The United States says millions of aid dollars could be suspended unless Nepal's King Gyanendra ends his crackdown on the country's democratic institutions within 100 days. The U.S. ambassador to Nepal issued the warning after the king took over the government last week.

The United States is warning Nepal King Gyanendra to reverse his decision last week to take over the government for three years, impose total censorship, cut communications and jail political leaders.

Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal James Moriarty said King Gyanendra has promised privately to restore democratic freedoms within 100 days.


"The king has been saying that they need 3 months - 100 days - to straighten some of this stuff out. And we would certainly expect him to be addressing these questions within that time-frame," said Mr. Moriarty. " The restoration of constitutional liberties, freeing of the detainees, and the beginning of process of reaching out to the parties."


Speaking to reporters in Kathmandu, Ambassador Moriarty says the king must act within that time-frame or lose millions of dollars in U.S. military and humanitarian aid.


"I think it's at risk'" he said. "I would hope that much of what we do which saves lives here, for example - giving Vitamin A to three year-olds so that they won't die before they reach age 5 - will continue, but frankly I think everything's at risk right now."


In the past two years, the United States has provided more than $20 million in assistance to the Nepalese Army, primarily in weapons and training programs to help it combat a nine-year communist insurgency, which has killed more than 11,000 people.

The king has justified his government takeover, in part, saying it is needed to better combat the Maoist rebels. His says political infighting has paralyzed the government in both pursuing peace and consolidating democracy in Nepal.

There was no immediate reaction from Nepal's human rights community to the new 100-day deadline. Rights workers say scores of activists are under arrest or have gone into hiding.


But one student leader, who asked not to be named, says the international community has taken too long to react to the King's moves. "Students wonder why the international community are still are waiting. It's not necessary to wait," he said. "We want the whole community to support us, for the sake of democracy, we are hoping."


Students say police are harassing them on university campuses and at their homes, in search of anyone who may be supporting political parties or working against the king.

Here is Link

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-11-voa5.cfm

In most of Nepal, Maoists call the shots:
[World News]: Nepalgunj (Nepal), Feb 11 : King Gyanendra may have assumed supreme powers in Nepal but in vast areas of this Himalayan kingdom it is the Maoist guerrillas who reign supreme.

As one moves away from the bigger towns, the presence of the Maoists becomes increasingly visible. As if on a parallel track, the state becomes less and less stark.

The rebels - who have been waging an insurgency since 1996 - appear to be in full command in large parts of Bardia district in northwest Nepal where their own FM channel blares out their daily news bulletins every evening.

While policemen, including from the armed wing, rarely venture out once it gets dark, soldiers move only in groups and only in vehicles.

Everything comes to a standstill at 8 at night when uniformed gun wielding cops and soldiers become as reluctant to step out on the streets as any commoner.

Nepalese security forces can be seen at every step as people cross into Nepal from India at Nepalgunj.

Many of them stand behind barbed wire fenced camps in different parts of the town, which is northwest Nepal's busiest commercial hub. Every road junction in Nepalgunj has been converted into a police picket.

Barrels of semi-automatic rifles peep out of systematically stacked sandbags.

For the next 20 km, the authority of the royal regime is visible - in the form of security forces. But barely 15 km further down in Bansgarhi village in Bardia district, the scene is very different.

Even local police outposts look abandoned.

"No government functionary dares to come here. The Royal Nepalese Army watches from helicopters in the sky," remarked a shopkeeper.

As if it were a divine coincidence, within minutes two army helicopters flew over the main market, moving towards the district headquarter at Guleria.

"The last time we saw the army here was some three months ago when a huge contingent raided the local lodges and some houses in search of Maoists but made no arrest," the shopkeeper told IANS.

The Maoists, who Western diplomats say are on a roll, have attacked many places in this region.

"No wonder not a single cop was in sight when nearly 1,500 Maoists took out a rally at Bansgarhi barely three weeks ago," a tea stall owner quipped.

"It is ordinary people who bow down before the all-powerful Maoists and also face humiliation and harassment at the hands of arrogant policemen," he added. As it happens, no one is willing to be quoted by name.

A local government official admitted: "The manner in which Maoists have spread their tentacles shows that nearly half the nation is under their control."

On Saturday, Maoist rebels are all set to mark another anniversary of their armed struggle that has caused consternation throughout the democratic world, in particular in neighbouring India.

