Background: In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of re-establishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government, which the king subsequently tasked with paving the way for elections to be held in spring of 2005. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government and assumed power.
March 7th 2008Asia » Nepal » Tengboche After getting a flavour of life in Nepal and checking out some of the major sites in Kathmandu, we began our extremely brief planning session (a few hours over the course of a day) to prepare for our ... 24 photos[full story]
December 23rd 2007Asia » Nepal » Tengboche Left Namche a bit late today, so that meant no time for schmoozing in town. Rather, I continued my meditative walk, eventually winding up over 3,000 feet higher than where we started.
The trail was ... 6 photos[full story]
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