On February 1, King Gyanendra of Nepal imposed a state of national emergency, sacked the country’s prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, dissolved the government, and suspended civil liberties. Phone services in and out of Nepal were cut for a week afterwards, leaving expat Nepalis, including several U of T students, unable to contact friends or family in Nepal. It made for a tense seven days.

“I was worried because I hadn’t spoken to my parents,” said third-year international relations student Umanga Shah. “I tried calling many times. I’m so relieved now that I’ve spoken with them.”

King Gyanendra said that he took executive control over the country because of the government’s lack of progress in quelling a Maoist insurgency in Nepal, which has been raging in the Himalayan nation for nine years and has claimed nearly 11,000 lives. The Maoist rebels’ primary goal is to overthrow the monarchy of Nepal.

King Gyanendra has vowed to hold elections and relinquish his executive powers once he eradicates the insurgency. But the coup has been met with widespread condemnation from the international community, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that King Gyanendra’s move is a setback for peace in the country. Annan also called for an immediate restoration of democracy in Nepal.

Fourth-year biology student Diplav Sapkota also criticized King Gyanendra’s actions.

“The king should have respected the existing system before making his move,” said Sapkota. “Whatever happened is wrong. Whatever progress our country has made is a result of democracy, not the monarchy.”

But some Nepalese students said the imposition of marshal law was a necessary evil.

Second-year architecture student Yesha Subba believes that the king will be able to tackle the Maoists with greater effectiveness than the recently dissolved multi-party coalition government, and will restore order in Nepal.

“When I heard that the king took over I was thrilled,” said Subba. “Nepalis cannot move without a leader. I’m hopeful.”

Regardless of where sympathies lie, Nepalese students at the University of Toronto spent a worried week before phone lines were restored on Tuesday. Most students have now gotten through to their friends and family.

PhD student Namrata Shrestha’s concern was particularly acute because her father, who lives in Kathmandu, was once a revolutionary who fought for democracy before Nepal’s first democratic elections were held in 1991. The king’s recent reclamation of power puts such political figures in the country at risk. Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, for instance, is currently under house arrest.

After six days of worrying, however, Shrestha was able to speak with her parents and was assured that they are well.

Although the phone lines are opening up, many other civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, still remain in limbo, and Nepal’s citizens are watching and waiting to see what King Gyanendra’s next move will be. Watching and waiting is really all they can do, as many freedoms in the country have been severely curtailed.

The articles which were suspended from Nepal’s Constitution in the February 1 coup were the Right to Freedom, Press and Publication Right, Right against Preventive Detention, Right to Information, Right to Property, Right to Privacy, and Right to Constitutional Remedy.