Protesters Calls for Restoration of Monarchy in Nepal

(22 Feb 10 - RV) Hundreds of supporters of Nepal's deposed king were arrested as they enforced a general
strike today demanding a referendum on restoring the monarchy and country's status as a Hindu state.


The king was stripped of power and Nepal was declared a republic in 2008.


The South Asian country still suffers from political instability nearly four years after democracy was restored and a peace process ended years of communist insurgency.


A new constitution is supposed to be written by May of this year. But professor of political science at Tribhuwan University in Khatmandu, Dr. Rabindra Khanal, says the deadline is not feasible: