Word: nepal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...angrier now [with the King] because of the way he spoke yesterday," said Suwas Bhetwal, a 24-year-old sociology student. "We don't think he wants to give up power at all. We don't want a constitutional King or a ceremonial king. We want him out of Nepal. We want a republic." Some protesters carried a stuffed white shroud, marked with red drops. "That's the King's body!" shouted one of them. "His corpse...
...Nepal, Himalayan kingdom, home to Mount Everest, backpacker heaven, is a nation in crisis. A country of around 25 million people, Nepal used to have three centers of power: the King, the political parties, and a rebel Maoist army holed up in the mountains. Now there's a fourth: an angry population fed up with the other three and determined to strip all power from a monarchy that has reigned for more than two centuries. Gyanendra is supposed to be only a constitutional ruler. He inherited the throne when his nephew, Crown Prince Dipendra, shot dead King Birendra and eight...
...Many Nepalese at first welcomed his move. Since Nepal became a parliamentary democracy in 1990, the politicians have done little but fill their pockets and fight over power-the country had 14 Prime Ministers in 14 years-while the Maoists built a mini-state in the mountains based on torture, execution and extortion. But Gyanendra did not live up to his pledges. Instead, he locked up thousands of politicians, human-rights activists, journalists and students, while doing little to stop the Maoists. He almost reveled in his disdain for public opinion-H.M. KING GYANENDRA DOES NOT SEEK CHEAP POPULARITY...
...have all been attacked in the past weeks. "There is no mechanism in place to create a new government," says Ohashi. "The Maoists could walk into Kathmandu by default." At the very least, says the friend of the royals, "Autocracy would switch to anarchy." It's a scenario that Nepal's neighbor, India, which has an open border with the kingdom, particularly fears. Earlier last week, New Delhi dispatched two envoys to Kathmandu to persuade Gyanendra to compromise-and welcomed his Friday statement. Gyanendra's offer, said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna, "should now pave the way for restoration...
...possible to just throw them out?" Bhandari concurs. He says that whatever the King's faults, the older generation still revere him as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, a symbol of national unity and a linchpin of Nepalese identity. Even the young find it hard to picture Nepal without its monarchy. "The reality is that all the plans for the future are vague," says Bhandari. "Everyone has democracy, freedom and human rights in their hearts. And we know none of that is possible under an autocratic regime. But a life without the King? We're shouting...