As a friend of Nepal, we must state that King Gyanendra's decision fourteen months ago to impose direct palace rule in Nepal has failed in every regard.  The demonstrations, deaths, arrests, and Maoist attacks in the past few days have shown there is more insecurity, not less.  The King's continuing failure to bring the parties back into a process to restore democracy has compounded the problem.

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 recognizes that this is the best way to deal with the Maoist insurgency and to return peace and prosperity to Nepal.

 ##