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Nepal Royal Family Is Shot Dead
By BINAJ GURUACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Nepal's crown prince opened fire in the royal palace of this small Himalayan nation on Friday, shooting to death his parents - the king and queen - in an apparent dispute over his choice of bride, a senior military official said. The prince gunned down six other family members before killing himself.
Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, killed King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya, his brother, Prince Nirajan, 22, and sister, Princess Shruti, the official said. The 24-year-old princess was married and had two daughters.
Four others members of the royal family were also shot to death, though their identities were not immediately known.
According to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the shootings of the revered royals were prompted by a dispute over the crown prince's marriage because his mother, the queen, reportedly objected to his choice of wife.
The royal family had apparently gathered for a large family meeting to discuss Prince Dipendra's wedding. Unconfirmed reports said that the prince wished to marry the daughter of a former government minister who is a member of the aristocratic Rana family, which until 1990 ruled Nepal.
Some early reports said the crown prince had survived and was in critical condition. But a senior military source within the royal palace said the prince had died of his wounds.
The crown prince, educated at Britain's Eton College, was heir to the throne.
There was no official announcement of the deaths, or of who would succeed the king. A helicopter was sent to Chitwan, 75 miles southwest of Katmandu, to pick up Prince Gyanendra, the king's younger brother, according to sources at the airport.
Prince Gyanendra, who is next in line to the throne, was expected to succeed King Birendra. The government was expected to make a formal announcement only after the king's brother replaces him.
The slaughter at Narayanhiti Royal Palace is thought to have been the worst mass murder of royals since the Romanovs were slain on order of Vladimir Lenin in 1918 during the Russian civil war.
Katmandu, the capital of 1.5 million, woke up Saturday to news of the shootings. Hundreds of people began walking toward the royal palace in the heart of the city.
Police in riot gear surrounded the perimeters of the iron walls that surround the modern, concrete palace, pushing back the crowds. The main street leading to the palace was closed as people began to gather.
``Shocking is an understatement, we have been orphaned by this loss,'' said Janardan Sharma, a vegetable vendor who left his morning rounds to rush to the palace.
``This is unbelievable ... one day you hear that the crown prince is getting married soon and the next day he goes on to a shooting rampage and kills everyone in the family,'' said Shreeram Shrestha.
The state-run Radio Nepal stopped its regular programs to broadcast religious songs, but there was no official announcement
King Birendra held nearly absolute power until 1990, when seven weeks of demonstrations and riots forced him to give into demands from democracy activists. A parliamentary government was established and the king has since remained a figurehead much like the queen of England, appearing in ceremonies and addressing the Parliament once a year.
The turning point in the resistance of the Harvard-educated king came on April 6, 1990, when police fired at 200,000 demonstrators marching toward the royal palace. Officials said at least 72 people died, but witnesses put the death toll at more than 300.
Birendra was crowned king in 1972 to replace his late father, King Mahendra. He was the latest monarch in the Shah dynasty, which has held the throne since the mid-1700s. Many Nepalis, especially illiterate farmers who comprise the bulk of this country's population of nearly 22 million, viewed the king as the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Some 90 percent of Nepal's population is Hindu.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Katmandu last Dec. 29 to greet King Birendra on his 55th birthday. Schools and government offices were closed as well. The queen was 51.
In New York, United Nations (news - web sites) Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites)'s office issued a statement saying Annan was ``profoundly shocked'' by the killings. Annan ``extends his heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and calls for calm and stability in this difficult period,'' the statement said.
The shootings come at a time of major political instability in Nepal. Opposition parties have been demanding Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation for the government's alleged role in a bribery scandal and for not better quelling a Maoist insurgency.
The country was shut down for three days earlier this week by the opposition parties to press for the resignation. Parliament was stalled the entire winter session earlier this year and street protests have been held regularly.
Nepal is located in South Asia along the slopes of the Himalayan mountains and is home to eight of the world's 14 peaks above 26,400 feet, the tallest being Mount Everest (news - web sites).
It is bordered on the north by China and on the east, south and west by India. It is the size and shape of the state of Tennessee.
