Nepal parliament sworn in, king sidelined

KATHMANDU – Nepal’s parliament and ministers were sworn in yesterday at a ceremony which for the first time did not include the king but ill-health forced the prime minister to skip the event.

Parliament slashed King Gyanendra’s powers after he ended 14 months of direct rule in April following weeks of pro-democracy protests by political parties and rebel Maoists. “The prime minister could not come for the oath ceremony due to health reasons and he will take the oath later in parliament,” Surya Kiran Gurung, parliament general secretary, told journalists.He did not elaborate.The 84-year-old premier returned on Tuesday from a nine-day trip to Bangkok for prostate laser treatment.Koirala has been plagued by bad health and missed the opening session of parliament in April due to bronchitis.The seat where the king formerly sat during parliamentary proceedings had been removed and replaced with a national flag, as the speaker administered the oath of office to 19 of 21 ministers and around 200 parliamentarians.The assembled politicians pledged to “be totally honest in performing the duty as approved by parliament that has been restored as per the people’s aspirations,” in the ceremony in the house of representatives.The swearing-in was held according to “the proclamation by the house May 18 and the house regulation passed June 10,” Subash Nemwang, house of representatives speaker, told AFP.Before the new coalition government took over and ended King Gyanendra’s public political role and control of the army, the monarch swore in the premier and other lawmakers.But now oaths will be taken in parliament.In future, “others, including army (officials), police and civil servants, will be called to take the oath of office in the days to come” in parliament and not before the king, Nemwang said.Nepal’s bar association hailed the move to sideline the king.It is “a new and very good start,” said Sambhu Thapa, the head of the bar association and a member of the committee tasked with drafting Nepal’s interim constitution.The government and Maoists rebels struck a ceasefire more than two months ago and have agreed to frame an interim constitution that will allow the guerrillas to join a new interim government to be formed.Parliament was suspended for two-and-a-half weeks in mid-June for MPs to return to their constituencies and for politicians to focus on peace efforts.The government and rebels have held one round of peace talks and the rebel leadership is in Kathmandu consulting with political leaders.Seven main political parties entered a loose alliance with the rebels late last year after King Gyanendra seized control in early 2005.Since the rebels began their “people’s war” to establish a communist republic in Nepal in 1996, at least 12,500 people have been killed.- Nampa-AFP”The prime minister could not come for the oath ceremony due to health reasons and he will take the oath later in parliament,” Surya Kiran Gurung, parliament general secretary, told journalists.He did not elaborate.The 84-year-old premier returned on Tuesday from a nine-day trip to Bangkok for prostate laser treatment.Koirala has been plagued by bad health and missed the opening session of parliament in April due to bronchitis.The seat where the king formerly sat during parliamentary proceedings had been removed and replaced with a national flag, as the speaker administered the oath of office to 19 of 21 ministers and around 200 parliamentarians.The assembled politicians pledged to “be totally honest in performing the duty as approved by parliament that has been restored as per the people’s aspirations,” in the ceremony in the house of representatives.The swearing-in was held according to “the proclamation by the house May 18 and the house regulation passed June 10,” Subash Nemwang, house of representatives speaker, told AFP.Before the new coalition government took over and ended King Gyanendra’s public political role and control of the army, the monarch swore in the premier and other lawmakers.But now oaths will be taken in parliament.In future, “others, including army (officials), police and civil servants, will be called to take the oath of office in the days to come” in parliament and not before the king, Nemwang said.Nepal’s bar association hailed the move to sideline the king.It is “a new and very good start,” said Sambhu Thapa, the head of the bar association and a member of the committee tasked with drafting Nepal’s interim constitution.The government and Maoists rebels struck a ceasefire more than two months ago and have agreed to frame an interim constitution that will allow the guerrillas to join a new interim government to be formed.Parliament was suspended for two-and-a-half weeks in mid-June for MPs to return to their constituencies and for politicians to focus on peace efforts.The government and rebels have held one round of peace talks and the rebel leadership is in Kathmandu consulting with political leaders.Seven main political parties entered a loose alliance with the rebels late last year after King Gyanendra seized control in early 2005.Since the rebels began their “people’s war” to establish a communist republic in Nepal in 1996, at least 12,500 people have been killed.- Nampa-AFP