King Dipendra dead
Last rites performed amid tight security

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KATHMANDU, June 4 – The last rites of His Majesty King Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah was performed amid tight security on the banks of the holy Bagmati river at Aryaghat Sunday evening, hours after the new monarch was declared dead and Regent Gyanendra ascended to the throne.

King Dipendra, who was lying in a critical condition at the Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni, was declared dead at 3:45 am Sunday morning, where he was in coma since Friday night.

Late King Dipendra’s body was taken to the Aryaghat crematorium, besides the temple of Lord Pahupatinath, the national deity, Sunday evening. The funeral procession started amid tight security from Chhauni with armed militery and police vehicles patrolling the entire city as 13 hrs curfew was declared from 4 p.m. in the afternoon apparently to ensure law and order in the tense city.

The authorities had to face some difficulty while taking out the procession from the Military Hospital, as masses of agitated and bereaved people blocked the street saying that they would not let the funeral take place until the real truth of the incident was made public.

Keeping the gravity of situation in mind, the funeral procession took a different route via the Ring Road and on a heavily guarded motor cavalcade. The body of the late King was carried on an open army lorry covered with flowers.

The fully armed army and police personnel had to clear more than 12 obstructions along the way put up by the locals to prevent the procession from reaching Aryaghat. The streets in the capital city resembled a battlefield with bricks, cement slabs, metal poles, burning tyres and huge fallen trees lying across all major points.

Many panic-stricken people, most of them with tonsured heads, could be seen running here and there shouting slogans before the army and police cleared them.

Defying the curfew order that was broadcast by the state-owned Radio Nepal, many people stood beside the roads with flowers in their hands and tears in their eyes to bid adieu to their beloved Crown Prince (King).

At some places along the way to the Aryaghat, people had filled roads with flowers and vermilion powder to bid farewell to the Hindu monarch, whose funeral they were denied to attend—and who is worshipped by the people of this Hindu Kingdom as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The procession comprising hundreds of vehicles of the high dignitaries, government and army officials, and the media, escorted by a military band reached the Aryaghat at 6:50 pm. After a series of Hindu death rituals at 7:30 pm a Brahmin priest lit the funeral pyre of the uncrowned monarch at the same spot where his father was consigned to fire just two days ago.

Public outrage leads to death, curfew

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KATHMANDU, June 4 – The Capital today was engulfed in public rage as thousands of infuriated people marched through the streets demanding an impartial investigation into Friday night’s incident that led to the killing of late King Birendra and his entire family.

As the unruly mass clashed with the police and army at a number of places Sunday afternoon, the security personnels resorted to firing and lathi-charge killing at least two protestors. Eyewitnesses said, one person, a former police officer, was killed in Old Baneshwar when soldiers opened fire to disperse a crowd. Another person was wounded in the same shooting. Meanwhile, one protestor died in a melee near Thamel when police lathi-charged a crowd.

More than three dozens of the protestors sustained bullet injuries. Police also used hundreds of teargas shells to disperse the mass.

The frenzied protestors broke police resistance at various places and grew increasingly violent as the day progressed. Situation in Kathmandu and Lalitpur grew so tense by afternoon that the local administrations in these two districts declared curfew starting 4 p. m. today evening and running till 5 a. m. tomorrow morning.

Since this morning a confluence of protestors, majority with their heads shaved off as a symbol of mourning, was heading towards the Military Hospital in Chhauni, the Narayanhiti Royal Palace and Hanumandhoka Durbar where Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shaha Dev was formally crowned as the King of Nepal early Monday.

However, thousands of people defied the curfew and lined-up themselves in front of the Chhauni Military Hospital, from where the funeral procession of late King Dipendra would be taken. The army and police had to use force to clear the way for the funeral procession. No casualty was reported from the incident.

Also, a number of small groups in different parts of the Capital defied the curfew and set fire to tyres blocking the roads.

