Nepal: The King Says Terrorism No Longer Accepted

His Majesty King Gyanendra has said the nation itself has chosen an agenda that terrorism is no more accepted.

In the first-ever interaction with a select group of Nepali media at the Narayanhiti royal palace Thursday afternoon, His Majesty King Gyanendra said when we are fighting for democracy and against terrorism, Nepali people want to know what our friends are thinking. We want our friends to help us by word of mouth and by deed. If that is not the agenda they want to go along, then they should tell us what their agenda is, the King said.

Now, clearly the message is some of our friends have decided to suspend aid, that too the military aid, and Nepali people want to know what their message is. "Are they telling us that we should not fight against terrorism, that we should put our democracy into jeopardy?" His Majesty asked.

"When we have chosen to uphold democracy and fight against terrorism, why are they shying away from helping us? I can see one thing clearly emerging out of it. Our objectives are the same. We are going to meet somewhere. But we have chosen may be different paths in attaining that objective," he added.

"We expect our friends to understand that we are moving in that path. We should not be surprised that some of our friends have expressed dissatisfaction with our move but some of our friends have welcomed it," he added.

"They must say what they must say and we must do what we must do," His Majesty said.

We will no more tolerate terrorism and we want that political parties, too, should come up with clear views on this issue, said His Majesty.

Terrorism vs peace, no third force left: His Majesty

His Majesty King Gyanendra has said there are only two forces left in Nepal—those who pursue terrorism and those who believe in peace.

Talking to a group of Nepali journalists at Fohara Garden of the Narayanhiti palace Thursday, His Majesty said terrorism or terrorists could not be encouraged under any pretext.

Without naming the Maoists, His Majesty said they have given a lot of pain to common people. "They are engaged in kidnapping, abduction and rape. This is something, which can't be accepted by a civilized society. If their agenda is one party communist type of rule, it is unacceptable and we want out friends to give serious thought to this aspect of this issue," said His Majesty.

His Majesty the King further said democracy must flourish, but we must pursue a democratic dispensation that is suited to the genius of the people of Nepal and the soil of Nepal. "We all value democratic norms, democratic values. What do we understand by this. We understand features like open society, transparency, mass participation, mass communicating of ideas. But we have to Nepalise them. We need to make it suit for this country and for the people of Nepal," His Majesty said.

When asked what made him to take a drastic move like that of February 1, HM King Gyanendra said there were many factors that had joined in to bring a situation that was of such gravity. "We felt that the nation was also in a process of fragmentation, not the physical fragmentation. But the harmony among ethnic communities that we as Nepalis always enjoy, the unity that we had among ourselves was definitely shattered and the sad part was that no one was doing anything about it when everyone knew that this prevailed," His Majesty said.

"The efforts after February 1 is for all to see. When you identify your objective it becomes so much clearer and easier to pursue that objective. We have now identified (fighting) terrorism as our objective. So, we are going to pursue it," His Majesty said.

When asked how long it would take to restore peace in the country, HM King Gyanendra said, "Three years that is the maximum I have asked for. My effort would definitely be to shorten that period."

"When a house catches fire, it takes sometime to put it out. All the resources, knowledge and wisdom will have to be mobilized to put that out. At the beginning, when it was a disease it was allowed to fester now it has become gangrenous. When there is a foreign element in your body, you would like to (perform a) surgery on it and get rid of it," His Majesty added.

"We still believe alongside a concerted effort that is militarily prepared, negotiations also must take place. Otherwise, I would not have talked about it in my proclamation. I have given them an olive branch. I have tried them to show a way. I have not left out those who are roaming around in the jungle. Now it's up to them to respond, if you like, sincerely," His Majesty said.

"We have heard too often in the past that they are willing to talk. But you (the media) have reported that it is only a tactical move. (If that is so) that is not sincerity. The state can't deal with a group that behaves like this," His Majesty further said.

When asked how did he feel like after the Feb. 1 move, His Majesty said it was too early for him to say that he was happy. "There is so much work to be done and that work has to be done together," he added.

nepalnews.com by Feb 24 05

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