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US does not see plot in Nepal

Aziz Haniffa
India Abroad Correspondent in Washington

Even as it warned Americans to defer travel to Nepal, the United States Government iterated that it had no reason to believe the massacre of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and many members of the royal family was politically motivated.

The US Department of State, describing the situation in Nepal as "unstable," after the killing of the royal family, said it "strongly recommends that American citizens defer travel to Nepal".

It noted that "the situation in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal is unstable following the death on June 1 of King Birendra and several other members of the royal family and the succession of a new king, King Gyanendra."

It advised Americans in Nepal "to remain indoors, to monitor the situation closely before venturing outdoors," even after a temporary curfew imposed in the mountainous kingdom's capital of Kathmandu was lifted.

According to the State Department announcement, "The unstable situation may continue at least through the unofficial period of mourning, which traditionally lasts 45 days."

The statement also urged US citizens to "exercise caution when travelling, to avoid crowds, be sensitive to Nepali customs, and to expect disruptions in transportation and services," during the mourning period.

Meanwhile, Department spokesman Richard Boucher acknowledged that "there are conflicting reports about the killings. Some reports allege that there was a role for Crown Prince Dipendra, who has also died."

"We don't really have anything to indicated the political motivation or any political motivation for the murders," Boucher said.

He said, "Once the shock and the mourning have run their course, Nepalese judicial and constitutional processes should determine the responsibility and take appropriate action."

On whether there had been any US representation at the funeral of King Birendra and the members of his family, Boucher said, "I don't know anything about that at this point."

After first blaming Crown Prince Dipendra for the carnage, officials then said the royal family had died after an automatic weapon accidentally exploded.

In the wake of the State Department's travel advisory and the tense situation in Nepal, US-based trekking companies, including two of the leading adventure travel firms that regularly take groups out to Kathmandu, said they had cancelled their trips to that country or were routing trips around Nepal.

Geographic Expeditions, a San Francisco, California-based company, had informed one of its groups of trekkers in Tibet to avoid Nepal and go overland to Lhasa, and leave from there.

The group, which is east of Mount Everest, had planned to return to Nepal, finishing in Kathmandu.

Company president Jim Sano, was quoted as saying that "there is an increasing amount of violence, which has also given us concern for Americans."

Sano said the company had two other groups also travelling in the region, and would soon decide whether to send them home through Lhasa or via India.

Another California-based company, Mountain Travel-Sobek in El Cerrito, also cancelled an adventure tour that was to take a group to the Mount Kailash region of Tibet that would have had to pass through remote western Nepal.

The company's Asia operations manager Narendra Gurung told Reuters that "we don't want to run the trip where we think it's not safe."

These and other adventure travel companies said that it was too early to determine how the events of the past few days would impact on the peak tourist season for Nepal which begins in late September. They said it would all depend on how the new king, Gyanendra, the younger brother of Birendra, and the government handled the aftermath of the massacre in the royal palace.

Ray Rodney, special projects manager for Wilderness Travel of Berkeley, California, was quoted as saying that "if the government and palace respond in a way that's satisfying to the Nepali people, the emotional aftermath could fade away in time for the trekking season."

"No we are seeing a very emotional response," he said.

Meanwhile, the Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, reported Tuesday that Dipendra had secretly brought his girlfriend Devyani Rani to the Sydney Olympics Games last September in defiance of his mother's wishes that he end the relationship.

Reports have said Dipendra gunned down his parents and most of the royal family before turning the gun on himself because his mother would not accept his relationship with Rani.

The Herald said Rani stayed with him in a Sydney hotel for most of the prince's three-week stay during the Olympics but had not participated in any of the official functions which Dipendra attended.

The daily said that Dipendra had warned his two Australian bodyguards that his girlfriend's presence should be kept secret because of his mother's disapproval.

The newspaper went on to quote an unnamed Australian security official as saying that Dipendra had bitterly complained about his mother's attitude and opposition to his dating Rani.

Besides the two Australian bodyguards, Dipendra and Rani at all times had been accompanied by two Nepalese palace aides as they shopped, dined, and went sightseeing in Sydney and other parts of Australia.

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