The King’s Way, a major street leading to the Royal Palace, also witnessed one of the violent protests today. It was a reminiscent of the gathering during Janandolan in 1990 when protestors converged there to demand restoration of multi-party democracy.

During today’s protests, demonstrators even chanted slogans against the newly crowned King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev as he made his way to the Royal Place. They also directed their ire against his son, Prince Paras.

The police initially resisted the use of force but their patience wore out as the protestors started pelting stones at the police. The Kings, Way area was surrounded by the demonstrators from four sides: Keshar Mahal, Jay Nepal Hall, Kamaladi, Ratna Park as well as Jamal.

The protestors there even tried to set fire the buildings of Trichandra College.

Putali Sadak, one of the major business centres in the Capital, was full of demonstrators throughout the day. Motorcycle rallies, carrying national flags and crying for impartial investigation kept on sweeping the streets.

At New Baneswor, near the Birendra Convention Hall, the frenzy mob blocked the main road and stopped almost all the vehicles including the Red Cross vehicle.

The crowd also set one government vehicle into fire.

The people’s shock and disbelief over the death of their beloved King Birendra last Friday along with his family members gave way to rage after King Birendra’s son, the newly-appointed King Dipendra, was also declared dead on Monday.

A foreign television channel added fuel to the fire by airing a report that Dipendra was shot in the back in the Friday night incident, indicating other designs. But that report is unverified and many sources have rejected that outright.

Meanwhile, reports are also pouring in from other districts and towns of similar expression of public outrage. However, no violence has been reported from outside Kathmandu.

HM addresses the Nation

KATHMANDU, June 4 (RSS) - His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev has said that the wishes of his august brother His Late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of guiding the Nepali people towards a prosperous future through Constitutional Monarchy and multiparty democratic exercises will always remain a source of inspiration for all of us.

His Majesty the King made this remark in a Royal proclamation to the countrymen this evening.

We all have to keep alive the close relationship between the two neighbouring countries consolidated by His Majesty King Birendra in the interest of the nation and Nepal’s glorious image in the world community, His Majesty said, expressing confidence that cooperation would be received from all in materializing this committment.

"By shouldering the responsibility that has fallen on us as His Majesty the King of Nepal, I declare, by this proclamation, my consort Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah as Her Majesty the Queen," His Majesty said in the proclamation.

Following the proclamation made in the name of our countrymen this morning to make public the facts surrounding the tragic incident that took place at the Royal Palace, a high level committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Updhyaya, His Majesty said.

He added that the committee comprising of Speaker Taranath Tanabhat and leader of main opposition party Madhav Kumar Nepal has been directed to submit a report within three days.

His Majesty said we are very grieved to inform our countrymen that His Majesty King Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev who was seriously injured in the unanticipated incident that took place during a family gathering at the Royal Palace on the night of June 1, 2001 departed from us forever at 3:45 a.m. on June 4, 2001 despite of all possible efforts made by the physicians at Birendra Military Hospital.

Although it is a universal truth that we mortal beings have to die one day, we had to face the untimely demise of our youth King His Majesty King Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev which was never expected, His Majesty observed.

His Majesty the King said: a few days before this, we had to bear the tragic loss of our respected, benevolent and development-minded elder brother His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and loving and gratuitous sister-in-law Her Majesty Queen Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah who wished for the well-being of all the womenfolk and who was dedicated in social welfare.

Noting that we Nepalis have been grief-stricken at this unbearable hour of sorrow that has arisen in the country, His Majesty the King observed the time has come when we Nepalis have to fulfill our duties and responsibilities with restraint by bearing all the tragic circumstances that have come upon the country one after another.

His Majesty further said we have to be conscious and united as attempts could be made to undermine our national unity, sovereignty and nationality by taking undue advantage of this unimaginable circumstances in the history of Nepal. It is the need of the day for all the Nepalis to keep intact the Nepali tradition of tiding over most difficult situations without being perturbed at all.

