“I first visited Nepal in May 2001 to search out Maoist guerrillas in the far West of the country. The day following my return to Kathmandu, the massacre of the Royal family took place and I bore witness to the incredible, mediaeval scene that wound its way through the capital’s narrow streets, the slain King Birendra carried aloft on the shoulders of his bodyguards, followed by the body of Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed in the shooting spree that was attributed to the Crown Prince Dipendra.
The intensity of that time has remained with me to this day and my return trips have been made out of a sense of continued responsibility to bare witness for the Nepali people, who continue to suffer as a result of power-plays and selfish governance.”
BY PHILIP BLENKINSOP
