Source: Kantpuronline.com


KATHMANDU, April 21 - The leaders of the Seven Party Alliance have vowed to continue the movement, saying King Gyanendra's address could not address their roadmap to peace, democracy and the demand of the people on the streets.
Joint People's Movement Central Coordination Committee (JPMCCC) met shortly after the king's address Friday evening and decided to further intensify the ongoing general strike and demonstrations until further notice.

The committee, however, did not make any comment on the king's address. The parties are scheduled to meet Saturday to officially react on the king's address. Their initial reaction, however, is not positive.

Nepali Congress (Democratic) President Sher Bahadur Deuba said there is no space for the parties to be hopeful. "There is no question of us going against our roadmap. We will meet and take a formal decision," Deuba said. "Democracy is our topmost priority."

Expressing doubt over the king's sincerity to his own commitments, Deuba said, "I was allowed to use executive power when I was reinstated. But I was sacked again."

"We are committed to our roadmap to peace and democracy and cannot go against the people's desire expressed in the street protests," said Amrit Kumar Bohra, a senior leader of CPN-UML. "We will continue our movement until the alliance and takes another decision."

Nepali Congress General Secretary Ram Chandra Poudel said the king's speech has not addressed even minimum issues raised by the parties.

"People want radical change and we have presented a clear roadmap for progress and peace but these issues have not been mentioned in the king's address," Poudel said. "It is just aimed at frustrating the movement which has reached a new height."

The leaders said formation of an all-party government on King's grace would not help address the Maoist problem until the king agrees to go for constituent assembly elections.

CPN (Maoist) in its reaction said it would urge the parties to continue movement until the voice of the people on the street is addressed. "People's slogans call for constituent assembly elections at the minimum," said Mahara, talking to BBC Nepali Service. "The royal proclamation has failed to address even the agenda of seven-party alliance. So nobody should be confused by this ploy."

Meanwhile, senior civil society members and human rights activists detained in Armed Police Force's base in Duwakot, flayed the royal address and chanted slogans against it.

Eighteen detainees including former justice Laxman Prasad Aryal, former Speaker Damannath Dhungana, human rights defenders, Charan Prasai, Malla K Sunder, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, journalist Kanak Mani Dixit and Arjun Prajuli said the royal speech failed to prove relevance of monarchy.

It also failed to address the demand of people's movement that aimed to resolve the existing crisis through unconditional constituent assembly. So the SPA would not betray people by compromising with the king, they said.

When king took the absolute power last year, he said he would rule for three years. Ultimately he has surrendered to the people. He FAILED to rule 3 years. The king wanted to move from constitutonal monarch to absolute autocratic monarch. Now look where he is. He is trying desperate to save the throne. This is a huge defeat for king. But parties should not give a damn about this partial surrender of the king. Parties should continue their movement until king agrees to let people decide the fate of monarchy through the election of Constituent assembly.

Kantipur says SPA leaders are against the king's announcement.

here is kantipur's news:


KATHMANDU, April 21 - Seven-party alliance (SPA) and civil society leaders have termed Friday's Royal Proclamation as being “incomplete and ambiguous” and "a conspiracy to diffuse the ongoing people's movement.” The general strike and mass demonstrations will continue effectively, they say.

Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC) President and former prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that there was no room to be optimistic about the King’s Proclamation. He also said the royal proclamation had “many ambiguities.”

He added that the SPA would discuss the proclamation and he would remain firm on the decision taken by the SPA. “To me, the nation and democracy are important,” Deuba said, “I will not go beyond the (SPA’s) roadmap.”

Saying that there was nothing new about the king returning the executive power to the people, Deuba, who was sacked twice by the king in the past, said, “I was given the right to use the right under Article 35 after my reinstatement (to the post of Prime minister), there is nothing new in the royal proclamation.”

He also expressed doubts over the king honestly implementing “what has been said in the royal proclamation.”

“The Constitution does not give the king the right to sack the Prime Minister, but he (king) did, Deuba said, “The king has not been honest when it comes to using the articles of the Constitution; he has misused them time and again.”

Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Ram Chandra Paudel, who was released from nearly three-month-long government detention yesterday, said the royal proclamation has completely failed to address "the wish for an absolute change the parties and the people have expressed through the ongoing movement."

"An official reaction of the SPA is yet to come, but I personally think that the royal proclamation has addressed neither the people's aspirations nor the SPA's common roadmap," he said talking to ekantipur, some two hours after the King's televised addressed was aired through state-owned Nepal Television, Friday evening.

"In fact, I see it as a conspiracy to diffuse the movement," he said, adding, "The king has tried to confuse the movement, but the peaceful movement will now become more intense."

Paudel also informed that the NC's Central Working Committee will hold a meeting on Saturday to discuss the developments in the aftermath of the royal proclamation.

"The King's address has not positively and clearly addressed the roadmap and objective of the SPA's peaceful movement," said NC spokesperson Krishna Sitaula, "The nationwide movement will continue."

“It (royal proclamation) is incomplete. The people want Constituent Assembly,” said NC-D spokes person Dr. Minendra Rijal. He also said it was not for the king to tell how the country’s politics should move ahead once he said he returned the executive power to the people.

“Once the king the says he has returned the executive power to the people, it’s for the people and their representatives- the political parties- to decided the course of the country’s politics, Rijal said, adding, “But the king has asked to recommend the name of Prime minister.”

“The peaceful, non-violent, and disciplined people’s movement will continue,” he added.

Similarly, the civil society leaders who are being detained at the Armed Police Force battalion at Duwakot said the royal proclamation was “deceptive.” They even sloganeered against the royal proclamation inside the APF battalion.

15 civil society leaders and rights activists including former speaker of parliament Daman Nath Dhungana, former Supreme Court justice Laxman Aryal, human rights defenders Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Dr Madhu Ghimire and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit are detained there.

Terming the King’s proclamation as “meaningless,” Standing Committee member of the CPN-UML, Amrit Kumar Bohora said that it couldn’t address the aspiration of the mass movement.

“No one can go against the people’s aspiration that has been expressed through mass movement,” he said.

Meanwhile, CPN (Maoist) said that the royal proclamation did not address the objective of the ongoing pro-democracy movement.

Krishna Bahadur Mahara, spokesperson of the Maoist party told the BBC, “the royal proclamation is a conspiracy to continue to hold onto power by the king.”

Mahara also said that the problem facing the nation would not be resolved unless the demand for an election to a constituent assembly was met.

Let's wait until these 7 parties finish their joint meeting.. and let's see what they will have to say ... that will give us good idea if they have matured ethically.

Slap isn't enough, Lat ko bhoot baat le mandaina. They should give a good kick to fatso.