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In a televised address, Nepal King Gnanendra, conceding a key Opposition demand, said that he will reinstate the Parliament he dismissed in 2002 from Friday and asked the political parties to “bear the responsibility” for restoring peace and national unity. Gnanendra said, “We call upon the Seven-Party Alliance to bear the responsibility of taking the nation on the path of national unity and prosperity while ensuring permanent peace and safeguarding multi-party democracy.”
Crowds broke out into the streets in celebration and the Opposition said that the planned agitation would be converted into a “victory rally.” Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of an appointed Government was sacked in Feb 2005 on charges of corruption and not doing enough to fight the Maoist terrorists, responded cautiously. Deuba said “now it is the responsibility of the reinstated Parliament and the political parties” to “bring the Maoists into the mainstream of democracy and peace.” |
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This may be the biggest challenge because the terrorists want many things that have not been yet granted. They want to abolish the monarchy, access to land it says was illegally ceded to India, and communist policies that may range from Chinese economic reform to Pol Pot style of extermination. The terrorists see the reinstatement of the Parliament as a first step in a long road to these changes. Although they do not have enough seats in the Parliament, they have access to guns and their process of intimidation, murder, and elimination is clinical.
The Royal Nepal Army is still under the control of the monarchy and would resist a transfer of control to the politicians whom they consider corrupt, inefficient, and incompetent. It is important that India continue to exert its influence in Nepal.
Just a few meetings from Indian representatives produced such great results and its continued engagement in the form of military and financial aid is absolutely necessary. Contrary to what the politicians may claim, Nepal needs the monarchy and large populations outside the Katmandu Valley are not anti-monarchy as newspaper reports seem to indicate. They follow the dictates of the terrorists because of fear of reprisals.
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