Unmindful of the king's new powers, the Maoists have called for indefinite road blockades from Saturday. Locals say the protest will be successful because there is no one to oppose them.

A local Maoist leader told IANS: "Whatever we do is for the ultimate larger good of the Nepali people."

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=70773

Amnesty team to study rights situation in Nepal:
[World News]: Kathmandu, Feb 11 : Concerned over reports of detention of political leaders, rights activists and journalists in Nepal following the Feb 1 royal takeover, Amnesty International (AI) is sending a high-level team to Kathmandu to assess the rights situation.

The team, headed by AI secretary-general Irene Khan, is arriving here Friday for a six-day visit, AI said. It would hold a press conference at the end of its mission to announce its findings.

"Following the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency, political leaders have been arrested and communications severely disrupted. Khan's visit will assess the human rights situation in the country first hand," AI said.

Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked the Sher Bahadur Deuba government and imposed a state of emergency in the kingdom Feb 1.

The international rights body has already started a campaign in the US targeted at petitioning US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and local Congressional representatives to demand accountability from the government of Nepal on improving human rights.

AI is asking concerned Americans to ensure that the US sponsors a resolution on Nepal at the upcoming session of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

"Both sides to the conflict, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Government of Nepal, have committed grave abuses," AI said.

It is also urging the public to ask Nepalese officials to reveal the whereabouts of a Nepalese rights activist, Krishna Pahadi.

Pahadi, founding chairman of the Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), was arrested at the organisation's office in Kathmandu Feb 9. He is also former president of Amnesty International's Nepal section.

"His whereabouts are unknown and there are serious concerns for his safety," AI said.

http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/?action=fullnews&id=70796

Nepal's royal coup to intensify civil war: Think-tank
- -
New Delhi: Nepal King Gyanendra's royal coup is likely to strengthen the Maoist insurgency and intensify the country's civil war, an international think-tank comprising several world leaders has said. In its latest report, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) projected an intensification of the "civil war" and strengthening of Maoist insurgency in Nepal following the February one "royal coup".

"King Gyanendra justified his coup on the need to beat back the Maoists, but it will have exactly the opposite effect. An absolute monarch undermining democracy will only aid the Maoists and do nothing to reduce the risk of them coming to power," ICG President and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans said in the report entitled 'Nepal's Royal Coup: Making a Bad Situation Worse'.

Observing that Gyanendra had "backed himself into a corner," its Programme Director Robert Templer said the only way to achieve peace was "through effective military action combined with a political strategy that undercuts Maoist positions. Neither is possible without a broad-based democratic government."

The ICG, which has former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and several other world leaders on its Board, said the King had "gambled that the world would be reluctant to criticise his move too harshly or to cut support for Nepal as long as Maoist insurgents remain a serious threat." "However, as international condemnation has gathered pace over the past week, that gamble appears not to be paying off," it said.


http://www.manoramaonline.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=manorama/MmArticle/CommonFullStory&c=MmArticle&cid=1108116873518&channel=News&p=1002194839100&count=7

US urges Nepal to restore democracy
Kathmandu
February 11, 2005


The United States wants Nepal to return to democracy after King Gyanendra's crackdown on dissidents last week, and has complained to the monarch that security forces are blocking the US ambassador from visiting detained political leaders.

Nepalese security forces have arrested dozens of politicians and activists since February 1, when the king dismissed an interim government, imposed emergency rule, suspended civil liberties and ordered a communications blackout in his Himalayan nation.

"We continue to urge the Government in Nepal to get back on the democratic path," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

The US State Department said Nepal had ignored repeated US requests to release political prisoners and had blocked US ambassador James Moriarty from visiting political leaders under house arrest.

Mr Moriarty carried the US objections directly to King Gyanendra, department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in Washington.

"The United States is concerned about the welfare of Nepalese opposition, student and human rights activists and leaders detained under the state of emergency," Mr Cooper said.

"The United States has called repeatedly for the king to release detainees, lift house arrest and restore civil liberties and freedom of the press."

Nepal's Home Ministry has said that since emergency rule was imposed, 43 people were arrested for their personal safety and to avoid disturbances, including 18 under house arrest.

Yesterday, Nepalese authorities said six politicians had been freed from house arrest. But political parties say far more than 43 people have been detained.

"We have at least 250 cadres who have been arrested while six of our top leaders are under house arrest," said Shanker Pokhrel, a central member of the United Marxist Leninist Communist Party of Nepal, the second largest party.

