 |
 A riot policeman arrests an anti-king protester during a demonstration in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday. (AP/Binod Joshi) |
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Police detained more than a thousand protesters for defying a ban on public rallies Friday, as some 25,000 demonstrators flooded the streets of the Nepalese capital to demand that the king restore democracy.
Police rounded up the demonstrators and drove them away in trucks and buses for violating a ban that the government imposed Thursday. Officials had hoped to head off protests against the king, who dismissed an elected government two years ago and replaced it with one loyal to the monarchy.
Since then, thousands have frequently rallied across the country to demand elections and the restoration of parliament. Some of the protests have turned violent, but no violence was reported Friday.
"We are going to step our protests until democracy is restored and people regain their rights," said Girija Prasad Koirala, president of Nepali Congress, Nepal's largest political party.
Hundreds of police armed with batons, tear gas and guns with rubber bullets lined the street leading to the royal palace. Nepalese officials said they had received intelligence reports that Maoist rebels planned to infiltrate the rallies to spark chaos.
The rebels have not publicly said anything about joining the protesters, but have expressed moral support for the cause.
The demonstrations are being organized by the country's five largest political parties, including the Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist Communist party of Nepal.
They accused the government of using the rebel threat as an excuse for halting rallies over the past week that have attracted tens of thousands of protesters. Thursday's announcement banned gatherings of more than five people in Kathmandu and the suburb of Patan, and said violators would be arrested.
"We have broken the government orders and we will continue to do so," Koirala said.
The protesters are demanding that King Gyanendra restore the country's elected government.
The king dissolved parliament and fired Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in October 2002, accusing him of incompetence and failing to control a Maoist insurgency. The king then assumed executive powers and replaced the government with pro-monarchy politicians.
He promised last month to hold parliamentary elections within the next year, but the protesters have not let up.
The rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 for a communist state. More than 9,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.
The next protest was planned for Saturday afternoon in Kathmandu, Nemwang said.
