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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 451 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 451

    Expressing the support of the Senate for the reconvening of the 
   Parliament of Nepal and for an immediate, peaceful transition to 
                               democracy.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2006

 Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Chafee, 
 Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. Sununu) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Expressing the support of the Senate for the reconvening of the 
   Parliament of Nepal and for an immediate, peaceful transition to 
                               democracy.

Whereas, in 1990, Nepal adopted a constitution that enshrined multi-party 
        democracy under a constitutional monarchy, ending 3 decades of absolute 
        monarchical rule;
Whereas, since 1996, Maoist insurgents have waged a violent campaign to replace 
        the constitutional monarchy with a communist republic, which has 
        resulted in widespread human rights violations by both sides and the 
        loss of an estimated 12,000 lives;
Whereas the Maoist insurgency grew out of the radicalization and fragmentation 
        of left wing parties following Nepal's transition to democracy in 1990;
Whereas, on June 1, 2001, King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other members of 
        the Royal family were murdered, leaving the throne to the slain King's 
        brother, the current King Gyanendra;
Whereas, in May 2002, in the face of increasing Maoist violence, Prime Minister 
        Sher Bahadur Deuba dissolved the Parliament of Nepal;
Whereas, in October 2002, King Gyanendra dismissed Prime Minister Deuba;
Whereas, in June 2004, after the unsuccessful tenures of 2 additional palace-
        appointed prime ministers, King Gyanendra reappointed Prime Minister 
        Deuba and mandated that he hold general elections by April 2005;
Whereas, on February 1, 2005, King Gyanendra accused Nepali political leaders of 
        failing to solve the Maoist problem, seized absolute control of Nepal by 
        dismissing and detaining Prime Minister Deuba and declaring a state of 
        emergency, temporarily shut down Nepal's communications, detained 
        hundreds of politicians and political workers, and limited press and 
        other constitutional freedoms;
Whereas, in November 2005, the mainstream political parties formed a seven-party 
        alliance with the Maoists and agreed to a 12 point agenda that called 
        for a restructuring of the government of Nepal to include an end to 
        absolute monarchical rule and the formation of an interim all-party 
        government with a view to holding elections for a constituent assembly 
        to rewrite the Constitution of Nepal;
Whereas, since February 2005, King Gyanendra has promulgated dozens of 
        ordinances without parliamentary process that violate basic freedoms of 
        expression and association, including the Election Code of Conduct that 
        seeks to limit media freedom in covering elections and the Code of 
        Conduct for Social Organizations that bars staff of nongovernmental 
        organizations from having political affiliations;
Whereas King Gyanendra ordered the arrest of hundreds of political workers in 
        January 2006 before holding municipal elections on February 8, 2006, 
        which the Department of State characterized as ``a hollow attempt by the 
        King to legitimize his power'';
Whereas the people of Nepal have been peacefully protesting since April 6, 2006, 
        in an attempt to restore the democratic political process;
Whereas on April 10, 2006, the Department of State declared that King 
        Gyanendra's February 2005 decision ``to impose direct palace rule in 
        Nepal has failed in every regard'' and called on the King to restore 
        democracy immediately and to begin a dialogue with Nepal's political 
        parties;
Whereas King Gyanendra ordered a crackdown on the protests, which has left at 
        least 14 Nepali citizens dead and hundreds injured by the security 
        forces of Nepal;
Whereas the people of Nepal are suffering hardship due to food shortages and 
        lack of sufficient medical care because of the prevailing political 
        crisis;
Whereas King Gyanendra announced on April 21, 2006, that the executive power of 
        Nepal shall be returned to the people and called on the seven-party 
        alliance to name a new prime minister to govern the country in 
        accordance with the 1990 Constitution of Nepal;
Whereas the seven-party alliance subsequently rejected King Gyanendra's April 
        21, 2006 statement and called on him to reinstate parliament and allow 
        for the establishment of a constituent assembly to draw up a new 
        constitution;
Whereas on April 24, 2006, King Gyanendra announced that he would reinstate the 
        Parliament of Nepal on April 28, 2006, and apologized for the deaths and 
        injuries that occurred during the recent demonstrations, but did not 
        address the issue of constitutional revision; and
Whereas political party leaders have welcomed King Gyanendra's April 24th 
        announcement and stated that the first action of the reconvened 
        parliament will be the scheduling of elections for a constituent 
        assembly to redraft the Constitution of Nepal: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses its support for the reconvening of the 
        Parliament of Nepal and for an immediate, peaceful transition 
        to democracy;
            (2) commends the desire of the people of Nepal for a 
        democratic system of government and expresses its support for 
        their right to protest peacefully in pursuit of this goal;
            (3) acknowledges the April 24, 2006 statement by King 
        Gyanendra regarding his intent to reinstate the Parliament of 
        Nepal;
            (4) urges the Palace, the political parties, and the 
        Maoists to immediately support a process that returns the 
        country to multi-party democracy and creates the conditions for 
        peace and stability in Nepal;
            (5) declares that the transition to democracy in Nepal must 
        be peaceful and that violence conducted by any party is 
        unacceptable and risks sending Nepal into a state of anarchy;
            (6) calls on security forces of Nepal to exercise maximum 
        restraint and to uphold the highest standards of conduct in 
        their response to the protests;
            (7) urges the immediate release of all political detainees 
        and the restoration of full civilian and political rights, 
        including freedom of association, expression, and assembly;
            (8) urges the Maoists to lay down their arms and to pursue 
        their goals through participation in a peaceful political 
        process; and
            (9) calls on the Government of the United States to work 
        closely with other governments, including the governments of 
        India, China, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, and 
        with the United Nations to ensure a common and coherent 
        international approach that helps to bring about an immediate 
        peaceful transition to democracy and to end the violent 
        insurgency in Nepal.
                                 <all>
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