Upcoming Travel Plans

I’m scheduled to travel to Thailand at the end of the month for work. Last week, I was asked to make a side trip to Nepal for a few days as well. The idea of spending a weekend sightseeing in Kathmandu and possibly going on safari in Royal Chitwan National Park was very appealing, at least until the protests began late last week:

Nepali security forces fired on stone-throwing protesters Saturday, killing two people and wounding at least five as increasingly violent demonstrations against King Gyanendra spread across this Himalayan nation.

Protesters ransacked government buildings and attacked security forces in provincial cities, but a curfew and a threat by authorities to shoot anyone violating it, spared the capital, Katmandu, from further violence after two days of protests.

This puts a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm, to say the least. But the current situation may prevent me from obtaining country clearance to travel to Nepal, so my concerns may be moot.

Brief history of Nepal: Nepal’s constitutional monarchy was established in 1990. The country has been in a state of revolt since 1996 as Maoist communist party rebels have attempted to overthrow the government.

In 2002, Nepal’s Prime Minister dissolved Parliament in order to hold elections, but later claimed that security issues caused by the insurgency would prevent such elections. The King fired the PM and appointed three other PMs before finally declaring a “state of emergency” in 2005. This declaration allowed the King to assume all executive powers and the role of Chairman of the government.

The move was initially welcomed by many Nepali who were tired of the political corruption and communist revolt. But the failing economy, continued insurgency and the King's failure to restore democracy has resulted in an alliance of the country’s seven main political parties, which have called for the current strike and protests.