Nepal King Agrees to Reinstate Parliament Amidst Massive Pro-Democracy Protests

In Nepal, King Gyanendra announced last night he is reinstating parliament following weeks of massive street protests to his absolute rule. The king made the announcement in a television appearance late Monday night.

* King Gyanendra, speaking April 24, 2006.

The announcement came just hours before a huge protest rally planned for Tuesday with demonstrators preparing to encircle the city center. Instead, impromptu celebrations broke out almost immediately on the streets of Katmandu. People took to the streets of the capital in their thousands shouting "Long live democracy!" and dancing within a few hundred yards of the King's palace. On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands held a massive victory rally in the capital. Tens of thousands crowded near the palace, demanding King Gyanendra abdicate his throne and leave the country.

Nepal's parliament has been dissolved since 2002, and Gyanendra assumed absolute power last year, declaring a state of emergency and vowing to crush the escalating Maoist rebellion.

Nepal's seven-party opposition alliance says it is ending the weeks of protests after the King agreed to its demands to reinstate parliament. The alliance has chosen former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to head a new government.

But Maoist leader Prachanda said that the alliance had committed "another historic mistake" and encouraged the people to continue their protests until the parties declared elections for an assembly to write a new constitution.

The State Department issued a statement saying that the king "should now hand power over to the parties and assume a ceremonial role in his country's governance."

Meanwhile, life returned to near normal in Kathmandu after almost three weeks of curfew, protests and closures. Shops were reopened, taxis were back in use and mobile telephone networks were restored. No curfew was imposed for the first time in nearly a week but riot police still patrolled the streets.

Since the general strike began on April 6, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators from all classes of society had turned out to mount daily anti-monarchy protests. The royal government responded with curfews and warned of a shoot-to-kill policy. Police killed fourteen people and injured hundreds more.

For more on the latest we are joined by two guests:

* Narayan Wagle, editor of Kantipur, the largest circular daily newspaper in Nepal.
* Ashok Gurung, originally from Nepal, Ashok has returned to the country frequently as an NGO consultant. He is currently the Director of the India China Institute at New School University in New York and specializes in international development management.

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