The Nepali Congress (NC) has welcomed the latest position of the Indian ruling establishment regarding the royal proclamation of Friday in which the King announced to return power to the people and called on the agitating seven-party alliance (SPA) to name a new prime minister.
Issuing a press release Sunday, NC general secretary Kul Bahadur Gurung said that India’s latest view on the royal address that it didn’t adequately address the prevailing political turmoil is welcome.
On Monday, a day after India formally welcomed the King’s address, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran in a statement said King Gyanendra needs to do more and that India supports the democratic forces in Nepal.
Meanwhile, various professional organisations have urged the United Nations, which has described the royal proclamation as a positive step, to reconsider its position and extend support to the ongoing pro-democracy movement.
Representatives of NGO Federation Nepal and Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) met with Mathew Kahane, Nepal representative of the UN, this afternoon reminded him that the UN secretary general’s statement welcoming the King’s proclamation was hasty and that it failed to grasp the sentiment of millions of Nepali people who have been protesting it as a ploy to contain the pro-democracy movement.
“The UN’s response has come in a hurry. It does not respect the spirit and the sentiment of the masses that have been protesting against the royal address,” president of NGO Federation Dr Arjun Karki told reporters after meeting with the UN representative.
Similarly, FNJ president Bishnu Nisthuri said, “People have been actively participating in the movement for democracy despite the ruthless clampdown by the government. “In this context the international community including the UN should stand in favour of the Nepali people.”
Participants of the meeting said Kahane informed them that the UN had been conducting a detailed analysis of the royal address and that he would convey these concerns to the top authority of the world body. nepalnews.com mk Apr 23 06