Shun violence, urges Nepal PM

Issuing a fresh appeal to Maoists to shun violence, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said Wednesday the doors for dialogue were open for the peaceful resolution of the nine-year-long insurgency in the Himalayan Kingdom.

"Indiscriminate killing, abduction, extortion and torture can't be acceptable ways to bring about political change," Deuba said addressing the second World Summit on Buddhism at Lumbini, 350 km from Kathmandu.

"We have kept the doors open for a peaceful solution as there is no alternative to peace dialogue," he said. Messages of UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Bhutan King Jigme

Singe Wangchuk and Bangladesh President Ijauddin Ahmad wishing the success of the Summit were also read out on the occasion.

On Friday, the Summit will adopt a Lumbini declaration following a number of closed door sessions.

On the eve of the summit, King Gyanendra promulgated an ordinance for the establishment of Siddhartha University in Lumbini.

Massive security arrangements have been made in and around the summit venue though the Maoists withdrew their two-day strike yesterday afternoon.

The first Buddhist Summit was held in Lumbini in 1998.

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