Heading for a showdown in Nepal

By Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu

Nepal's long-running political crisis is poised to deepen with the prospect of a major showdown between King Gyanendra and an anti-king opposition alliance.

The political parties say the king is playing into the rebels' hands

The government headed by the monarch has vowed to foil a joint opposition rally due to be held in Kathmandu next week.

The government has stepped up security ahead of the protests on grounds of what it says is credible information about a possible Maoist infiltration.

The authorities said Maoist rebels, whom the government has branded as terrorists, planned to incite violence.

In a separate statement, the home ministry has urged the people living outside of Kathmandu to avoid travelling to the capital next week unless it is essential.

The seven-party alliance has declared a four-day general strike from 6 April to protest at King Gyanendra's seizure of direct powers last year.

Stepping up pressure

It plans to hold a rally on 8 April to which it says tens of thousands of people are expected to attend.

The opposition parties have a loose alliance with the rebels to step up the pressure on the monarch, but they have ruled out a joint agitation unless the rebels renounce violence.

The government imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew, shut down telephones, and detained hundreds of opposition leaders and activists to foil a similar rally two months ago.

The Maoist rebellion has claimed 13,000 lives in the last decade

There has been speculation that similar moves will be repeated.

The opposition leaders say their protests will be peaceful.

They say the general strikes and rally will go ahead as planned despite the government threat of a crackdown.

The showdown threatens to worsen the political crisis.

Call for reconciliation

There has been persistent national and international pressure on the king and the parties to reconcile.

Neighbouring India and China, the US, Britain and the European Union say reconciliation between the king and the politicians is crucial to resolving the long-running Maoist insurgency.

The rift between the king and the parties widened after the monarch sacked a multi-party government and took direct control of the government in February last year.

Critics say the royal move benefited the Maoist rebels who want to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.

More than 13,000 people have died in the 10-year rebellion.