By Indra Adhikari

His Majesty King Gyanendra addressing the Nation on Nepal Television, Monday, Apr 24 06. nepalnews.com/rh

Monday night (April 24) marked the victory of the sovereign people when the king, who had usurped executive power, was forced to step down because of his own regressive acts.

Millions of people came to the streets to spill out their dissatisfaction against the royal regime within one year of king’s direct rule, even though the people had largely kept silence when King Gyanendra sacked then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in October 2002, hoping that they would get some relief from continued instability in the country.

Royalists claimed in the beginning that king’s proclamation had popular support and that the parties were no more with the masses.

Right activist Krishana Pahadi addressing a mass meeting assembled after staging victory rallies in different parts of Kathmandu at Tundikhel, Tuesday, Apr 25 06. nepalnews.com/rh

Finally, when the parties called for decisive movement against the autocratic royal regime beginning April 6, the agitation spearheaded by the seven-party alliance (SPA) was not only theirs but it turned out be the people’s movement. “The major cause of the popular uprising against the king’s rule was increasing frustration among the people who gained nothing from the commitments made by the king during the proclamation,” said Yuvaraj Ghimire, editor of Samay weekly.

“It was not the parties that forced the king to surrender, but the people power. Even then, the credits go to the seven political parties and the Maoists for this success who instigated people to come to streets against the regime,” said spokesperson of the Nepali Congress Krishna Prasad Sitaula.

A protester climbing a bamboo to put a party’s flag on top of the poll, Thursday Apr20 06

SPA leaders have admitted that they had not initially expected that the movement to grow so strong with the participation of millions of people.

People believe that end of conflict was possible only when the Maoists are brought into political mainstream through peaceful means. Millions of people from western hills, who have hard hit by the Maoists insurgency, wholeheartedly joined in the demonstrations demanding peace and democracy. They have realized there is no end to the problem unless many just demands of the Maoists are addressed.

The number of people joining the movement spiraled up by the day as the movement went on. More than 1 million poured into the demonstrations in Kathmandu last Friday. The number of people joining the demonstration further increased after the first proclamation of the King until finally forcing the king to capitulate.

General strike day 17 : Protesters at Tinkune burning tyres despite the curfew, Saturday, Apr 22 06. nepalnews.com/ks

“More than a dozen years of freedom had developed a willingness amongst the people to challenge the establishment – something king Gyanendra was not able to grasp,” says senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit.

Participation of the people was more than five times than that of 1990’s popular movement. For continuous 19 days, people kept on protesting without rest, turning the agitation into a full-fledged people’s movement when a number of districts saw more than 200,000 people marching on the streets for their rights.

South-western Chitwan district saw the largest demonstration in its history, where more than two million people joined in the rallies every day. +++

People from remote parts of the country also joined the people of urban areas to protest the direct rule of the king keeping their household affairs behind.

Former PM Krishna Prasad Bhattarai outside the Narayanhity Royal Palace after receiving an audience from King Gyanendra, Monday evening, Apr 17 06. nepalnews.com/rh

In Kathmandu, about one million people participated in different rallies on Friday, defying curfew imposed by the district administrations of Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Huge protest rallies were organized in almost all cities and towns around the country.

People in remote districts like Mugu, Dolpa, Mustang, Manang, Rolpa, Achham, Dadeldhura and Pyuthan and other districts also came out in thousands to join in the democratic movement. Notably, these districts have been highly affected by the Maoist insurgency and the activities of political parties had been curtailed by the rebels for years. These districts had remained largely silent in the political changes of 1951, 1980 and 1990.

General Strike Day 12: Supreme Court staff staging a sit-in program at their …

“The unexpected participation in the movement proved that people in these areas were politically alert and were convinced that the present conflict will not get an outlet unless democracy is restored,” observed Ghimire.

