Nepal's king delays naming premier

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Three weeks after the resignation of Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepal's King Gyanendra has not named a new prime minister.

The May 7 resignation of Mr. Thapa after 11 months in office had raised hopes of an end to the country's long-running political impasse, but brinkmanship by the king, the political parties and Maoist insurgents is pushing Nepal toward anarchy.

Mr. Thapa's resignation followed often violent antimonarchy demonstrations since April 1 organized by the five parliamentary parties, which demanded restoration of the dissolved parliament and formation of an all-party government.

Then, a May 5-6 meeting in Katmandu of 20 donor countries and six international agencies called the Nepal Development Forum (NDF) pressed Gyanendra for democratic reforms and negotiations with the Maoists as a condition for $1.6 billion in development aid over three years.

A joint statement at the end of the NDF meeting said the money was offered because of the urgency of aid "to the people in rural and deprived areas." It also stressed "the urgent need to have the democratic process restored, the conflict resolved and human rights respected."

Early this month, Maoist leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal ("Prachanda") and Baburam Bhattarai congratulated the young people and students spearheading the demonstrations and urged them and members of the five-party alliance to join a united front with the Maoists against the monarchy to fight for a democratic republic, promising that the Maoist party would participate in politics in the new republic.

Faced with the antimonarchy agitation, pressure from the donor countries, and the possibility of a united front seeking a republic, Gyanendra within hours began consultations with retired pro-monarchy politicians about a potential course of action.

These consultations led to the departure of the prime minister, who said, "I hope my resignation will pave the way for building a national consensus and help establish lasting peace in the country."

As they accepted Mr. Thapa's resignation, palace officials quoted the king as saying the next government should include all sides under the leadership of a person with a "clean image" who can restore peace and prepare parliamentary elections before mid-April 2005.

Gyanendra invited political elders for private meetings before announcing a new prime minister, and former Prime Ministers Kirti Nidhi Bista, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Marich Man Shrestha and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai met separately with the king.