Nepal's King should restore democracy: Bush

Indian PM Manmohan and US President Bush in a joint press conference agreed that the Maoists should abandon violence.

The king of Nepal should restore democracy to the kingdom where he took absolute power in a royal coup just over a year ago, US President George W Bush said on Thursday.

HT Image

Speaking at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bush declared: "On Nepal we agreed that the Maoists should abandon violence and that the king should reach out to the political parties to restore democratic institutions."

Some 12,500 people have died since the Maoists launched an uprising just over a decade ago.

Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked his government and took direct control of the impoverished Himalayan nation in February 2005 saying the politicians had failed to tackle the Maoists and was corrupt.