Nepal's king makes democracy pledge

Nepal’s king has promised to restore democracy in three years, and insists that he upholds democratic principles despite his power grab earlier this month, a newspaper said today.

In his first comments to the Nepalese media since he sacked the government and declared a state of emergency on February 1, King Gyanendra also urged Maoist rebels to join peace talks and shrugged off the suspension of military aid by India and Britain.

The king also suspended civil rights and hand-picked a monarchist cabinet. Dozens of opposition politicians have been arrested or have gone underground, and the media has been strictly censored since the king’s takeover.

However, six prisoners who had been held without charge were released today, including Hom Nath Dahal, a minister in the sacked government; communist leader Pradip Nepal; former ambassador Lok Raj Baral; and Bishnu Nisthuri, the general secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists.

Gyanendra has said he was forced to take control because of the failure of the former government to stop the communist insurgency and corruption among politicians. But in a meeting with a dozen Nepalese editors inside the sprawling Narayanhiti Palace yesterday, he promised to restore democracy.

“You have given me something that is badly infested. Three years is the maximum we have asked for (to restore democracy). If I can, I will definitely shorten that period,” Gyanendra was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

“It will depend on various factors. Let me see if the terrorists are tamed,” he said, referring to the Maoists. However, he added that if the communist rebels “are for democracy, if they are nationalist, they should give much more thought to (peace talks)”.

Gyanendra also dismissed international criticism of his actions. Britain and India, two of Nepal’s closest allies, have suspended military aid. The United States has said it was considering a similar move, while other governments have pulled their ambassadors.

“They must say what they must say, and we must do what we must do,” the king was quoted as saying by an independent website, nepalnews.com.

“When we have chosen to uphold democracy and fight against terrorism, why are they shying away from helping us?” he said. “I can see one thing clearly emerging out of it. Our objectives are the same. We are going to meet somewhere. But we have chosen maybe different paths in attaining that objective.”

Still, the king said he wanted support from India, Britain and the United States in the fight against Maoist rebels. Analysts have warned that Nepal stands little chance of defeating the insurgents without foreign military aid.

Gyanendra also indicated that he saw a future for multi-party democracy in his Himalayan nation.

“Once political parties are clear about terrorists and terrorism, we could move ahead together. I know political parties should be taken along,” he was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

Meanwhile, the communist rebels have been conducting ambushes on highways to disrupt food and fuel supplies. They’ve focused on the 125-mile Prithvi Highway, which connects Kathmandu to the heart of the Himalayan state and leads to India.

Traffic piled up at checkpoints on affected roads today, waiting for security forces to escort civilian convoys. The new Cabinet has been discussing ways to maintain supplies to remote areas, where fuel and other essential supplies were becoming scarce.

Many travellers avoided the highways altogether, preferring to travel by plane. People lined up outside airline offices overnight to get tickets.

The rebels, who say they’re inspired by Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, began their campaign to topple the monarchy in 1996. More than 10,500 people have died in the fighting.