The king has justified his actions by saying the former government failed to control a Maoist rebel insurgency or prepare for parliamentary elections.

Some Nepalese say they hope King Gyanendra will bring stability and revive the vital tourist trade, which has been flagging because of the insurgency.

Nepal's rebels, who say they are inspired by the late Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been trying since 1996 to overthrow the government and establish a socialist state in a conflict that has claimed 10,500 lives. AP

Hear the one about the king, the CIA and the Maoists?
By Connie Levett
February 12, 2005

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EYEWITNESS

So you know about Nepal's crown prince who shot his entire family at Friday night dinner and then turned the gun on himself. He died from a gunshot wound to the left side of his head. But, get this, he was right handed.

In this mountain kingdom, where press freedom is only 15 years old, the citizens have long had to make do with home-grown interpretations. Many, in fact, prefer them.

When King Gyanendra, backed by the army, reasserted absolute power on February 1, forbidding media discussion of the royal coup on pain of arrest, he simply gave oxygen to the ancient Nepalese art of conspiracy theory.

"If you stay long enough in Kathmandu you will hear evidence to prove every sort of theory," said the Indian embassy press attache, Sanjay Verma. "And then I can give you an equally strong theory that proves the first cannot be true."

India, the Maoists, China, the king and the CIA (of course) have all had honourable mentions this week.

Did you know the Maoists and the king are in collusion?

"There was suspicion that the king was making contact with the Maoist leaders, and the February 1 incident proves it," one Nepalese politician said.

He cited the Maoists' three-day strike from February 2 that shut down the country outside the capital. "Both are dictators. The [strike] meant that politicians could not escape to India."

As far as he was concerned it was an open and shut case.

Or, if there was no collusion, the king saw the republican writing on the wall. So he jumped in to make himself the saviour of the nation and, in doing so, saviour of the crown.

"As he sees it, with all the republican slogans on the streets, the parties becoming radicalised, if [a republic] is going to happen anyway, he might as well take control," a Nepalese analyst said.

The Maoists are splintering and peace is possible.

"The king took power now because there is a big dividend for the person who can bring peace," the analyst said. "He heard there were backroom negotiations and did not want to share that dividend with any politician when it comes."

The king and army can afford to take the risk because foreign governments are never going to back the Maoists. He has already stitched up Chinese support, the story goes, by closing the Dalai Lama's office in Nepal on January 21 after 45 years of peaceful operation. China's only comment on the royal coup was that it was an internal matter.

Some might say it is a standard Chinese response to upheaval abroad. In Nepal it is proof of a deal.

Nepal is sometimes referred to as a yam caught between two rocks, China and India. The Indian rock has by far the greater interest, economic and political, in Nepal.

India may say it is appalled by the royal coup, but it really wants to see a full-scale assault on the Maoists.

India has funnelled 6 billion rupees ($175 million) of military hardware to the Royal Nepalese Army in recent years, but the Nepalese army will not go after those Maoist buggers.

It is not that India thinks the Nepalese Army can win. Indeed it expects a total breakdown of law and order. Then it can send in its own troops to re-establish control and get access to Nepal's water resources.

And Nepal's three key donors, the US, India and Britain have all spoken out strongly against the February 1 coup, but do not believe it.

"It's doublespeak," the Nepalese analyst said. "Their public statements are much more harsh than what they have said in private."

And the CIA? It is sure to be involved, a human rights worker said.

So who to believe? "Ah, they are just conspiracy theorist-wallahs," said an Indian journalist based in Kathmandu. "You can't believe anything," another said. "Take everything anyone says to you here with a pinch of salt."


http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Hear-the-one-about-the-king-the-CIA-and-the-Maoists/2005/02/11/1108061874862.html

South Asia
Feb 12, 2005



India, as seen by Maoists
By B Raman

As Nepal goes through a serious political crisis in the wake of the coup staged on February 1 by King Gyanendra with the backing of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA), which is increasingly frustrated over its continuing failure in its counter-insurgency operations against the country's Maoists, it is necessary to see how the Nepalese Maoists view India so that one has some idea of the likely implications for India if the Maoists manage to capture power in Kathmandu. It is also important to monitor the reactions of the Maoists of India to India's policy in Nepal.

