Nepals King Gyanendra has unveiled a new 10-member cabinet, a day after sacking the government and imposing an indefinite state of emergency.
In an announcement broadcast on state television and radio, the monarch said the cabinet would include Rames Nath Pandey as foreign minister and a communist member, Radha Krishna Mainali, as sports and education minister.
On Tuesday, the king announced that he would head the new government after the previous administration failed to ensure security in the face of the Maoist rebellion that has claimed more than 11.000 lives since 1996. He has pledged to “restore democracy and law and order in the country in the next three years.”
Demonstrations are expected in the Himalayan kingdom Wednesday to protest against the kings decision, but details are scarce, with all telephone lines and mobile telephone networks down.
Opposition leaders have accused the king, who assumed the throne after a palace massacre in 2001, of staging a coup.
King Gyanendra ascended the throne in June 2001 after his brother, King Birendra, and most of the royal family were shot dead by the former crown prince. The crown prince also killed himself.
UN Secretary General General Kofi Annan has expressed deep concern over events in Nepal.
Mr Annan views the kings actions as a serious setback for the country and has urged a return to democracy. However, Mr Annan has called for “calm and restraint by all parties in the country, so as to avoid actions that could worsen the situation.”
Amnesty International, has called on the international community to make it immediately clear to the king that by assuming power, he is directly responsible for protecting the people of Nepal and safeguarding their fundamental human rights.
Amnesty says Nepals last state of emergency in 2001-2002 led to an explosion of serious human rights violations, including increased extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and a breakdown in the rule of law.
The United States says it is “deeply troubled” by the apparent setback to democracy in Nepal.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, says the US wants an “immediate move toward the restoration of multiparty democratic institutions under a constitutional monarchy.”
Mr Boucher says in addition to undercutting Nepals democratic institutions, King Gyanendras actions “undermine the Nepalis struggle with the Maoist insurgency, which is a very serious challenge to a peaceful and prosperous future for Nepal.”
He says the US also continues to urge the Maoists, fighting for a communist republic, to abandon their struggle and to join the political mainstream through dialogue.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has voiced “grave concern” over the situation in Nepal. The foreign ministry says the developments constitute a serious setback to the cause of democracy in Nepal.
Indias security cabinet has held a special meeting and airlines have suspended flights to the Nepal capital, Kathmandu. Security has also been stepped up at border crossings into the Himalayan kingdom.
Kilde: www.ms.dk
