As Nepal is getting ready for constituent assembly elections slated to be held next month, monarchists in the country have launched a campaign to save the King and keep Nepal a Kingdom.
King Gyanendra, the monarch who could lose his throne if the constitution designed by those elected on April 10 polls declares Nepal a republic, has lost supporters among the political heavy weights and the public also seems ready to show him the door.
From Prince to King
After the Royal Palace Massacre where then King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Prince Nirajan and Princess Shruti along with a number of royal family members were killed by then Crown Prince Dipendra, Prince Gyanendra ascended to the throne on June 4,2001.
Circumstances surrounding the massacre and the subsequent handling of the tragedy left many questions on the King’s security, weapons used by the Crown Prince and the time line of incident raised by the public unanswered. Add to this the murky history of then Prince Gyanendra, rumor mills and conspiracy theorists were working over time in Kathmandu. As a result King Gyanandra’s reign got off to a bad start.
His decision to sack Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in February 2005 and assume complete control over the government was widely criticized in Nepal and world wide. Subsequent muzzling of free press, attack on civil liberties and restriction on constitutional bodies effectively turned the Nepalese public against King Gyanendra for good.
Rise of Democracy Movement
April 2006, political parties with help from the Maoists launched a pro-democracy movement. The Maoists, who until then were engaged in a civil war against the State, joined the movement and declared cease fire. After weeks of violent protests on the street of Kathmandu and nationwide, King Gyanendra agreed to the demand set forth by the protestors.
The parliament was restored and subsequently Girija Prasad Koirala was “selected” as the Prime Minister by the parliament. Election of constituent assembly was also declared later on, as an effort to provide a frame work for new Nepal.
Upcoming Election
Since then Nepal has gone through a number of political dramas and road to a new constitution has been bumpy. Protracted disagreement with the Maoist leadership in structure of new government, conflict in the Southern Terai region over rights of the local inhabitants (also know as the “Madhesis”), disagreement among the political parities on the issue of constituent assembly election and on the question over monarchy.
Now with the monarchists declaring their intention to keep constitutional monarchy alive, the election campaign is bound to see more controversies and disagreements.
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