Girija Prasad Koirala, head of the Nepali Congress party, told parliament three weeks ago he would leave office unless they agreed to a program that included an expansion of military funding to fight the Maoist insurgents and amending the constitution to strengthen the office of prime minister. The main opposition Communist party refused, and instead pressed ahead with its call for Koirala to resign, charging him with corruption.

The former king, reportedly killed by his son, ruled as an absolute monarch until 1990 when a mass movement forced him to allow the creation of a parliament under a constitutional monarchy. Feudal relations still exist in much of the countryside.

A three-day general strike called by the Communist party paralyzed the country prior to the palace killings. The Maoists, who had supported the king as a "liberal and nationalist" monarch, launched a series of raids against police posts and declared that the death of the king ushered in a republic. The organization has set off bombs in the capital of Kathmandu, which was shut down July 12 in response to a strike call by the guerrilla army. The organization is said to control much of the western part of country and has inflicted heavy losses on the police force.

The Maoists called the strike to protest a government law giving officials power to arrest anyone "suspected of being involved in activities aimed at disrupting peace, among other moves rebels say are aimed at crushing their insurgency," the Financial Times reported. The government is training a new paramilitary force to deploy against the guerrillas.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home