Two killed in the Kathmandu rally asking for the return of the monarchy to Nepal | Nepal

Two people were killed and dozen wounds after the protests to Kathmandu asked for the restoration of the Nepal monarchy ended with clashes with the police.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital of Nepal on Friday to ask for a return to the Hindu monarchy, which was abolished in 2008And the restoration of the country as a Hindu rather than secular state. The pro-democracy and republican groups had a counter-rod that passed peacefully.

The pro-royalist movement asks for the return of Gyanendra Shah, who was the last monarch in office for Nepal and still has a faithful following in the country.

Support for the Pro-Monarchia movement has grown recently when Nepal is preparing with the ongoing political and economic instability that led to a widespread dissatisfaction with the government.

The protests on Friday took a violent turning point after the pro-royalisti broke through the police barricades and started to launch stones against the officers. The police replied by shooting tears in the crowd and shooting rubber bullets and ammunition lives in the air.

Chaos swallowed the streets while the Royalist demonstrators began to vandalize houses and shops and set fire to buildings. Several locations of the political party have been vandalized, as well as the offices of a prominent newspaper and a television news channel.

Police spokesman Shekhar Khanal said 17 people have been arrested so far. “When the demonstrators tried to make their way beyond the limited area, the police had no choice but to use tears. Later, the protesters then resorted to vandalism and the malicious fire,” he said.

A protester was killed in the clashes and declared dead on arrival in the hospital. A journalist was killed when a building was on.

The government declared a curfew in the areas of capital and security staff were lined up on the streets. Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli defined an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the security situation.

The real protesters said that the police had acted first against the demonstrators. “At this moment, we are not asking for the return of the monarchy, we are supporting the establishment of the monarchy,” said Ravi Shrestha, who was among the protesters. “The situation has increased outside the control due to the suppression of the police.”

The protests were the largest since 2023 and demonstrated the growing base of support for the return of the king to Nepal. At the beginning of this month, over 10,000 supporters gathered at Kathmandu airport to celebrate Gyanendra’s arrival in the capital, with the cries of “bringing our monarch back”.

In a declaration before protests, the Committee for the restoration of the monarchy underlined that it asked for the return of a “constitutional monarchy” that would coexist with the democratic government and would have a “role of parents above politics”.

Gyanendra remains a controversial figure. He was crowned in 2001 after most of his family was killed in a mass shooting at their home and initially ruled as a ceremonial head of state, without executive powers. But, in 2005, Has seized absolute powerdissolving the government and imprisoned politicians. He declared a state of emergency and unfolded the army to manage the country.

After enormous protests they shaken the country, He was forced to deliver the country’s government To an democratically elected government in 2006. In 2008, Parliament voted to completely abolish the monarchy.

In the following years, Nepal has experienced continuous political instability, with weak coalition governments that regularly last only a few months before being overturned, and senior politicians are overwhelmed in corruption scandals. The anger for the political system has increased constantly, and this has been capitalized by the pro-monarchy movement.

Sunita Chudal, from Jhapa, was among those who protested for the abolition of the monarchy in 2006 and recalled that she shouts in the streets by calling Gyanendra a thief. Now he is among those who ask for his return.

“I joined this movement, not because I believe that the king will return and improve things, but because of the way corruption and degradation have increased in the country and how our children are forced to migrate abroad,” he said.

“I am so disillusioned that I had no other choice than to take on the street.”