New government, King suspends civil liberties
Kathmandu (AsiaNews/Agencies) Dozens of political opponents have been arrested since King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency.
"We don't even know how many of our people have been arrested," said Shovakar Parajuly, an official with the Nepali Congress party, Nepal's leading opposition political party. He estimates that at least 50 of the group's top leaders had been put under arrest.
Yesterday, after the King spoke on television, telephone lines and internet links were shut down and the kingdom's only international airport was closed and all flights suspended, forcing two Kathmandu-bound flights from Thailand and India to turn back.
State-run radio, announcing the state of emergency, said the king had suspended civil rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and movement, as well as the right to information.
Ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had met the King on Monday to discuss the timetable for elections, was placed under house arrest at his official residence.
Ousted Education Minister Bimalendra Niddhi is quoted as saying that the "King's actions mark a state of coup against democratic practices,"
Reactions among Nepalis seem favourable to the King's actions though. Some press releases report interviews with people who back the move to fight widespread corruption amongst Nepali politicians and their alleged incompetence in fighting Maoist rebels.
King Gyanendra has already presented the ten members of his new cabinet, among them Home Affairs Minister Dan Bahadur Shahi and Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey.
The King's decision to assume absolute power for three years was harshly criticised by the United Nations, the United States and neighbouring India.
Several human rights organisations have also criticised the move and are appealing to the UN Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special Rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the country.
According to Human Rights Watch, by assuming absolute power King Gyanendra is becoming directly responsible for human rights and security in the country.
However, it is likely that the state of emergency is going make a bad situation worse. For the past nine years Maoist rebels have been fighting the monarch to set up their own Communist regime.
They launched their armed struggle in 1996 after winning only nine seats in the 205-member parliament.
In nine years, clashes between army and rebels have caused the death of 11,000 Nepalis.
After attempts to bring the conflict to an end, the rebels broke off peace talks with the government and renewed their guerrilla attacks against army troops and positions.
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