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On February 1 Nepal's monarch, King Gyanendra, declared a state of
emergency, suspended civil rights and installed a 10-man loyalist
cabinet. Gyanendra fired the government, with the full backing of the
army, ostensibly for its failure to organize democratic elections and
suppress the mounting insurgency. Condemned by India and the United
States, the king's seizure of power has underscored the fear that the
rebellion in Nepal appears to be escalating. Since 1996, Maoist rebels
have been struggling to overthrow the monarchy and establish a Communist
government founded on the teachings of Mao Zedong. Over 11,000 people
have died in the conflict. King Gyanendra has pledged to restore
democracy in three years and deal directly with the rebels, but some
analysts suggest that the cultural and economic divide that has fueled
the rebellion will only grow. Nepal is among the poorest and least
developed countries in the world. Most of Nepal's 26.5 million people
live in the countryside, where nearly half of the population earns below
the country's per capita income of 230 dollars a year. As is the case
in many countries, by law the United States must review economic and
military aid to countries that dissolve a democratic government.
From CIAO's database:
Nepal: Dangerous Plans for Village Militias
In the Spotlight: Communist Party of Nepal–Maoists
Spatial Horizontal Inequality and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal
Understanding Nepal Maoists’ Demands: Revisiting Events of 1990
Nepal — Royal Murders
Nepal: Maoist Insurgency
Outside Links*:
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
www.cpnm.org
South Asia Terrorism Portal
www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/terroristoutfits/index.html
The Heritage Foundation
www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/em862.cfm
South Asia Forum for Human Rights
www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/IdpProjectDb/idpSurvey.nsf/63120ED25B255917C1256DB4004C0E3B/$file/Insurgency_displacement_SAFHR.pdf
Nepal Human Development Report 2004, United Nations System in Nepal
http://www.un.org.np/pdf/nhdr2004.pdf
* Outside links are not maintained. For broken outside links, CIAO recommends the Way Back Machine [http://www.archive.org/].
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