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Nepal parliament strips monarchy of power { May 19 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800975.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800975.html
Nepal Backs Ceremonial Monarchy
By John Lancaster
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, May 19, 2006; A17
NEW DELHI, India, May 18 -- Nepal's newly reinstated parliament gave overwhelming approval Thursday to a plan that would strip King Gyanendra of all but ceremonial powers, revoking his control of the army and palace budget and requiring the royal family to pay taxes.
Passed on a voice vote, the resolution was the most forceful action taken by lawmakers since Gyanendra agreed last month to restore parliament after violent protests had brought the Himalayan kingdom to the brink of anarchy. Nepal's multi-party democracy had been in suspended animation since February 2005, when the king assumed absolute powers he said were needed to crush a Maoist insurgency.
The measure passed Thursday does not have the force of law, and its provisions will have to be passed as separate legislation. Even then, questions would remain about how to implement the changes. Under Nepal's constitution, Gyanendra remains the head of state and would theoretically have to sign them into law.
Lawmakers asserted, however, that Thursday's declaration overrides the constitution and requires no endorsement from the king. "It reflects the aspirations of the people and respects the sacrifices of the people who were martyred during the movement," Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said in presenting the resolution to parliament. "Now no one can dare underestimate this. I urge people to remain alert and rise against anyone who tries to interfere in this and undermine this."
The resolution targets the Shah dynasty, which has ruled Nepal since 1769, its kings revered as incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu. Some of the changes it calls for are symbolic. For example, the formal designation His Majesty's Government of Nepal would become simply the Nepal government, and the country would be identified as a secular rather than a Hindu state.
Other changes would remove real authority. Control of the military and security services would be transferred to parliament. Lawmakers would effectively put the royal family on an allowance, limiting spending on the palace and other perks. The royal family would pay taxes, and parliament would have to approve the royal succession.
"What has been the semi-feudal character of the state would be transformed into a political system where the king is just a ceremonial" figure, said Yubraj Ghimire, editor of the newsmagazine Samay, in a telephone interview from Kathmandu. "The king is really scared, and parliament is saying, 'This is the mandate of the movement,' " he added.
Ghimire and other analysts said the plan was likely to trigger court challenges by the king or his allies because of its obvious conflict with the constitution. But Ram Chandra Poudel, general secretary of the Nepali Congress, the country's largest political party, said the changes were legitimate because they were based on the "people's mandate," as expressed in last month's protests.
"The parliament will soon change its working procedures so that nothing has to be endorsed by the king," Poudel added in an interview. In moving so quickly to curtail the king's powers, lawmakers were responding to pressure from the mostly youthful protesters who took to the streets of the capital and other cities in huge numbers, sometimes clashing violently with security forces. The protests were orchestrated by opposition political parties in loose cooperation with Maoist rebels who have waged a 10-year fight to topple the monarchy.
The Maoists and the government have observed a cease-fire since shortly after Gyanendra capitulated to the protest movement. Both the Maoists and the political parties have agreed on the need for elections for a national assembly to write a new constitution, which could weaken or eliminate the monarchy.
In a statement, the Maoist leader, who goes by the name Prachanda, offered a qualified endorsement of Thursday's resolution. He criticized it for allowing even a ceremonial role for the monarchy -- the Maoists are seeking a republic -- and expressed concern over its "silence" with regard to peace talks that both sides have said they want.
Special correspondent Bikash Sangraula in Kathmandu contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
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