Numerous Nepalis around the world have been dismayed by another attempt to scuttle democracy in Nepal. The South Asian reports on protests from Nepalis in Vancouver and presents their perspective.

The political merry-go-round in Nepal, led by its monarchy, has become a joke. It would have been funny if it was not at the cost of immense suffering by Nepali people. In the last five years
• June 2001 - Gyanendra is crowned king following royal massacre
• July 2001 - Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes prime minister following Maoist violence
• Oct 2002 - King Gyanendra sacks Deuba and assumes executive power
• June 2004 - Deuba reappointed prime minister in place of Surya Bahadur Thapa
• Feb 2005 - Deuba sacked, king assumes direct power

Despite cold and rain, about sixty people from the small Nepali community in Vancouver, British Columbia gathered at the Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver on February 6 to protest King Gyanendra's assumption of executive power in Nepal. Standing on the steps which Vancouverites have long used as a forum to express their dissatisfaction, the demonstrators carried banners demanding "Participatory Democracy", “Unconditional release of all political prisoners”, and an end to the "Autocratic Regime in Nepal."

The demonstration, organized by members of the Nepali community in Vancouver concerned with the democracy in Nepal, was in response to King Gyanendra’s February 1 declaration of a state of Emergency. The King has dismissed the Prime Minister and Government, and put the PM, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and all leaders of the political parties under either house arrest or military detention in unknown locations. The King suspended fundamental freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly and imposed restrictions on the movement of people within Nepal and from outside. In a royal proclamation the King denounced the political parties while claiming to champion democracy. He has promised to give more power to the army despite ample evidence of its widespread violation of human rights in Nepal.

For over fifty years the people of Nepal have aspired to a democratic polity. In 1959 they succeeded in promulgating a constitution based on a multi-party system, only to have it abrogated in 1960 by King Mahendra. In 1990, after intense and prolonged struggle they again achieved a democratic constitution but have since had little opportunity to enjoy its
benefits. Soon after becoming King in 2001, Gyanendra declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament. These measures were justified as necessary to counter the increasing strength of the Maoist insurgency that had been building since 1996. In 2004
the King was compelled by widespread agitation to reappoint Prime Minister Sher BahadurDeuba, whom he had dismissed in 2002. Deuba's task was to initiate talks with the insurgents and to hold elections by March 2005. Meanwhile, the Royal Nepal Army, with the military and financial support of India, Britain, and the US, has been engaged in a brutal counter-insurgency that has not only failed to contain the insurgency but has escalated the violence and the violation of human rights.

The King's arbitrary and autocratic move is a serious blow to the democratic aspirations of the Nepali people. This cannot be masked by the King's rhetoric that he is saving the people of Nepal from both the Maoists and the parliamentary parties.

We join our voice with that of all democratic people in Nepal in demanding an immediate end of "Emergency." The only viable solution to the conflict lies in political institutions consistent with the democratic aspirations of the people of Nepal.

Related Links
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