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King parties as Nepalis struggle for peace

REUTERS, Kathmandu
Nepal's King Gyanendra, who seized power in a coup five months ago, celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday with his impoverished country frozen in political crisis and revolt.
In a carefully stage-managed show of loyalty, thousands of children, cripples and other Nepalis queued in the scorching sun for hours for their brief moment to give the king a present at his Kritinarayan Palace, normally off limits to commoners.
Some came on crutches, some in wheelchairs and some in traditional costumes or holy Hindu robes. One woman carried 59 fried fish to wish Gyanendra luck; others, eggs, flowers, rose petals or trophies for a man revered as an incarnation of the Hindu god of protection, Vishnu.
As summer temperatures soared, school children vomited and
fainted and were carted off to hospital by ambulance.
"All this would be good if it were spontaneous. But there was a written order from the government to bring the children," said teacher Bhanu Dhungana.
The mood was sombre and quiet. There was no sense of cheer or celebration among the queues in the palace grounds.
Gyanendra has suspended democracy, taken control of the Himalayan nation and censored the media, moves he said he was forced to take to fight a Maoist rebellion that has killed at least 12,500 since 1996.
Five months after his Feb. 1 royal coup, heavily guarded Kathmandu is safer, but Gyanendra is no closer to talks with the guerrillas or a deal with the seven shambolic political parties, themselves in disarray.
"The parties are not fully united," Nara Hari Acharya, a senior mem-
ber of the leading Nepali Congress party and one of the last political prisoners freed on Tuesday, told Reuters.
"The parties are not yet clear about what the people want. We are definitely concerned about the restoration of democracy, but we are suffering from a serious lack of self-confidence to restore it."
What Nepalis want more than anything right now, including democracy, is peace.
The war has shattered a national economy dependent on tourism and aid and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
"I will give him good wishes so that there is peace in the country," said housewife Indira Acharya, clutching a bouquet of marigolds. "The Maoists, the king and the political parties must compromise for the sake of peace.
"And this is my prayer on the king's birthday."