Nepal's lawmakers abolish the country's monarchy

[ColdBlooded]

Nepal's lawmakers abolish the country's monarchy

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, Associated Press Writer

KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal's lawmakers abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic Wednesday, ending 239 years of royal rule in the Himalayan nation.

The newly elected assembly, led by the former communist rebels, adopted the resolution at its first meeting by an overwhelming majority. King Gyanendra has been given 15 days to leave his palace in central Katmandu.

Across Katmandu, young men marched with red flags as Nepalis celebrated what many see as the culmination of a two-year peace process with the rebels that began after weeks of unrest forced the king to restore democracy.

Near the convention center where the Constituent Assembly was meeting, thousands chanted "Long Live the Republic!" and denounced Gyanendra. While the celebrations were largely joyous and peaceful, police at one point used tear gas to disperse a crowd that gathered too close to the building.

There was no immediate reaction from the palace on the resolution. The palace has rarely commented on political developments in Nepal since Gyanendra was forced to end his royal dictatorship.

The country's leading politicians have in recent days threatened to forcibly remove him from his palace if he refuses to go peacefully.

But in an apparent bid to defuse the potential standoff, the assembly was giving the king 15 days to vacate the palace in central Katmandu, said Bimalendra Nidhi of the centrist Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the assembly.

Nidhi made the comments after his party met with the Maoists — former insurgents — who hold the most seats in the assembly and are expected to lead the country's new government.

The Maoists gave up their 10-year fight for a communist Nepal not long after, and the election of the assembly in April marked the culmination of the peace process with the former insurgents.

The assembly is charged with governing Nepal while it rewrites the constitution. On Tuesday, 575 of its members were sworn in.

Another 26 members are still to be appointed, and last-minute talks among the political parties on filling those seats and how much power the newly created presidency would have — and who should fill the job — forced the assembly to postpone its first meeting until Wednesday evening.

The political parties have long made it clear that their first act would be to declare Nepal a republic and do away with the 239-year-old Shah dynasty.

But getting rid of the monarchy is in many ways the least of the new government's problems, as evidenced by a string of small bombings that hit Katmandu this week, including two Wednesday. All the bombs — none of which has caused any serious injuries or deaths — appeared to be aimed at pro-republic politicians and activists.

Authorities deployed 10,000 policemen in Katmandu to head off more violence and banned rallies around the palace and the convention center.

The Maoists, meanwhile, say 20,000 volunteers from their youth wing are in Katmandu to help control the celebrations. But that hasn't eased fears of violence because the young Maoists regularly are accused of intimidating, roughing up and sometimes killing opponents.

The Maoists have promised to bring sweeping change to Nepal, which in many places more closely resembles medieval Europe than a modern nation.

If Gyanendra peacefully leaves the palace, he is expected to move to the palatial private Katmandu home where he lived before assuming the throne in 2001.

He ascended to the throne following a massacre at the palace in which a gunman, allegedly the crown prince, gunned down King Birendra and much of the royal family before killing himself. Gyanendra, the dead king's older brother, then took the throne.

 

[ColdBlooded]

Nepalese celebrate at a victory rally on the streets in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May, 28, 2008. Nepal's lawmakers abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic Wednesday, ending 239 years of royal rule in the Himalayan nation and the world's last Hindu kingdom. In the first meeting of the newly elected assembly, led by former communist rebels, 560 lawmakers voted for the resolution with just four against. The king was given 15 days to leave his palace in central Katmandu. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi)

Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, left, congratulates Maoist leader Prachanda as a proposal to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a Republic is taken up by the newly elected Constituent Assembly in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday May 28, 2008. Nepal was declared a Republic. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Nepalese celebrate at a victory rally on the streets in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May, 28, 2008. Nepal's lawmakers abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic Wednesday, ending 239 years of royal rule in the Himalayan nation and the world's last Hindu kingdom. In the first meeting of the newly elected assembly, led by former communist rebels, 560 lawmakers voted for the resolution with just four against. The king was given 15 days to leave his palace in central Katmandu. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi)

Nepalese celebrate the end of monarchy outside the convention hall where Nepal's newly elected Constituent Assembly is meeting in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Lawmakers prepared Wednesday to declare Nepal the world's newest republic and bring an end a centuries-old Hindu monarchy, but said they would give the last king 15 days to leave the palace. The banner welcomes Nepal becoming a republic state. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)

 

[ColdBlooded]

Some video of what things were like:

Communist Party Nepal - Maoist Vs. Royal Nepalese Army

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Nepal's ousted king leaves palace

The deposed king of Nepal, Gyanendra, has moved out of the palace in the capital Kathmandu where his family lived for more than a century.

