Nepal's royal government has summoned the US ambassador to protest the envoy's remarks that if the Himalayan nation's king did not compromise with his opponents he could end up fleeing the country, news reports said.
Details of Tuesday's meeting between Nepali officials and US Ambassador James Moriarty were scant, but the Himalayan Times reported yesterday that the envoy was issued a "demarche," or a diplomatic protest.
Two weeks of often-bloody opposition protests and a general strike have plunged Nepal into its worst crisis since King Gyanendra seized absolute power 14 months ago. Moriarty said in an interview on Tuesday that if the king did work to find a political compromise with his opponents, he could end up clinging to the edge of a helicopter as he fled.
Both the US Embassy and the Foreign Ministry confirmed that a meeting took place but refused to provide details.
Gyanendra seized direct power last year, arguing the move was needed to restore political order and crush a Maoist insurgency.
The US has been harshly critical of the power grab, and Moriarty earlier this year warned that if the king and the political opposition did not find a way to work together, the Maoists could take over.
However, the opposition has allied itself with the Maoists -- who are backing the strike and protests -- and the king has so far refused to meet their demands for a new constitution to be written that would limit, or even eliminate, the monarchy's role.
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