Party setback for Nepal monarchy

The king says the political parties have to promise good governance

Nepal's largest opposition party, has announced a move away from its support for constitutional monarchy.

The party convention of the Nepali Congress is expected to endorse the move this week, the BBC's Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu says.

The move comes as King Gyanendra renewed a conditional offer to open talks with opposition parties.

The king sacked the former government in February, saying it failed to tackle the Maoist uprising.

The top executive body of the Nepali Congress, led by four-time former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, announced on Monday its intention to drop its traditional support for constitutional monarchy.

The four-day general convention of the centrist party opened on Tuesday.

The Nepali Congress has supported constitutional monarchy in Nepal since its inception 60 years ago.

But now it is a key player in the seven-party opposition alliance against King Gyanendra.

There has been a widening rift between the king and Nepal's political parties since he seized power.

Rebel 'boost'?

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says that the king appears to be anxious that Nepal's political deadlock could benefit the rebels, who are seeking to replace the current system with a communist republic.

The opposition grouping has ruled out an alliance with Maoist rebels, but its leaders have not ruled out holding talks with the rebels.

King Gyanendra likened the dispute between the monarchy and political parties to the relationship between a husband and wife, saying that the closer they are the more they quarrel.

He said he was ready for talks with the political parties, but insisted that they first had to promise commitment to good governance, fiscal discipline and a fight against terrorism.

He also accused the former elected government of failing to address social problems.

He said that if the government had addressed some of the demands the Maoists had put to the authorities nine years ago, Nepal would not have plunged into a 'ditch'.

The king said that his administration was now addressing some of these issues, such as the uplift of lower castes and women.

There was no immediate comment from the opposition parties to King Gyanendra's offer for talks.

Disappearances

Meanwhile, a senior United Nations human rights official in Nepal has expressed concern over the increasing number of political disappearances in the country.

We have a responsibility to engage with non-state actors meaning principally of course the Maoists. Ian Martin, UN High Commission for Human Rights

UN High Commission for Human Rights representative Ian Martin said the government had yet to act on recommendations to improve the situation.

He said that the UN had a responsibility to engage with both the government and rebels on the question of human rights.

"We have a responsibility to engage with non-state actors meaning principally of course the Maoists."

"That is not to accord any kind of political recognition, that's purely for the purposes of promoting international humanitarian law," he told AFP news agency.

According to the UN, there are currently more disappearances in Nepal than anywhere else in the world.

Some 11,000 people have died since the Maoists began their insurgency in 1996.