The leader of the decade-long Maoist rebellion in Nepal was finally elected prime minister on Friday, after four months of political wrangling. His victory sets the stage for the former rebels' toughest challenge: how to uplift the lives of 27 million people in one of the poorest countries in the world, at a time of soaring food and fuel prices.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by the nom de guerre Prachanda, or "the fierce one" in Nepali, won more than two-thirds of 577 votes cast in the Constituent Assembly. His election had been expected since April, when the Maoists won a majority in a special assembly elected both to draft a new constitution and to form a government. For four months, however, the nation's oldest party, Nepali Congress, with a long list of grievances against the Maoists, blocked their bid to lead a government of national consensus. The election of the prime minister opens the way to establish a democratically elected government in Nepal. That will be a milestone in resolving the decade-long civil war, a conflict that claimed the lives of an estimated 13,000 people before it ended with a peace accord in 2006.
The Maoists have already achieved their main goal, the ending of 239 years of Hindu monarchy. At its first session, in May, a constituent assembly declared Nepal a federal republic. The former king, Gyanendra, the world's last Hindu monarch, was forced to vacate the main palace here and live as a commoner. On Friday, Prachanda, 54, won with the support of three of four biggest parties in the 601-member assembly. Nepali Congress still refused to support his Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), accusing its youth force of brutality. It also objected that the Maoists had not returned private property seized from political opponents during the war.
Prachanda defeated Sher Bahadur Deuba, a three-time former prime minister from Nepali Congress. A senior Maoist leader, Baburam Bhattarai, said Friday that political leaders of the party would no longer hold positions in its armed wing, the People's Liberation Army. He also pledged that the party would return seized property to its owners. Since shedding his fatigues and transforming himself into a politician, Prachanda has sought to cast his organization as a political party that merits the trust of the Nepalese people and foreign donors. As they form a government, the Maoists face their biggest challenge ever. Fuel is in short supply in the cities and hunger looms in the countryside. They will also press to integrate their former fighters into the Nepal army, a demand that the army will likely resist vigorously.
The Maoists remain on the U.S. list of banned terrorist organizations, although U.S. officials, apparently pragmatic, have established contact with their political leaders, including Prachanda.
Source: New York Times
Showing posts with label Gyanendra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gyanendra. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Nepal's monarchy abolished, republic declared
Political leaders in Nepal on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to abolish the Himalayan nation's 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declare a republic. In an historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, a new constitutional assembly ordered unpopular King Gyanendra to quit his palace within 15 days so it can be turned into a museum. "The sacrifice of thousands of Nepalese has been honoured today by us getting rid of the monarchy," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.
The abolition is a triumph for the ultra-leftists and marks a fresh start for one of the world's poorest countries, still reeling from a civil war that left at least 13,000 people dead. "The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition, and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation," Mahara said. Nepal's fiercely-republican Maoists, who fought for 10 years to remove the monarchy and create a secular republic, won the largest single bloc of seats in the assembly in elections last month.
A senior member of the 601-member Constituent Assembly, Kul Bahadur Gurung, said only four lawmakers opposed the move. The republican declaration states that Nepal will become "an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic." "All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end," it says, noting that May 29 will henceforth be celebrated as "Republic Day."
Gyanendra, who ascended the throne after a drunken prince killed most of the royal family in 2001, was given 15 days to pack up and vacate his Kathmandu palace. "This assembly asks the government to make the necessary arrangements to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal palace," Gurung told the late-night gathering, prompting huge cheers and applause. "The meeting also directs the government to take necessary actions to turn the palace into a national museum." Outside the venue, a crowd of about 1,000 people -- who had been waiting impatiently for the vote -- cheered wildly as the decision was announced, an AFP reporter at the scene said. "I am overjoyed. This is the most important day of my life," said Rajesh Subedi, a 21-year-old student and Maoist supporter.
