Nepal King to hand over power to people
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 21, IRNA
Nepal-King-Rule
Bending over the large scale protests for the last 16 days Nepal King Gyanendra today called on opposition parties to put forward their candidate for prime minister.
In a televised address in Nepal he said he would return power to the people, but gave no date for elections to be held.
"We are committed to multi-party democracy and a constitutional monarchy," the king said in his address on Friday. We hope peace and order is restored to the country by protecting multi-party democracy.
"Executive power of the kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping, shall from this day be returned to the people.
He called on the seven-party opposition alliance to recommend a name for the post of prime minister as soon as possible.
Until a new prime minister was appointed, the present government would continue to run the country, he said.
Meanwhile Nepal Communist Party and Maoists rebels have rejected the offer.
King Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed direct powers in February 2005, ostensibly to quell long-running insurgency by Maoist rebels.
Earlier tens of thousands of people were back on the streets in Nepal's capital for a sixteenth day of mass protests today despite curfew and shot-at-sight orders.
Mass demonstrations against King Gyanendra's absolute rule or against the monarchy itself have been going on for more than two weeks.
Another person succumbed to injuries today in town Gulariya, some 500 kms south-west of Kathmandu, after being injured in protests a day earlier.
At least 14 demonstrators have died in country wide protests in the last two weeks.
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