It is the tradition of the Shah Dynasty to run the affairs of the country in accordance with popular consensus and the people’s wishes, His Majesty observed.

His Majesty called upon all the Nepalis to pray to the Lord Almighty for eternal peace to the departed soul of His late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah.

Gorkha wears a gloomy look

By Shukra Raj Pant

GORKHA, June 4 – Their great great grandfathers not only ruled this hill-state in western Nepal more than 250 years ago, but also chalked out plans to unite many tiny states into modern Nepal from here.

But now, the sudden demise of King Birendra, Crown Prince Dipendra and several other members of the Royal Family this week, this historic mountain hub has been left aghast - literally.

Deserted they already were, the historic Shah dynasty palace - and the temples of Gorakhkali (goddess) and Baba Gorakhnath - looked more gloomy on Saturday and Sunday when ashes were coming out from the funeral pyre of late Kings Birendra and Dipendra and Queen Aishwarya in Aryaghat, nearly 150 kilometres east of here.

Atop the mighty hill of Gorakhkali, where the palace sits, elderly people and the youth alike were getting nostalgic of the royal visits and the glorious history of Shah dynasty as the news of the sad royal deaths spread like a wildfire.

"The sudden demise of Their Late Majesties has shocked us, we have been orphaned," said sixty-year-old social worker, Dhiraj Bahadur Maskey of Gorkha bazaar. "Late King Birendra cared so much about us and was so much concerned about our proverty and backwardness.

Seventy-six-year-old Nara Bahadur Thapa said he is passing through a stage of great pain, but added, "The pain we are feeling deep inside is no less bitter than the tragic and untimely demise of the Royalties. The King and Queen were like my parents. The pain is no less bitter than the death of my own parents."

The hill-state was deserted way back in 1768 by the late Great King Prithivi Narayan Shah after his brave Gorkha troops maintained control over the Kathmandu Valley – then referred to as Nepal, with its four states. The troops took control over several other tiny states scattered over what now is the Kingdom of Nepal.

Late King Dipendra was the 11th descendent of the Great King, who was instrumental in the unification of the present day Nepal.

Following the landmark victory over Kathmandu Valley, Nuwakot, Makawanpur and several other states, the Great King shifted his capital to Nuwakot, which was later moved to Kathmandu.

The kingdom of Gorkha, founded by Dravya Shah in 1559 AD, was one of the most important ‘states’ among the major 24 kingdoms of the west during the medieval period.

To date, the King and members of the Royal Family visit the temple of Gorakhkali on special occasions, and the (national) festival of Dashain in the Kathmandu palace starts only after flowers and other ritual objects arrive from Gorkha.

Mourning for five more days

KATHMANDU, June 4 (RSS) - His Majesty’s Government has decided to observe state mourning for five days following the demise of His Majesty King Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev at 3:15 a.m. on June 4, throughout the Kingdom, and at the Royal Nepalese Embassies and Diplomatic Missions abroad, according to a notice published by the Home Ministry today.

All the Nepalis in accordance with their religious tradition are to observe Aashauchi (mourning) for three days, men employees will have to shave their heads, other citizens will condole the death with respect as per rituals and the national flag will be flown at half-mast for 13 days, it is stated.

The Home Ministry, in another notice, has urged the people not to conduct any entertaining programs including wedding and thread-wearing ceremonies during the 13 days meant for performing rituals for the departed soul and if such auspicious ceremonies are to be performed at all, such functions should be performed without musical bands.

A condolence book will also be kept at the District Administration Offices in all the 75 districts for the general public wishing to express their condolences and pray for the eternal peace of the departed soul of His late Majesty King Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, according to the notice.

His Majesty’s Government has also requested one and all to mourn the demise with patience and tolerance at this hour of grief.

Nepalis abroad pay their tribute

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KATHMANDU, June 4 - As the nation mourns over the series of tragic and shocking incidence of the death of the Royal Family members, news have been pouring in here from Nepalis living abroad paying their last tributes to the departed souls.

