Nepal King sacks govt, declares emergency

India's worst fears were proved well-founded today after Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked the government, declared a state of emergency and assumed total power including nominating a council of minister with himself as "Chairman", saying the leadership had failed to hold elections or to restore peace amid an escalating civil war with Maoist rebels.

According to Nepalese political activists (who were contacted on e mail as all mobile and landline phone links to Kathmandu were snapped), the King said he would be in power for three years and had placed most politicians, including Leader of Opposition Madhav Nepal, under house arrest.

"I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April and promote democracy, the sovereignty of the people and life and property," the king said in an address on state radio today.

He said a new government would be formed under his leadership that "will restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years".

Shortly afterwards a state of emergency was declared, fundamental rights and the constitution suspended and the control of all telecommunications facilities seized by the Royal Nepal Army. Activists said this was done to prevent citizens from organising themselves to protest.

India had maintained that the situation in Nepal was "worrying" though both External Affairs, Minister Natwar Singh and Foreign secretary S Saran were sanguine that if the King was to do anything drastic, he would first consult India. That does not appear to have been the case.

India's reaction to the development was icy. A foreign office spokesman in a written statement warned that the action had brought the monarchy and mainstream political parties in direct confrontation with each other and that this would only benefit forces that wish to undermine democracy, meaning the Maoists.

This is a distinct change from India's earlier stand that that it viewed Nepal as resting on the "twin pillars of monarchy and democracy" and that the monarch was a symbol of Nepal's national unity.

"We will continue to support the restoration of political stability and economic prosperity in Nepal, a process which requires reliance on the forces of democracy and the support of the people of Nepal," the statement said, implying India would support any movement led by recognised political parties that defied the emergency orders. The statement also emphasised on assurances about the well-being of those under house arrest.

In an hour-long meeting, the foreign minister briefed the PM and Shyam Saran spoke to both SS Mukherjee, India's ambassador in Kathmandu. Nepalese ambassador in India, KD Adhikary called on Saran.

This is the fourth time the king has sacked a prime minister in less than three years, having reappointed Deuba in June after sacking him for 'incompetence' two years earlier. Nepal has had no parliament since 2002.

In January, Deuba had promised to go ahead with the election despite the civil war and the Maoists' refusal to come to peace talks by a 13 January deadline.

It was the King who had set the deadline for Deuba. When he saw that it hadn't been kept, and that the countryside was rapidly slipping into the hands of the Maoist rebels, he decided to intervene directly.

The question mark on the summit level meeting of SAARC, scheduled in Dhaka at the end of the week deepened with today's development. For the King, attending SAARC would be one way of legitimising his position.

But the Indian government, in the wake of the killing of the Bangladeshi Finance Minister at a rally yesterday, despatched a high-level team to assess the security situation in Dhaka. Calling off SAARC would create bad blood all round but might become necessary.

Pakistani foreign office spoke-sman, Masood Khan, said: "the information I have received so far is that the summit is taking place."