I have in the past drawn attention to the analysis of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN - Maoist) of what it describes as its three-phase armed struggle - the first against the Nepal police, the second against the RNA and the third and last against the Indian army. It has not revised this analysis. On the contrary, its perception of India has become even more negative and hostile than it was two or three years ago. Among the reasons for this are the perceived proximity of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to King Gyanendra, which, in its view, strengthened his autocratic tendencies and the alleged collusion between India and the US in assisting the RNA in its counter-insurgency campaign against the Maoists.

The Maoists of Nepal view India as a stooge of the US and as a lackey of US-led global capitalism. Their aggravated feelings of hostility toward India were reflected during a secret plenum of the central committee of the CPN-Maoist held somewhere in Nepal in August last year. They accused India of trying to turn Nepal into what they described as another vassal of India similar to Bhutan. This is what the Maoist leaders of Nepal said of India at the plenum:
Backed by US imperialism, Indian expansionism is directly intervening against the great People's War. This has been further demonstrated by the arrests of several responsible comrades including comrade Kiran, the veteran member of the standing committee of our party, in different cities of India recently.
Following the expansionist doctrine of [former Indian premier Jawaharlal] Nehru, that regards the Himalayan ranges as its border, the Indian ruling class is advancing with vicious intrigue and conspiracy with the strategy of either Bhutanizing or Sickimmizing Nepal.
The Indian monopoly capitalist rulers, who have always backed destabilization and anarchy in Nepal, have now been openly threatening Nepal with their ill intention of bringing Nepal under their control through military intervention and by conducting massacres of the patriotic and self-respecting Nepalese people in the name of support to the so-called war against terrorism.
Indian expansionism is the main external obstacle in the way of the creation of a conducive environment to find a forward-looking political solution through peaceful negotiations.
The chieftains of the old state of Nepal, indulging in a day dream of lengthening the life of the reactionary state, have been committing a heinous crime by mocking over the independent existence and self-respect of the Nepalese people and by kneeling down in front of Indian expansionism.
All self-respecting and patriotic Nepalese people should stand united against the national capitulationism of the old state, Indian expansionist intervention and the danger of imminent military attacks. They should concentrate against the national capitulation and Indian intervention in all our ideological, political and military fields.
The independence of Nepal and the Nepalese people can be preserved by turning the whole country into a war front, by militarizing all people, and by raising the war strategy to a new height against military interventions of imperialism and expansionism.
In the war against national capitulation and expansionist interventions, there will be support and sympathy not only of the broad patriotic Nepalese people (which also includes the patriotic members of the so-called Royal Nepal Army of the old state), but there will also be support and sympathy from the justice-loving Indian masses as well as the masses of the world over.
How do the Indian Maoists view the role of India in Nepal? This is what the Communist Party of India (Maoist) had to say in December, 2004:
In the light of the growing civil war in the country [India], the new UPA [United Progressive Alliance government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh] government in India has been exhibiting its expansionist fangs against the people of Nepal right from the day it came to power. Treading the earlier NDA [the National Democratic Alliance Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee] path, it has forged close links with the genocidal King Gyanendra, seeking to prop it up in every way possible. This despot has arrived on a high profile state visit to India to conspire for greater Indian assistance to crush the ongoing people's war in Nepal. [My comment: This is not correct. The king postponed the visit at the last minute in December, 2004, due to the death of Narasimha Rao, former Indian prime minister]
Of all the political formations in the country, it is the Communist Party of India (Maoist), as the vanguard of the Indian oppressed masses, that has strongly condemned these interventionist policies of the Indian rulers.
The main purpose of the king's visit is to ensure support from the bordering states of India and to request India to deploy its armed forces on the border and to beef up the hundreds of outposts, which have emerged in the recent past to monitor the CPN-Maoist activity.
To prepare the ground for direct Indian military intervention, the Indian government as a first step beefed up its border vigil to ensure a safe passage for its armed forces when they will enter Nepal to fight along with the RNA against the Maoists.
In the first week of December, Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee strategically declared that India will render all assistance to the Royal Nepal Army, like supplying all types of military equipment, training RNA personnel and sealing the border. It is not difficult to understand the significance of this statement. The Indian ruling classes are going to wage an undeclared and deceitful war against the Nepalese people and the People's Liberation Army under the leadership of the CPN-Maoist.
Since the last few years, the Nepalese people have been waging a war against the monarchy under the leadership of the Maoists with the aim of establishing a new democratic society. Imperialists and the entire reactionaries are fiercely opposing this revolutionary war of Nepal.
The CPM [Communist Party-Marxists, the ruling party in West Bengal], one of the main props of the UPA government at the center [Delhi], kept mum on the decision of the government and the visit of the king. In West Bengal, where it is in power, it is not sparing any chance to play its role in crushing the revolution in Nepal in the name of opposing 'terrorism'. Its police forces have arrested many leaders and activists of the CPN-Maoist, including Comrade Mohan Baidya, one of the topmost leaders, in West Bengal.
On the one hand, the king is pressing the UPA government to give full assistance and blessing to his operations against Nepal's Maoist revolutionaries; on the other hand, he is closely moving with the Sangh Parivar, particularly the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Under some pretext or the other, the king is maintaining close links with the communal fascists who are ideologically staunch opponents of communism in order to get their support against the Maoists in Nepal and India.
Our CC(P) [Central Committee Plenum] will mobilize the Indian people in solidarity with the great revolutionary struggle of the Nepal people against the unjust deeds of the Indian government and the king of Nepal. We are confident that if the Indian government dares to send its mercenary army for suppressing the revolution in Nepal, it will have to incur the same shameful defeat as it had received in Sri Lanka in the 1980s.
The CC(P) calls upon all the revolutionary and democratic people of the Indian sub-continent to rise in a united struggle against the expansionist Indian ruling classes and their mercenary army. The CC(P) calls upon all the revolutionary, democratic, justice and peace-loving people of India to forcefully oppose the Indian government's interference in the internal affairs of Nepal. The CC(P) calls upon the jawans of the Indian army, who hail from the toiling classes, not to involve themselves in killing their class brethren by participating in the unjust military campaign of the Indian government. We call upon the people of South Asia, as well as the entire world people to rise against and resist the India government's interference in the internal affairs of Nepal for protecting the medieval rule of king Gyanendra whose hands are soaked with the blood of thousands of Nepalese people.

