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An unlikely alliance in Nepal(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, April 25: X X X Power grabs make strange bedfellows. When Nepal's King Gyanendra seized absolute control of the country in February 2005, he blamed the democratic government for failing to contain a Maoist insurgency that has led to 13,000 deaths in 10 years. On Friday the king agreed to return executive power to the people, yielding to an unlikely alliance of democratic opposition parties ... and Maoist rebels. The rebels, who claim to represent the Himalayan kingdom's rural poor majority, launched a "people's revolution" in 1996 to overthrow the monarchy and establish a communist republic. Since November, though, they have aligned themselves with the seven major opposition parties fighting to restore democracy. An escalating series of public strikes capped by two weeks of bloody protests led to Gyanendra's announcement on Friday. Hours earlier, more than 100,000 demonstrators marched on the capital, defying a daytime curfew that came with a shoot-on-sight order. Security forces killed three protesters, bringing the total killed during protests to at least 14. Under international pressure _ from the United States as well as India and China _ the king finally relented. But his opponents were not satisfied. Gyanendra's call for the parties to name a prime minister fell short of their central demand for a special assembly that would write a new constitution. Though Gyanendra wants the country to resume working as a constitutional monarchy, it's likely that the assembly would reduce the king to a figurehead at best. The demonstrations intensified all weekend, with protesters shouting for Gyanendra to leave the country and soldiers firing rubber bullets into the crowd. The Maoists, meanwhile, were up to their old terrorist tricks, attacking government installations in northern Nepal, bombing a hospital and a post office, knocking out a communications antenna and raiding army posts. Six people were killed. On Monday the king agreed to reinstate the parliament, to much rejoicing from the crowds in the capital. But a democratic Nepal is by no means assured. The Maoists and pro-democracy groups may share a short-term agenda _ the removal or marginalization of the king _ but their paths are likely to diverge again quickly. In the days before the pro-democracy groups reluctantly joined hands with the Maoists, the former were no match for the latter, which is why the panicked king snatched the power from his people in the first place. An effective civilian government must be established quickly, because the Maoists' opportunistic embrace of democracy will be short-lived. ___ (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune. Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected]. |