April 05, 2004
Today in Kathmandu was the fourth day of large pro-democracy protests demanding the reinstatement of parliament, which was suspended by the king a year and a half ago. At least 140 were injured.
I haven't seen this reported in the American press at all, but four straight days of pro-democracy protests in any capital city is siginificant, IMO.
This King only took power because the Crown Prince massacred the entire Royal Family three years ago.
A Nepal timeline. They have been fighting Communist rebels for ten years, now. But there is no excuse for using that to end democracy and assume complete control of the country.
I remember that. What a terrrible position for the Nepalese to be caught in, between the monarchy on one side and the Maoists on the other.
homunculus: "I haven't seen this reported in the American press at all, but...."
International news has never been a forte of the American press, at the risk of stating the obvious.
Thanks for the good links, all around.
Good links, thanks homunculus. What is happening in Nepal right now is pretty scary, in some ways reminiscent of Peru in the 1980s (but for now, most of the country is still fairly safe; it's a bigger place than it looks on the map, when you factor in the mountainous terrain and the fact that transport between different parts of the country are difficult and complicated). The massacre of the royal family and subsequent acts of repression by the new king, as well as the failure of the main political parties to form a stable government, acted as a catalyst for the Maoist uprising.
The Nepali Times is probably the best online source of news and analysis about Nepal.
(I may be going back there next year if the situation doesn't deteriorate further).
Thatnks for the link, plep. Please be careful if you go back, I can't see this situation improving anytime soon.
homunculus, I just wanted to thank you for continuing to post these links and keeping this story (and others) in our awareness.
My pleasure, tracicle. It's one of the features of MoFi I really like.
Too scared to protest in Nepal
For Nepal, a brutal return to a feudal past
The Maoists will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the coup in Nepal and not the King, the political leadership or the people
Nepal's king promises democracy on 1st anniversary of seizing power
And cool hats for everyone!
ONe of the big difficulties with kings is how hard they are to dethrone.
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