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Nepal's state of emergency ended

Friday - 29th April 2005

The king said the emergency was necessary to fight the Maoists
King Gyanendra of Nepal has lifted a state of emergency he imposed after taking direct control of the country three months ago.
An brief statement in Kathmandu said only he had done so in accordance with the constitution.

The king dismissed the government after accusing it of failing to deal with an insurgency by Maoist guerrillas, which has killed 11,000 people.

Civil liberties were also suspended, provoking international condemanation.

Hundreds of politicians were jailed, and protests were banned.

India stopped military aid in protest at King Gyanendra's seizure of power, but there were reports last weekend that the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was considering lifting his country's arms embargo on Nepal.

His Majesty in accordance with the constitution has lifted the order of the state of emergency

Statement from royal palace in Kathmandu
The state of emergency had been due to expire by 1 May, three months after its imposition, and so the king would have had to extend it.

He had just returned to the country from a tour of Indonesia, China and Singapore.

The Nepalese monarch reportedly asked the Indian prime minister to restore military aid to Nepal immediately at the recent Asian-African summit in Bandung.

The 57-year-old Nepalese monarch said sacking the government and imposing the emergency were necessary to protect democracy from the "grave risk" posed by the Maoist rebels against the monarchy.

Asked during his visit to Indonesia when he would lift the emergency, the king said his government had already called for municipal elections and the lifting of the emergency would take place "in due course".


Source BBC