Posted on 01/31/2005 10:52:47 PM PST by Srirangan
Source: NDTV
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 (Kathmandu):
Nepal's King Gyanendra today dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government and assumed power in the Himalayan Kingdom.
The monarch has accused the Deuba government of failing to restore peace and conducting parliamentary elections in the country.
"I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April," the King said in a televised address to the nation.
The King maintained that the Deuba government had failed to protect democracy and sovereignty of the people.
King Gyanendra had appointed Deuba as Prime minister last year and asked him to conduct parliamentary elections and hold peace talks with the Maoist rebels.
Earlier, the King had sacked Deuba in 2002 for failing to hold elections, but asked him to form the government last year as the rebels stepped up insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom.
Nepal king dismisses government
Nepal's King Gyanendra has announced on state television that he has sacked the government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba.
He said he was taking over direct power because the administration had failed to fulfil its mandate.
Mr Deuba had been reappointed Nepal's prime minister last June, two years after King Gyanendra sacked him for failing to contain a Maoist insurgency.
The rebels recently failed to respond to a 13 January deadline set by Mr Deuba to hold peace talks.
The Associated Press reports that soldiers have surrounded the prime minister's residence and the homes of other government leaders.
"I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April and protect democracy, the sovereignty of the people and life and property," the king said in his announcement.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says the announcement has plunged Nepal into uncertainty.
'Selfish'
"A new cabinet will be formed under my leadership," the king said.
"This will restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years."
King Gyanendra also said the government had failed to restore peace with the Maoist rebels.
He accused the country's fractious political parties of behaving selfishly and of giving no thought to the Nepali people and the welfare of the country.
He himself, he added, was committed to democracy and multi-party rule.
Some 10,000 people have been killed in the nine-year-long Maoist insurgency.
Nepal King Sacks Government, Assumes Power
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali King Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed power himself Tuesday, saying the leadership had failed to hold elections or restore peace amid an escalating civil war with Maoist rebels.
Indian television channel NDTV said the king had taken power for the next three years and placed many politicians under house arrest.
"I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April and promote democracy, the sovereignty of the people and life and property," the king said in an address on state radio.
Shortly afterwards telephone and mobile lines were apparently shut down in Kathmandu and communications links closed between the country and the rest of the world.
No further details were available.
The strategic Himalayan nation sandwiched between India and China is locked in a bitter three-way struggle among the king, the Maoist rebels and political parties who are often bitterly divided among themselves.
The king is often accused of overstepping his powers, and reappointed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba only last June, two years after sacking him for the same reasons he cited this time -- inability to tackle the long-standing revolt against the monarchy and failure to call an election.
In January, Deuba had promised to go ahead with the election despite the civil war and the refusal of the Maoists to come to peace talks by a Jan. 13 deadline.
But many members of Deuba's own cabinet were known to be unhappy with the election plan on grounds it was unrealistic in a country where the rebels control much of the countryside.
The rebels have been fighting since 1996 to replace the monarchy with a communist republic in a revolt that has cost around 11,000 lives.
The king himself had promised that elections would begin by the start of the Nepali new year in mid-April. Indian television said he accused political parties of factional fighting.
This is the fourth time the king has sacked a prime minister in less than three years. Nepal has had no parliament since 2002. Nepal is one of the world's poorest nations and its only Hindu kingdom. Many people still view the king as a reincarnation of the god Vishnu.
But the monarchy's reputation nosedived in 2001 when the crown prince, Dipendra, killed his father, the popular King Birendra, and several other royals in a palace massacre. He then turned the gun on himself.
Gyanendra was crowned king after the massacre, but has never been as popular as his brother Birendra.
Tens of thousands of tourists visit Nepal each year as it has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest.
Gyanendra was always close to the Chinese-it was one of the main points of dispute between him & his late brother,who was pro-India.The previous Indian government of AB Vajpayee,showed little interest in pursuing a pro-active policy in Nepal & allowed things to drift & hence had no option to tie up with the King.That was the logic behind the big armsales to Nepal(along with the US & UK) -to not only defeat the Maoists,but also stem the rise of Nepal as a Chinese puppet.
WTF is that ridiculous thing on his head? Oh well, he is the king... and after he had his own parents murdered, who's going to say anything?
so do you think Nepal is on its way to being a PRC client state in the next 3 years ? (if they don't get rid of him)
Hard to say as there are too many players involved.For one,India & the other big powers like the US & UK may decide to go along with the King & help him against the Maoists to prevent Chinese interference.The big problem with that scenario is that most Nepalese hate the King & given the autocratic measures he passed yesterday,that number won't go down.Unless the RNA pulls a rabbit out of the hat-they cannot hope to wipe out the Maoists,who may infact grow stronger.Unless ofcourse India or the UN(under British prodding) takes the plunge & drastically increases military assistance or infact directly intervenes.If India shows the willpower to do that,it will probably also increase pressure on the King to restore democracy-like it did with Birendra in the late 80s.I don't think the current Indian government,esp with it's roots in the Nehru-Gandhi clan will want to see Nepal go with the Chinese.Afterall,Nehru suffered his greatest humiliation at the hands of the Chinese.Moreover,a hostile Nepal is the last thing India needs when militancy in Kashmir is dying.The Indo-Nepal Burder is not exactly easy to fence or guard effectively due to the messy terrain & it's use as a launchpad for drugs,arms,infiltrators & prostitutes will only skyrocket.
Sort of like something from Beach Blanket Babylon.
Interesting that in the middle of the it is a star of David.
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