gyanendra's takeover of Nepal a failure and asked him to restore democracy immediately. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement Monday, 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. McCormack said the demonstrations, deaths, arrests and Maoist attacks of the last few days reflect a situation that is more insecure and not less, the Press Trust of India reported. The statement requests Gyanendra to restore democracy and begin dialogue with the parties immediately, something that he has failed to do until this point. The public message will be discussed with the king directly when the U.S. ambassador returns to Kathmandu. King Gyanendra dismissed parliament and seized direct power in February 2005, saying politicians had failed to quell the decade-long Maoist insurgency that has left thousands of people dead. Three people have died during two days of unrest in the capital of Kathmandu, while the king's opponents stage widespread protests. |