Kathmandu - Nepal's deposed King Gyanendra left his palace
in Kathmandu on Wednesday to begin his life as an ordinary citizen.
Gyanendra, accompanied by his wife, Komal, drove away from
Narayanhiti Palace palace in a black Mercedes amid tight security.
Hundreds of journalists mobbed the former royal couple's car as it
headed to a summer residence in Nargarjun hills, on the outskirts of
the capital.
A few hundred pro-republican supporters danced on the streets in
front of the palace, the seat of the monarchs for the past 100 years.
Gyanendra's departure came on the last day of the deadline set by
the government to vacate the palace in line with a vote in the
constituent assembly to abolish the monarchy on May 28.
Earlier Wednesday, the former king went on national television and
radio to accept his fate and make an impassioned speech rejecting
media accusations of amassing wealth.
'I have played a role to support the decisions of the constituent
assembly in order to make its implementation easy,' Gyanendra said.
He made no reference to the political parties or the Maoists who
together acted as a catalyst to end the monarchy after Gyanendra's
government was toppled in a mass movement in April 2006.
Much of his speech was devoted to countering allegations in the
media that he and his family had misused government money, sold off
inherited properties and kept money in foreign banks along with the
circumstances under which he became the king.
'All my properties or money is in Nepal and I have no foreign bank
accounts nor have I transferred inherited properties into my personal
name,' Gyanendra said.
He said he could do nothing but tolerate allegations and
insinuations against him and his family over the shooting incident in
the Narayanhiti Palace in 2001 which killed nine people, including
the then king Birendra and his entire family.
'There was no way out nor was there anyone who could speak in our
support,' Gyanendra said. 'There were concerted efforts by several
media to discredit me and my family and take advantage of the
situation.'
He said there had been strategies to bring a rift between the
people and the royal family and at the same time made it clear he
would not leave the country and go into exile.
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