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Kathmandu: Police fanned out across Nepal's capital yesterday as a new assembly that is widely expected to abolish the country's 239-year-old monarchy was sworn in.
The swearing-in came a day after two small bombs were detonated outside the convention centre where the ceremony took place and another was set off outside the home of an anti-monarchy activist.
The attacks caused no deaths or injuries but underscored the challenge the new assembly faces in trying to bring peace to this war-wracked country.
The 575 lawmakers who took the oath of office are going to govern Nepal as they rewrite the country's constitution, a key step in the peace process that ended a decade-long communist rebellion. Another 26 legislators are still to be chosen by the assembly's major political parties.
The assembly, which was elected in April, is to begin working today. Its first order of business is widely expected to be declaring Nepal a republic and doing away with the Shah dynasty, which dates to 1769 when a regional ruler conquered Kathmandu and united Nepal.
Political violence
But what comes next remains uncertain.
Nepal's former rebels, known as the Maoists, hold the most seats but are still struggling to form a government, and political violence has persisted despite the two-year peace process that brought the insurgents into democratic politics.
To ward off any fresh violence, authorities said some 10,000 police had been deployed around the city for the swearing-in. Authorities also banned protests near the convention centre of King Gyanendra's palace.
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