King calls for talks with opposition parties

King Gyanendra on Friday called on Nepal’s seven main opposition parties for a dialogue with his government to ‘activate’ multiparty democracy, following a week of violence in the Himalayan kingdom. The king assumed direct rule on 1 February, 2005 after suspending the democratic government led by former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, citing his failure to quell the country’s long-standing Maoist insurgency. “Aware of our traditions and sensitivities, as well as the self-respect and self-confidence of the Nepalese people who have always remained independent throughout history, dialogue must form the basis for the resolution of all problems,” the king said, during his speech to the nation to mark Nepal’s New Year. But according to the political parties, who have been organising nationwide anti-king demonstrations over the past week, the only political solution for the ongoing violence was for the king to give up his rule and abdicate. “There has been so much bloodshed and yet he does not even express any sympathy for the thousands of people who have died since he started his authoritarian rule,” said Krishna Sitaula, a spokesman for the Nepali Congress (NC), the country’s largest political party. In 2005, the number of conflict-related deaths surpassed 1,300 in less than a year of the king’s rule, according to a human rights report by local rights group Insec. Various reports by both local and international rights watch dog groups highlighted that civil liberties had been affected and press freedom curtailed. In addition, his rule led to an escalation of violence against the civilians due to the frequent military clashes between the security forces and Maoists, who have been waging armed rebellion against the state for the last 10 years. “How can a dialogue be possible with an unconstitutional ministerial cabinet and a king who does not listen to anyone, the democratic parties or the international community?” asked Pradeep Nepal, a spokesman for the Unified Marxist Lenninist (UML), the country’s second largest party. . Meanwhile, ongoing demonstrations held throughout the country continue to put additional pressure on the king. Besides political activists, professional groups of journalists, lawyers, engineers and the whole cross section of society have also taken to the streets to join the peaceful anti-king rallies. Even development workers have joined in the protest given the king’s adamant refusal to step down. The government on the other hand has been using all its security forces to quell the peaceful demonstrations, while the international community, including the United Nations, has expressed serious concerns over the increasing number of arrests and detentions of demonstrators, as well as the excessive usage of force being used against them. According to Insec, during the past week's violence more than 2,000 arrests have been made and over 700 demonstrators have been hospitalised due to injuries.