The former rebels have told Gyanendra and his son and heir, Crown Prince Paras -- loathed for his reported playboy lifestyle -- to bow out gracefully and adapt to life as a "common citizen" or else face "strong punishment." Nepal's peace minister, Ram Chandra Poudel, told reporters the monarch "should understand and leave the palace by himself, that would be the best thing."
Gyanendra, seen by loyalists as the reincarnation of a Hindu god, was vaulted to the throne after the 2001 massacre of his popular brother Birendra and most of the royal family by a drink-and-drug-fuelled crown prince who later killed himself. But the dour-faced monarch never managed to win much support from the public, with many Nepalese suspecting he was in some way involved in the palace killings -- even though officials and experts have dismissed such a conspiracy theory. His ill-fated decision to seize absolute power to fight the Maoist rebellion further damaged his status. He still enjoys some support from Hindu hardliners and powerful elements in the armed forces and ruling elite, who argue the royals are a crucial symbol of the neutrality of a country wedged between Asian giants India and China. "No one now has a political basis to try and revive him," said analyst and commentator Prashant Jha.
Many had feared Nepal's radical transformation would give way to more violence, but this week suspected pro-royals only managed to carry out minor bomb attacks that caused a small number of light injuries. The Maoists are set to lead Nepal's new government, although many are still sceptical of the movement -- whose loyalists are regularly accused of using violence and intimidation. The United States also continues to list the former rebels as a foreign "terrorist" organisation.
Source: AFP
The abolition is a triumph for the ultra-leftists and marks a fresh start for one of the world's poorest countries, still reeling from a civil war that left at least 13,000 people dead. "The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition, and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation," Mahara said. Nepal's fiercely-republican Maoists, who fought for 10 years to remove the monarchy and create a secular republic, won the largest single bloc of seats in the assembly in elections last month.
A senior member of the 601-member Constituent Assembly, Kul Bahadur Gurung, said only four lawmakers opposed the move. The republican declaration states that Nepal will become "an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic." "All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end," it says, noting that May 29 will henceforth be celebrated as "Republic Day."
Gyanendra, who ascended the throne after a drunken prince killed most of the royal family in 2001, was given 15 days to pack up and vacate his Kathmandu palace. "This assembly asks the government to make the necessary arrangements to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal palace," Gurung told the late-night gathering, prompting huge cheers and applause. "The meeting also directs the government to take necessary actions to turn the palace into a national museum." Outside the venue, a crowd of about 1,000 people -- who had been waiting impatiently for the vote -- cheered wildly as the decision was announced, an AFP reporter at the scene said. "I am overjoyed. This is the most important day of my life," said Rajesh Subedi, a 21-year-old student and Maoist supporter.
The former rebels have told Gyanendra and his son and heir, Crown Prince Paras -- loathed for his reported playboy lifestyle -- to bow out gracefully and adapt to life as a "common citizen" or else face "strong punishment." Nepal's peace minister, Ram Chandra Poudel, told reporters the monarch "should understand and leave the palace by himself, that would be the best thing."
Gyanendra, seen by loyalists as the reincarnation of a Hindu god, was vaulted to the throne after the 2001 massacre of his popular brother Birendra and most of the royal family by a drink-and-drug-fuelled crown prince who later killed himself. But the dour-faced monarch never managed to win much support from the public, with many Nepalese suspecting he was in some way involved in the palace killings -- even though officials and experts have dismissed such a conspiracy theory. His ill-fated decision to seize absolute power to fight the Maoist rebellion further damaged his status. He still enjoys some support from Hindu hardliners and powerful elements in the armed forces and ruling elite, who argue the royals are a crucial symbol of the neutrality of a country wedged between Asian giants India and China. "No one now has a political basis to try and revive him," said analyst and commentator Prashant Jha.
Many had feared Nepal's radical transformation would give way to more violence, but this week suspected pro-royals only managed to carry out minor bomb attacks that caused a small number of light injuries. The Maoists are set to lead Nepal's new government, although many are still sceptical of the movement -- whose loyalists are regularly accused of using violence and intimidation. The United States also continues to list the former rebels as a foreign "terrorist" organisation.
Source: AFP
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)