On Thursday Nepal will succumb to a four-day nationwide strike in protest of the King’s seizure of the government over a year ago. He has arrested thousands of people and hundreds of journalists for protesting and writing about the theft of civil liberties in the name of crushing the Maoist rebellion. But the King has made no progress against the Maoists, and his disbanding of the legitimately elected parliament has decreased his legitimacy with the population. So much so that the situation has deteriorated to the point where civil society has taken side with the Maoists in order to force the King to step down.

KATHMANDU, 4 April (IRIN) – Nepal’s seven key opposition parties are gearing up for a four-day general strike due to start on Thursday. The protest will begin with rallies across the country against the government of King Gyanendra, who assumed absolute rule of the Himalayan kingdom in February 2005.

According to one of the leading parties, the Nepali Congress (NC), the strike is being organised to encourage a wide cross-section of Nepali society, both rural and urban, to demonstrate its opposition to direct rule and to call for a restoration of democracy.

Teachers, engineers, lawyers, journalists, social workers, human rights activists and government civil servants have been called on to down tools and participate in the planned rallies.

Such strikes tend to affect poor Nepalis the most, but it’s a price worth paying said NC spokesman Krishna Sitaula. “We understand that the strike will cause hardship to many poor citizens but this is for the sake of restoring democracy.”

In a show of unity, Maoist rebels, who have been waging a decade-long insurgency against the state, have called a temporary ceasefire for the duration of the strike, their leader Prachanda said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The rebels and the alliance of seven main parties have been making common cause since they signed a 12-point understanding on 22 November that laid out a plan of action for removing the king from power.

The King has decreed that all forms of public protest have been banned starting immediately. This is obviously to prevent people from taking to the streets against him. It is the same tactic employed many times before. We will likely see cell phone connections and the internet cut for awhile too. However, because the opposition, which represents 90% of the population, views the move as illegitimate and illegal, they will defy the ban and protest anyway.

A special anti-terrorism law has also been strengthened. It now says that anyone thought to be sympathizing or collaborating with the Maoists can be held in jail for at least one year without charges. Of course, given that the opposition is cooperating with the Maoists in order to force the King to resign, this means that every single leader, organizer, and protestor can be detained! It also means that journalists cannot write anti-monarch materials or interview/cover the Maoists.

One can hardly blame the democratic opposition for collaborating with them either. It is completely the King’s fault. He has turned Nepal into an absolute dictatorship in which the legitimate government is not allowed to rule. They are doing anything they can to resist him and temporarily joining with the Maoists is the only way to do so. Despite the beginning of this cooperation beginning in November, I wrote that this would probably happen back in August. The King should have seen this coming. Now, not only are the Moaists stronger than ever, but he is about to face the strongest-ever challenge to his rule. He doesn’t have much time left now.