Riots erupt in Kathmandu

By Atul Aneja

KATHMANDU, JUNE 4. A wave of protests rocked Kathmandu after the seriously wounded King Dipendra was declared dead and Prince Gyanendra was enthroned as Nepal's new monarch.

(According to a PTI report, two persons were killed in police firing and lathicharge while 19 were injured. A 25- year-old youth was shot dead by police as about 2,000 people defied curfew this evening and gathered in Koteshwar near the airport while another died of injuries sustained when police lathicharged protesters outside the Hanumandhoka palace.)

So intense is the resentment against the new royal lineage that a collision between the royalty and a highly politicised mass opposition, cannot be ruled out. Much will now depend on the stance adopted by the monarchy and the G. P. Koirala Government towards the simmering turbulence.

The use of excessive force may be viewed by some, especially within the monarchy, as an option to tackle the groundswell of unrest. This may only, if at all, work in the short run for the adoption of an authoritarian course is likely to deepen the already visible polarisation between the new monarchy and a large section of the population, analysts say.

In a related development, Prince Dhirendra, injured in Friday's shootout, died in hospital taking the number of royals dead to 10 including King Dipendra, authoritative sources said.

The main target of today's protests was the new King's son Paras, widely perceived as a brash youngster, and King Gyanendra himself. The common perception was that both may have a hand in Friday's massacre while the late King Dipendra was merely made a scapegoat.

Slogan-shouting protesters who had gathered on the main roads leading to the palace, epicentre of the protests, demanded ``death for the actual killers'. The slogans, to a somewhat lesser degree, also targeted the Prime Minister, Mr. G.P Koirala, and his Home Minister. The anger against Mr. Koirala is on account of his perceived inability to ``face the people and offer a cogent explanation on what actually transpired in the Narayanahiti Palace on Friday night.

Aware that the lack of transparency and the specious explanation rendered by King Gyanendra yesterday that the incident was a mere accident had ignited public passions, the Government here began a damage-control exercise. King Gyanendra, in an address to the nation, made a passionate plea for calm and promised a thorough inquiry, while Mr. Koirala and the opposition CPN (UML) leader, Mr. Madhav Nepal, appealed for calm over

State television. A Home Ministry statement promised to reveal all facts related to the episode at an appropriate time.

The main aim of the protesters was apparently to precipitate a direct confrontation with the King by impeding the movement of his motorcade. The crowds, first began to build along the main roads leading out the palace towards Hanumandhoka, former royal seat on the banks of the Bishnumati river where King Gyanendra was investitured as the new monarch this morning.

However, an inner ring of the Army, deployed in strength there, blocked the protesters most of whom had converged on the spot on motorcycles and taxis. Stray incidents of stone throwing were witnessed here, but violence was to escalate subsequently. One person was killed in the Baneshwar area after police resorted to firing in the late afternoon.

Besides Kathmandu's political heartland, violence also rocked the area around the military hospital. An eerie silence now prevails over the city, occasionally broken by the wail of fire engines speeding towards the Maharajgunj area.

`Abolish monarchy'

With Nepal sliding into political uncertainty, rumblings about the abolition of the monarchy and its replacement by a Republican government is restrained but visible.

The Maoists were the first off the block to demand the abolition of the monarchy. In a statement issued by party leader, Mr. Prachanda, the rebels who have been active in the hill districts have called for ``an all-party convention, formation of the interim government and the formation of a new Constitution''. The statement, referring to the royal killings averred that ``this fatal massacre portrays the end of the political system''.

Without referring to the new monarch, a leader of the CPN (UML) called for vigilance by all parties against forces which could be averse to democracy. Analysts here say political parties are likely to show their hand only after gauging the popular sentiment sufficiently.

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