Political landscape shifts in Nepal

Nepalese pro-democracy activists celebrate after Nepal's King Gyanendra announced the end of 14 months of absolute rule and restored parliament, which was dissolved in 2002, in Kathmandu yesterday. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the centre of Nepal's capital to celebrate "Victory Day" over their king where a day earlier protesters fought pitched battles with police. PHOTO: AFP

While political parties on Tuesday celebrated "people power" and Nepalis danced in the streets, Maoist rebels rejected the king's offer to recall parliament as a ploy to save "his autocratic monarchy" and called new protests.

The Maoist response to the king's speech Monday underscored the massive challenges facing the seven-party alliance in charting a new democratic course for the impoverished Himalayan nation and bringing the rebels into the mainstream, analysts said. "One battle has ended and the real one has begun," said South Asian expert S.D. Muni of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

The Maoists, who have been fighting a deadly decade-long insurgency to oust the monarchy and install a communist republic, had backed the pro-democracy movement on the basis of a 12-point deal stuck with the parties last November.

They said Gyanendra's speech had not addressed their key demand for elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution that would decide the king's future role and vowed blockades of the capital and other big centres.

"Those parties who have welcomed and supported the king's address have broken the 12-point understanding and have breached the aspirations of the Nepali people," said Maoist leader Prachanda, a former schoolteacher known as the "Fierce One".

Gyanendra made no mention of the constituent assembly but said his address was aimed at following the parties' political "roadmap."

Parliament will reconvene Friday after four years with a new interim government led by three-times prime minister G.P. Koirala who was the choice of the opposition alliance.

The alliance has already said the parliament's main task will be to pave the way for elections for the constituent assembly. A senior opposition leader said before the Maoists' announcement it would declare a ceasefire with the rebels and remove their terrorist tag.

"The political parties should take their responsibility seriously and perform twin tasks of carrying the monarchy and Maoists with them," said Krishna V. Rajan, former Indian ambassador to Nepal.

Analysts said failure by the parties to bring the rebels into the mainstream -- as well as to avoid falling back into their traditional bickering ways -- would have serious consequences for a country whose economy has been battered by years of political turmoil.

"If they break the alliance, they (the Maoists) can go back to war. The political parties have no way to control them and the king would exploit the situation," said Muni, a professor of politics.