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| IN FLAMES: Deputy Auditor General Ghanashyam Upadhyay is forced to walk after protestors torched his official car in New Baneswor on Sunday. |
In interviews here, MEPs from across the political spectrum were unanimous that the king is taking the country down the wrong path and he must roll back his move before it is too late for the country and himself.
"We are very concerned about what has happened in Nepal this past week and we see a return to democratic values and respect for human rights as an essential step in restoring peace," Eneko Landaburu, head of the EU's department of external relations, told us.
To mark one year of the king's takeover, the Sub-committee on Human Rights of the European Parliament has called for a hearing on Nepal on 20 February that will be attended by top officials and may issue a strong resolution against the royal takeover.
On 1 February itself, the lobby group Euro Step is organising a highlevel discussion in Brussels titled 'The Future of Democracy, Peace and Human Rights in Nepal' to be addressed by Swiss and British delegates, senior Commission officials and the human rights adviser to EU Council secretary general, Javier Solana.
Here and in Brussels, European officials are sufficiently alarmed to step up consultations with rights groups and governments. They see it as a positive sign that Nepal figured in talks between senior Indian and Chinese officials in Beijing earlier this month. China's expression of concern and calls for reconciliation this week were also seen by European Nepal-watchers as a significant departure from Beijing's previous position about not commenting on Nepal's internal affairs.
In Brussels, the Commission's Nepal handlers are preparing the Country Strategy Paper for 2007-2013. While not wanting Nepal to suffer from aid cuts, they say future outlays will hinge on how fast the country returns to democracy. "We will maintain some money for Nepal but it will only go to support the democratic process, human rights and conflict mitigation," one official said.
European officials are also scathing about the Maoists' return to conflict, saying it jeopardises the party-Maoist pact. Said one senior adviser at the EU parliament: "There is just no way Europe will back an obsolete ideology that uses violence, it will be difficult to explain it to our citizens."
Europe recently signed a 'strategic partnership' with India to coordinate foreign policy more closely and officials said this would include Nepal. Socialist MEP from Britain, Neena Gill, who is also chair of the delegation for relations with SAARC, says: "We regard India as a key country with influence in the region and on Nepal we will consult them closely."
