State of emergency declared in Nepal

King Gyanendra dismissed Nepal’s government yesterday and declared a state of emergency, taking control of the Himalayan kingdom for the second time in three years.

He denied his takeover was a coup, although soldiers surrounded the houses of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other government leaders.

Armoured military vehicles with mounted machine guns were patrolling the streets of Katmandu, the capital, and phone lines in the city had been cut.

In an announcement on state-run television, the king accused the government of failing to conduct parliamentary elections and being unable restore peace in the country, which is beset by rebel violence.

“A new Cabinet will be formed under my leadership,” he said, accusing political parties of plunging the country into crisis. “This will restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years.”

Later, state-run television reported that a state of emergency had been declared.

The monarch, who is also the supreme commander of the 78,000-member Royal Nepalese Army, said security forces would be given more power to maintain law and order. But he insisted human rights would be respected.

Deuba also was fired as prime minister in October 2002, sparking mass street protests demanding the restoration of a democratically elected government.

The king reinstated Deuba last year with the task of holding parliamentary elections by March 2005 and conducting peace talks with the Maoist rebels.

Nepal has been in turmoil since Gyanendra, 55, suddenly assumed the crown in 2001 after his brother, King Birendra, was gunned down in a palace massacre apparently committed by Birendra’s son, the crown prince, who also died. Ten members of the royal family were killed.

Riots shook Katmandu after the killings. Soon after, fighting intensified between government forces and the rebels, who control large parts of Nepal’s countryside.

The rebels, who draw inspiration from the late Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been trying since 1996 to overthrow the government and establish a socialist state. They have refused the government’s invitation to come into the mainstream of Nepalese politics and end the violence.