Associated Press (AP) reported from London that hundreds of British Gurkha regiment soldiers held a memorial service Monday for the members of the Royal Family who died in the tragic accident. Around 800 members of the Nepali soldiers laid individual flowers in front of the portraits of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya.

"There is a deep feeling of shock and sadness here," AP quotes the army spokesman Paul Beard as saying, after the service held at the regiment’s barracks in Folkestone, southern England.

"It has come as a bitter blow to everybody that this has happened in their peaceful country. I don’t think many have come to terms with what has happened," the spokesperson was quoted saying.

At the Sir John Moore Barracks at Shorncliffe Camp in Folkestone, five-foot (1.5-meter) high portraits of the late King and Queen were surrounded in a sea of flowers, AP further says.

"It was quite a moving event to see each soldier laying their flowers individually, much as people did for (Princess) Diana when she died," Beard said.

The Nepali flag and the Union Jack were draped on either side of the portraits. Flags throughout the camp were being flown half-mast as a mark of respect, it further says.

Likewise, AP writes from Hong Kong that a sizeable Nepali community there expressed disbelief Monday over the unfortunate incident and paid their deep respect by burning incense and laying flowers at a makeshift altar for the beloved late King and Queen.

"We’re very shocked. It’s something we never thought would happen. It’s very, very sad," Lekha Nath Koirala, co-ordinator for the Far East Overseas Nepalese Association, is quoted as saying.

According to AP, about 130 Nepali residents attended a Hindu remembrance ceremony at a sombre and poignant mood in Hong Kong. Some quietly wiped their tears while others broke down and wailed loudly. Some bowed and laid garlands on an old photograph of the Royal Family before observing a five-minute period of silence.

Several hundred people turned out late Sunday for candlelight vigil at a park in the northern suburb of Yuen Long, where many Nepalis have settled, AP adds.

AP further adds that some of Hong Kong’s 40,000 Nepalis said they were concerned about political stability back home and feared Maoist guerrillas might take advantage of the catastrophe.

"I’m really, really worried about this matter. In Nepal, there are a lot of problems," AP quotes Fumar, a Nepali who has lived in Hong Kong for last 18 years, as saying.

Nepali Consul-General Jainendra Sharma said he was saddened by the news, adds AP.

"He was a very well-educated person, a young man of dynamism. He was well-spoken and normal," Sharma said of Late King Dipendra, who passed away this morning.

More condolence messages pouring in

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KATHMANDU, June 4 - Condolence messages from various foreign dignitaries continued pouring in Monday expressing deep sorrow over the terrible tragedy befallen upon the country’s Royal Family.

In a condolence message addressed to His Royal Highness King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Dalai Lama, the Tibetan refugee leader-in-exile, said: "The loss of His Majesty Queen Aishwarya will no doubt be felt immensely by the people of Nepal as well as the Tibetans who are living in your Kingdom."

The Tibetan refugee leader in exile also stated that special prayer offerings are being arranged as per the Tibetan tradition.

Likewise, AFP, the French news agency, added that Bangladesh’s red and green national flag flew at half-mast Monday as the South Asian nation mourned the tragic death of Nepalese King Birendra and other royalty.

Bangladesh was observing a one-day national mourning as a mark of respect following the shocking death of the King and most of his family on Friday evening, the news agency added.

According to AFP, Vietnam’s government also expressed shock Monday over the massacre of nearly the entire Nepalese royal family and extended its sympathy to the people of the Himalayan kingdom.

Similarly, the agency added that Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland expressed his "emotion" and "incredulity" on Sunday at the death of the Royal family members.

"The late King Birendra has been an important stabilising factor at the heart of Nepalese society and has played an important role in the democratisation of Nepal," Jagland said, according to a Norwegian ministry statement in Oslo, Norway.