Yearbook 2007
Nepal. After a peace agreement in November 2006 ended a
ten-year civil war, the Maoist guerrillas in January began
storing their weapons in UN-supervised storage. The army
began to fulfill its commitment to relinquish the same
number of weapons. A provisional constitution gave the
former guerrilla representation in Parliament and
transferred the executive power to the prime minister.
According to
CountryAAH, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Deb, who had already been deprived
of all political powers, was thus also deprived of the
formal role of head of state.
When calm settled in the mountainous areas, unrest
erupted in the lowlands of southern Nepal. The people
groups, often Hindus commonly known as madheshi, considered
themselves overlooked and demanded increased
self-government, better representation in parliament and
precedence for public services in their districts. Repeated
clashes between protesters and police demanded dozens of
deaths and pushed the government to declare Nepal a federal
state.
In April, the Maoists took office in the government and
in July the guerrillas were transformed into a political
party. However, the general elections for a constituent
assembly promised in June were postponed until late autumn
for practical reasons.
In the new budget, the apanage of the court was reduced
by about 90 percent and most castles were nationalized. The
king was only allowed to retain the properties he owned
before the throne. A new national anthem was adopted without
any textual references to the Kingdom.
The new broad political cooperation encountered problems
and in September the Maoists left the government. Prime
Minister Girija Prasad Koirala refused to agree to their
demand to immediately declare a republic. He said that issue
must be decided by the prospective Constituent Assembly.
Despite this, his own party, the Nepalese Congress, shortly
afterwards made a recommendation on the transition to the
republic. The Nepalese Congress Party, which has been
divided into two rival factions since 2002, had previously
been reunited.
The renewed political crisis in October prompted the
government to postpone the election indefinitely. Among
other things, the Maoists demanded a purely proportionate
election system, which was interpreted as a fear of
otherwise making a bad choice. However, the crisis seemed
resolved at the end of December, when the government and
parliament met with the Maoists and decided to introduce a
republic after the election, which is now scheduled for
spring 2008. After the agreement, the Maoists resumed their
government posts.
Nepal - Kathmandu
Kathmandu
Kathmandu [-du: ʹ], Kathmandu, Kāthmāraum, capital of
Nepal; 997,900 residents (2011), including suburbs 1. 2 million
residentsKathmandu is located 1,330m above sea level. in the Kathmandu valley in
the Himalayas between the Baghmati and Vishnumati rivers and on the old trade
route from India to Tibet.
This road cuts diagonally through an otherwise fairly regular city plan,
designed according to the principles laid down in the Hindu treaty (Manasara).
Kathmandu was given its distinct form under the Hindu ruler Mahendra Malla
(1560-74), who had an extensive wooden palace erected as well as the central
temple of Talej. In the city center there are also several smaller temples and
pagodas. Outside the city itself is the famous Budnath Stupa.
In connection with a major earthquake in April 2015, many historic buildings
in and around the city were destroyed.
The city, which is the country's commercial center, was for a long time very
isolated but has in recent decades strengthened contacts with other parts of the
country, mainly through an increased domestic flight. Crafts and small
industries are important jobs, but about half of the city's population lives on
agriculture. Kathmandu has an international airport and a university.
The city was founded at the latest in the late 900s. It was the capital of
the small medieval Nepali kingdom, sometimes in rivalry with other cities, but
became the center of its own kingdom at the time of the 1482 division. The city,
in particular, experienced a cultural boom in the 17th century. In 1768, K. was
conquered by the king of Gurkha and made the capital of the entire Nepalese
kingdom.
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