Farmers in districts like Gorkha, Jhapa, Kavre, Bardiya took out rallies in the district headquarters with their tools. In Chitwan, farmers spilled their milk on the street as a form of protest while their counterparts in Sindhupalchok stopped the supply of vegetable to Kathmandu.

In Banke, hundreds of children staged rallies demanding peace and better environment for their growth wherein they could continue their study without obstructions.

‘Vote for democracy’: Thamel-based tourism entrepreneurs handing over Rs 130,000 to the fund set up for treatment of the people injured during the ongoing movement for democracy at Kathmandu Model Hospital. About Rs five million has been collected in the fund, Saturday, Apr 15 06. nepalnews.com/rh

The opposition protests reached new heights as student activists, professionals and civil society members took to the streets on April 8defying the curfew and the prohibitory orders imposed by the royal government. Curfew was disobeyed in various other cities as well. This was an indication that people were ready to risk their lives while fighting for peace and total democracy.

Even the marginalized communities showed huge participation in the pro-democracy rallies across the country. On Sunday, freed Kamaiyas (bonded laborers) of Bardiya district staged a rally saying that their rehabilitation could be not be done in the absence of democracy.

General Strike Day 14: Local people of Gongabu, Kathmandu, demonstrating for ‘total democracy’ on Wednesday , Apr 19 06. nepalnews.com/rh

Demonstrations were not only the factors that shaped this people’s movement but the international pressure as well. Most donors including Japan, the US, the UK, India and the EU warned that the King would have to face serious challenges if he did not listen to the people’s voice. In the meantime, the Amnesty International went on to urge the international community to impose travel ban on the King and his aides.

The clear mandate the movement has given is that the country should now go for a new constitution to meet the aspirations of the people, limiting the role of the monarch to that of a ceremonial figurehead and make him or future monarchs, if any, unable to usurp what belong to the people – the sovereign power. “The political parties must ensure through new constitution that the future monarchs will not have be able to confiscate people’s sovereignty,” Ghimire added.

Lawyers under duress: An angry policeman charging with the butt of his gun raised against lawyers while they were staging a rally defying prohibitory order at Babar Mahal, Thursday, Apr 13 06. nepalnews.com/rh

People risked bullets, batons and teargas and took to the streets. The government finally came to realize that its tactics to suppress the movement were not working anymore. The more atrocious the security forces the more courageous the protesters became. At least 16 pro-democracy activists lost their lives while, according to parties, over 5,000 people sustained injuries and few injured persons were taken into custody by the security forces.

The government repeatedly stated that there was infiltration of Maoist rebels in the movement but in the due course of the movement this claim proved nothing more than a propaganda theory. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Nepal rather found that armed security personnel had infiltrated the peaceful demonstrations in Nepalgunj on April 9 with an intention to incite violence.

Artists and writers staging a rally in support of the seven-party alliance’s movement at Old Baneshwor, Wednesday, Apr 12 06. nepalnews.com/rh

The royal government left no stone unturned when it came to detaining whoever came its way. Drafters of the present constitution Daman Nath Dhungana and Laxman Aryal were arrested and kept in custody for more than two weeks while civil society leaders like Krishna Pahadi, Devendra Raj Pandey, Mathura Shrestha and Shyam Shrestha were detained for more than three months and dozens of others including, lawyers, journalists and professionals handed over three-month detention letters. They were released only after the king climbed down on Monday.

Trade union workers affiliated to the seven agitating political parties in a rally at Teku as a part of publicity campaign for the April 6-9 four-day general strike, Monday, Apr 03 06. nepalnews.com/rh

“The clear message of the movement is that the people want the 21st century King to fiddle with people’s sovereign power. He must respect the public opinion and let the governance be run by the elected leaders,” says joint general secretary of the Nepali Congress Ram Sharan Mahat.

The Jana Andolan part-II has also placed the parties on tight spot. They will have to deliver a clean and accountable government and, at the same time, work earnestly towards resolving the decade-old conflict by brining the Maoist rebels to the democratic mainstream.

The parties can’t afford to fail this time around.