He and his wife, the former queen Komal, swept out of the compound in the back of a black Mercedes as scores of riot police guarded the main gate.

Earlier, he said he had handed back his crown and royal sceptre and would work for the good of the new republic.

Last month, Nepal's Maoist-led assembly voted to abolish the monarchy.

The palace in the centre of Kathmandu is to become a museum.

Gyanendra and his wife are moving to a new, temporary residence outside the city.

'The people's verdict'

A police and army escort followed the ex-monarch's car as he left for Nagarjun, in the north-western suburbs of Kathmandu.

The couple will live in a large, comfortable but ordinary-looking house there.

A few loyalist onlookers called for Gyanendra to stay on as his car left but many in the crowd near the palace seemed happy to see him go, correspondents say.

"This marks the beginning of a new Nepal and the end of a dynasty that has done nothing but harm this country," Devendra Maharjan, a farmer who had come to Kathmandu to see the king leave the palace, told The Associated Press.

"If it had not been for the kings, Nepal would probably not have remained a poor nation."

Speaking to journalists at the palace earlier, the former monarch said he had given his priceless crown to the Nepalese government for its protection.

"I have assisted in and respected the verdict of the people," Gyanendra said, insisting he would not leave Nepal and go into exile.

Addressing Nepali people's widespread belief that he had engineered the royal massacre of 2001, he vigorously denied involvement.

He pointed out that his wife had had several bullets lodged in her body in the attack, in which Crown Prince Dipendra shot dead King Birendra and eight other members of the royal family before killing himself.

Gyanendra said he had taken over power in 2005 hoping it would bring harmony and peace, but he admitted things had not worked out as he had planned.

His stepmother and his grandfather's mistress will live on in their homes within the compound of the palace in central Kathmandu, in a fenced-off area.

Bitter ending

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says that the former monarch's departure is a major symbolic moment in the fall of the Shah dynasty, which unified Nepal in the 1760s.

The Maoists, who urged Gyanendra to bow out gracefully or be put on trial, welcomed the news that he was going quietly.

But the ending of the monarchy has generally been a bitter affair, our correspondent says.

It was engendered by the 2001 massacre and Gyanendra's attempts to be politically active in quelling the Maoist insurgency, he adds.

The deposed king is reported to be reluctant to allow a committee to audit his saleable assets.

He has made clear that he will leave behind most of the furniture in the palace, along with gifts he received in his capacity as the country's head of state.

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said details of which possessions he keeps and which ones he leaves behind would be publicised after his departure from the palace.

Photos of their visit drew some criticism from people upset over the number of animal trophies and other wildlife artefacts on display. They argue that such items should be confiscated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7447533.stm

 

[ColdBlooded]

Nepal marching to two drums

Nepal marching to two drums
By Dhruba Adhikary

KATHMANDU - The graceful exit of former monarch Gyanendra from the palace last Wednesday made the May 28 proclamation of a republic an official act, but Nepal's squabbling politicians have yet to elect a president to work as head of state.

The ceremony held on Sunday at the palace premises, in which caretaker Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala hoisted Nepal's national flag to replace the royal standard, does not offer any dependable clue that the country will have a proper government any time soon.

Sensing that existing confusion and uncertainty could create bigger national challenges, the Nepal army chief swiftly moved to the forefront with a public pledge that the army will remain a key promoter and defender of democracy. "The army will remain as the ground on which nascent democracy can take roots and flourish in the days ahead," General Rookmangud Katawal told an audience a day after the king vacated the palace, marking an occasion to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nepal's participation in United Nations peacekeeping activities worldwide.

The other pithy message he put across was to remind politicians that the army will carry out orders as long as these emanate from the legitimate government mandated by the people. The army, he also added, will never compromise on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation. While he offered to promote and defend democracy in these transitional times, Katawal also utilized the opportunity to deliver a warning to all possible stakeholders: "... we strongly believe that in the name of democratization the army's purity, sanctity and integrity should not be compromised."

In a commentary published on Sunday, the newsmagazine Nepal described the army chief's remarks as an indicator that the incumbent civilian authority is, from the army's point of view, negligent on the issues of its own legitimacy as well as on the growing threat on the country's sovereignty.