B Raman is additional secretary (retired), cabinet secretariat, government of India, and, presently, director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and distinguished fellow and convener, Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter. Email: corde@vsnl.com

Global broadcasters ask Nepal to un-muzzle community radios
By Sudeshna Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service


Kathmandu, Feb 11 (IANS) Voicing serious concern over the ban on private radio channels in Nepal following the Feb 1 royal takeover, a global organisation of broadcasters has urged the new government to remove the ban on community radios to broadcast news and current affairs programmes.

The appeal was made by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.

In a separate move, the community and FM stations in the kingdom have jointly appealed to the government to let them resume their programmes.

After Nepal's King Gyanendra dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government Feb 1, assumed power and imposed a state of emergency, the new government clamped down on private radio channels in the name of ensuring security in the country.

The FM stations were told to broadcast only entertainment programmes.

The Nepalese media fears a large number of radio journalists will lose their jobs even if the radio stations do not actually close.

The radio helps people in Nepal's remote mountainous regions stay in touch with the rest of the country and the world through its programmes.

Besides the state-run radio Nepal, there are two kinds of private radio stations: the commercial ones with their popular dose of news and entertainment as well as the community radio stations that address core development goals like reducing poverty.



http://www.eians.com/stories/2005/02/11/11ask.shtml

Uproar as Nepal reinforces media blackout
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IFEX Friday 11th February, 2005

The Nepalese army is continuing to prevent privately-owned newspapers from publishing.

Meantime around 1,000 journalists, particularly those working for the dozens of FM radio stations, could lose their jobs as a result of the crackdown on the news media imposed by the king on 1 February 2005.

Reporters sans fronti?res (RSF) said it was horrified by the impact of the six-month ban on all independent news and information. 'The abusive use of the press law is a clear violation of the international undertakings given by Nepal, which has ratified the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,' RSF said.

The daily 'Kathmandu Post' reported that about 1,000 journalists have had to stop work and could lose their jobs. Nepal has a total of 41 FM stations employing hundreds of journalists and technicians. Stations such as Hits FM and FM Adhyatma Jyoti each have more than 10 reporters. The largest stations, such as Kantipur FM, have at least 90 correspondents throughout the country.

Some stations such as Kantipur FM and Annapurna FM, which is based in the central town of Pokhara, have already been forced to lay off journalists, while the audio news agency Communication Corner, which distributed programmes to some 14 radio stations, has had to close.

The government previously banned news programmes on FM radio stations in January 2001, but the Supreme Court quashed the order in July of the same year.

