Nepal lawmakers call for king to give up control of army in new constitution News
Nepal lawmakers call for king to give up control of army in new constitution

[JURIST] Nepalese lawmakers pressing for wide-ranging changes to the country's constitution [text] called Saturday for King Gyanendra [Nepal monarchy website] to give up control of the army [Royal Nepalese Army website] to put out of his reach a key instrument he used to assume direct control of the country in February 2005 when he effectively deposed the civilian government of then-Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba [Wikipedia profile]. Nepal's current constitution makes the King the army's supreme commander, but many politicians wanting to restrain the monarch lest he be tempted to seize power again say that an elected Prime Minister [official OPM website] should be in that position. Nepal's Parliament [official website] is scheduled to consider a range of political and constitutional proposals in a further meeting in Kathmandu Sunday.

Nepal's House of Representatives met for the first time in four years on Friday. Parliament was reinstated by the King early last week following 18 days of intense pro-democracy agitation in which 17 people were killed and thousands injured. AP has more.