King Gyanendra, while addressing the inaugural session of the thirteenth SAARC summit in Dhaka today, said that his February 1 move was necessitated by the ground realities of the pre-Feb 1 period and was not taken at the cost of the democracy.
Nepal was in the danger of turning into a failed state, but since February 1, the security situation in Nepal had improved, the King said. He said the overriding concern of all Nepali was peace. The King also said that the upcoming municipal elections would pave the way for general elections. There can be no meaningful exercise in democracy without elections, he said.
The King said it was ironic’ that the global war on terror was not matched by global action. He said the weaker countries vulnerable to terrorism were being treated as if they needed no protection against terrorism, adding that there can be no good’ and bad’ terrorism and terrorism, in all its forms, should be condemned.
The King said terrorists in Nepal were bent on replacing democracy by the ideology of one-party dictatorship.
King Gyanendra said terrorism posed a serious threat to the security situation in the SAARC region and that South Asia needed to send a clear message that it will not tolerate any kind of terrorism, whatever its guise.
