Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - James F Moriarty, US envoy in Nepal, has urged reconciliation between King Gyanendra and political parties, warning that if the standoff between the two lingered, Maoists could grab power. Sources close to AsiaNews said only reconciliation could lead to peace.
Moriarty said yesterday that the Maoists were gaining from the polarization between King and the political parties and urged all legitimate constitutional forces to reach consensus. He described the rule of the King who since February 2005 has deprived political parties of their authority as "a total failure": "Twelve months of palace rule have only made the situation more precarious, emboldened the Maoist insurgents, and widened the division between the country's political parties and the King."
He added: "Without real progress between the two legitimate political forces, the Maoists will only continue to gain advantage among people tired of the King-parties standoff, and among others who believe the insurgents will shed their ideological stripe and join the political mainstream."
There was a hard warning for opposition political parties too: the November agreement with the Maoists is "fraught with danger for the political parties themselves and for the future of Nepal", given that the rebels remain "terrorists", as evidenced by their leader's recent statement that the King should be "exiled or tried", in total contrast to all declarations of goodwill.
The ambassador's appeal "brings positive signs of hope", said a Catholic priest engaged in aid programmes for the poor in Nepal. "It gives a clear message that both King and political parties are should resume effective dialogue," he said. "The State is based on the tripod of King, political parties and army", and "the king and other parties are starting to understand that their dissent will only favour the Maoists.
"Even the political parties are discerning how the Maoists are using them to wangle absolute power. Until the November 22 truce between the Maoists and political parties, the rebels' influence over the people was waning. Now, as Moriarty has revealed, the Maoists are drumming the message in people's minds that they alone can oust the autocratic monarch. Above all, the Maoists have guns while the political parties have merely slogans and banners. People are more swayed by guns than slogans, particularly in the current situation of prolonged guerrilla warfare Reconciliation between King and parties would stop proliferation of the Maoists and make them realise they should come to the negotiating table or disappear."
Ramekbal Choudhary, human rights activist, said: "The US Ambassador has been meeting with government officials and various political leaders, and he probably has an inkling about the possible changes he spoke about", which would be welcomed by the population.
