| Sun Jan 30,12:03 AM ET |
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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Bhutan's king has warned there is a "real threat" of the Maoist revolt in Nepal escalating out of control, adding it could have "negative implications" for both India and his country, reports said.
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"We sincerely hope ... some initiatives will be taken by the political parties in Nepal to resolve the Maoist problem," said King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the Press Trust of India (news - web sites) quoted him as saying on Saturday.
The king, who left Saturday for home after a six-day official visit to India, said the situation in Nepal was "deteriorating day-by-day," adding, "Today the Maoists have total control more or less of the whole country."
Political analysts in Nepal estimate the Maoists control over two-thirds of the impoverished landlocked nation wedged between India and China.
The Bhutanese ruler was speaking to Indian journalists in New Delhi at the close of his visit.
The Maoist rebels have been battling since 1996 to overthrow the constitutional monarchy in Nepal. Violence has been rising in recent months since a pledge by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold long-delayed elections if the Maoists failed to agree to resume peace talks by January 13.
The deadline passed with the Maoists rejecting the call for negotiations and vowing to wreck the elections.
The rebels are holding out for talks with King Gyanendra under international mediation focusing on their demand for elections for an assembly that would draft a fresh constitution but authorities have rejected their demands.
The constitution is seen aimed at establishing a communist republic.
"There is a real threat of Maoist situation becoming much more serious than it is today. If this happens, it will have negative implications for both India and Bhutan because we share common borders," Bhutan's king said.
India's ultra leftists have ties with Nepal's Maoists and some Indian commentators have expressed concern the Nepal revolt could spill over the border.
"Each country has a different kind of problem, a different situation. The political parties and people of Nepal have to together solve their own problems in the best possible way." the Bhutanese ruler said.
Over the past few years, the king has been steering his tiny mountain nation of over 700,000 people, once considered the last Shangri-La untouched by the winds of modernisation, toward democracy.
Bhutan, which like Nepal is tucked between India and China, has put together the first draft of a new constitution based on the principles of parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch at the head.
About the Bhutanese army's actions to flush out anti-Indian rebels sheltering on Bhutanese soil, he said "there are no militant camps in any part of Bhutan now. We're trying to ensure that our borders remain secure."
The military drive in 2003 led to dismantling of the 30 militant camps, he said, adding India and Bhutan have agreed they will never allow their territory to be used by anyone for activities harmful for each other's interests.
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