2006 democracy movement in Nepal
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Democracy Movement is a name given to the political agitations against the direct and undemocratic rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. The movement is also sometimes referred to as Jana Andolan-II ("People's Movement-II"), implying it being a continuation of the 1990 Jana Andolan.
Reinstitution of Parliament
In a nationally televised address, King Gyanendra reinstated the old Nepal House of RepresentativesNepal House of Representatives
The House of Representatives was the lower house of parliament during the 1990 Constitution in Nepal. It consisted of 205 members directly elected by the people. It had five-year terms, but it could be dissolved by the king on the advice of the prime minister before the ending of its term.On...
on April 24, 2006.
The King called upon the Seven Party Alliance to bear the responsibility of taking the nation on the path to national unity and prosperity, while ensuring permanent peace and safeguarding multiparty democracy.
The reinstitution of Parliament was accepted by the SPA. It declared that Girija Prasad Koirala
Girija Prasad Koirala
Girija Prasad Koirala was a Nepalese politician and the President of the Nepali Congress, a major political party. He was Prime Minister of Nepal for four times, serving from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and from 2006 to 2008; he was also Acting Head of State from January 2007 to July...
would lead the new government. The SPA stated that the new parliament will hold elections for a body that would write a new constitution.
The move was rejected by the maoists. Baburam Bhattarai stated that merely restoring the parliament was not going to resolve the problems and that the rebels planned to continue fighting against government forces. They still demand the formation of a Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
and abolition of the monarchy.
On April 27, however, the Maoist insurgents responded to demands by Girija Prasad Koirala and announced a unilateral three-month truce in the Nepal Civil War
Nepal Civil War
The Nepali Civil War was a conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels in Nepal which lasted from 1996 until 2006...
. In addition to this, on May 1, Bhattarai announced that if "the elections [to a Constituent Assembly] are free and fair, one has to respect the result of the elections. Then of course we will abide by the verdict of the people." This was seen as a large step forward as it shows the first signs of Maoist acceptance of the democratic process.
On May 2, Koirala announced the new government cabinet including himself and three other ministers from the Nepali Congress
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...
: K.P. Sharma Oli from CPN (UML), Gopal Man Shrestha from Nepali Congress (Democratic)
Nepali Congress (Democratic)
Nepali Congress was a political party of Nepal, which was formed due to vertical split of Nepali Congress. Nepali Congress divided to two parties, the Nepali Congress led by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the other led by Girija Prasad Koirala.-Merger of Nepali Congress and Nepali...
and Prabhu Narayan Chaudhari from the United Left Front. This was followed on May 12 by the arrest of four ministers from the ousted royalist government and an investigation into alleged human rights violations
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
by the army during the General Strike.
May 18 Act
The most dramatic move of the post-Loktantra Andolan government came on May 18, 2006 when the Parliament unanimously voted to strip the King of many of his powers. The bill included:- Putting 90,000 troops in the hands of the parliament
- Imposing a tax on the royal family and its assets
- Ending the Raj Parishad, a royal advisory council
- Eliminating royal references from army and government titles
- Declaring Nepal a secularSecularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
country, not a Hindu Kingdom - Scrapping the national anthem until a new one is composed
- Eliminating the king's position as the Supreme Commander of the Army
The act overrides the 1990 Constitution, written up following the Jana Andolan and has been described as a Nepalese Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
. According to Prime Minister Koirala, "This proclamation represents the feelings of all the people."
May 18 has already been named Loktantrik Day (Democracy Day) by some.
Although the constitution was accepted, it was always intended to be temporary and on May 29, 2008, a new constitution was voted on by the Nepalese Parliament, which declared that the monarchy would be deposed and a new parliamentary republic would become the Nepalese political framework.
External links
JURIST
JURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, powered by a staff of more than 40 law students working in Pittsburgh and other US locations under the direction of founding Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Professor Bernard Hibbitts, Research Director Jaclyn...
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
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International Freedom of Expression Exchange
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....