Nepal’s king seizes power
A state of emergency was declared in Nepal at the beginning of the month following the King’s dismissal of his Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and the rest of the Nepalese government.
Furthermore, King Gyanendra suspended all rights of expression, assembly and opinion and in effect cut the nation off from the world by shutting down all telecommunication networks, although some have now been restored.
The King quoted the government’s failure to hold parliamentary elections and maintain peace as the reasons for his actions. This is the second time Deuba has been ousted by Gyanendra, the first being in 2002 when the King assumed power for two years until mass demonstrations forced him to restore the prime minister to power.
Nepal has been plagued by a Maoist guerrilla insurgency since 1996, leading to a low-intensity civil war that so far has cost over 10,000 lives. The Maoist rebellion has proven hard if not impossible for the Nepalese army and police to counter.
The rebels control large parts of western and northern Nepal. Widespread poverty and the ineffectiveness of the army have fuelled popular support for the rebels, especially since many innocent civilians have been killed by over-zealous army troops.
The coup has further strategic implications in the region; Nepal is wedged between the region’s two superpowers China and India, who have had border disputes in the past.
Northern India is also struck by various Maoist insurgencies and the emergence of a Maoist state on its northern border could trigger outright civil-war in the affected areas. India is also Nepal’s largest trading partner, and thus has many vested interests in the well-being of the country.
The UK, America and India have long been providers of extensive military aid to Nepal. The US has given millions of dollars to finance new equipment, and has trained hundreds of Nepalese officers in psychological warfare and special operations.
Both the UK and India have provided helicopters, explosives and arms to the Nepalese army. The aid is being given mainly to strengthen the army in its struggle for military supremacy over the rebels.
Within Nepal, the recent developments have meant a wave of arrests and disappearances, mainly of student, press and union leaders, in other words, people who might prove resistant to the current political changes.
Moreover the press has been completely censored, and a six-month ban has been imposed on any political reports. Editors who do not comply, were told by the national press secretary that they might temporarily ‘disappear’. The Nepalese press, which has a strong tradition, since democratisation fifteen years ago, to openly scrutinise the government, now resorts to satire and trust in the readers abilities to read between the lines.
The latest editorials in Nepal’s largest newspapers have dealt with trivial issues such as sunshine, cream and allegorical stories of rats abandoning sunken ships. The articles, however, all have their hidden meanings; sunshine and cream being the main symbols of the two largest political parties.
Meanwhile, the international community has reacted apathetically. The big three benefactors have all condemned the coup, but none have indicated any future cuts in aid (the UK alone give £30 million in developmental aid per annum) to put pressure on King Gyanendra.
The UN General-Secretary strongly condemned the coup, but the Security Council has not discussed the issue, nor is it on the current agenda.
Some commentators have noted, however, that there seems to be some popular acceptance of the coup in the major cities. Many of the Nepal’s people are tired of conflict and hope that any change from the current situation will be for the better.
