Political Crisis in Nepal; Protester Charged with Disorderly Conduct
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The remote mountain nation of Nepal caught between heaven and earth, also caught in the throes of a bloody political crisis. CNN's Dan Rivers is in the capital city of Kathmandu where citizens are willing to die for democracy.</s>DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tucked into the shadows of the towering Himalayan Mountains between India and China, Nepal is an ancient kingdom teetering on the edge of collapse. In the last 10 days, more than 2,000 have been injured and several killed as protesters press the king to restore democracy. For centuries these people have been ruled by the Nepalese royal family who they believe are divine, but now they're chanting "down with the king." (on camera): This is the fault line between the state and the people. On this side are the king's security forces who are standing firm, and on the other side is this huge crowd made up of a broad coalition of political parties. The atmosphere is incredibly tense and this lot want to get into the city. (voice-over): The protesters are united against the king but they're divided in their goals: those who want communism, and those who want democracy. For years, Maoists, influenced by China, have been growing in strength and numbers and agitating for communist rule. In fact, it was because of their growing power that the king swept away Democratic reforms about a year ago. And then there are those here in the capital, Kathmandu, who simply want democracy back.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This too much for now. We cannot tolerate now, because we need freedom and he must listen to our voice because this is not old people. We have new generations. We are asking for a republic.</s>RIVERS: But what brought Nepal to the brink reads like a Shakespearian tragedy. The current king, Gyanendra, came to the throne five years ago after a bloody massacre at the palace, the crown prince slaughtering almost every royal before killing himself leaving Gyanendra to take the crown. But Gyanendra also inherited a violent Maoist insurgency, armed rebels determined to overthrow the royals. Since then, the king has slowly dismantled democracy. He dissolved the parliament and took all control for himself because he claimed the politicians were failing to deal with the Maoists. Today, a general strike has left people lining up for fuel and food. At the Buddhist temples, the monks are praying for peace. The tourists watch on helplessly. They only want out as soon as possible.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my opinion, it could be the last days of the king. The situation's very scary.</s>RIVERS: Many here are asking, are we witnessing the violent end of what has been centuries of a single family's royal rule here in the kingdom of Nepal? Dan Rivers, CNN, Kathmandu, Nepal.</s>LIN: The crisis in Nepal didn't happen overnight. Here's a CNN fact check.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people know Nepal as the land of Mount Everest, conquered 53 years ago next month by the team of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Nepal is also one of the world's poorest and least developed countries. It's about the size of Arkansas. Roughly a third of its people live in poverty. It's the only place in the world where Hinduism stands as the official state religion. In 1990, Nepal introduced democracy under its long-serving monarchy. Eleven years later, things started to fall apart. The young Crown Prince Dipendra massacred the reining royal family. Official findings say a family disagreement over the choice of a bride led to 11 people being killed, including the king and queen and Dipendra himself. A year later, a new king dissolved the country's parliament, alleging it was inept. Last year, he declared a state of emergency and assumed full powers, he said, to combat Maoists insurgents. With the lure of Mount Everest, Nepal was drawing about 500,000 tourists annually. But with all the instability, tourism numbers have dropped along with needed revenue.</s>LIN: This just in to the CNN Center. Remember we showed you earlier the protester out at the White House appearance of the Chinese president and the president of the United States. We have learned more about this woman from the U.S. Secret Service. Her name is Wenyi Wang. She's 47 years old. She was on a temporary press pass which was scheduled to expire at the end of the day. And she went through all of the usual security protocols which is to provide a passport or a driver's license and have a cursory security check before she's allowed onto the White House grounds. She was removed and she is charged with disorderly conduct under a D.C. statute. But there's a possible additional charge, a federal charge, something called willing intimidation and disruption of a federal official. All right, but this is being worked out at U.S. Attorney's Office. She has not been charged with that federal crime yet. Now, talk about keeping a lot of balls in the air. Imagine running a marathon and juggling the entire time. Find out why two guys decided to combine juggling and jogging into joggling. Straight ahead on LIVE FROM.