Nepal peace deal ignites fresh debate over king's role
Reuters,ramwapur
In the heat of Nepal's pro-democracy protests, in a swirl of smoke from burning tyres, demonstrators hung a rat from electricity wires and dangled a banner from its body declaring that King Gyanendra was dead. Two months later, tempers have calmed. Gyanendra surrendered power at the end of April and has kept a low profile ever since. He has few friends among Nepal's young urban middle class, but in the countryside it is clear that the royal family retains a degree of respect. "Just as a family cannot run without the head of the household, this family, this country cannot run without the king," said 55-year-old Ramrup Kurmi, a farmer with an impressive handlebar moustache from the village of Ramawapur, 500 km southwest of Kathmandu. Nepal's Maoist rebels have been fighting for 10 years for the abolition of monarchy. The conflict has claimed 13,000 lives, but peace is drawing close, the rebels have been invited to join an interim government, and debate is raging about their agenda. As part of a deal with political parties agreed last Friday, elections will be held next year for a special assembly to draw up a new constitution and review the monarchy's future. Rebel chief Prachanda told Reuters last week his forces would respect the "the verdict of the masses". But he added: "It is our faith that the verdict will come in favour of a democratic republic".
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