The United States Senate has unanimously approved a resolution expressing its support for the reconvening of the Nepali parliament and for an immediate, peaceful transition to a democratic political process in the country.
Coverage: Crisis in Nepal
The resolution introduced by Senator Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican and chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also calls on the Bush administration to work with India among other nations, including China, the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union and the United Nations, to ensure a common and coherent international approach that helps bring about an immediate, peaceful transition to democracy and an end to the violent insurgency in Nepal.
Lugar, while announcing the passage of the Senate Resolution 451, said, "Nepal has been gripped by demonstrations for the past 20 days and at least 14 Nepali citizens have been killed in these protests and hundreds more injured."
The lawmaker who authored the resolution, put the blame squarely on King Gyanendra who had taken full power to his own hands for the past 14 months and then conducted sham municipal election on February 8,2006, which he noted had been described by the US Department of State as a hollow attempt by the king to legitimize his power.
The resolution expresses support for the 'reconvening of the Parliament of Nepal and urges the king, political parties and Maoists to support a process that returns the country to multiparty democracy and creates the conditions for peace and stability in the country.
Lugar's resolution follows King Gyanendra's announcement on April 24, that he would retinstate the Parliament of Nepal on April 28.
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