Breathing room...

April 27, 2006 10:47 AM

For those following the situation in Nepal (previously mentioned here, here, and here), the King has relented and reinstated parliament, though it's not clear whether the new Prime Minister has long for this world. The Maoists have declared a ceasefire, though they aren't happy about the development. Everything is still awaiting a constituent assembly...
posted by graymouser (3 comments total)

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posted by russilwvong at 11:24 AM on April 27, 2006

This is incredibly good news (and I mean it's hard to believe, both that it would have actually happened -- and that it will ultimately mean something). The Maoists have a point -- as long as Nepal remains under one of the few remaining absolute monarchies, constitutional democracy remains a gift that the King can whisk away at a whim.

The dissolution of Parliament was the real "historic mistake", because Gyanendra didn't see that this would give all political parties a reason to oppose him and make common cause with the rebels. The "shoot-to-kill" policy against the demonstrators was a grim marker of desperation, and I feared it could only mean a worsening of the regime -- but it appears that this may have had some internal, unseen effect, such as dividing the military against the King.
posted by dhartung at 12:12 PM on April 27, 2006

The problem is that the king is in control of the army; the coming Constituent Assembly, through the sheer force of things, is basically going to have to either take away all of his powers or actually create a republic. So the conflict's on hold for now, but it actually has some pretty classic revolutionary overtones, the kind you don't see much today...
posted by graymouser at 3:32 PM on April 27, 2006