Maoists call royal killings a conspiracy Josy Joseph in Kathmandu The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which has been carrying on an armed movement against the Nepalese establishment, has termed the killing of King Birendra and other members of the royal family as a "pre-planned massacre". In a statement issued in Kathmandu, they have threatened to step up their struggle in the wake of the killing of the king who had "liberal thoughts". "Koirala, and the India capitalist, hegemonist rulers and other national and international fundamental reactionists could not tolerate late King Birendra's liberal thoughts," the underground president of the Maoists, Prajanda, said in the statement. Over a 1,000 people have died in the bloody Maoist struggle in Nepal. The Maoists writ runs large in at least eight districts of the country. "The drama seen while performing the last rites clearly proves that the massacre is a result of conspiracy," the statement said. "To think that King Birendra's patriotic stand and liberal political ideology were not the reasons for the royals' death would be misleading," he said. The statement said, "This pre-planned massacre designed in this political background will have a long-term affect on the future of Nepal and Nepali history." "This massacre portrays the end of the present political system," he said. It also said that the Maoists would be stepping up their "peoples' movement" to greater heights to remove the curtains on the massacre and to prevent such massacres in the future. "This has proved the relevance of our proposal for an all-party convention, the formation of the interim government and a new Constitution," the statement said.