King ends direct rule, reinstates parliament

The direct rule of Nepalese monarch King Gyanendra ended on Monday night following his announcement on national television that he was reinstating parliament to be led by the seven main opposition parties. “We call upon the Seven Party Alliance (Seven main opposition parties) to bear the responsibility...while ensuring permanent peace and safeguarding multiparty democracy,” the king said. Nepal’s democratic multiparty system was first established in 1990 following a people’s movement against the 30-year-old partyless system led until 1972 by the current king’s father Mahendra and then by his elder brother Birendra, who eventually gave up his direct rule 14 years ago. But the country’s political crisis worsened with constant feuds between the democratic parties and especially with the start of the Maoist armed rebellion in 1996. After the royal massacre in 2001, King Gyanendra replaced his brother and on 22 May 2002, he dissolved the 205-member House of Representatives of the Nepalese parliament on recommendation of the former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold fresh general elections, following which the monarch took over executive powers and suspended Deuba’s government in October 2002. The king then appointed two pro-royal prime ministers in two years to run his royalist government and even reinstated Deuba as the prime minister in 2004 but removed him again on 1 February 2005 accusing him of failure to contain the Maoist insurgents, who have been waging armed rebellion for the last 10 years. For the last 14 months, the king had been ruling the country directly while imposing restrictions on civil liberties and freedom of press. Many political leaders were arrested and their party activities restrained. However, according to independent analysts, pressure against the king increased after the Maoists and the opposition parties signed a 12-point agreement in November 2005. Finally, with the backing of the rebels, the parties managed to force the king to give up his power by organising a 20-day long indefinite strike and mass anti-king protests nationwide, which began on 5 April. Millions of Nepalese joined the demonstrations in which 15 were left dead and over 5,000 injured at the hands of police and security forces, according to local human rights group, Insec. But the king’s latest announcement has already spread a sense of hope and relief among Nepal’s citizens. The parties have called off their indefinite strike, while the government has lifted the curfew in the capital, which had been imposed for the past week for over 12 hours every day. “There will be peace now finally and we will not have to live in fear anymore,” maintained 70-year-old Sabitri Chettri, who has taken part in the peaceful demonstrations for over two weeks. “The king has spoken in favour of the people finally. It’s still not too late to rebuild our country,” asserted Dharti Magar, a 50-year-old farmer, who lost his income during the strikes and curfews. Meanwhile, the United Nations in Nepal said that it was happy to assist in any way to further the process of political development. “Many areas that the new government will need to address are areas that the UN has extensive experience in. The party leaders know that we stand ready to help, particularly in the area of monitoring elections for example,” said Matthew Kahane, UN representative in Nepal. “Many details need to be ironed out, but fundamentally this new development presents a real opportunity to address some of the political issues holding Nepal back,” Kahane further explained, adding that the Maoists have the opportunity to renounce violence and to find a place in the normal political process.