Judgment Day For A King

Not George, this one:

A government commission blamed King Gyanendra on Monday for a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left 19 people dead earlier this year, and Nepal's prime minister hinted that criminal charges were possible.

Since April's mass protests, which forced Gyanendra to reinstate parliament 14 months after he suspended it and seized complete power, the monarch has since seen his status plummet from demigod to delinquent. Monday's report was an ominous portent for Nepal's centuries-old monarchy, the last Hindu throne in the world.

Still, if a demi-god could fall, wishing the same for a self-appointed one doesn't seem so farfetched anymore.

Image: AP Photo/Binod Joshi.



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