WILL THE REIGN OF TERROR END
KATHMANDU, NEPAL
APRIL 30, 2005
After a 3 month reign of terror Nepal’s King Gyanendra caved in to international pressure, especially India, and in a midnight statement from the Royal Palace ended the State of Emergency he imposed on February-1.
The State of Emergency suspended all civil liberties, and newspapers, radio and TV were banned from reporting anything not complementary to the King.
F.M. radio stations have been unable to broadcast any news, commentary, or current event talk-shows. Journalist have been harassed, questioned and arrested, often without charge.
More than 3000 student leaders , party and human rights activist, trade unionist, journalist and ordinary citizens have been arrested , disappeared, or killed after the Security Forces were granted extraordinary powers of search, and arrest.
Party offices and homes vandalized by hooded-plainclothes police, and many have been beaten and intimidate at gun point.
The question that remains is, will the King who still retains the powers he assumed Feb.-1 after sacking the Government, be able to use his Royal Authority to end the reign of terror unleashed by the Security Forces and deal with the Maoist insurgency which rages in much of Nepal ?
A nation weary of the Maoist’s Peoples War, the suspension of multi-party democracy, and a near collapse of the economy in many sectors waits with caution.
D. Michael Van De Veer– Freelance Journalist,
Contributor to Pacifica’s FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS,
UnitedWeBlog(Voice of Free Nepal)
Co-Host OUT OF THE BOX KKCR-FM
www.kkcr.org
Reporting daily from Kathmandu, Nepal
PO Box: 21218 Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: 4700632
Fax: 011-977-14-470013
Return to top of What Really Happened
