- Title: NEPAL: Nepal's King swears in arch rival Girija Prasad Koirala as new premier
- Date: 30th April 2006
- Summary: (BN06)KATHMANDU, NEPAL (RECENT) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) WIDE OF PALACE
- Embargoed: 15th May 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nepal
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA16NX0S2IT9SQ144IFGI3XR4O8
- Story Text: Veteran Nepali politician Girija Prasad Koirala was sworn in as prime minister of the Himalayan nation on Sunday (April 30), days after King Gyanendra bowed to pro-democracy protesters and returned power to political parties.
The king, humbled by the protests and facing possible moves to end the monarchy, administered the oath of office to his 84-year-old arch foe at the Narayanhity royal palace in the capital, Kathmandu.
A frail Koirala, who is suffering from bronchitis, waved at reporters outside the iron gate of the palace after becoming Nepal's 15th prime minister in 16 years. He did not speak.
Koirala, the head of the Nepali Congress party, did not however take a separate oath to establish himself as a member of the Raj Parishad, a privy council that advises the king.
The prime minister automatically becomes a member of the council under Nepal's constitution but political parties have called for it to be abolished.
It was the first time a prime minister had declined an oath to the council since multi-party democracy was established in 1990 and marked the latest of several recent moves by political parties to distance themselves from the monarch.
Koirala, who has been prime minister four times before, was accompanied by his doctor to the ceremony, officials said.
Last week, the king appointed Koirala as prime minister on the recommendation of the seven political parties that launched weeks of street protests in which at least 15 people were killed and thousands wounded.
The king also reinstated parliament disbanded in 2002.
Koirala, in a notice to parliament which convened for the first time in four years on Friday, proposed elections for a special assembly to draw up a new constitution that would decide the future of monarchy. But no dates were set.
Political parties are under popular pressure to abolish the monarchy and turn Nepal into a republic. This is also a key demand of Maoist rebels to end a decade-old insurgency in which more than 13,000 people have been killed.
Officials said Koirala's plan would be discussed at the second sitting of parliament which is due to meet at 4 p.m. (1015 GMT) on Sunday.
The parliament is also expected to give directives to the new government to match the Maoists who announced a unilateral three-month ceasefire last week and to start talks with them.
Koirala faces massive challenges in bridging gaps between different parties-analyst says.
Nepal - home to Mount Everest, thousands of ancient temples and the birthplace of Buddha--the landlocked Kingdom has been a favourite destination among travellers but has suffered from autocratic monarchy rule and a bloody Maoist insurgency for decades.
But the recent protests which brought hundreds of thousands of Nepalis to the streets to fight for their democratic rights, compelled the ruling King Gyanendra to give power back to the people of the impoverished nation and reinstate parliament.
Koirala, 84, has been in politics for over six decades and been Prime Minister of Nepal four times before.
He could change the course of the country's future forever, but analyst C.K Lal says he has a mammoth task.
"This is one the biggest challenges of his life because earlier he was used to doing politics where there was only one opponent-the active monarchy. But now there are at least two opponents. One is the monarchy on the right and on extreme left there are the Maoists. Somehow he has to work as a bridge between the two and establish a functioning democracy modelled after a republic or a total republic."
Last week, Maoist rebels declared a three-month ceasefire, and the government is expected to move swiftly to match the truce once it takes office.
But the rebels have said they were expecting parliament to declare elections for the constituent assembly on due to meet for the second time later on Sunday (April 30).
But Koirala's ill-health threatens to get his fifth term as prime minister off to an inauspicious start.
His swearing in ceremony had to be postponed as he was also too ill to attend sparking anger among many Nepalis.
Despite his ill health, C.K. Lal said Koirala was probably the best person for the job as nobody else is so highly respected by both the people and the King.
"People believe Girija Parsad Koirala is a person who if he commits something, he sticks buy it, someone you can depend upon to do business with-that's the kind of image he has. So those are his strengths but having said that he is not very popular among the comfortable classes, the intelligent here and the elite. For some of his weaknesses, the most important is perhaps having spent a lot of time in self-exile, he maintains close family and he is prone to nepotism," said Lal.
Nepali political parties will discuss the fate of the once-revered monarchy and proposals to set up a constituent assembly and debate a proposal for a special assembly to write a new constitution on Sunday.
The second sitting on the parliament is due to convene at 4 p.m. (11:15 a.m. British time) on Sunday to discuss the plan.
The parliament is expected to give directives to the new government to match the cease-fire announced by the rebels earlier in the week and start talks with the guerrillas.
The future role of the monarchy still remains uncertain. The people and the politicians want the King to remain out of politics. But the question remains whether one of the poorest countries in the world will be able to afford a ceremonial monarchy.
"Is it worth spending so much having a ceremonial monarchy in a third world country? Because even a ceremonial monarchy costs a lot more than other kinds of head of state. So that should be considered. If the monarchy relinquishes some of its privileges, brings down its cost to affordable level for Nepal people, I think Nepalese will accept the ceremonial monarchy. Otherwise maintaining horse and buggy in these days is very expensive-more expensive than maintaining a car and forget car, we are a bicycle country so we have to really think if we can afford this elaborate horse and buggy institution or ceremonial monarchy," said Lal.
Life in Nepal's temple-studded capital, the flashpoint in this month's anti-king protests, has largely returned to normal after Gyanendra's announcement on Monday (April 24) evening.
On Friday (April 28), thousands protested outside the parliament gate reminding legislators that they should not back down from curbing the king's power, a key demand of the Maoists to end their decade-old conflict in which more than 13,000 people have died.
But most Nepalis Reuters spoke to were pleased with the choice of the new prime minister because of his wealth of experience in politics.
"Koirala has been the Prime Minister four times. That's why he has so much experience. He knows exactly what to do and what not to do. That's why I think there is no better prime minister than him," said 23-year-old student Rakesh.
"Other politicians know just a bit about politics but Koirala knows about culture, history and politics," said another student.
Analysts say the people, although happy now, may lose patience if the parliament fails to write a constitution and fix a date for elections within two years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None