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Nepal in State of Emergency: King sacs government, closes borders
Feb 1, 2005 09: 46 EST
On a live TV broadcast today, Nepal’s king Gyanendra announced he is taking control of the country. “I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April and protect democracy, the sovereignty of the people and life and property,” he said.
A state of emergency was immediately declared. “Soldiers were seen surrounding the houses of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other government leaders, while armored vehicles with mounted machine guns were patrolling the streets of Kathmandu,” reports CNN.
Flights in and out of the capital of Kathmandu were cancelled and communication lines were shut down.
At the time of editing this story, Nepalese online media such as Nepal News or the Nepali Times were not working.
Changing pawns on Nepal chess board
Hours after the announcement, telephone communication was partially restored, and
Gyanendra has given extra power to the army and security forces to maintain order, although ‘human rights will be respected” he claimed.
This marks the second time in three years the king has dissolved parliament and named a new chamber of his choice. "A new Cabinet will be formed under my leadership," the king said earlier today. "This will restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years." King Gyanendra, who acquired the crown after the royal family was slaughtered in 2001, has sacked parliament members twice, and fired his Prime minister four times.
This past June, the King fired Prime Minister Deuba, who was accused of being unable to stop the Maoists. However, he was recalled to his post with the priority command of setting general elections. Deuba found himself in a difficult situation. The King urged him to hold elections right away, while other parties were dubious or clearly against them. The main reason to delay the poll was the Maoist guerrilla threat, whose leaders announced they would cover the country in blood if elections were announced, according to sources.
More than 10000 dead
Deuba set a deadline for the Maoists to sit and hold peace talks on January 13, but the rebels refused to speak to any other but the king himself.
Last summer, Maoists and government troops broke a seven month long –and often broken - cease fire. Since then, there have been numerous skirmishes. The undeclared civil war has taken the lives of about 10000 Nepalese citizens and sunken the country, among the poorest of the world, even deeper in financial and social crisis.
Now, the country is in a situation of uncertainty and tense calm. Nepal’s powerful neighbors, India and China, have not yet shown their reactions. Meanwhile, hundreds of trekkers and climbers were supposed to arrive on the country in some weeks for the upcoming climbing season, only a few weeks away.
Image of King Gyanendra, courtesy of Nepal News
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