5,000 activists stage anti-king protest in Nepal
KATHMANDU: More than 5,000 political activists staged an anti-monarchy protest in Kathmandu on Thursday, called to coincide with National Democracy Day in the Himalayan kingdom, witnesses said.
The protestors marched through the streets shouting slogans such as “Long live democracy”, “We need no autocratic monarch” and “Down with regression”, they said.
The demonstration, called by five political parties represented in the suspended parliament, marked the latest in a wave of street protests by activists and students against King Gyanendra’s dismissal of the elected government in October 2002. Riot police lined the route of the demonstration but took no action. “There was a protest demonstration in the capital but there was no ugly incident anywhere throughout the day,” said Home Ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey. Meanwhile, a Nepalese students’ union which supports Maoist rebels fighting to overthrow the monarchy called off Thursday a five-day strike set for next week after opposition from the public and business leaders.
The strike had been due to start next Wednesday to protest King Gyanendra’s dismissal of the elected government and police crackdowns on anti-royal protesters. In light of “the sharp reaction of the human rightists, civic bodies and senior political party leaders, we have decided to call off the proposed five-day strike across the nation”, the pro-Maoist All Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary group said in a statement. Strike calls by the Maoists or their supporters are frequent and are usually obeyed as much out of fear of reprisals as for support for the rebels. But businessmen and the government say the strikes deepen the woes of the already impoverished economy of the Himalayan nation.
Nepal has been gripped by a political crisis since late 2002 when King Gyanendra sacked the government, branding it incompetent to tackle the insurgency. —AFP