Protesters in Nepal have reportedly broken through police and army barricades in the capital Kathmandu, defying a curfew and a warning from King Gyanendra that curfew violators would be shot on sight. The protests follow a rejection of an offer by the king to "restore democracy" by an alliance of seven political parties.
The BBC quotes protesters as saying "We want a republic, We don't want the king any more."
I can understand why anyone would want to dump an autocratic and unresponsive government, and sympathize with any group of people seeking to topple any government. But be warned -- just getting rid of the incompentant and power-obsessed king and creating a republic, or "giving power to the people," won't change things much. Government is government, whether waged in the name of "the people" or something else.
Whatever president you get, if that's what enough of you want, he'll wield just as much murderous power as your current unloved king -- his soldiers will shoot to kill, his police will still impose curfews, and power will still be concentrated in a relatively small group. Maybe that group will call themselves "the people's representatives," but it will still be a small, privileged and unacccountable group. Don't be fooled by the pretty words or all the nice political and social theory, there is no such thing as "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
You'll learn this eventually.
