Monarchists are set to gather at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu on Friday to welcome former king Gyanendra Shah.
Leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and other individuals involved in the monarchist campaign will reach the airport around noon on Friday.
The District Administration Office, Kathmandu, has imposed a prohibitory order in and around TIA.
Despite the order, RPP leaders have decided to go to the airport to welcome the former king, party spokesperson Mohan Shrestha said.
“We will go to welcome the former king. Since the prohibitory order specifically targets the former king’s arrival, we do not accept it,” he told Setopati.
He added that no party banners or flags would be used at the event. “We will carry the national flag, not party banners or flags,” Shrestha said.
Leaders including Kamal Thapa and General Secretary Dhawal Shumsher Rana are expected to participate in the event.
Shrestha said that supporters would gather at the airport around noon.
RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden also said that the prohibitory order is unacceptable.
In a Facebook post, he questioned whether the District Administration Office issued the order to prevent the election from being disrupted or to disrupt it itself. He wrote that if the Constitution and constitutional provisions are used arbitrarily, such orders will not be accepted.
Leader Kamal Thapa also said that he would be present at the airport.
He wrote on Facebook that ensuring airport security is the government’s duty and no one objects to that. However, he argued that no one can prevent people from peacefully gathering outside the airport to welcome the king. He said that they would go to the airport to welcome the former king and also invited others to be present.
Durga Prasai, coordinator of the Rastra, Rastriyata, Dharma, Sanskriti Tatha Nagarik Bachau Maha Abhiyan, also called on supporters via social media to gather at the airport.
“To save the nation, protect religion, and unite fragmented Nepali families living abroad, I sincerely call upon all patriotic Nepali brothers and sisters who love the country to be present at exactly 11 a.m. on February 13 at the domestic terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport and make the event grand, peaceful, and historic,” he wrote.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Kathmandu Chief District Officer Ishwar Raj Paudel said that no prior approval had been sought from the administration for such an event.
The administration imposed the prohibitory order, stating that at a time when the country is heading into elections and the election code of conduct is already in effect, its attention had been drawn to calls for such gatherings and demonstrations.
The order bans gatherings of more than five people within the entire airport premises – including all the roads leading to the airport from the Golden Gate entrance, domestic and international terminal areas, and parking areas – for hunger strikes, sit-ins, picketing, demonstrations, rallies, or assemblies.
