Nepal: May 23, 2005

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 There is basically a stalemate between the royalists (the king, supported by a portion of the urban families, plus many of the more well-off rural families and many of the rural poor as well), the political parties (the urban educated families, and many of the landlords that control large amounts of land) and the Maoists (young rural gunmen led by educated urban radicals.) The king has tossed out the elected government, accusing it of inability to make decisions, and for being part of the problem by tolerating corruption. The Maoists are using terrorism to get their way, and are increasingly more feared than admired. This is giving the king an opening, for if he can mobilize enough  of the rural population to oppose the Maoists with force, the rebels can be isolated, restricted to different parts of the country, and reduced to a bandit problem. 

 

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