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King Gyanendra calls for dialogue

Nepalese light oil lamps as they pray at the Seto Machendranath temple in celebration of the Nepalese New Year yesterday in Kathmandu. There were no major protest rallies planned around the country yesterday, as most Nepalese spent the day with family and visited temples. PHOTO: AP

Nepal's King Gyanendra broke his silence yesterday after more than a week of pro-democracy protests in which four people have died, calling for dialogue with the country's main political parties.

The political parties, however, rejected the king's plea and vowed instead to continue with protests that have filled the streets for the past eight days to demand Gyanendra's ouster 14 months after he seized control of the government.

"The king has failed to address the protests and the movement for democracy. He is only using the offer for dialogue to try prolong his rule," said Krishna Sitaula of the Nepali Congress Party, the largest party in Nepal.

"We will intensify the protests until we get rid of the autocratic monarchy," Sitaula said.

Amrit Bohara, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal, said that, "People are pouring to the streets against his rule and he does not seem to care."

Election call

In a message for Nepal's new year, Gyanendra called for "the active participation of all political parties committed to peace and democracy," and he again said the country should hold a general election, although he did not specify a date.

The king's call for elections is in line with a roadmap back to democracy he announced shortly after seizing power in February last year.

It has been roundly rejected by his opponents, who demand that a special assembly be convened to rewrite the constitution and limit his role.

"He has not moved an inch" from the roadmap, said Minendra Risal of Nepali Congress Democratic Party.

The speech was broadcast just after midnight yesterday, and most people heard it only later in the morning.

"There was not much the king offered to his opponents. The stubbornness is not going to be good for the country which is already deep in crisis," businessman Nirmal Shrestha said.

"He should have offered to talk with the parties and the rebels without setting any conditions," he said.

Holiday respite

There were no major protest rallies planned in Nepal yesterday, a new year holiday. Most Nepalese spend the day with family and visit temples.

However, about 1,000 demonstrated in the resort town of Pokhara, about 200km west of Kathmandu. The protest was peaceful and police did not intervene.

During the previous eight days, thousands of activists joined rallies in Kathmandu and elsewhere demanding a restoration of democracy, some of them chanting "Hang King Gyanendra!"

Many demonstrations have deteriorated into bloody clashes between stone-throwing protesters and security forces, who have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and, in some cases, live ammunition.

Nepal's opposition -- along with a well-armed Communist insurgency -- argue that any elections held under Gyanendra's rule would be neither free nor fair.

In the speech, Gyanendra did not mention the opposition protests, or the insurgency, which has left nearly 13,000 people dead in the past decade.

Gyanendra said in February last year that he took control of the country to stamp out political corruption and end the Communist insurgency.

Many of Nepal's 27 million people at first welcomed Gyanedra's move. However, the insurgency has since intensified and the economy has worsened, fueling broad discontent.

Excessive force

Nepal's seven main political parties launched the latest wave of protests and a general strike on April 6 to demand that the king restore full democracy.

The royal government responded harshly. Four people have been killed by security forces firing at the protesters and hundreds have been injured.

The UN has condemned Nepal-ese security for excessive use of force.

"We're going to march to the palace," 23-year-old university student Gopal Chandra said at a rally on the outskirts of the capital on Thursday.

"We're going to tear the palace down," Chandra said.

The authorities have begun easing off in the past two days, and on Thursday lifted a night curfew in Kathmandu and restored cellphone service, which was cut seven days earlier to keep protests from being organized. The government lifted the daytime curfew on Wednesday.
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