NEPAL: Taking to the streets of Kathmandu in their hundreds of thousands yesterday, Nepalese celebrated the return of democracy after three weeks of intense protests forced King Gyanendra to restore the country's parliament.
Crowds thronged the capital's ring road, where political parties had previously planned massive protests. People instead spent the day singing, dancing and chanting slogans urging party leaders to deliver on their promises.
"It's like a new morning, every one I see radiates a sense of achievement," said Hari Sharma, a political analyst doing his rounds at the rallies. "I am not going to work today."
Some among the crowds called for work, others demanded higher-quality education, while some called for peace and elections to a constituent assembly.
At Chabali, one point on the ring road, people smeared one another with vermilion - a sign of victory and celebration. They passed around water bottles or just stood by, gazing at bus and truck-loads of flag-carrying youths who seemed headed nowhere in particular.
Amid the celebrations, the seven political parties that, in a loose partnership with Maoist rebels, had led the successful protests, met and invited Girija Prasad Koirala (85) to become prime minister for the fourth time in his career.
Emerging from the meeting, Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the Communist party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) said the parties would immediately call on the Maoists to declare a ceasefire.
The parties issued a statement promising to call elections to a constituent assembly. They also pledged to punish security forces responsible for excesses during the three-week protests and to compensate families of the 15 people killed during the demonstrations.
Making an intervention that risked angering republican elements within the democracy movement, the US pre-empted the outcome of an eventual constituent assembly, as Adam Ereli, state department spokesman, said that the monarch should retreat to "assume a ceremonial role".
Kathmandu's celebrations were largely peaceful but in Biratnagar a crowd torched the outhouse of an outgoing minister, while five people intent on demolishing the statue of King Mahendra, father to the present monarch, were hurt in clashes with police. Only Nepal's Maoists were dissatisfied with the peaceful end to King Gyanendra's 14-month rule.
They regretted that the crowds missed a chance to storm the royal palace.