Stick with previous pact on monarchy, says US official
The visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Barry R. Lowenkron has said that he believes earlier agreement on deciding the fate of monarchy through Constituent Assembly (CA) should be honoured.
At a time when some parties including Maoists have been demanding that the parliament declare republic immediately, the senior Bush administration official advised to stick with the earlier agreement.
The eight parties have signed agreement to decide the fate of monarchy by a simple majority by the first meeting of elected CA.
If there was an agreement (on CA) and if Nepali people are saying let's have the CA, then have the CA and move on to elections, Lowenkron told reporters after meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel. Don't say lets put it aside and have republic instead, he added.
Lowenkron said that violence has no role in elections and added there should be no tolerance for violence.
The US official also met with Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan and Speaker Subas Nemwang on Thursday.
Talking to reporters after his meeting with Lowenkron, Speaker Nemwang said that the US official inquired if the situation of security had become complicated. "In view of recent incident with the American ambassador outside valley, he expressed worries about law and order situation and asked if it could affect CA polls," Nemwang said. nepalnews.com sd May 31 07
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