Nepal gets new king as protesters demand explanation of royal family massacre

Nepal's new King Gyanendra after being enthroned at Hanumandhoka Palace in Katmandu, Nepal Monday. (John McConnico/AP)

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Prince Gyanendra inherited Nepal's throne from his dead relatives Monday, becoming king as police fired tear gas at rioting youth who demanded an explanation of a shooting that killed nine royals.

Police called for a 4 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew to clear the streets, and state-run radio issued a warning that police had been told to fire at violators who ignored their orders.

"Do not go out of your houses or you can be shot," the radio bulletin said.

Armed riot patrols surrounded the palace, and army troops began moving into other parts of Kathmandu, the capital.

The curfew call came after police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who threw rocks. Witnesses said police beat demonstrators with batons and some soldiers fired warning shots into the air. Some protesters were injured by tear-gas shells.

Many mourners refused to believe that Crown Prince Dipendra - technically king for a weekend - had killed his family and then himself, as officials have said privately.

Some blamed Gyanendra for the deaths, and many Nepalese were incredulous at the new king's assertion that the bloodbath was a freak accident.

Thousands of mostly young men marched, chanting "Dipendra is innocent," and "Punish the real murderers."

Others yelled: "We don't want Gyanendra."

Earlier, thousands lined the path of a sombre royal procession as King Gyanendra rode in a horse-drawn carriage from one palace, where he was enthroned, to another that will be his official residence - the scene of the killings that left this impoverished Himalayan country stunned and searching for answers.

There was hardly any applause, and few people along the route clasped their hands together in the traditional Hindu greeting of respect when their new monarch passed.

As Gyanendra arrived at the residential palace, a lone supporter shouted, "Long live the king," but he got no response from the crowd.

Appearing at a palace enthronement ceremony, his head shaven in a traditional show of respect for the dead, Gyanendra sat on his throne, wearing a crown topped with a large cream-coloured plume.

He issued a statement promising the Nepalese people a full explanation of the palace killings - a day after blaming the deaths of King Birendra and eight other royals on "accidental" fire from an automatic weapon.

The State Council, which oversees royal affairs, met Monday morning and proclaimed Gyanendra, who had been acting king, as monarch. Gyanendra is the slain King Birendra's younger brother.

The council confirmed that Dipendra, the heir to the throne, had died earlier Monday morning. There was no word whether life support had been withdrawn before the 29-year-old died.

Officials initially said Dipendra was on life support after fatally shooting his parents - the king and queen - and six other royals Friday night before turning the gun on himself.

But on Sunday, Gyanendra, named acting king because Dipendra was incapacitated, asserted that the shootings were accidental and did not name his nephew as the gunman.

The new king offered a partial explanation Monday: Since Dipendra was technically the king over the weekend, he was above reproach under Nepal's Constitution and by tradition.

"The facts could not be made public in yesterday's statement due to legal and constitutional hurdles," Gyanendra said. "I will make the facts of the incident public after an investigation."

Adding to the turmoil, many demonstrators Monday shouted that they did not believe Dipendra was to blame. Some saw the royal killings as a political or military conspiracy.

A funeral for Dipendra was expected later in the day. By 4 p.m., when the funeral procession was to begin, Kathmandu's streets were deserted but littered with stones and bricks. Soldiers pointed their guns at people and shouted at them to get home as they scurried through alleyways.

On Sunday, hundreds of people burned tires in the centre of Kathmandu, demanding to know the truth behind the killings.

"How can a gun go off and shoot a dozen people in all different directions?" asked Dhan Gurung, a rickshaw driver. "This is ridiculous."

The shots rang out while the royal family was gathered for dinner Friday night to discuss Dipendra's planned wedding. Sources close to the family said the prince wanted to marry the daughter of a former government minister who is a member of the aristocratic Rana family, which ruled Nepal until 1951.

His mother, Queen Aiswarya, reportedly rejected the idea and preferred an arranged marriage, which most Nepalese have.

Meanwhile, a newspaper reported Monday that Maoist rebels who want to topple the constitutional monarchy reportedly rejected the idea the royal family had been killed by a lovestruck prince, instead pointing to a "grave political conspiracy"

© The Canadian Press, 2001