Nepal parliament moves to curtail king's powers

KATHMANDU, May 18 (Reuters) Nepal's parliament was today set to pass a special resolution on Thursday that aims to curtail the king's powers and wrest control of the army from the monarch.

''The special proclamation will be presented in the parliament on Thursday and passed,'' Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said.

Ahead of the parliament meet, scheduled for 3 p.m. (1445 hrs IST), the multi-party cabinet approved the resolution, Deputy Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli told reporters.

He gave no further details but under the current constitution, no parliamentary bill can become law until the head of state -- the king -- signs it.

The proclamation aims to strip the king of his formal title of supreme commander-in-chief of the military, and call an end to ''His Majesty's'' administration, renaming it simply the Nepal government.

Cutting the king's powers was a key demand of last month's pro-democracy protests, which led to King Gyanendra reinstating parliament and handing power back to a multi-party government.

''It is a parliament without opposition and the adoption of the resolution will not be a problem,'' said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the news magazine, Samay.

What could be problematic is that, according to the political parties, any provision in the existing constitution or laws that contradict the resolution will be invalid, he said.

''This cannot happen because such a resolution cannot have the force of a law,'' Ghimire said. ''At most, it can only be seen as a collective intent of the house.'' Sitaula did not spell out how the proposals intend to reduce the king's powers but party officials said the resolution was expected to empower the parliament to make laws relating to the king and put the 90,000-member army under parliament's control.

The principal advisory body of the king, the Raj Parishad or privy council, is also expected to be scrapped.

The government on Thursday banned protests in the heart of the capital and around key government buildings, two days after hundreds of people protested in front of the central secretariat building against the delay in clipping the king's power.

King Gyanendra triggered the crisis when he sacked the government and assumed full powers on February 1 last year, saying the government had failed to quell an anti-monarchy Maoist revolt that has killed more than 13,000 people.

The new government has reciprocated a rebel truce, and the Maoists have agreed to talks.

Nepal has been quiet since the ceasefires were declared, a welcome respite from months of widespread civil unrest and years of fighting between soldiers and Maoists that killed thousands and left the aid and tourism-dependent economy in tatters.

Officials expect a jump in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country -- home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest -- if the largely rebel-controlled countryside remains calm.

The parties and rebels now face months of hectic political activity as they work towards holding elections to a promised assembly that will draft a new constitution and decide the monarchy's future.

REUTERS SB RS1215