Things are getting worse
(Hope this works) From the CNN website:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/06/04/nepalshooting02/index.html
"KATHMANDU, Nepal -- The Nepalese government has declared a curfew in the capital Kathmandu as angry mourners demand an
explanation to Friday's massacre that left nine royals dead.
Security forces have been given orders to shoot troublemakers on sight, CNN's Kasra Naji reports.
Police fired tear gas as crowds filled the capital and snarled traffic. At least four people were slightly injured when they were hit by tear gas shells, hospital doctors said.
Prince Gyanendra, brother to slain King Birendra, took the throne Monday just
hours after royal heir and murder suspect Prince Dipendra died.
Dipendra reportedly shot dead family members over a dispute on his choice of bride and a plan to return the country to monarchial rule, before turning the gun on himself.
Thousands lined the path of a somber royal
procession as King Gyanendra, who was earlier
named caretaker king while Dipendra lay in a
coma, rode in a horse-drawn carriage.
He proceeded from one palace, where he was
enthroned, to another that will be his official residence -- the scene of the killings that left this impoverished Himalayan nation stunned and searching for answers.
Many refused to believe that Crown Prince
Dipendra -- technically king for a weekend -- had killed his family and then himself, as officials privately say.
Others were incredulous at new King Gyanendra's assertion that the deaths were a freak "accident." [snip]
Massacre remains a puzzle
But the debate continues to rage in Nepal over the varying accounts of what happened in the royal dining room, as the government remains tight-lipped over the circumstances surrounding the massacre.
"According to the information received by us [they] were seriously injured in an
accidental firing from an automatic weapon," Gyanendra is quoted as saying in a
statement broadcast on state radio Sunday.
Gyanendra's statement did not make clear
who was holding the gun at the time of
the shooting.
Military sources at the palace told The
Associated Press the prince had turned
against his family because his mother did
not approve of a young woman, Devyani
Rana, as his choice of bride.
The Hindustan Times said a shocked Devyani Rana, fearing for her safety, left
Kathmandu late on Saturday on a flight to
New Delhi, India. Other reports Monday
said Rana remained in Nepal but had left
Kathmandu.
The dead include King Birendra, 55,
Queen Aishwarya, 51, Dipendra's sister
Princess Shruti, 24, his brother Prince
Nirajan, 22, and six others.
The Horizon newspaper said yesterday 40 bullets had been taken from the
bodies of both Prince Nirajan and King Birendra.
Political conspiracy
Other theories circulating include one that Dipendra killed his family over a
disagreement on the future of the role of the royal family.
In 1990, King Birendra agreed to take a constitutional role in the wake of a
popular movement that introduced parliamentary democracy.
But his son was suspected of pushing to return Nepal to an absolute monarchy
system.
One newspaper reported that Maoist rebels, who want to topple the constitutional monarchy, pointed to a "grave political conspiracy," rejecting the idea a lovestruck prince killed the royal family.
The Kathmandu Post, an independent English-language daily, carried a statement
signed by Prachanda, the president of the underground CPN-Maoist party,
calling the shootings a "pre-planned massacre" that would end Nepal's present
political system.
Monarchs have little formal power in Nepal, but public criticism is taboo.
The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report."
40 bullets? I guess the gun accidentally reloaded itself, too. The question is, who was really behind this. But even then, the motives may not b entirely clear. if it was the prince, it might have been a marriage issue (look at all the domestic violence that occurs here. Stranger things have happened) or it might have been a political plot. But then why shoot himself?
I think this will get much worse before it gets better. But at least the people of Nepal, who are often illiterate and down-trodden, are feeling a sense of outrage over the patronizing statements released by the government in the last several hours. Many there may be illiterate, but they are not stupid. I'm with Uncle bill on this one... this tradgedy may be of some benefit to the people of Nepal if they can pull off some reforms, or it may be the beginning of very bad times.
Tom