Analysts also attach considerable significance to the timing of Katawal's statement. Firstly, it came immediately after the ouster of the king, who was traditionally the supreme commander-in-chief ; secondly, the views have been aired ahead of the election of a new head of state who also has to perform the duties of the supreme commander. Switching allegiance from one institution to another obviously entails changes in processes and procedures. And if the ongoing political negotiations make way for a Maoist to occupy the office of the president, the subject will be even more sensitive.

Since April 10 elections did not produce a clear winner from among the parties chosen to form the country's first Constituent Assembly (CA), the political party consisting of former Maoist rebels staked a claim, as the largest group, to head a coalition government which is expected to oversee the writing of a new constitution within two years. Rival parties do not have a legitimate basis to reject this Maoist claim, but their leaders are apprehensive about a possible Maoist takeover of Nepal. It is against this background that they placed a set of pre-conditions before the Maoist leadership, officially known as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

Important among them are issues related to what they call the People's Liberation Army (PLA), numbering 20,000, and the Young Communist League (YCL) which is said to have half a million members scattered over the country. Former militias were renamed as YCL shortly after the Maoists entered a peace accord with the government in November 2006. PLA members are sheltered in government-run cantonments which are being supervised by a United Nations field mission. Their weapons are stored in designated containers.

The Maoists now want these combatants to be integrated with the national army, as per the provisions of the peace accord and interim constitution. Leaders of other major parties, however, contend that the Maoist leadership must not be allowed to lead any kind of government as long as the PLA remains intact. It deserved to be dissolved forthwith because the objectives of declaring Nepal a republic and electing an assembly which would write a new constitution have already been accomplished. How can a country have two competing armies simultaneously?

The Maoists allude to the reference made in the interim statute where there is an undertaking to look after PLA members, and their subsequent "adjustment and rehabilitation". It is on this basis they are demanding that the PLA be integrated with the Nepal army. One counter argument is that adjustment or rehabilitation must not be understood as something strictly associated with the army alone. Once the PLA is dismantled, some of its members could be recruited for the civil police or the armed police forces. As individuals, some of them could join the army if they met the physical and educational qualifications. The main consideration is that a politically indoctrinated group like the PLA cannot be allowed, en bloc, to join an army maintained for professional soldiering. This is where the army chief 's observations look relevant.

That the Maoists must not be encouraged or facilitated to head a new government in haste is not a view shared only by non-communist groups such as the Koirala-led Nepali Congress and the Terai-based regional party Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF). The Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist), for example, has made a gloomy prediction that conflict might escalate anew if a new government is set up without resolving the issue of the Maoist army and its arms.

"Power cannot be handed over to the rebel force unless the issues ... are settled," said Chandra Prakash Mainali, MJF general secretary, in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. His party is the sixth-largest among 25 parties with representation in the 601-strong assembly.

But Maoist leader Prachanda feels these preconditions are nothing but a part of a bigger conspiracy to stop his party from taking the lead in forming a viable government. "Some international powers do not want to see us in power," the Maoist leader told an audience in Kathmandu on Saturday.

He did not specify who those powers are, but it appeared directed at the US, because India - and the Chinese - seem eager to see the Maoists in power as early as possible.

Indian envoy Rakesh Sood's high-profile parleys with Nepal's top leaders have drawn considerable media attention. That his activities have not been criticized by the Maoists is striking proof that Indian support, at least on the surface, has been towards the newly elected revolutionaries.

On the other hand, the Nepali Congress, with centrist credentials, and the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), a party of moderate communists, have described Sood's initiatives as interference in Nepal's domestic politics.

One section of the Indian establishment appears to believe that by helping the Maoists Delhi can reap two distinct benefits. One, to get the Maoists to agree to a sensitive security pact and two, to convince Maoists in India that it would be expedient for them to follow the Nepali example of joining mainstream politics and assume power through elections.

However, media reports originating from New Delhi show that some influential writers and commentators consider the present Indian policy on Nepal to be flawed. Kanwal Sibal, a former foreign secretary, is one of them.

"The underlying factors complicating our relations have not changed for the better with recent developments; some have changed for the worse," Sibal said in an Indian Express article published on June 11. He mentioned the "China factor" and suggests that it could embolden the Maoists to be tough in their dealings with India. Prachanda has lately been saying that his future government will maintain a policy of "equidistance" towards India and China. And he has already indicated his wish to visit Beijing soon.

Power plays
Political players are now locked in a debate that is expected to produce power-sharing arrangements, based mainly on the number of seats their parties have won.

