by Mad African!: (Broken Sword)

Peoples Power Prevails

The Royal declaration on Monday night at 11:30pm on national and private television by King Gyanendra, reinstating the House of Representatives and thereby handing the power back to the people was a sight to behold. To see an arrogant autocratic Monarch, back down and bow down to the will of the people is indeed a lesson for the entire world to see and learn. It showed that when an autocratic ruler, who has scant regards for the wellbeing and welfare of his subjects,

tramples down upon the people of the nation and seizes their basic rights then there will be a mass upheaval the likes of which are not seen very often.

This uprising cut across all barriers -economic, social and

political- to unite the people of Nepal in a joint movement to

overthrow the autocratic regime of the King and reinstate people’s power in the form of democracy. It was a broad based people’s movement and for 19 days the people of Nepal stood stoically and heroically in face of unprovoked brutality in the form of batons, tear gases, rubber bullets and live bullets which the King used in order to suppress the people’s movement and remain on his throne. Hundreds of

thousands of people came to the streets, some walking for over a week to reach the cities to protest against the dictatorial rule of the King. By and large, it was a peaceful movement. Some may say, how can you call it a peaceful movement when over 15 people died and over 5000

were wounded, some disabled for life, but what needs to be analyzed is the fact that all of those 15 were the peaceful demonstrators and of the 5000 or more, over 90% were again the demonstrators. Don’t those figures speak for themselves? If, as those in support of the King said, there were indeed Maoists rebels in the crowds, wouldn’t there

have been at least some loss of lives in the side of the security forces. After all, the Maoists do indeed have arms and ammunitions and have shown no hesitation to use it when they felt the need. If there were indeed any Maoists in the hordes of people coming Acomplia out into the streets, then they were also participating in a peaceful non-violent manner. The security forces under the orders of the King fired tear

gas canisters, baton charged the protestors, and fired rubber bullets and live bullets when the mass tried to move forward to demonstrate before the palace. No doubt, some protestors threw bricks and stones at the security forces but no one brought any weapons along to use against the security forces. The general populace of Nepal may not

have guns and ammunitions at their disposal, but they certainly do have knives, swords and khukuris, which they should have brought with themselves to the pro-democracy protests if they were indeed as violent as the way the Government was trying to make them out to be. The

Government, under the direct orders of the King, tried everything in the book and more to quell the people’s mass movement. But the will of the people stood firm. The people of Nepal had had a taste of democracy and they were not willing to settle for anything less. In Kathmandu, for 19 days, life as we know it came to a standstill. It was almost like an alternate universe. Everything remained closed- shops, offices, hotels and transport-prices soared as food and fuel

became scarce and the people had to bear untold hardships. To top it all, the King imposed curfews to prohibit the movement of the people and stop them from joining pro-democracy rallies. The harder the King tried and more the power he used to suppress the movement of the people, the more resolute became the will of the people. One could

literally see, unfolding right before ones eyes, the way the people of Nepal gelled together to overcome the iron fist of the Monarchy.

Politicians, political activists, human rights activists, lawyers,

doctors, students, medics, media personnel, professionals, youth and housewives, Nepali’s from all walks of life came together for the pro-democracy rallies. And with each passing day, the numbers swelled. But also, the mood and direction of the movement changed, what had initially begun as a pro-democracy movement started to turn into an

anti-monarchy movement. On the 16th day of the protests, the King made a conciliatory gesture and asked the 7 political parties to recommend a Prime Minister but it really was too little too late. Instead people turned up in even larger numbers to rally for democracy. He tried to quell it down with the brutal use of force but the will of the people

could not be broken. In the end, on the 19th day, after intense diplomatic pressures and the declaration of the political parties to rally over two million demonstrators on the streets of Kathmandu, the impasse ended. At 11:30pm, on a nationally televised statement, King Gyanendra in one of his most humble statements, acknowledged the peoples movement and agreed to reinstate the House of Representatives and apologized to those who lost their lives and limbs in the process.

It took fifteen people to die, fifteen martyrs to be born and thousands to be injured, some disabled for life, but in the end, the will of the people broke the will of the King. Their goal attained, by the people of Nepal, without firing a single bullet in retaliation. This indeed, is a historic moment.

I salute all the martyrs of Jana Andolan II and at the same time congratulates the strength and character shown by the people of Nepal in face of such adversities.

This is a small video i made in memory of all people who died in the twin towers on 9/11 Rest in peace!
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Find More How Many People Died In 9 11 Articles

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