A shakeup in Nepal’s government may make ministry difficult.

Nepal (MNN)–Communications have finally been restored this week after the king shut the country down, declared a state of emergency and sacked his cabinet.

Nepal’s government says it has also arrested 43 people to ensure law and order in the Himalayan nation. In claiming control of the country, King Gyanendra accused the previous government of failing to control the Maoist insurgency or prepare for parliamentary elections.

Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton says the outlook is grim for the already persecuted church. Maoist rebels made no secret of their hate for Christians, and “Now, with the king taking control of the government, declaring martial law, freedom of assembly has been suspended, freedom of the press has been suspended, it seems likely that Christians are being prevented from meeting together, and it’s hard to say what other persecution that they might endure during the time that the king has taken back control.”

Nettleton says in spite of the upheaval, they’re not anticipating huge change in their operations. “Our work in Nepal is fairly small. We do have some Christian contacts there that we work with as far as literature distribution. As far as other Christian support, I think it’s too early to say at this point, how this is going to be affected.”