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Home Page Headlines World News National U.S. Opinions Business Politics Sports Technology & Science Health Entertainment Travel Weather In Depth Italian Elections Bird flu Israel Votes Turkish Web Directory About Us Advertise Feedback |  | # Nepal police tear gas anti-royal protesters 04-15-2006, 15h50 KATHMANDU (AFP)
Riot policemen run to disperse demonstrators who are defying ban during a strike in Kathmandu. Nepalese police fired rubber bullets and tear gas and beat protesters with bamboo canes leaving dozens injured during an anti-royal demonstration in the capital, a protest leader said. (AFP)

Nepalese police fired rubber bullets and tear gas and beat protesters with bamboo canes leaving dozens injured during an anti-royal demonstration in the capital, a protest leader said.

"At least 20 protesters were injured after police used force to disperse the marching crowd at Sanepa in Lalitpur district," Rajendra Pandey of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) told AFP.

Demonstrators threw stones at police before being chased away.

Earlier Saturday, baton-wielding police attacked some of the 100 journalists who staged a rally in the capital and chanted "Restore complete democracy," witnesses said.

Around six journalists were injured and half a dozen arrested, they said.

In addition, thousands of protesters shouting "Hang King Gyanendra" marched in Kathmandu after opposition parties dismissed the monarch's new pledge of elections as a hollow offer.

Riot police watched as the protesters walked 12 kilometres (seven miles), blowing whistles and chanting "Leave the palace, we will run the country" and "Give us back our rights" as onlookers cheered and clapped, some joining the procession.

The march came after the seven-party opposition alliance vowed to step up its anti-king campaign and strictly implement an indefinite general strike, saying King Gyanendra had "failed to address the political crisis."

A police official said there was no major violence in the capital but some said 36 were arrested.

The past week has seen the most intense protests against the king since he seized direct power 14 months ago. Thousands have demonstrated, hundreds have been arrested and four protesters have been killed.

India Saturday expressed concern about the violent crackdown and urged King Gyanendra to hold talks with political groups.

"There is a situation where pro-democracy demonstrations have been met with suppression and excessive use of force which has further aggravated the situation and undermines the process of healing and reconciliation which is the only way to resolve the current impasse," junior foreign minister Anand Sharma told the Press Trust of India news agency.

"...It is imperative that all major political parties are invited and involved in a dialogue process aimed at resolving the current impasse," he said.

King Gyanendra said Friday in a message marking Nepal's New Year: "There is no alternative to multiparty democracy." He expressed a desire for "an exemplary democratic exercise like general elections" but set no dates for a poll.

Opposition parties promised to step up protests after the leader of Nepal's Maoist rebels accused the monarch late Friday of "feudal stubbornness."

"The king and royal army have made it clear that they want to continue their rule over the people and the country," said Maoist leader Prachanda.

A general strike that began April 6 had been tapering off amid hopes the king would reach out to opponents in his message.

But following opposition disappointment at the king's speech, most businesses and shops shut again in the Kathmandu valley and few vehicles travelled the streets where security men stood guard.

Once foes, the opposition parties and Maoists entered a loose alliance last November, further isolating King Gyanendra, the world's only Hindu monarch.

The rebels, who have been waging a 10-year battle to topple the monarchy, have called a ceasefire in the Kathmandu valley to aid the protest campaign but have continued attacks on security forces elsewhere in the Himalayan kingdom.

King Gyanendra, who returned to Kathmandu this week from a two-month holiday in a Nepalese resort to deliver his New Year's message, had earlier promised to hold general elections sometime before April 2007.

He has justified his power grab which has drawn international criticism by saying political parties failed to crush the Maoist revolt that has claimed at least 12,500 lives.

AFP

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