US: The US issued a sharp rebuke yesterday to Nepal's king for his handling of recent violent protests and said the decision to impose direct palace rule 14 months ago had failed "in every regard".
In a toughly worded statement, state department spokesman Seán McCormack said demonstrations, deaths, arrests and Maoist attacks in the past few days showed there was more insecurity, not less, since King Gyanendra took over.
"The king's continuing failure to bring the parties back into a process to restore democracy has compounded the problem," said Mr McCormack.
"The United States calls upon the king to restore democracy immediately and to begin a dialogue with Nepal's constitutional political parties. It is time the king recognises that this is the best way to deal with the Maoist insurgency and to return peace and prosperity to Nepal."
The demonstrations in Nepal are the most intense since the king sacked the government and took control of the impoverished nation 14 months ago.
Three protesters were killed by troops over the weekend, more than 100 have been wounded and 1,000 people detained, political parties said.