KATMANDU -- The picturesque Himalayan nation of Nepal, wedged between India and China-occupied Tibet, was once an idyllic hideaway for Western trekkers and hippies. Although still a popular tourist destination, Nepal has been wracked in recent years by an expanding Maoist insurrection in the countryside.
The unprecedented palace blood bath on June 1 that left most royal members dead has come as a shot in the arm for the underground Maoists and the assorted communist groups that form Nepal's main democratic opposition under the banner of the pro-China United Marxist-Leninist alliance. With the institution of monarchy damaged and the weak elected government under siege, the red star hangs over Nepal.
The crime that wiped out the king, the queen and eight other royals -- including the alleged perpetrator, the crown prince -- has cast a cloud over Nepal's political future. Despite its quasi-divine status, with the king venerated by the Nepalese as the reincarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god of life, the royal family could not save itself from destruction.