10,000 supporters of Gyanendra Shah blocked the main entrance to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport as he arrived from a tour of western Nepal. Massive street protests in 2006 forced him to give up his authoritarian rule, and two years later the parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. Rally participants said they were hoping for a change in the political system to stop the country from further deteriorating. But many Nepalis have grown frustrated with the republic, saying it has failed to bring about political stability and blaming it for a struggling economy and widespread corruption. He became the king in 2002, after his brother and family were massacred in the palace. He ruled as the constitutional head of state without executive or political powers until 2005, when he seized absolute power. He disbanded the government and parliament, jailed politicians and journalists and cut off communications, declaring a state of emergency and using the army to rule the country. The king has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy.