NEPAL: Nepal's embattled king offered to end 14 months of direct rule yesterday by pledging to reinstate the country's parliament to try to win over protesters who threatened to gather in millions today.
After 19 days of street fighting which left at least 14 people dead, King Gyanendra took to the airwaves to announce he was ready to hand over power to the parliament that was dissolved in May 2002.
More than two million people were to take to the streets today, headed by the leaders of seven political parties in a march that was seen as offering a defining moment to the pro-democracy movement.
Last night senior members of the party alliance welcomed King Gyanendra's move, hinting it was enough to head off the planned mass rallies.
"It is the victory of the people's movement," said Arjun Narsingh KC, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress, the country's largest political party.
The king seized power in February last year by suspending democracy and declaring a state of emergency. Since then his clampdown on civil liberties and autocratic rule, defended on the grounds of fighting Maoist guerrillas, have angered many and put the monarchy itself in jeopardy.
The crowds that braved teargas, rubber bullets and cane-wielding policemen, had begun to contemplate a republican future for the country.
The king appears to have realised that his time is up, and has sought to make amends by extending his "heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their lives in the people's movement". In a televised address last week, he did not show any sympathy for the families of the dead.
Embassies began evacuating non-essential staff. Food and fuel shortages were beginning to bite and the violence had begun to spiral out of control.
The US ambassador James Moriarty had recommended that all Americans in Nepal consider leaving "because of the uncertain security conditions". China, Australia and Denmark were among the countries to warn against travel to the kingdom.
Protests were held in dozens of towns across Nepal, according to local news reports.
There was also concern that the Maoists, faced with a pact between the king and the parties, would return to the gun. Early yesterday morning Nepalese security forces in the mountain town of Chautara fought gun battles with Maoist guerrillas that left six people dead.
The king's move comes after hours of diplomatic arm-twisting by western powers and Nepal's neighbour India. One diplomat said there was now a "roadmap" in place for political progress.
Diplomats in Kathmandu said a government of national unity would be created, which would begin a peace process with the Maoists. Then there would be a creation of a special assembly to write a constitution that could limit or eliminate the monarchy.
"Nothing became the king like his departure," said the source.