A Failing Royal Mission

Nepalis Protesting against the King in front of the White House in DC/JNP


Amid growing protest and condemnation of the King’s Feb.1 takeover coupled with demands for a U.N. involvement, King Gyanendra is gearing-up to make his last-ditch attempt to salvage his failing mission before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

By John Narayan Parajuli

With the suppressed normality during the initial days of the royal putsch, the 56-year-old monarch had every reason to believe that he would succeed in his mission to “restore peace and stability in Nepal within the self-given time-frame. Six months on, things that haunted the preceding democratic government have started to recur: daily protest and escalating Maoists dare-devilry. Though this may have shaken king’s belief like of so many others who gave him the benefit of doubt, he hasn’t given any indication that it has. He seems ever more prepared for the showdown. But he is not the only one on the offensive. His critics and opponents have equally geared-up to take him head-on.


The protest and condemnation have grown vociferously. So has the call the for a U.N. involvement. Interestingly, the monarch seems to have decided to face the international community en masse during the U.N. general assembly meeting where he hopes to makes his case clear before the world body.

Early this month more than 60 non-governmental organizations submitted their appeal to the U.N. mission in Nepal calling for U.N. mediation. The reason these petitioners say is their conviction: without a credible third party mediator the two warring sides would never sit down for a table talk. This assertion though may not be entirely true, holds water if the failed negotiations in the past are any indication.

To counter his critics, the king apparently comes to New York with his can-do-it attitude—meaning he can suppress the Maoists and restore peace and stability, but he knows for sure that he would be greeted with much more skepticism than that from his previous sojourn to other international forums.

King Gyanendra has picked up every opportunity in the international forum to make himself heard. In April he met within scores of leaders including the Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh in Jakarta at the sidelines of Asian- African summit. India had apparently softened its stance on Nepal following that meeting. He also got the stamp of approval from Chinese leader Hu-Jintao, though not unexpected. The monarch might surely be hoping for a repeat of those rebounding success.

He is pinning his optimism on his diplomatic finesse. Beside he is trying to sell his tailored analysis of the situation on the ground.
If the pattern of media coverage in Nepal in recent weeks is anything to go by, the monarch is all prepared to play his final trump card: From a total blackout on Maoists offensive to widespread coverage even in state run media. The idea is to scare the hell out of the communist-shy international community by painting a picture of the Maoists marching towards victory. This spin, the king knows, to the Nepal’s tragic tale doesn’t sit well with the U.S. government’s twin objective on Nepal after the Feb.1 takeover: Prevention of a Maoists victory and restoration of multi-party democracy.

More than U.N., the King is counting on American support. A one on one talk with Bush would be his best shot to reverse the growing tide of skepticism in the Capitol Hill and state department of the king’s policies. At this stage it is unclear if President Bush will have time for him. State Department officials indicate that the King would be meeting U.S. officials but they add that things haven’t been finalized. Meeting with Bush, or not, things look bleak ahead for the king’s royal mission.

Moreover, King’s plan to play to the American fear of Maoists takeover could well have been jeopardized after the Maoists’ tactical move of declaring a unilateral cease-fire for three months. Maoist’s supremo Prachanda’s statement has a clear message for the world body: Don’t supply arms to the government, if you do cease-fire will be broken and their will be more bloodbath. The timing of this statement couldn’t not have been worse for the royal regime and its failing mission.