Nepalese rebels declare truce; soldiers open fire on villagers
6 dead, 11 wounded in incident at army base
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By Binaj Gurubacharya
Associated Press
April 27, 2006
KATMANDU, Nepal --
Nepal's communist rebels declared a three-month unilateral cease-fire Thursday in their violent campaign against the country's monarchist government.
A statement from the elusive rebel leader Prachanda said his group's fighters would not be involved in any attacks during the three-month period.
On Wednesday, the rebels lifted a weeks-long blockade of highways connecting the major towns and cities in the Himalayan kingdom.
The rebels had blocked key roads for weeks to support a campaign of anti-monarchy protests by an opposition coalition of seven major political parties, which often resulted in bloody clashes with security forces and left at least 15 people dead.
"We have withdrawn the blockade until the first meeting of the parliament, taking into consideration positive assurances," Prachanda said in a statement.
But while there was talk of peace, violence continued, as soldiers opened fire on a crowd of thousands of villagers angry about the death of a local woman at an army base in southwestern Nepal, killing six and wounding at least 11, officials said.
Versions of why the shooting occurred differed sharply.
Both the military and rights activists agree that thousands of civilians marched on the base in the village of Belbari, angry about the woman's death there the night before.
Bhupendra Poudel, the Defense Ministry spokesman, said the crowd tore down the camp's barbed wire, sought to snatch solders' guns and tried to storm the small base, but Kunjan Aryal of the rights group INSEC-Nepal said the villagers were protesting peacefully.
"They were not trying to storm in," he said. "They were simply protesting."
Poudel also said the woman--a suspected Maoist--had been shot when she tried to slip into the base. Aryal, though, said the villagers believed the woman had been raped and killed by the soldiers.
Poudel said 11 villagers had been injured, but Aryal put the total at 29.
Aryal also believed the crowd had been emboldened by the country's turmoil, when weeks of protests forced King Gyanendra to return power to elected officials a few days ago.
"Because of the recent political changes they appear to be bold enough to march up to the army camp and seek justice," said Aryal, adding that an INSEC staff member was at the base at the time of the shooting.
Particularly in Katmandu and some larger towns, the status of Nepal's security forces has dropped because of its backing of the king during the protests and the violence used against demonstrators.
The parties called off their protest campaign Tuesday after King Gyanendra agreed to hand power back to elected officials and reinstate parliament by Friday.
The rebels initially called the move a betrayal, saying it did not go far enough, and tightened their blockade of key highways. It was widely expected that the new constitution would limit the king's role, or even eliminate the monarchy altogether.
The rebel blockade had cut off major transport routes, including the key highway between the capital and the resort town of Pokhara, witnesses said.
In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said the United States would consider renewing military aid to Nepal but it would depend on the army supporting the return of multiparty democracy.
