Nepal faces int'l military aid cut, says US, UK

After recalling their ambassadors to their capitals to protest King Gyanendra's power grab, the United States, European nations and India could "seriously consider" cutting off vital military aid to the Himalayan outpost, US envoy to Nepal James Moriarty told reporters in Washington.

"I can't lock us in on that but I can tell you that that will be a step that we will seriously consider," Moriarty said.

He did not elaborate on the prospective military aid cut, which analysts say could considerably weaken King Gyanendra's uphill battle against a bloody Maoist insurgency that has left 11,000 people dead so far.

"No, I am not going to be too much more specific but to say that I think security assistance, in particular lethal security assistance, will be at risk if you don't see progress on the king's commitments," Moriarty said.

He said Gyanendra's administration had given an assurance it would emerge with a plan to address two key concerns -- insurgency and the restoration of full multiparty democracy -- within 100 days.

Britain is considering suspending military aid to Nepal if King Gyanendra does not reverse his power seizure, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said yesterday.

"We are giving the proposal active consideration," Straw told reporters when asked about a call by London-based human rights group Amnesty International for Britain, the United States and India to suspend military aid to Nepal.

The three countries are the main suppliers of military aid to Nepal's government, which is seeking to crush a nine-year uprising by Maoist rebels that has cost over 11,000 lives.

Despite the pledge, the United States, European Union (EU) members and India, all of which have been key backers of Nepal's drive to crush the Maoist insurgents, recalled their envoys this week to rebuff the monarch's actions.

He had sacked the government, appointed a pro-royalist cabinet headed by himself, set aside multi-party democracy that was introduced in 1990 and suspended civil liberties, including press freedom.

The king justified the royal takeover by saying it was needed to restore peace and security since political parties were not able to stem Nepal's communist insurgency.