After three weeks of mass demonstrations in Nepal’s capital, Katmandu, King “Gyanendra” finally gave up to the protests, orchestrated by seven opposition parties, by accepting the parliament to be reinstated and a new constitution to be written. A brave political gesture that would put an end to his ruling power but would enable him to continue, at least, as a ceremonial monarch and save Nepal from drowning into a total chaos.
Although what is going on in a small and geopolitically rather unimportant country, such as Nepal, has nothing to do with us, but I can’t stop comparing the situation with what happened in Iran almost three decades ago, when our king did not yield to people’s legitimate demands for freedom, liberty and democracy until it was too late.
Although I’m sure that a considerable number of people who still so genuinely believe in conspiracy theory, would argue that what happened in Iran was simply predestined and therefore inevitable, but for someone like myself who considers these kinds of inevitabilities, just some flimsy excuses for our mistakes and misjudgments, what remains is a deep sense of regret. Regret about a promising uprising that shouldn’t have ended up in a disastrous revolution only if “Shah” was a better poker player! Good enough, not to bet his and our future to call a bluff, that turned out to be, not a bluff at all!
