KATHMANDU: A deal between Nepal’s political parties and Maoist rebels to work together to restore democracy has further isolated King Gyanendra who seized power nine months ago, analysts said on Wednesday.
Gyanendra said he seized power to quell the increasingly deadly Maoist revolt after politicians failed, but his move drew global condemnation and sparked major protests throughout the impoverished kingdom.
“The accord represents a critical polarization of political forces against the autocratic monarchy for restoration of full-fledged democracy,” said Kapil Shrestha, politics professor at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University.
“The king could lose totally as a result of this accord if he fails to handle the situation cautiously and wisely,” Shrestha said.
The alliance and the Maoists set out a 12-point agenda to establish ‘full-fledged democracy’, said former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who leads the biggest party, the Nepali Congress.
The step would ‘end the tyrannical monarchy’ and conclude with UN-supervised polls for a new constituent assembly to draft a fresh constitution, he said on Tuesday.
Maoist leader Prachanda or the ‘fierce one’ said the Maoists were “fully committed to bring the armed conflict to an end and establish permanent peace after ending the autocratic monarchy”.
Under the agreement the Maoists, who have been fighting to turn Nepal into a one-party communist state, would lay down their arms under UN or other international supervision while a new constitution was drafted.
The conflict has claimed over 12,500 lives since the rebels took up arms in 1996.
“We’re highly hopeful full-fledged democracy and peace will be restored with the help of the accord we have reached with the Maoists,” said Gopal Man Shrestha, acting head of the Nepali Congress (Democratic), adding he was confident the Maoists would give up their arms.
The parties have said they will not launch the joint movement until the rebels, who declared a three-month truce in September, put down their weapons.
Shrestha, whose group was in the four-party ruling coalition turfed out by the king, said “the political future and peace and security all depends on the Royal Palace.
“If the king reacts positively, it will be possible to restore peace and security. If not, our political struggle against the autocratic regime and for restoration of democracy will be carried out more forcefully,” Shrestha added.
“The final movement of the seven-party alliance and the Maoists will decide the king’s fate.”
The royal government in a statement late on Wednesday blasted the alliance as ‘unholy’.
The parties so far are not demanding an end to the monarchy but want its powers to be limited. However, republican sentiment has grown sharply in Nepal since the king seized power in February.
Kalim Bahadur, head of Central Asian Studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the king was likely to be displeased by the latest developments ‘whatever he says publicly’.
“The parties will insist on abolition of the monarchy or turning him into a constitutional figurehead without any powers. It will be a big pill for him to swallow,” Bahadur said.
While welcoming the deal, the head of the Nepal Press Institute sounded a cautious note.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Dhruva Hari Adhikari said. “But how sincerely the Maoists are committed to peace will have to be monitored in weeks ahead.”—AFP
