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| Saturday, 26 February 2005 |
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Nepal king pleads for foreign help in rebel fight KATHMANDU, Friday (Reuters) - Nepal's King Gyanendra, in comments published on Friday, pleaded for international support to crush a long running anti-monarchy Maoist revolt in which thousands have died. Britain and India, key supporters of Nepali army in its fight against the guerrillas who want to set up a communist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom, have suspended military aid after Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed full powers on Feb. 1. The United States, another ally in the rebel fight, has demanded the king restore democracy in the nation tucked between Asian giants, China and India. "We want our friends to help us by word and by deed. If that is not the agenda they want to go along with, then they should tell us what their agenda is," independent online Nepalnews.com quoted the king as saying on Thursday in his first meeting with editors of leading Nepali newspapers since his power grab. "Are they telling us that we should not fight against terrorism, that we should put our democracy into jeopardy?" he asked in a reference to a global outcry against him. "When we are fighting for democracy and against terrorism, the Nepali people want to know what our friends are thinking." The king has justified his moves, which also include detaining politicians, suspending civil liberties and curbing press freedom, saying it was necessary to crush the guerrillas who control large swathes of countryside. India has provided arms, trucks and helicopters to a poorly equipped Nepali army battling the Maoists in a nine-year conflict. Britain suspended a planned 1.3 million pound ($2.5 million) aid package to provide vehicles and equipment for night flying and bomb disposal. The Maoists have imposed a nationwide transport blockade to protest the royal power grab, disrupting road transport and supplies of foodgrains and vegetables in the mountainous nation for nearly two weeks. Meanwhile the United States was urged to join Britain and India in suspending military aid to Nepal to protest the king's power grab, which has reportedly led to increasing human rights abuses. "The United States should follow suit and suspend all military assistance with immediate effect to send a unified message to King Gyanendra that his action is not acceptable to the international community," T. Kumar, the US-based advocacy director for Amnesty International, told a congressional human rights forum in Washington. The United States had threatened to cut military aid but has not made any decision. "We are still keeping our options open," a State Department official told AFP. US envoy to Nepal James Moriarty, who spent a week in Washington after being recalled for consultations, has left for Kathmandu enroute New Delhi, the official said. He will "hold consultations" with Indian government officials, possibly on Friday. |
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