After communications were reestablished on 8 February, fresh reports circulated about the devastating effect of the king's 1 February coup d'etat on press freedom. The army is continuing to close newspapers. On the evening of 7 February, soldiers raided four weekly newspapers in the capital to prevent them coming out. A radio journalist quoted on the BBC News website spoke of 'psychological terror' being employed by the army against the news media.

A military officer is running the weekly 'Janaastha'. The weeklies 'Taza Khabar', 'Samata', 'Punarjagaran', 'Drishti' and 'Yugsambad' have all reportedly been closed or are under the army's direct control.

Voice of America quoted Rajendra Dahal, the editor of a bi-monthly published by the Himal Media press group, as saying, 'If our censorship or self-censorship is not sufficient in the eyes of the authorities, we are threatened, accused or arrested.' As an ironic protest against the censorship, Himal Media's publications have run editorials on archery and classical dance.

The news website http://www.nepalnews.com is online again after being blocked for a week, but is publishing no news going 'against the letter or spirit of the royal proclamation.' The site said its 'international coverage' section has also been suspended. The army has meanwhile asked 30 ISPs to be more effective in their blocking of Maoist sites based abroad.

The family of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) president Tara Nath Dahal is still being harassed by the army. Most members of the FNJ leadership, including Gopal Budhathoki, are in hiding. As a protest against the censorship, Budhathoki earlier this week put out the weekly 'Sanghu', which he edits, with a blank editorial page.

Many Nepalese human rights activists known for defending imprisoned journalists have been arrested, threatened or placed under house arrest. RSF says it is particularly concerned about Subodh Raj Pyakurel and the entire team of INSEC, a non-governmental organisation with which RSF issued a report about torture and arbitrary detention in Nepal in November 2002.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=f10764cb92bf2857

A Chronology of Key Events in Nepal
Timeline: Nepal

1768 - Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays foundations for unified kingdom.

1792 - Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at hands of Chinese in Tibet.

1814-16 - Anglo-Nepalese War; culminates in treaty which establishes Nepal's current boundaries.

1846 - Nepal falls under sway of hereditary chief ministers known as Ranas, who dominate the monarchy and cut off country from outside world.

1923 - Treaty with Britain affirms Nepal's sovereignty.

Absolute monarchy

1950 - Anti-Rana forces based in India form alliance with monarch.


1953 EVEREST EXPEDITION
Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary; first to the top of the world 1978: Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (in Nepali)


1951 - End of Rana rule. Sovereignty of crown restored and anti-Rana rebels in Nepalese Congress Party form government.

1953 29 May - New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1955 - Nepal joins the United Nations.

1955 - King Tribhuwan dies, King Mahendra ascends throne.

1959 - Multi-party constitution adopted.

1960 - King Mahendra seizes control and suspends parliament, constitution and party politics after Nepali Congress Party (NCP) wins elections with B. P. Koirala as premier.

1962 - New constitution provides for non-party system of councils known as "panchayat" under which king exercises sole power. First elections to Rastrya Panchayat held in 1963.

1972 - King Mahendra dies, succeeded by Birendra.


Multi-party politics

1980 - Constitutional referendum follows agitation for reform. Small majority favours keeping existing panchayat system. King agrees to allow direct elections to national assembly - but on a non-party basis.

1985 - NCP begins civil disobedience campaign for restoration of multi-party system.

1986 - New elections boycotted by NCP.


KING MAHENDRA

1960: King Mahendra in London (in Nepali)

1989 - Trade and transit dispute with India leads to border blockade by Delhi resulting in worsening economic situation.

1990 - Pro-democracy agitation co-ordinated by NCP and leftist groups. Street protests suppressed by security forces resulting in deaths and mass arrests. King Birendra eventually bows to pressure and agrees to new democratic constitution.

1991 - Nepali Congress Party wins first democratic elections. Girija Prasad Koirala becomes prime minister.


Political instability

1994 - Koirala's government defeated in no-confidence motion. New elections lead to formation of Communist government.

1995 - Communist government dissolved. Radical leftist group, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) begins insurrection in rural areas aimed at abolishing monarch and establishing people's republic.

1997 - Continuing political instability as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is defeated and replaced by Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Chand is then forced to resign because of party splits and is replaced by Surya Bahadur Thapa.


1998 - Thapa stands down because of party splits. GP Koirala returns as prime minister heading a coalition government.

