The State Of Emergency Expires At The End Of April

The general assumption is the state of emergency expires at the end of the month, or at least that is what the constitution says. If it is allowed to happen, it will be to the king's credit. He has been seen as stretching some of the articles of the 1990 constitution. But if he complies with this one, it will be to his credit. If he does not, he reinforces his image of an autocrat fishing in the murky waters of a civil war to aggrandize his personal power base.

After the embarking of the UN monitoring of human rights, this lifting of the emergency will be the second bigget, positive news since 2/1.

Both steps will create space for both peace and democracy. The democrats will have ample space to try and retake the helm after that.

The best thing the king can do for himself, the monarchy, the country and democracy is to comply. I hope he exhibits the tact to do so.

On another note, the Prachanda-Baburam fissure seems to be real and widening. Looks like Prachanda is trying to exapand and consolidate his power base and Baburam is understandably unhappy. The good news is Baburam continues to be relevant and has enough leeway that he feels comfortable penning a letter of dissent that makes it to the public. And the letter gives a pretty good picture of the internal politics among the senior Maoists.

This fissure might end up being the third piece of good news, not because the Maoists are now weaker, but because it shows there is still some democratic, dissenting debate possible among the senior Maoists. That gives room for flexibility. That leaves room for peace talks, this time with UN involvement.

The best thing the king can do: lift the emergency. The best thing the Maoists can do: cooperate fully with the UN monitors, something they asked for.

In The News

• India to resume arms supplies: Nepal King Hindustan Times ..... the monarch claimed New Delhi has promised to resume arms supplies to Kathmandu ...... Sikri made no mention of India's assurance on resuming the arms supplies ...... Sikri quoted Gyanendra as telling Manmohan Singh that the political process in Nepal would be restored "as early as possible".
• Nepal should restore democracy: Manmohan Singh :Team India, India
• What will the King do next?Deccan Herald, India On May 1 — exactly a week later — the three-month state of emergency clamped by the king when he sacked the government of prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and assumed absolute power on February 1 will expire. The question on everyone’s lips is, what will the monarch, a master tactician and planner, do next? ...... he can lift emergency for a short period, even a day, and re-impose it on his own; he can try to give it some semblance of legality by getting a second stint of emergency approved by Parliament; or he can cobble together a new government that will, however, remain loyal to him..... The king can of course convene the upper house — National Assembly — and try to have it endorse an extension of emergency but it will be an uphill task. ....... “There is no provision for the king to head the government. Also, emergency can be imposed only on the recommendation of the prime minister who then has to get it endorsed by Parliament. But the king imposed emergency after dismissing the PM.” ..... likely to proceed exactly as he is now, doing exactly as he pleases.
• India may end arms embargo on NepalEconomic Times, India ..... the Prime Minister and Gyanendra deliberated on the situation in Nepal in a “frank and cordial” manner ..... said his “commitment to multi-party democracy, human rights and rule of law is total and unflinching”.
• Comrade Expresses Note Of Dissent United We Blog severe actions have been taken against Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the face of the party. He is no longer the politburo member. He is not he coordinator of the political front of the party...... In a recent letter addressed to his Chairman, Dr Bhattarai clearly expresses his displeasure and disagreement with Prachanda’s intention of consolidating the power i.e. becoming the chief of all three wings: Party, Guerillas and the Front.