Efforts are ostensibly underway to allocate three top posts to the leaders of the three main parties: the ceremonial presidency to Koirala, prime ministership with full executive authority to Maoist leader Prachanda and chairmanship of the newly elected Constituent Assembly to former speaker Subas Nembang of UML. The posts of their deputies could then be distributed to other prominent parties. They all talk about the April 10 electoral mandate which requires them to work together, at least until the time the new constitution is drawn up.

But should octogenarian Koirala, who is not in good health, be burdened with the responsibility of head of the state?

This question continues to exercise the minds of several party leaders. Most of Koirala's supporters, however, think he deserves the honor and respect for his contributions to the democratic process made over a period of 60 years. But there are others in the Koirala-led Nepali Congress who tend to suspect that the Maoists will find plausible pretexts to remove him from the presidency once their regime acquires legitimacy, and recognition and support from the international community.

Koirala is not bothered by such considerations, and his lust for power is well known. "His love for the chair is so intense that he would not know even if the earth under it was swept by floods, sliding the entire area into the Bay of Bengal," said an influential government functionary who has been a regular visitor to the official residence of since Koirala headed the present transitional setup in May 2006.

But whether the leadership of Nepal's army will take a back seat, essentially overseeing the Maoists' rise to power under the nominal supervision of Koirala, is another matter.

Dhruba Adhikary is a Kathmandu-based journalist.

(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

 

[ColdBlooded]

Nepal's PM steps down, Maoists to lead new republic
1 hour ago

KATHMANDU (AFP) — Nepal's veteran prime minister announced his resignation Thursday in a move that paves the way for a new Maoist-led government following the abolition of the monarchy.

The announcement by centrist politician Girija Prasad Koirala, who is 83 and in failing health, resolves a political stalemate over power-sharing that followed the declaration of a republic on May 28.

The Maoists have positioned their leader, Prachanda, to replace him as leader of the landlocked Himalayan nation and one of the world's poorest countries.

The prime minister, whose Nepali Congress party was soundly defeated by the Maoists in April polls for a 601-member constitutional assembly, called on the ultra-leftists to form the next government.

"I declare I have given up the prime minister's post through this assembly today. With me or without me, we all need to maintain the culture of consensus," Koirala told the body.

"I appeal to them (the Maoists) to garner consensus for the formation of a new government under their leadership," Koirala also said in a statement read out by Ram Chandra Poudel, Nepal's peace minister.

The Maoists and Congress -- Nepal's two main parties -- have been arguing for weeks over who should become the first president and prime minister of the world's youngest republic.

On Wednesday, they reached a deal that the president and prime minister will be elected through the assembly that will draft Nepal's new constitution.

"Now we all must focus on drafting a new constitution by giving up our petty political differences and ending confusion," Poudel said.

Prachanda and second-in-command Baburam Bhattarai joined hundreds of other assembly members showing their approval of Koirala's resignation by banging on the tables in the massive assembly hall.

Nepal's Maoists, who have 220 seats in the assembly, twice as many as Congress but just less than a majority, welcomed the veteran premier's resignation.

"We are glad he finally did it. We have been demanding his resignation as it had been a stumbling block for the leaders trying to reach consensus," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.

"The resignation is a step towards the formation of the government under our leadership," he said.

Koirala's party is likely to remain outside the new government that will be led by the former rebels, Congress officials have said, and he will not stand for election as president.

Girija Babu, as he is affectionately known, began his political career in 1947 as a union organiser in his home town of Biratnagar in southern Nepal.

He was imprisoned by Nepal's deposed royals in 1960, and spent seven years behind bars before going into exile in India.

In 1973 he masterminded the hijacking of a Royal Nepal Airlines plane known to be carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from the state bank to fund his then-banned Nepali Congress party.

His latest stint in government began in 2006 after he became prime minister following an unsuccessful 14-month period of direct rule by ex-king Gyanendra.

Koirala and Prachanda, whose name means "the fierce one," are credited with ending a decade-long civil war that killed at least 13,000 people until it was ended in a 2006 peace deal.

The rebels launched their "people's war" with the aim of toppling the monarchy and establishing a communist republic, but since the 2006 peace deal, they have said they will follow democratic norms and not return to war.

 

[ColdBlooded]

Disturbing signs for Nepal
By Dhruba Adhikary

KATHMANDU - The inordinate delay in the world's youngest republic in finding a president as well as a prime minister leaves Nepal wide open to disasters - both natural and man-made.

"Law and order is in tatters, particularly in some Terai districts [in the south], and the culture of impunity remains intact," is how the Brussels-based International Crisis Group described Nepal's condition in its latest report, released this month. Ongoing haggling over the formation of a government is a related issue of concern.

