Just for the record, IF, in the article in the Nation magazine, I did NOT write that Nepal needs a "national consensus regarding the Maoists. Either we all support the Maoists or we all support the King." PLEASE DO NOT MISQUOTE ME. I NEVER NEVER NEVER SUGGESTED THAT WE ALL SUPPORT THE MAOISTS OR ALL SUPPORT THE KING. I wrote an article suggesting ways to build a national concensus about the country's future... a future that is promising for all Nepalis, and that includes the best of each side's goals...but I also listed concessions and compromises that each side needs to be willing to make in order build trust and be able to start talking. And one of the points I included was the king showing a willingness to step down. I will try to find a copy of that article and post it here... although I doubt that it is still relevant in its entirety. Ironically Gyanendra Shah's unwillingness to make compromises (and the message he has given the country through events like February 1st and the appointment of people like Tulsi Giri and Jagat Gauchan) has facilitated the task of building of a concensus in the rest of the country outside the fences of Narayanhiti and Nagarjun.