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World
Posted to the web on: 10 April 2006 Fresh trouble erupts as Nepal strike extended Reuters
Policemen beat opposition party supporters in Katmandu after fresh protests against King Gyanendra erupted in Nepal today. Activists took to the streets on the fifth day of a campaign seeking the restoration of democracy. Picture: AP
KATHMANDU - Fresh protests against King Gyanendra erupted across Nepal today, in defiance of curfews in some places, with hundreds of activists taking to the streets on the fifth day of a campaign seeking the restoration of democracy. The latest series of demonstrations are the most intense since King Gyanendra sacked the government and took control of the impoverished nation 14 months ago. Three protesters were killed by troops over the weekend, more than 100 have been wounded and 1,000 people detained, political parties said. Hundreds of protesters today defied a curfew in the west Nepal resort town of Pokhara, where one demonstrator was shot dead by the army on Saturday, witnesses said. Waving party flags and shouting slogans against the king, they taunted riot police and soldiers to take them on. Protests were also held in the towns of Biratnagar in the east and Butwal in the west. In Kalanki, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, riot police beat up protesters with batons to break up a rally of about 500 people. Casualties could mount as the government has vowed to get tougher with the demonstrators, analysts said. But the protesters, mostly activists owing allegiance to Nepal’s seven main political parties, said they were undeterred. "We will establish a democratic republic soon. I think the king will melt if we continue protests like this for another 15 days. Otherwise he is not going to relent," said Krishna Prasad Bhandari, a 17-year-old Kathmandu resident. The latest round of protests — backed by a general strike — was originally due to end on Sunday, but the parties said they were extending it indefinitely to put pressure on the king to end his absolute rule. The government responded by imposing a curfew in the capital and surrounding areas on Monday for a third day, warning people to keep off the streets for seven hours from 11 a.m (0515 GMT). State-run mobile phone services remained disrupted today, in an apparent attempt by the royalist government to scuttle coordination among protest organisers. A big pro-democracy rally planned in Kathmandu for Saturday failed to materialise after the government imposed a curfew and deployed armoured personnel carriers in the city. The protests lack a charismatic leader or figurehead, with most of the country’s ageing political leaders either detained or in hiding coordinating the campaign. The parties also lack widespread popular support, with many people accusing them of corruption and misrule when they ran the country. Some Kathmandu residents said support for the parties was growing as the protests gathered pace, but others said the general strike, which has completely shut the country down, was taking its toll on their popularity. "People are tired of the king. They are also tired of the parties. So the seven parties must do some good work," said Shyam Singh Pariyar, a newspaper vendor. Maoist rebels, who have been fighting to topple the monarchy since 1996, are supporting the latest campaign under a loose alliance with political parties. The Maoist revolt has killed more than 13,000 people in one of the world’s poorest countries, wrecking its aid-and-tourism dependent economy and forcing thousands to flee the violence in the countryside. The turmoil worsened after King Gyanendra took power. State-run newspaper the Rising Nepal defended the government crackdown on protesters and the daily curfews. "The government had given assurances that the parties would be permitted to conduct their programme if they broke their alliance with the Maoist terrorists," it said in an editorial. "But the parties did not grasp the opportunity. Instead they were hell-bent on creating chaos.
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