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By BINAJ GURUACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Nepal's crown prince opened fire in the royal palace of this small Himalayan nation on Friday, shooting to death his parents - the king and queen - in an apparent dispute over his choice of bride, a senior military official said. The prince gunned down six other family members before killing himself.
Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, killed King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya, his brother, Prince Nirajan, 22, and sister, Princess Shruti, the official said. The 24-year-old princess was married and had two daughters.
Four others members of the royal family were also shot to death, though their identities were not immediately known.
According to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the shootings of the revered royals were prompted by a dispute over the crown prince's marriage because his mother, the queen, reportedly objected to his choice of wife.
The royal family had apparently gathered for a large family meeting to discuss Prince Dipendra's wedding. Unconfirmed reports said that the prince wished to marry the daughter of a former government minister who is a member of the aristocratic Rana family, which until 1990 ruled Nepal.
Some early reports said the crown prince had survived and was in critical condition. But a senior military source within the royal palace said the prince had died of his wounds.
The crown prince, educated at Britain's Eton College, was heir to the throne.
There was no official announcement of the deaths, or of who would succeed the king. A helicopter was sent to Chitwan, 75 miles southwest of Katmandu, to pick up Prince Gyanendra, the king's younger brother, according to sources at the airport.
Prince Gyanendra, who is next in line to the throne, was expected to succeed King Birendra. The government was expected to make a formal announcement only after the king's brother replaces him.
The slaughter at Narayanhiti Royal Palace is thought to have been the worst mass murder of royals since the Romanovs were slain on order of Vladimir Lenin in 1918 during the Russian civil war.
Katmandu, the capital of 1.5 million, woke up Saturday to news of the shootings. Hundreds of people began walking toward the royal palace in the heart of the city.
Police in riot gear surrounded the perimeters of the iron walls that surround the modern, concrete palace, pushing back the crowds. The main street leading to the palace was closed as people began to gather.
``Shocking is an understatement, we have been orphaned by this loss,'' said Janardan Sharma, a vegetable vendor who left his morning rounds to rush to the palace.
``This is unbelievable ... one day you hear that the crown prince is getting married soon and the next day he goes on to a shooting rampage and kills everyone in the family,'' said Shreeram Shrestha.
The state-run Radio Nepal stopped its regular programs to broadcast religious songs, but there was no official announcement
King Birendra held nearly absolute power until 1990, when seven weeks of demonstrations and riots forced him to give into demands from democracy activists. A parliamentary government was established and the king has since remained a figurehead much like the queen of England, appearing in ceremonies and addressing the Parliament once a year.
The turning point in the resistance of the Harvard-educated king came on April 6, 1990, when police fired at 200,000 demonstrators marching toward the royal palace. Officials said at least 72 people died, but witnesses put the death toll at more than 300.
Birendra was crowned king in 1972 to replace his late father, King Mahendra. He was the latest monarch in the Shah dynasty, which has held the throne since the mid-1700s. Many Nepalis, especially illiterate farmers who comprise the bulk of this country's population of nearly 22 million, viewed the king as the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Some 90 percent of Nepal's population is Hindu.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Katmandu last Dec. 29 to greet King Birendra on his 55th birthday. Schools and government offices were closed as well. The queen was 51.
In New York, United Nations (news - web sites) Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites)'s office issued a statement saying Annan was ``profoundly shocked'' by the killings. Annan ``extends his heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and calls for calm and stability in this difficult period,'' the statement said.
The shootings come at a time of major political instability in Nepal. Opposition parties have been demanding Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation for the government's alleged role in a bribery scandal and for not better quelling a Maoist insurgency.
The country was shut down for three days earlier this week by the opposition parties to press for the resignation. Parliament was stalled the entire winter session earlier this year and street protests have been held regularly.
Nepal is located in South Asia along the slopes of the Himalayan mountains and is home to eight of the world's 14 peaks above 26,400 feet, the tallest being Mount Everest (news - web sites).
It is bordered on the north by China and on the east, south and west by India. It is the size and shape of the state of Tennessee.
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