Nepalis cheer climbdown by king

BBC ^ | 4/24/06

[Paddlefish]

Jubilant Nepalis have taken to the streets in celebration after embattled King Gyanendra agreed to their demands to reinstate parliament. "This is the people's victory! Long live democracy!" hundreds chanted in parts of the capital Kathmandu.

Opposition leaders say a huge anti-monarchy protest planned for Tuesday will now be a victory rally.

The king's announcement follows weeks of unrest by opponents to his absolute rule. At least 14 people have died. A tired and tense-looking King Gyanendra announced the move in a late-night televised address, saying it was aimed at "protecting multi-party democracy and restoring peace". We are confident that the nation will forge ahead towards sustainable peace. He said the lower house of parliament would reconvene on Friday.

The US welcomed his announcement and said he should now consider assuming a "ceremonial role" in the country's governance. On Monday, thousands of demonstrators defied a shoot-on-sight curfew in Kathmandu.

[Paddlefish]

Democracy at work?

[LeoWindhorse]

Now that 'the people' are happy , will they weed out the Maoists that have infiltrated their midst and are trying to push the demonstrations in Kathmandu to ever more confrontational proportions ?
The Maoists are not going to quit . Stay tuned to see what ordinary Nepalese do about this ongoing dire threat.

[minus_273]

this isnt over yet. communists were able to infiltrate the capital during the protests.

[Jacob Kell]

Yeah, but hopefully, now that the parliament is reinstated, the Maoists won't be able to rouse the people like before.

[Pelayo]

The US welcomed his announcement and said he should now consider assuming a "ceremonial role" in the country's governance. On Monday, thousands of demonstrators defied a shoot-on-sight curfew in Kathmandu.

Wow, that's nicer than our progressivist leaders were to the Hapsburgs (and the Hohenzollerns by association). Course, I still think this will end the same way that did.