Posted on 08/05/2006 7:23:12 PM PDT by nuconvert
Nepal to seize royal lands, king to be "normal citizen" by Deepesh Shrestha Sat Aug 5, 2006
Nepal plans to seize lands owned by King Gyanendra and other royal family members and distribute them to the poor as it moves toward treating the monarch like a "normal citizen," a minister said.
Legislation limiting the amount of property the king can hold will be drafted once an inventory of royal properties is completed, Land Reforms Minister Prabhu Narayan Chaudhary said on Saturday in Kathmandu, the capital of the impoverished Himalayan nation.
"The seized royal property will be nationalized and handed over to poor farmers and landless people," the minister told AFP, without giving a timeframe for the policy's implementation.
"The king and the royal family members will be treated just like normal citizens," he added.
Under the law, Nepalese people are allowed to own 7.45 hectares (18.4 acres) of land, the minister said.
But according to a preliminary land reform ministry report, the king and royal family members own 1,729 hectares (4,274 acres) of land, including palaces and forests, the minister said.
"In addition to this, we believe the king and his family members possess other land in the country. The government has directed all land revenue offices to furnish details within the next eight days," Chaudhary said.
News of the plan to strip the king of his land was praised in Kathmandu's streets, where there were massive street protests earlier this year that forced Gyanendra to give up absolute rule in April.
"The king has been enjoying a lavish life while we've been suffering. He should own property equivalent to that owned by a normal citizen," said 30-year-old school teacher Tek Narayan Jha.
"The move will show there is equal justice for all," Jha said.
The development was welcomed elsewhere too.
"The monarch's property is not his personal asset, it's provided by the state. It's good the government is taking a pro-people move by bringing the king under the law," said Rabindra Khanal, who teaches politics at Tribhuvan University.
Land is seen as an important source of livelihood in Nepal where employment is not guaranteed and there is no state security.
The announcement is the latest blow for the king who has already been stripped of his control over the army and legislative duties. He also faces a potentially massive tax bill.
The monarch, traditionally revered as the incarnation of the Hindu god of protection, Lord Vishnu, sacked the government and seized power in February 2005, saying the move was necessary to crush a deadly decade-old Maoist revolt.
But afterwards the sidelined political parties and Maoists formed an alliance to end his rule, staging huge demonstrations.
The Maoists are now set to enter mainstream politics after the new government agreed to a key rebel demand for elections to a constituent assembly to draft a fresh constitution that will, among other things, decide the future of the monarchy.
Republican sentiment has been rising. If the monarchy continues, the king is likely to occupy only a ceremonial role, analysts say.
Gyanendra was vaulted to the throne by the massacre of his popular brother King Birendra and most other members of the royal family in 2001
i thought magna carta was just some delimitations on John's powers over his nobles. I wonder how many of them did it because he hit on their wives, something he was apparently notorious for.
Now I know Red China is behind this. This is exactly what Mao did. First, dupe the poor into seizing the land of private property owners. Second, now that the poor have done your job for you, seize the very same land from the poor and "collectivize" it.
I'm thinking that Americans probably seized some land that "belonged" to George III.
==I'm thinking that Americans probably seized some land that "belonged" to George III.
What is it with you people. Don't you understand that the Communists are about to seize Nepal. I'm starting to think the DU has hacked FR.
Is it just me, or does this thread seem strange to you too???
Yes, they referred to him as "Citizen Capet." They have to degrade them in their minds before they can bring themselves to do it to him physically.
The Communists may well be about to take over Nepal, but if they are it is because of some blindingly stupid and greedy misrule, especially by the latest King. THAT is why you'll find so little sympathy for the poor wee monarch. A revolution was necessary. We can all wish it wasn't a communist one, but the fact remains that he did everything in his inept power to create the conditions for it. I have no sympathy for the King but I hve every sympathy for the people who were misruled by him and will probably shortly be misruled by the new administration.
Androcles essentially answered for me. Apparently you have your blinders on only to talk about this communist revolution.
I'm not saying I love communists. Nor am I saying that I'm cheering the revolution on. Try acting like you have less of a stick shoved somewhere and try talking like a human being. Then maybe people will respond to you.
ping
Mark my words, the King and his family will meet the same fate the Romanovs did in 1918.
Very true.. hopefully though Nepal will not trade a singular absolute monarch... for a collective absolute ideology.... Seems to look like the Moaists are about to do this... we shall see if Republicanism will prevail or not.
As will the people of Nepal.
i think youre right
I thought the communists in Nepal had already killed the royal family.
Apparently since you like to dream up what other people say I'll know to ignore you in the future.
Well, Stalin, Mao, and Castro just didn't do it right.
Saddam had like 35 palaces, which were like Central Park in size... The Green Zone is on of them.
I thought that was a doped-up son killing off his own family.
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