"As the monarch's ambitions and the Maoist grand strategy became ever more transparent, the fractious political parties in Nepal remained feckless.....the Nepali establishment to take on board much of the Maoist political and social agenda and initiate significant reforms...." - http://www.todayonline.com/articles/33850.asp "..cutting the country off from the rest of the world in spectacular tin-pot dictator style..."As for the three-year timeline he has given for restoring democracy, believe me, people are already planning massive protests that will continue over the next few weeks.".....The king and his son, Paras, are extremely unpopular among the Nepalese. .....declaration came a few days after Nepal shut down the Dalai Lama's offices......the King has also brought himself into direct confrontation with his enemies ? the Maoists....."The King needs to be forced to restore the dissolved Parliament ? irrespective of any constitutional niceties that might obstruct that move ? Nepal is well beyond constitutional niceties at this stage anyway."......." "...Gyanendra, best known before he became king for the nighclub antics of his errant son Paras who is now crown prince, missed the 2001 massacre because he was away. Paras was present but escaped unscathed... At his coronation, crowds chanted slogans against him and tried to block the motorcade to the palace. ... Some observers have compared Gyanendra's style to that of his autocratic father, King Mahendra. ..." - http://news.ft.com/cms/s/7d6e7afc-7475-11d9-a769-00000e2511c8.html "...The king is likely to seek direct talks with the Maoists, without having to consult what he sees as Kathmandu's incorrigibly venal political class....Many among Nepal's mainstream population will see Gyanendra?s move as a transparent attempt to aggrandise power for its own sake....."It doesn't matter whether the conspiracy theory is true or not - and there is not much evidence to support it," says S.D. Muni, an academic of modern Nepal, based in New Delhi. "What matters is how many people believe it - Gyanendra and his son are deeply disliked among large sections of Nepalis."....The monarch?s dwindling popularity has not been assisted by the antics of Paras, his only son and official heir, whose reputation for drunken thuggery is undisputed. "The Most Feared Man in Nepal", is the cover story headline on this month's issue of one magazine in New Delhi..............But Nepal's media, which, during the reign of King Birendra, had been reluctant to indulge in any criticism of the monarchy, has published regular accounts of incidents in which Paras has allegedly beaten up people in Kathmandu nightclubs and, in one case, killed a motorcyclist in a drink-driving accident. .............As a royal, Paras can only be prosecuted by consent of the king. "Paras is a bad apple, plain and simple," said a Nepalese businessman close to the family. "He has done incalculable damage to the royal family."................According to tradition, Nepal's king is seen as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu - the preserver. After yesterday, some will jest Gyanendra would be a more fitting avatar of Shiva - the destroyer............ " - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1007552.cms ".. "Whether the king can find a solution to the country's problems is very, very doubtful. The tide is against him because of various problems - economic, political and the Maoists."...." - http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050203/main3.htm "...FOR all those following the developments in Nepal, the King?s coup, has not come as a surprise. Notable, however, is the sweep and sting of the King?s action...........has put all other political party leaders under house arrest..........Gyanendra has always been nursing political ambitions..........He never politically approved of his brother, the late King Birendra?s attempts to adjust with the constraints of Constitutional Monarchy and parliamentary governance..........During the past six months, there have been carefully prompted statements asking for direct intervention of the King, aimed at creating the right atmosphere for this take over..........An important aspect of the King?s takeover has been his lauding of the role of the security forces. He has even accused the political party leaders of not appreciating the sacrifices made by the security forces in the fight against ?terrorism?; and has promised to give more powers to the Royal Nepal Army............Even on earlier occasions, under King Gyanendra, the Army Generals have been openly criticising the political parties and their leaders. ..........However, everyone knows that the Royal Nepal Army has so far given no assuring indications that it is capable of dealing with the Maoist challenge. Any excessive use of force and oppression may in fact bring the Maoists and the political parties closer to each other. .........No one can say how the Monarchy as an institution would emerge out of this chaos. ........There is also an option for the King to tactically open negotiations with the Maoists to diffuse the international and internal pressures on him. However, it is unlikely that any viable solution will emerge out of such talks unless the King is willing to curb his own powers. If that was possible, he would not have staged a coup...........India?s reaction to the King?s coup has been strong and immediate........Gynandra has already indicated his desire and willingness to use the China card in support of his action. .........Three days before his coup, he closed down the Dalai Lama?s offices in Nepal to please the Chinese. He did not care about the US displeasure......It is only through the mobilisation of popular and democratic forces that the Maoists movement can be soft-landed and the King can be shown his place..." - www.cpnm.org - http://www.centralchronicle.com/20050203/0302008.htm ".. "Nepalese masses that have shown their identity through the mass struggle of 1990 and 9 years' of people's war are capable to fulfill their historic task of establishing a republic," he said...."