Martial Law Until Rebel Movement Crushed

by Surendra Phuyal

(IPS) NEW DELHI -- Overseas Nepalis, even supporters of the monarchy, have criticized King Gyanendra -- after the monarch imposed strong media censorship after dismissing the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and declaring a state of emergency in the country.

On Feb. 4, a senior minister in a new 10-man cabinet appointed by the king said in the Nepali capital Kathmandu that multi-party democracy could not be restored until the Maoist insurgency had been crushed.

"We have learnt the lessons after paying a heavy price, that without restoring peace and security, we cannot hold elections," said the new Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey.

In his address on state-run television before declaring a state of emergency on Feb. 1, King Gyanendra said: "Innocent children were found massacred and the government could not achieve any important and effective results. The crown traditionally is held responsible for the protection of national sovereignty, democracy and people's right to live peacefully."

The king called the Maoists "terrorists" and vowed to strengthen the security forces to quell the rebellion. Over 10,500 Nepalis have died since the Maoists began their insurgency in 1996, in their call for Nepal to be a king-less communist republic.

"In this age of globalization and unprecedented internationalism, does he (King Gyanendra) seriously believe that he can hold an entire nation hostage and take it back to the feudal, middle ages where kings ruled nations by decree?" asked Nepali student Saurav Jung Thapa, of the Massachusetts-based Hampshire College.

"The Nepali citizenry already have had a taste of democracy and no one is going to blindly follow a dictator who is misled by his advisers and believes that the country is his by divine right," wrote Thapa in a message to the International Nepal Solidarity Network on-line portal.

"And if Gyanendra believes that the Maoist rebellion -- a product of widespread socio- economic disparity (Why do royals ride Jaguars and Harley Davidsons when most Nepalese are unemployed and dying of hunger?) -- can be solved militarily, then all I can tell him is that he lives in a land of fantasy just like Kim Jong Il of North Korea," he added.

Communications remained down in Kathmandu on Saturday, except for a few brief moments in which landlines were turned on. Many believe the phones to be tapped, and unusual clicks and beeps were heard at the end of a phone call. Rumors are circulating that it may be 15 days until fixed lines are completely restored, three months for the mobile service, and six months for the Internet.

The 'Himalayan Times' on Friday quoted the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pyar Jung Thapa as saying that the communications blackout was already helping the army in its campaign against the Maoist insurgency.

The Nepal Bar Association in a statement said that 27 people were formally listed as being detained under the Public Security Act (PSA), but added that this number was only a fraction of the arrests that have taken place.

The lawyers group also added that 22 political leaders were detained at the Nepal-India border city of Biratnagar.

"King Gyanendra took a big risk; it could put him in real danger," said Jaya Shah, a 93-year- old Nepali outside the Royal Nepalese Embassy on Barhakhamba Road in the heart of the Indian capital.

The fit and healthy-looking Shah is worried over the future of democracy and the monarchy in Nepal.

Shah, who belongs to the same clan as King Gyanendra and is a supporter of the monarchy, told IPS that he was not surprized when Gyanendra took over the helm of Nepal's affairs -- a move, he said, was reminiscent of the 1960 coup staged by his father -- the late King Mahendra.

"We knew that the king was going to take over any time," he said. "This was expected by everybody in the country -- and in India, too, it was expected," added Shah who was referring to Gyanendra's disdain for party politics. As Shah was speaking, barely 100 meters away from the Nepal Embassy gate, about 100 Nepalese students in-exile-in-India, gathered to form a human chain to protest against the king's takeover.

"Withdraw Emergency, Ensure Democracy in Nepal," read a white-painted black banner.

Another banner urged the international community, including Washington, London and New Delhi to "Stop diplomatic and military support to the medieval autocracy in Nepal."

"There was a fig leaf of democracy that was left, and now the king has destroyed that too," Anand Swaroop Verma, a member of Nepali Solidarity Forum and the convener of the Anti- Monarchy Front told IPS. "We condemn this act ... and warn India, the United States and other countries to put a moratorium on supply of arms to the king and his army."

But Mumbai-based Nepali actress Manisha Koirala was skeptical about the performance of Nepal's political parties.

"Incompetence (on the part of political parties) could result in a situation of creating anti- nationals such as Maoists, who are killing no-one but poor Nepalis," she told IPS.

"In short, I would give the king three years to sort out the mess than create more trouble in the already troubled land," added Koirala.