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An end to violence at the top of the world?(Economist.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)King Gyanendra of Nepal has announcedto the cheers of protestors who have brought the country to chaosthat he will reinstate the suspended parliament. The king promises a full return to democracy and the opposition has called off its strike THE protestors finally have a reason to cheer. After nearly three weeks of angry demonstrations, King Gyanendra of Nepal announced late on Monday April 24th that he would reinstate the parliament which he had suspended in 2005. His statement caused celebration in the streets of Kathmandu. On Tuesday the opposition agreed to call off the protests. Few politicians or diplomats feel qualified to peer far into Nepal's future, and the recent past is hard enough to comprehend. At least 14 demonstrators were killed at rallies across the country, and the king expressed his condolences in his statement on Monday. Earlier, on Friday, the king, who had become the focus of the people's frustration, had announced an unflinching commitment toward constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy. After more than a year of suspended democracy and direct royal rule, that seemed to indicate a sharp change of tack and, apparently, a return of power to elected leaders. But his Friday statement, in which he called on seven opposition parties to name a prime minister, did not restore peace. Instead Maoist rebels, who also oppose the king, launched an attack on a provincial town on Sunday, in which at least six people (including several attackers) died. The capital began to suffer acute shortages of fuel and fresh food due to a strike imposed by the opposition. Crucially, the civil service joined the protests. Last week 25 officials were arrested at the interior ministry, and staff at the national bank went on strike. Eleven were arrested for refusing to cash a cheque from the home (interior) minister. The entire banking sector closed, and cash is in short supply. After a weekend of continued upheaval, the king was compelled to make a new concession. Ordinary people are furious with the king, who imposed direct rule saying the government had failed to defeat the Maoist rebels. But the king has failed to defeat the rebels, too, and the people are now noisily unhappy. As the crisis mounted the king was slow to respond. Initially he stayed at a provincial palace because, rumour had it, a partial eclipse made it inauspicious to return to the capital. On Friday, it seemed, the gravity of the situation finally dawned on him. Even the opposition parties have been surprised by the depth of republican sentiment revealed during the protests. More than one opposition leader privately explained that he would have been lynched if the parties fudged a deal with the palace as they have in the past. That created a problem for the leaders, who wanted fewer powers for the king but not necessarily a republic. Party planners fear that rapid progress to a republic could allow their loose allies, the powerful Maoist rebels, to fill the vacuum. It is too early to say whether the king will keep his throne. Some protesters on Tuesday were still calling for him to go. The American ambassador infuriated the Nepali government earlier last week, before King Gyanendra's concession, when he predicted a messy abdication with the king clinging to the wheels of a departing helicopter. Others point out that the army, upon which the regime is built, remains loyal. What outsiders thinkThe outside world has clearly been concerned. India's special envoy, Karan Singh, urged compromise. The last thing we would want is for Nepal to dissolve into chaos because India's vital security interests are involved, he said. Mr Singh was well chosen to deal with the palace. His wife is a Nepali aristocrat and his father was the last Maharaja of Kashmir. The message he carried was uncomfortable for King Gyanendra. India once supported constitutional monarchy and democracy in Nepal. Now it speaks only of democracy. The International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organisation, wants international actors to help Nepal prepare for a transition from direct rule by the king. It also suggests that foreign powers do more to encourage a peace process to put an end to the bloody insurgency by the Maoists that has killed more than 13,000. In particular America, Britain and India might help Nepal to achieve political change without more violence. |