Opposition demands Koirala's resignation

KATHMANDU, JUNE 25. Hundreds of protesters marched through the Nepalese capital today and Opposition lawmakers in Parliament demanded the Prime Minister, Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation over the June 1 massacre at the royal palace.

``It is a shame that no one has taken any moral responsibility for the royal massacre, not even the Prime Minister, in-charge of royal palace affairs,'' Mr. Narayanman Bijuchche of the Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party, a Communist group, said at the beginning of the budget session of Parliament.

An official inquiry said Crown Prince Dipendra killed his parents, the King and Queen, and some other royals during a palace dinner on June 1.

Although the inquiry didn't deal with the motive, the late Prince was reported to be unhappy that his parents rejected his choice of a prospective bride.

The Prime Minister also faced criticism over his Government's suspected involvement in a bribery case and a law introduced last week that allows police to detain people or ban any organisation for ``posing a threat to the nation's security''. Nearly 500 people marched to Parliament, demanding the repeal of the new law which they said would be used by the Government to stifle dissent. ``Everyone at this point is against the Prime Minister, who is left without even a handful of people in his support. The only way out for him is to resign,'' said Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal, secretary-general of the main Opposition United Marxist Leninist Communist Party of Nepal.

Drug habit not reported

Meanwhile, the Raajdhani daily has reported that the palace staff had failed to report Crown Prince Dipendra, for illegally using drugs. The panel set up by the new King Gyanendra to review palace security said rules were in place obliging palace staff to report any illegal drug use by royal family members to their superiors but they failed to follow them, the paper said.

- AP, Reuters

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