US Department of State A meeting with two US State Department officials on 2 February, Melanie Bixby, Senior Advisor South Asian Affairs, and Kristin Needler, Nepal desk officer, provided some updated information on the situation in Nepal and the US position. According to the State Department, phone lines were cut to prevent organised protests in the capital and will be slowly turned back on over the next week. The officials were candid and cordial, though they held the official line. On human rights violations, they freely admitted that the RNA was guilty, but that most of US military assistance was providing human rights training to the army, which has grown quickly in size over a short period. They did not say if anything was being put forward to hold the army accountable. The US also refused to take a position on the involvement of a third party to facilitate peace talks between the king and the Maoists. While acknowledging that the UK was in favor and India dead opposed, the US is in favor of a "negotiated settlement". They had been in contact with the US embassy in Kathmandu and Ambassador Moriarty was planning to visit the palace as soon as possible, which he has done subsequently. The US also noted that India was in shock over the King's decision and felt slighted. It's unclear whether the US will take a strong position on Nepal, as India has, though intially they have condemned the move. King Gyanendra seems to be hoping that the US and India's dislike for the Maoists will outweigh their contempt at his power grab. On the ground in Nepal Reports are coming through that there is a widespread crackdown on dissent in the capital and in Pokhara. Political and student leaders are being targeted by the army for arrest. BBC reported that 250 were arrested in Pokhara and possibly fired upon after demonstrating. The BBC also reported that 21 members of the Nepali Congress, Nepal's largest political party, were arrested in Kanchanpur. It is assumed that human rights activists are next in line and some are being offered shelter by the Danish embassy and the UN. Phone lines have been reopened an hour or two at a time, before being disconnected. Supposedly, this is to prevent activists from organising protests. Additionally, it has prevented the three-day bandh called by the Maoists from having any affect whatsoever, due to the absence of communication. Few, if anyone in Nepal are aware that the Maoists called one. Newspapers are closed still and occupied or surrounded by security personnel, while open radio stations are permitted to only play music, because the army does not have the resources to screen all the news reports. cont......