Nepal king facing cabinet protest

By Daniel Lak
BBC correspondent in Kathmandu

Gyanendra upset Nepal's politicians when he dismissed the government

Five political parties in Nepal have called on the constitutional monarch to change the current government or face escalating protests.

The parties, including the two largest in the country, say King Gyanendra was wrong to dismiss an elected government last October.

The political campaign against the move was announced at a rally in the middle of Kathmandu.

But the turnout at the gathering was not encouraging for those who are backing the political parties.

'Unconstitutional'

Democracy replaced authoritarian monarchy in Nepal at the beginning of the 1990s, when ordinary citizens joined political activists in a series of increasingly violent protests.

King Gyanendra's decision to dismiss an elected government last October, was for many here an interruption in the democratic process.

Others said the King's move was unconstitutional.

It seems that for the moment most Nepalis are more concerned about current peace talks between the government and Maoist rebels

But until now nothing concrete has been done about it.

Five political parties have come together in a moment of rare unity, to demand that the King either restore the dismissed parliament or appoint an all-party government to replace the hand-picked cabinet.

At a park in central Kathmandu speakers evoked the People's Movement of 1990, and told the crowd of several thousand that a new movement had begun.

One banner told the King to make changes or face bloodshed. Speakers said the monarch should leave the country.

Civil war

But something was missing; much of the crowd was made up of political workers, and the emotion and hope of the 1990 protest was simply not in evidence.

Organisers said the police had turned back many supporters at checkpoints.

But it seems that for the moment most Nepalis are more concerned about current peace talks between the government and Maoist rebels than about the demands of political parties.

The talks are an attempt to end seven years of civil war.

The current government says there will be elections if they succeed.

Failing the success of the talks though, and with the wrath of the political forces growing, tougher times could be inevitable in Nepal.