News update from Nepal, August 14, 2005 civil liberties, including freedom of the media and freedom of personal expression, the Palace to reach out to the political parties with sincere proposals that reflect their common agenda of multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy and a return to full electoral democracy and the parties to keep an open mind and accept a hand, if offered. He said,“Continuing divisions between the Palace and the political parties help only the Maoists and their plans to turn Nepal into a brutal and anachronistic state. The Maoists have done nothing to indicate that they are prepared to change and they do not abide by democracy.” He also warned,“If the Maoists have become stronger, they would pose a threat to the whole of the South Asian region.” On August 3, Nepal Democracy Solidarity Forum, a forum of nine leftist groups and socialist parties of India- Communist Party of India(CPI), CPI-Marxist, CPI-Marxist Leninist, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Block, Congress, Nationalist Congress, Janata Dal(Secular) and Rastriya Janata Dal- in a joint statement asked the Indian government“not to give legitimacy to the King’s actions.” The Chairman of the Forum, Sitaram Yechuri, said,“The US should not be allowed to intervene in Nepal in the name of democracy and the just-announced “Indo-US democratic initiative.” On August 26, the Forum is also organizing a convention on democracy. Political Parties’ Dilemma Nepalese political parties are caught in a cross-pressure of the international community, which is asking them to reconcile with the King, and their young leaders, who prefer a decisive agitation to establish“complete democracy”, which also means the restructuring of the leadership. NC President G.P. Koirala held, “Communists and we have no significant ideological differences. Both of us are fighting against the deep-rooted feudal structures of the society.” The CPN-UML leader Bam Dev Gautam endorsed it saying,“The differences between Maoists and political parties are gradually decreasing. The nation should go for a republic.” The next day, the seven-party alliance has initiated a formal discussion over Maoist leader Prachanda’s proposal for forming a negotiating team and appealed to the Maoists to create a confidence-building environment. The response from the government has been a serious warning to parliamentary parties. The spokesman of the government Tanka Dhakal said,“If the parties join hands with the Maoists, the government will be forced to see them from the same viewpoint.” The new generation of party leaders is, however, critical towards its leaders.“The king is clear in his mission that he will use oppressive means to serve his interest. But the parties are still undecided on declaring a decisive battle against the king,” said Chandra Bhandari, youth leader of NC. In a similar tone CPN-UML leader Shankar Pokhrel said,“Both the extremists- Maoists and active monarchists- are clear with regard to their agenda but the political parties are still confused. Since the Maoists are a force that has emerged from among the people, we should be closer to them.” He added,“Parties should democratize and identify the real enemy and make a clear road map for resolving the Maoist problem.” N.P. Saud of NC 3