Nepal allows ousted king to live in summer palace

Wed Jun 4, 2008 4:29pm IST
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's ousted King Gyanendra will move to a palace outside Kathmandu, a senior minister said on Wednesday, a week after the country abolished the 239-year-old monarchy as part of a peace deal.

Unpopular Gyanendra was given 15 days to vacate the main royal palace in the heart of the capital after a special assembly elected in April turned the Himalayan nation into a republic last week.

Gyanendra, 60, had asked the government to help him find suitable accommodation because his son Paras was living in his private home.

"For the present he will be allowed to stay in the Nagarjun palace," the minister, who asked not to be named, told Reuters after a cabinet meeting.

The Nagarjun palace is eight km (five miles) northwest of Kathmandu.

Scrapping the monarchy was part of a peace deal with Maoist rebels, who ended their decade-long civil war and joined the political mainstream in 2006. More than 13,000 people died in the conflict that left the tourism-dominated economy in tatters.

The Maoists won a surprise election victory in April and became the biggest party in the assembly. They are expected to form a new government soon.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and David Fogarty)

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