Maoists mock Nepal's king

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King Gyanendra of Nepal on Feb. 1 celebrated the first anniversary of his coup, and the country's Maoist rebels on Feb. 13 celebrated the 10th anniversary of the start of their "People's War."

While Gyanendra claimed an increase of law and order, assuring his subjects that "terrorist activities have been reduced to sporadic criminal activities," the Maoists carried out a daring attack in Tansen, a town in western Nepal that contains government offices. They seized the town for several hours, killed nearly two-dozen soldiers and got away with hundreds of rifles and ammunition.

Since canceling their unilateral cease-fire Jan. 2, the rebels have undertaken offensives against the royal army and attacked at least eight fortified locations, including Thankot and Dadhikot, the two entry points to the Katmandu valley. The battles cost the lives of nearly 170 combatants, many of them royal soldiers and police.

Royal elections shunned

Meanwhile, the royal regime held elections Feb. 8 in 58 municipalities. The voting was boycotted by the main political parties. The 20 percent participation showed that the royal regime has scant support among the people, but Gyanendra patted himself on the back when he announced Sunday: "The people have demonstrated their faith in the power of the ballot during the recent municipal elections despite the apparently adverse environment. The courage shown by them is indeed commendable."

Indeed, the king wants to harness the "courage" shown by 20 percent of his subjects, and in his Sunday message he called on "willing parties" to come forward to activate the stalled democratic process for the national interest.

The leaders of the country's seven-party alliance quickly rejected the king's appeal as "meaningless" and "artificial." They vowed to continue to protest autocracy, rejecting any possibility of compromise with the monarch.

Critics have charged that the elections were used to legitimize the king's unconstitutional authority. The United States described the municipal elections as a "hollow exercise," and India questioned the "credibility of the polls" in view of the boycott by major political parties.

Court dissolves panel

Meanwhile, on Feb. 13, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was released from jail after Nepal's Supreme Court unanimously dissolved the Royal Commission on Corruption Control, arguing that this body set up by the king was unconstitutional.