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News of Jan
3, 2007
Nepal King Starts Secret Parleys
to Save Crown
Kathmandu, Jan 3
Nepal's King Gyanendra has stepped up secret parleys with royalists
to save his crown, reprieved by the delay in installing the new
constitution that will remove him as head of state, said a report.
"King begins secret meets at night," a Nepali weekly said Wednesday,
saying consultations were going on in full swing inside the
Narayanhity royal palace.
The monarch, who faces the abolition of his 238-year-old throne
during a decisive election scheduled to be held this year, has met
three former prime ministers and an ex-minister, the Jana Aastha
weekly reported.
Marichman Singh, who was prime minister during the oppressive
panchayat system when the king was supreme and parties were banned,
as well as two royalist politicians appointed head of government by
King Gyanendra in 2002 and 2003 - Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Surya
Bahadur Thapa - are among the royalists who met the king, the report
said.
In 2002, King Gyanendra began controlling the government directly
after he sacked elected prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and began
appointing a succession of premiers of his choice.
Lokendra Bahadur Chand succeeded Deuba and was able to begin peace
talks with the Maoists. However, he was forced to resign after
continuous opposition by major political parties.
Surya Bahadur Thapa was nominated prime minister by the king after
Chand's exit. But he too had to follow Chand after the opposition by
the parties continued. Thapa's government was marked by the breaking
down of peace negotiations after the army killed unarmed Maoists in
violation of the ceasefire.
The consultations revive the memory of 2006 when King Gyanendra was
ruling Nepal directly as head of government.
Faced with mounting opposition by the alliance of seven parties as
well as the Maoist guerrillas, the king began hectic parleying in
March, days before the fall of his government, to appoint a new head
of government.
Quoting unnamed sources, the weekly said the palace had also sent
emissaries to India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that wants Nepal
to remain a Hindu state with the king as its head, to drum up
support for the endangered crown.
Besides the three former prime ministers, the king also met
Rabindranath Sharma, a former minister who heads a royalist splinter
party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal).
Under Sharma's initiative, the faction began a "Save the Crown"
campaign since late last year. Several of its rallies, demanding a
place for the king in the new constitution, have come under attack
by the Maoists.
After King Gyanendra seized absolute power with the help of the army
in 2005 and ruled for 15 months, the unpopularity of his regime
resulted in the new government pledging to hold a constituent
assembly election by June 2007.
The nation will choose an electoral college, which will decide at
its first meeting if the 238-year-old Shah dynasty of kings should
become commoners with Nepal becoming a republic.
A more imminent peril awaits the king before the election. Once the
new constitution is implemented, he will lose his position as
titular head of state and the property he has inherited from his
ancestors as well as slain brother king Birendra, will be taken over
by the government.
However, the new constitution is being delayed due to differences
between the Maoists and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
The government says the constitution will not come into effect till
the Maoist soldiers lay down their arms under the supervision of the
UN, a process that is likely to take several weeks.
"Don't worry. Everything will be all right," the king is reported to
have told Chand, who was apprehensive the new constitution would
further jeopardize the crown.
An opinion poll conducted by a private television channel this week
saw over 50 percent voters blaming Koirala for the delay, while just
over 10 percent attributing it to maneuvers by the palace.
Koirala himself advocates retaining a ceremonial monarch, a stance
that is the main cause of rift between him and the Maoists, who are
demanding the abolition of monarchy.
IANS
News of Jan
3, 2007
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