KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal will restore the house in which a popular king and almost all his family were gunned down at a family dinner eight years ago, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said.
Popular King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and seven other royals were killed in 2001 by a drugged and drunk Crown Prince Dipendra, who was angered by his parents' refusal to let him marry a women he loved.
He later turned the gun on himself, according to an official report.
Birendra's brother Gyanendra, who succeeded him, ordered the demolition of the house, Tribhuvan Sadan, where the massacre took place. Only a small brick wall now stands.
"The Tribhuvan Sadan must be rebuilt. It will be restored to its old position," the Prime Minister said on state-run Nepal Television late on Wednesday, after a visit to the pink pagoda-roofed palace that was turned into a museum after the monarchy was abolished last year.
The massacre was a turning point in Nepal's history as the unpopular Gyanendra fired the government and gave himself absolute power in 2005.
His direct rule began to crumble after deadly protests the following year that brought the Maoists, who began a decade-long civil war against the monarchy in 1996, into the political mainstream.
The former rebels won a surprise election victory last year, quickly abolished the 239-year-old monarchy and briefly headed a coalition government.
In May, the Maoists quit the government after President Ram Baran Yadav refused to endorse a cabinet decision to sack the country's army chief, plunging the Himalayan nation into a fresh political turmoil.
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