Nepali turmoil unabated

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Eight months after the royal takeover of Nepal's government, King Gyanendra appointed Surya Bahadur Thapa, 75, at midweek as the new prime minister, defying opposition demands and setting the stage for fresh political turmoil.

Mr. Thapa's appointment on Wednesday followed the resignation of Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who was hand-picked by the monarch after he dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba last Oct. 4. Mr. Thapa was sworn in on Thursday, but sources in Katmandu said formation of a new Cabinet would be delayed because the five main political parties refused to join his government.

On Wednesday, Mr. Thapa told reporters that Nepal urgently needs an all-party government based on a national consensus.

The five opposition parties include two major ones -- the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Unified Marxist and Leninist (UML) -- which wanted UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as prime minister.

Both Mr. Thapa and Mr. Chand had served as prime ministers under the absolute monarchy of 1960 to 1990 and are founding fathers of the rightist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). Mr. Chand's recent tenure had been marked by protests organized by centrist parliamentary parties demanding restoration of the dissolved parliament and formation of an all-party government.

King Gyanendra, who ascended the throne after the palace massacre two years ago of his brother, King Birendra -- a popular and relatively liberal monarch -- has come under severe pressure from parties calling for him to return power to the parliament, and Maoists demanding his outright abdication.

Mr. Chand's resignation came as Nepal celebrated the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide in the feat, the late Tenzing Norgay.

Media reports from Nepal indicate growing political confusion casting a shadow on the peace process initiated after the Jan. 29 cease-fire between the government and Maoist rebels.

Maoists have said the government transition from Mr. Chand to Mr. Thapa would delay the peace process, but that they would not walk away from ongoing talks.