NEPAL: King Gyanendra appears in public for first time since House of Representatives restoration as Maoist rebels flood Kathmandu for first major rally in three years

Record ID: 214247

  • Title: NEPAL: King Gyanendra appears in public for first time since House of Representatives restoration as Maoist rebels flood Kathmandu for first major rally in three years
  • Date: 3rd June 2006
  • Summary: LARGE CROWD SEATED FOR RALLY
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nepal
  • Country: Nepal
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVABE03F2Q3YQUBDDULIN9S5AQJM
  • Story Text: King Gyanendra appeared today for the first time in public since he announced the restoration of House of Representatives.
    It's an age old tradition for the king to attend the last day of Machhendranath Chariot festival, when a traditional jewelled under vest (the Bhoto) is exhibited showing that the material is still with the king.
    Each year, during this period the king comes, witnesses the exhibition of the Bhoto and gets blessings from the goddess Nachhendranath.
    Less cultural matters were in the minds of Nepal's Maoist rebels as the flooded the streets of the capital on Friday (June 2) for a mass rally -- the first in over three years.
    Organisers said the demonstration would be peaceful, after a ceasefire was declared in April.
    The Maoists, whose violent campaign has claimed thousands of lives, have held rallies outside the capital to publicise their political agenda since Nepal's new multi-party government last month matched an earlier ceasefire declared by the militants.
    Thousands of posters bearing the portraits of Prachanda, the elusive Maoist chief, have been put up in the ancient temple-studded city, although organisers said he would not be present.
    "With the sweeping uprising of democracy throughout the country we plan to narrow the gap between poor and rich according to the republican system. Our party is involved in creating an equality state," chief rebel negotiator and Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told reporters.
    A pro-Maoist student group organised a rally in Kathmandu in April after weeks of street protests forced King Gyanendra to give up his absolute power, reinstate the parliament disbanded in 2002 and return power to political parties.
    On Friday, thousands of people marched in from the suburbs to an open air theatre in the heart of the capital, barely 500 metres from the royal palace.
    Media reports said people were being brought by rebels in hundreds of buses to fill the venue.
    Last week, the multi-party government and the Maoists held their first meeting since 2003 and agreed to hold elections to a constituent assembly to decide the monarchy's future, a key Maoist demand. Mahara said the parliament should be dissolved and the constitution scrapped before that.
    The Maoist insurgency has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 1996 and wrecked the economy of the tourism and aid-dependent kingdom.
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