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Nepal's king won't go into exile

AFP, Pn, Kathmandu
Nepal's embattled King Gyanendra yesterday angrily denied speculation he will be heading into exile following a victory by former Maoist rebels in landmark elections.
A statement from the royal palace rejected what it said were "malicious reports appearing in sections of the national and international media in recent days against the royal palace." Maoist chief Prachanda yesterday met Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shanker Mukherjee apparently to discuss a "graceful exit" for King Gyanendra after the party won the landmark Constituent Assembly election.
CPN-Maoist's third-in-rank leader Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal has said that the King should better leave the palace gracefully after the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly implements the decision on a republic.
"If the King does not abide by the people's mandate the government will forcefully vacate the palace," Badal warned.
The vote count is expected to end on Tuesday, and the Maoists are expected to win at least 240 seats in a 601-member constitutional assembly - making them the dominant party and just short of holding an outright majority.
The ultra-leftists say they intend to abolish Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy as quickly as possible, and have called on Gyanendra to leave the palace "gracefully" rather than be forcibly evicted.
Maoist leader Prachanda has said he wants to talk with the king, to persuade him to leave of his own accord, rather than be booted out.
"In history, monarchs have been beheaded and also had to flee. let that not be repeated in Nepal." the school teacher-turned-revolutionary said late last week.
The Maoists have warned the king that he faces "a trial and strong punishment" if he refuses to accept life as a commoner in one of the world's poorest nations. Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara said Monday the leftists did not care where the king intended to go -- as long as he understood he would lose the last trappings of his royal life.
"It does not matter whether he lives in India or Nepal. We have already decided with the interim constitution what will be done. We are going to declare Nepal a republic, and he Will have to accept it." Mahara told AFP
Gyanendra came to the throne in bizarre and tragic circumstances in 2001, when his popular brother and eight other family members were shot dead by a drunk, drugged, love-sick and suicidal crown prince.
The new monarch and his son Paras -- loathed for his reported playboy lifestyle -- failed to win the hearts and minds of a public that viewed the pair's survived of the palace massacre as deeply suspicious.
In 2005 he seized absolute power to fight the Maoists, but instead fuelled a wave of republican sentiment that led to mainstream parties striking a historic 2006 peace deal with the rebels, ending a decade of civil war.
Gyanendra has since been stripped of all his powers, including his role as head of state and army commander.
He has faced numerous demands to step down quietly, but has so far refused to do so.
Analysts say the king can still count on support from sections of the army and Hindu fundamentalists who see him as the incarnation ofa Hindu god.