|
Nepali
king stages a successful coup
King
Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shaha Dev of Nepal
has staged a coup, and so far, it is successful.
Gyanendra placed his country in a state
of emergency Tuesday by taking control of
his country.
Gyanendra
decided the cabinet is completely ineffectual
in creating and keeping a peaceful Nepal,
so he has placed government officials under
house arrest. This confrontation between
the king and the various political parties
does not bode well for the country, prompting
censorship of the press and the possibility
of major setbacks for democracy.
Nepal
is basically out of reach, as the phones
are not working and all flights to the capital
have been cancelled. According to Reuters,
Nepali news Web sites stopped working and
all flights into the capital city of Kathmandu
were turned away. Both land and mobile telephone
lines were cut and the palace announced
that all media will now be examined before
publication.
This
extreme censorship is a warning sign to
all free countries, and the press of Nepal
should be outraged. This move is a distinct
act against freedom of democracy. One of
the strongest indications of free will in
a country is its press. Censoring all media
shows that the king is forcing the country
to regress back to palace control and is
basically throwing away the democratic steps
that Nepal has made. It feels like Gyanendra
cares about his country, but at the same
time is not giving the government enough
time to be truly effective.
The
country, sandwiched between China and India,
has been fighting against a Maoist rebellion
for approximately nine years now, with rebel
groups gaining power over large areas of
Nepal's countryside, according to BBC news.
All of the blame from rebel insurgencies
is being placed on the current cabinet,
which is unfair. Though corrupt, the government
cannot control rebel groups. It can only
attempt to stop them. The fighting has been
occurring for years now.
The
Nepalese army has gone so far as to torture
people suspected of knowing minor details
about the Maoist insurgents. In 2001, the
crown prince opened fire on the royal family,
killing them all with an automatic rifle.
His brother, Prince Gyanendra, succeeded
his father after the massacre. Gyanendra
has stated that the current government does
not care about the people. He probably believes
that temporarily reinstating the monarchy
will help the country, but by putting the
king in power with the support of his army,
democracy stands to fail and not evolve.
The army, which is standing guard outside
previous government members' homes, has
been accused of serious human rights abuses
including torture, persecution based on
political ties and "enforced disappearances"
as reported by the Washington Post last
year. This time, the Nepali king plans to
form a new cabinet to bring peace and effectiveness
to the country through democracy within
three years.
Gyanendra
feels his country has not been served well
by government officials. He feels they are
not protecting the democracy and sovereignty
of the country, and have not made arrangements
to hold the elections scheduled in April.
Obviously this move will turn the government
against the palace, making a return to the
previous form of democracy nearly impossible.
This is not the first time the prime minister
has been kicked out of power. In 2002 the
government was cleared of its duties for
not containing the Maoist insurgency, according
to BBC news. The prime minister, Sher Bahadur
Deuba, regained power last June.
The
monarchy is temporarily back in power, but
this isn't necessarily the most effective
way to reinstate the government officials.
Yes, they are corrupt and the government
does need an overhaul, but reinstating the
monarchy is not the best way go about making
changes.
|