While political players and pundits draw their conclusions based on the ground realities of real-time politics and the worldwide phenomenon of climate change, experts engaged in the study of planetary movements and astrology are also apprehensive about calamities of inconceivable proportions as a consequence of sins committed by rulers and the ruled alike.

The whole year of 2065 - the Bikram era - is ominous for Nepal, they conclude. This Nepali calendar year started on April 13 and the abolition of the monarchy on May 28 is already considered a destabilizing factor.

Although Nepal's interim statute envisages a secular country, time-tested traditions and beliefs in a pre-dominantly Hindu society are unlikely to disappear overnight. People continue to read good or bad signs, such as if a stone idol of a deity in a far-flung district suddenly begins to ooze water. This portends harm to a reigning king, as happened this year to Gyanendra, 61, who lost his throne, and the kingdom lost one of its traditional institutions.

It all began when Bhimeshwar (one of the manifestations of Lord Shiva), housed in a temple in the eastern hill district of Dolakha, oozed what looked like beads of perspiration, attracting thousands of villagers. Another inauspicious moment for the monarchy surfaced when the pole of the chariot of the deity Machhindranath fell to the ground while being taken around the Kathmandu Valley a couple of months ago.

The fury of mother nature, astrologers predict, will cause massive damage and destruction in Nepal, as happened with China's devastating earthquake in May. These will include floods and famine.

Astrologer Gopal Baabaa, in a wide-ranging interview published in Tarun, a Nepali-language weekly, said Nepal is destined to remain in bad shape until mid-March 2010.

This does not augur well for the Maoists, led by Prachanda, who are set to rule Nepal for the next five years. "None of the present political parties has a future," says the astrologer, adding that a new party will come into existence, along with a new set of leaders and the return of the monarchy.

Most of Nepal's politicians have already shown signs they are determined to prove some of the astrological predictions correct. Members of the Constituent Assembly (CA) representing the southern plains - Terai - have been disrupting assembly proceedings since June 26, the day caretaker Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala announced his resignation so that the Maoists, as the largest party, could resume their initiatives to form a government.

The disruption by the "Madhesi" members, as they call themselves, has meant that the assembly has not been able introduce bills to amend the interim statute so that the procedures to elect the republic's first president can begin. Koirala announced that he would leave office as soon as there was a president to formally accept his resignation.

The Madhesi are demanding what in effect would result in Nepal being divided into two parallel regions, one comprising the mid-hills and the other consisting of snowy mountains where the human population is small.

This is unacceptable to the Maoists and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the more moderate of the two communist parties, who have their own schemes for autonomous provinces in the proposed federal republic.

Koirala and his loyalists are siding with the Madhesi camp with the expectation the latter will help Koirala win the presidency of the newly-created republic.

"I think the political map of South Asia is being redrawn," former foreign minister Chakra Baastola told Asia Times Online, without elaborating.

Narabahadur Bhandari, a former chief minister of Sikkim, a landlocked Indian state in the Himalayas, said if Nepal's divisive trends were not checked, the country could go the way of the former Yugoslavia - divided into several parts.

These expressions coincide with a visit to Nepal by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, to extend an invitation to Nepal for the 15th summit conference of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation scheduled for August 2 and 3. The invitation was handed to Koirala, but the Sri Lankan visitor made it a point to meet Prachanda, who could become prime minister in next few weeks if the politicians can stop bickering.

But there is a growing belief that the country lacks visionary leaders, which is gradually pushing Nepal towards a precipice. There is a visible lack of willingness and ability in the present civilian leadership to pre-empt designs aimed at dismembering Nepal.

"Isn't it a great pity that the country has not been able to produce even one leader who has the charisma, integrity and capability to control the worsening situation?" writes Madhav K Rimal in the Spotlight newsmagazine he edits.

"What about the military, then?" people ask. But Nepal's army chief, Rookmangad Katawal, who heads what was the king's army, is publicly committed to abiding by the orders only of a legitimate civilian government.

Whether or not Nepal has a legitimate government is another matter. Koirala has resigned, while Maoists ministers in the coalition handed in their resignation papers several days ago. Ministers belonging to the UML offered their resignations immediately after the announcement of the April 10 poll results.

All the while, the political stalemate continues, although politicians appear busy using ever-expanding media outlets to convince the population that their efforts to thwart divisive ploys are taking time. But time is running out.

Dhruba Adhikary is a Kathmandu-based journalist.

(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)