Re: your editorial 'Hear no peace, see no peace, speak no peace', #280. Although there has been an agreement between the Maoists and the parties to establish total democracy in Nepal the parties are still divided about what it means. Still, the seven political parties on chanting slogans against absolute monarchy are garnering increasing support from people. People in rural Nepal have no choice but to support the Maoists for fear of their lives. Urban dwellers are also forced to pay 'donations' and the people are sick of that. But the army has shown that when push comes to shove they are no better than the Maoists. It is now clear one year after King Gyanendra took over that his governments have failed to deliver. It is engaged in the politics of revenge. The existence of the tainted figures in the cabinet and the government's divide-and-rule policy have tarnished the image of the king's government. These sychophants are dragging the king into controversy with their demagoguery. People have flocked to King Gyanendra's much-publicised trips to different parts of the Nepal out of sheer desperation, the palace shouldn't mistake that for support for dictatorship. Next month's municipal elections will only invite bloodshed. The best way out of the present stalemate is reconciliation between the monarchy and the parties which will also enable the state to better deal with the rebels.

Bikendra Shamsher Thapa,
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