King
Of Nepal Faces 'Punishment'
By Justin Huggler
21 November 2006
The
Independent
Nepal
took a step closer to democracy yesterday when, for the first time,
a government inquiry said the King should be punished. A government
commission found King Gyanendra responsible for the brutal crackdown
on massive protests which forced him to give up absolute power this
year.
The ruling left Nepal facing
the dilemma of how to punish a man who until a few months ago was regarded
as a living incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and whose word was
regarded as inviolate.
But all that has changed
for King Gyanendra since the protests in April, when half a million
Nepalis took to the streets and forced him to give up absolute power
and restore democracy. A total of 22 people were killed. Yesterday he
watched powerlessly from his palace as the Prime Minister, G P Koirala,
pledged that all those found guilty in the commission's report would
be punished.
There were thousands of witnesses
to the excesses of security forces in response to April's massive protests
on the streets of Kathmandu, including international reporters. The
Independent was trapped when security forces opened fire on unarmed
protesters in the city centre. In one notorious incident, a senior police
officer drew his handgun and shot an unarmed protester, who was presenting
no threat to him, at point-blank range, in front of hundreds of protesters.
The man died. The Nepalese press printed the name of the officer to
ensure he faced justice.
More than 5,000 people were
injured, the Nepalese government found, such were the lengths the King
was prepared to go to against his own people to cling to power. There
were mass arrests, and many of those arrested faced torture in jail.
The government report names
201 government officials and security forces commanders as responsible
for the atrocities. But foremost among them is King Gyanendra himself.
He was no figurehead at the
time. In February 2005, he sacked the government and seized back the
absolute powers of a medieval king. When the protesters came on to the
streets, the King was chairing cabinet meetings and running the government
of Nepal.
The brutal reaction of the
security forces - which at the time swore a personal oath of loyalty
to the King, not the state - was personally sanctioned by him.
The massive protests were
the reaction of ordinary Nepalese who had tired of the King's authoritarian
rule and his inability to defeat the Maoist rebels in the 10-year civil
war. But King Gyanendra refused to listen to the voice of his people
and preferred to try to silence it at gunpoint. He failed, and now he
is facing the consequences.
The government inquiry called
him to give evidence, but the King, clinging to the tattered mystique
of his throne, refused, preferring to stay in his palace, where he has
been since his spectacular fall from power.
The inquiry has called for
him to be punished but it remains to be seen if the government can enforce
that. Much of the army, which guards the palace, remains fiercely loyal
to King Gyanendra and bitterly disappointed with the way events have
turned out.
But for the Maoists, who
have signed a peace deal with the government, King Gyanendra's naming
in the report is a major victory.
So far, the King has managed
to cling to his throne, albeit stripped of all powers, in a purely ceremonial
role. But next year a constituent assembly is to be elected to draw
up a new constitution, and to decide the fate of the monarchy.
Although the Maoists insist
they are now committed to peace, they say they cannot be part of any
permanent government unless the monarchy is abolished.
Nepal took a step closer
to democracy yesterday when, for the first time, a government inquiry
said the King should be punished. A government commission found King
Gyanendra responsible for the brutal crackdown on massive protests which
forced him to give up absolute power this year.
The ruling left Nepal facing
the dilemma of how to punish a man who until a few months ago was regarded
as a living incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and whose word was
regarded as inviolate.
But all that has changed
for King Gyanendra since the protests in April, when half a million
Nepalis took to the streets and forced him to give up absolute power
and restore democracy. A total of 22 people were killed. Yesterday he
watched powerlessly from his palace as the Prime Minister, G P Koirala,
pledged that all those found guilty in the commission's report would
be punished.
There were thousands of witnesses
to the excesses of security forces in response to April's massive protests
on the streets of Kathmandu, including international reporters. The
Independent was trapped when security forces opened fire on unarmed
protesters in the city centre. In one notorious incident, a senior police
officer drew his handgun and shot an unarmed protester, who was presenting
no threat to him, at point-blank range, in front of hundreds of protesters.
The man died. The Nepalese press printed the name of the officer to
ensure he faced justice.
More than 5,000 people were
injured, the Nepalese government found, such were the lengths the King
was prepared to go to against his own people to cling to power. There
were mass arrests, and many of those arrested faced torture in jail.
The government report names
201 government officials and security forces commanders as responsible
for the atrocities. But foremost among them is King Gyanendra himself.
He was no figurehead at the time. In February 2005, he sacked the government
and seized back the absolute powers of a medieval king. When the protesters
came on to the streets, the King was chairing cabinet meetings and running
the government of Nepal.
The brutal reaction of the
security forces - which at the time swore a personal oath of loyalty
to the King, not the state - was personally sanctioned by him.
The massive protests were
the reaction of ordinary Nepalese who had tired of the King's authoritarian
rule and his inability to defeat the Maoist rebels in the 10-year civil
war. But King Gyanendra refused to listen to the voice of his people
and preferred to try to silence it at gunpoint. He failed, and now he
is facing the consequences.
The government inquiry called
him to give evidence, but the King, clinging to the tattered mystique
of his throne, refused, preferring to stay in his palace, where he has
been since his spectacular fall from power.
The inquiry has called for
him to be punished but it remains to be seen if the government can enforce
that. Much of the army, which guards the palace, remains fiercely loyal
to King Gyanendra and bitterly disappointed with the way events have
turned out.
But for the Maoists, who
have signed a peace deal with the government, King Gyanendra's naming
in the report is a major victory.
So far, the King has managed
to cling to his throne, albeit stripped of all powers, in a purely ceremonial
role. But next year a constituent assembly is to be elected to draw
up a new constitution, and to decide the fate of the monarchy.
Although the Maoists insist
they are now committed to peace, they say they cannot be part of any
permanent government unless the monarchy is abolished.
© 2006 Independent News
and Media Limited
Leave
A Comment
&
Share Your Insights