1999 - Fresh elections give majority to Nepali Congress Party. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai becomes prime minister.


2000 - Prime Minister Bhattarai steps down after revolt in Nepali Congress Party. GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10 years.

2001 April - General strike called by Maoist rebels brings life in much of the country to a virtual standstill; police arrest anti-government demonstrators, including some opposition leaders, in Kathmandu.

Palace killings

2001 1 June - King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed in shooting spree by drunken Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shoots himself.


2001 4 June - Prince Gyanendra crowned King of Nepal after the late King Birendra's son, Dipendra - who had been declared king on 2 June - died of injuries sustained during the palace shooting.

2001 July - Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes prime minister, heading the 11th government in 11 years, after Girija Prasad Koirala quits over the violence.

2001 July - Deuba announces peace with rebels, truce begins.

2001 November - Maoists say peace talks have failed, truce is no longer justified. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts.

Emergency

2001 November - State of emergency declared after more than 100 people are killed in four days of violence. King Gyanendra orders army to crush the Maoist rebels.

2002 February - Maoists kill 127 in weekend raids on several government targets.
2002 April - Maoist rebels order five-day national strike, days after hundreds are killed in two of bloodiest attacks of six-year rebellion.

2002 May - Intense clashes between military and rebels in the west. Rebels declare one-month ceasefire, rejected by government.

Deuba visits Britain and other states, seeking help in the war against Maoist rebels. US President George W Bush pledges $20 million.

2002 May - Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political confrontation over extending the state of emergency. Deuba expelled by his Nepali Congress party, heads interim government, renews emergency.

2002 October - Deuba asks king to put off elections by a year because of Maoist violence. King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections set for November. Lokendra Bahadur Chand appointed to head government.

2003 January - Rebels, government declare ceasefire.

2003 May/June - Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigns as prime minister. King appoints his own nominee Surya Bahadur Thapa as new premier.

End of truce

2003 August - Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month truce. Rebels call three-day general strike in September.


late 2003 onwards - Political stalemate; clashes between students/activists and police; resurgence of violence.
2004 April - Nepal joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

2004 May - Royalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa resigns following weeks of street protests by opposition groups.

2004 June - King Gyanendra reappoints Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister.

2004 August - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of Kathmandu, stopping supplies from reaching the city.

Twelve Nepalese hostages in Iraq are murdered by their captors, sparking violent protests in Kathmandu.

2004 December - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of capital.

2005 February - King Gyanendra dismisses Prime Minister Deuba and his government, assumes executive power, declares state of emergency.

IPU condemns manipulations of constitutional rule in Nepal and TogoThe IPU is deeply alarmed at the serious infringements of democracy in Nepal and Togo.

In Nepal, King Gyanendra has sacked the government, declared a state of emergency and imposed media censorship. He has said there will be no restoration of multi-party democracy or elections for the next three years. Until then, he retains responsibility for ruling the country and has nominated a ten-member government for the purpose.

The monarch has effected what amounts to a coup by dismissing the government and detaining various leaders of the political parties represented in parliament, effectively sidelining the parliament.

The IPU wishes to recall that parliament has an essential role to play, even in states of emergency, and that under the constitution of Nepal any state of emergency must be approved by parliament within three months of its issuance.

In Togo, following the death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, the parliament summarily dismissed the incumbent Speaker, who according to the constitution was to assume leadership of the country and call for elections within sixty days. Following this the National Assembly hastily amended the constitution to enable the son of the late President to succeed him until the date his father's term of office would have ended. Accordingly, the elections which the constitution stipulates must take place in the following sixty days cannot take place until 2008.

The IPU views the recent developments in Nepal and Togo with the utmost concern, firmly condemns the manipulation of constitutional rule manifest in the two countries, and calls for their swift and peaceful return to constitutional order.

Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 140 affiliated parliaments and five associated regional assemblies. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.

Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer
5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva
Tel. +41 22 919 41 16/27
Fax: +41 22 919 41 60
E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org


http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/JWIN-69HEK7?OpenDocument

To: rpandey

We do not belive and trust other corrupted, moral less, selfish, vision less, stupid and irresponsible parties and leaders.

After RANA regime collasped, democracy of Nepal showed and proved that Democracy in Nepal did not work and will not work until majority people well educated as well as all corrupted and criminals put into justice.

We need good dectetoship, strong law and order and capital punishment, too.

We need to create good culture like - honor for good people, punishment for crooks.