Democracy endangered in Nepal?

well this blows,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4227517.stm

Nepal gripped by political crisis Soldiers close the gates of dismissed PM Sher Bahadur Deuba in Kathmandu Many of Nepal's former leaders are under house arrest Nepal is in the throes of a political crisis after King Gyanendra sacked the government and declared a state of emergency. The monarch placed the prime minister and members of his cabinet under house arrest, accusing them of failing to put an end to a bloody rebel insurgency. The king said he was assuming control and would appoint his own cabinet. There has been international condemnation of the move and calls for democracy to be restored to Nepal. Phone lines have been cut, flights to the capital have been cancelled and Nepal's press has been censored. Armoured vehicles and security forces took to the streets following the king's televised announcement, but were no longer visible by nightfall. Mounting concern Nepal's neighbour, India, said the king's action was a setback to Nepalese democracy and a cause for grave concern. The move directly violates the constitution and is against democracy Sher Bahadur Deuba Sacked prime minister Analysis: India's fears over Nepal The move would "benefit the forces that not only wish to undermine democracy but the institution of monarchy as well," a foreign ministry spokesman said. The UK government criticised the development and appealed for "calm and restraint". Louise Arbour, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, called on King Gyanendra to "ensure that the democratic institutions of the state are reinstalled without delay". Armed guards have surrounded the homes of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other senior politicians. Mr Deuba was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as criticising the king's decision. "The move directly violates the constitution and is against democracy," the agency cited him as saying from his home. The leader of one of the main parties in Mr Deuba's coalition, Madhav Nepal of the Communist Party, said the king had staged a coup d'etat. Political gamble The BBC's Charles Haviland in the capital, Kathmandu, says the palace summoned newspaper editors to tell them their publications would be vetted from now on. NEPAL IN CRISIS 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 He says as soon as the king announced he was taking over power, all telephone lines were cut off. Nepalese news websites were inaccessible. King Gyanendra said a new cabinet would be formed under his leadership, which would "restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years". Our correspondent says some commentators are saying that by doing this, the king is putting the future and the reputation of the monarchy on the line. He says many Nepalis will be furious at this complete removal of democratic structures and will fear the consequences of granting more power to the army, which already stands accused of grave human rights abuses. But, he adds, others may give the king a chance. One shop owner told the BBC that something had to be done in the face of political paralysis and corruption.

good article, just found out about this a few min ago, well most likely my grand-pa will be in house arrest because of this.

well, i'm making this thread just to see where you guys think this'll lead to,,,

me, well i think the king is trying to re-establish absolute monarchy, and well that explains why he put his cabinet in house aresst, and prime minister too.. well, that might work, unless the maoist do somthing to prevent that. even though their methods are crude, i belive that their goal is somthing that would actually help in context of what's happening right now.

your thoughts?

[ 02-01-2005, 08:49 PM: Message edited by: Spirits forever ]

[Azred]

Too early to tell, actually. The king might be honestly trying to solve the difficult and lingering problems there through unconventional methods...or it could be an old-fashioned power-grab. Either way, the ministers under house arrest probably won't be killed because that would a) weaken his credibility with the rest of the world significantly and b) create martyrs.

If the king follows through on his claim to appoint a new cabinet then calls for re-establishing democracy will subside, although the new government won't have the credibility of being a continuation of the old government.

Honestly, I support his bold move. Were I in a position to act in the face of a long-running rebellion in my country, I would do all that I could to restore peace and order, even if that means suspending the government but not the Constitution.

A suggestion to the king--call for outside advisors from other nations. This will help your position internationally and give you much more credibility.

well that could be seen, however another thing is that, he's always been a supporter of absolute monarchy, and well that isn't upholding the constitution.. anyways i guess your right, it's too early to say,
but new news, he's chosen his cabinet memebers already, i dunno who they are yet, but i'm pretty sure they'll be absolute monarchy supporters too

[Azred]

Well, we couldn't expect him to choose his enemies, could we? [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img]

[Aerich]

Just an additional note: I read in the newspaper that this is the second time the Nepalese king has taken control in the last three years.

Amazing how those crises keep popping up when a strongman wants to take control.

[philip]

It didn't sound like democracy on the news yesterday. The only people who were allowed to demonstrate were those who supported the king.