The violent events that occurred in Kathmandu’s Tinkune and surrounding areas this past Friday have once again put former King Gyanendra Shah in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. What began as a peaceful demonstration of his royalist supporters quickly turned into dreaded acts of violence that saw the destruction of public and private properties and the killing of journalist Suresh Rajak and protester Sabin Maharjan. The mayhem has made many suspicious about the deposed King Shah's control over the pro-monarchy movement and whether he is guilty of instigating protesters for unleashing the anarchy. Friday's demonstration did not appear to be a spontaneous or peaceful one but a planned demonstration backed plainly by angry royalists guided by the idea of restoring the dethroned king at any cost. The selection of controversial entrepreneur Durga Prasai as the commander of the movement and the nomination of another controversial and largely discredited Panchayat era leader, Nawaraj Subedi, to head the committee formed to restore the king, was a calculated move made to bring all royalists — hardened and not so hardened ones — under one umbrella. But when Friday’s protest turned violent by targeting media houses, commercial complexes, private and public buildings, and vehicles, it became apparent that this was not so much a peaceful demonstration of Shah’s sympathizers, but an angry mob of royalists bent on creating and elongating unrest in the capital and elsewhere.
With both the monarchists and Shah being displeased for long with the republican system, it is quite difficult not to count his role in helping organize these violent acts. He has for the past few weeks been speaking against political parties and leaders, both overtly and covertly. The role and speeches of hardliner royalists, Prasai, Subedi, and RPP leaders, including Rabindra Mishra, Dhawal Shumsher Rana, and many others, hinted at this fact too, as they were seen mobilizing angry supporters to break the police barricades to enter into prohibited areas. In response to the violent acts, the government is expected to toughen up its stance against the former king — from withdrawing government privileges and reducing security staff to even suspending his passport. Many people agree that the ex-king should face legal prosecution. They believe he incited violence, lured by prospects of being enthroned for the third time. In reality, however, no such possibility exists. Period. Ex-king may be advised to stop daydreaming.
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Democratic rights, like the right to peaceful protest, must be protected. But as a form of political expression, these rights do not allow stirring up chaos. Pro-royalists may argue that the government's actions against the deposed king are disproportionate, but we must remind them that democracy is based on responsibility. No one — neither the dethroned king nor a simple citizen — is above the law. If Shah has political ambitions, nothing in the nation bars him from forming a political party and contesting elections. But rather than opting for the democratic path, he appears to have chosen the opposite way, to be restored as a monarch by hook or crook. The incidents of last Friday will certainly serve as a wake-up call for Nepal's political leadership, who must work for strengthening democratic institutions and preventing autocracy from creeping back into the system. The nation has made irreversible strides in building democratic culture, governance, and civic liberties since the end of monarchy. Given the violent and chaotic scenes on Friday, many have taken to the social media posts demanding, in no uncertain terms, that Gyanendra Shah should be brought to justice. And, this cost him dearly.
