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April 11, 2006, 12:44AM

## Nepalese Protesters Clash With Police

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

KATMANDU, Nepal — Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas and beat back stone-throwing Nepalese protesters, who defied curfews and took to the streets of this Himalayan nation for a fifth straight day Monday to demand that democracy be restored.

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Nepal's crisis showed no signs of easing as angry mobs again marched through major cities and far-flung towns, burning tires and hurling bricks at police wielding batons and shields. King Gyanendra's government remained steadfast in its refusal to reach out to the political opposition, now allied with Nepal's communist insurgents in a campaign to force the king to relinquish control.

The result was another day of ragged and bloody protesters _ some of them young children _ facing riot police through clouds of tear gas in a Nepal as volatile as it has been in the 14 months since Gyanendra seized total power.

The U.S. State Department said the king's decision to impose direct palace rule had been "an abject failure," and the events of the past few days show it had only increased insecurity.

"The king's continuing failure to bring the parties back into a process to restore democracy has compounded the problem," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "The United States calls upon the king to restore democracy immediately and to begin a dialogue with Nepal's constitutional political parties."

Security forces have killed three protesters and jailed more than 1,000 people during the five days of demonstrations. Two more people were wounded Tuesday when police fired on rock-throwing protesters in the resort town of Pokhara, where police fatally shot a man during a similar clash with demonstrators on Saturday. His death, the first in the unrest, came as the king was vacationing in the town.

Authorities have threatened even harsher measures if the protests do not end, and on Tuesday they extended daylight curfews in the capital Katmandu and two other cities. The curfews were first imposed Saturday.

"Unless the situation improves immediately, there are chances of civil war," said Dr. Vijay Sharma, a senior surgeon who was among doctors at 17 hospitals who briefly protested against the king Monday.

The demonstrations have, for the first time, brought thousands of workers, professionals and business people into the streets alongside students and political activists.

"It's no longer simply a movement of the urban political class, the students," said Dhruba Adhikary of the independent Nepal Press Institute.

"You are seeing people in rural areas _ doctors, teachers _ joining in on their own. It's not going to stop here and we can't rule out more clashes. The authorities' measures appear harsher by the day."

Nepal's seven-party opposition alliance, perhaps sensing its moment has arrived, has vowed to press on indefinitely with a general strike and anti-monarchy protests.

The last mass democracy movement in 1990 only gained steam after dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators were shot by police, prompting a surge of anti-royal sentiment that forced the late King Birendra to yield much of his authority.

Gyanendra abruptly ended the democratic experiment last year when he reclaimed absolute power, arguing he needed to bring order to a chaotic and corrupt political scene and end a communist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in the past decade.

While many Nepalis at first welcomed the king's move, the insurgency has worsened and the economy has faltered, fueling the discontent.

On Monday, thousands of people again defied a curfew in Katmandu to hold protests in the Kalanki and Dhumbarahi neighborhoods. Those actions escalated into violent clashes with security forces.

Demonstrations also were held in towns and cities across the country, including a rally in the western town of Dhangadhi that reportedly ended with police beating protesters.

Officials have justified the crackdown by saying communist rebels have infiltrated the demonstrations, including four suspected rebels arrested along with other protesters.

A leader of the Nepali Congress, the country largest opposition party, called the allegations "baseless."

"By alleging that Maoists have become part of it, the government is trying to legitimize its oppression," Ram Sharan Mahat said Monday.

He did, however, acknowledge that protests had repeatedly turned violent.

"Ideally, I would have preferred an entirely peaceful movement," Mahat said. "But these are young people. If you provoke them, they will hit back. We have all done it."

Information Minister Srish Shumshere Rana was less forgiving, calling the protesters "hooligans."

While most of Katmandu's 1.5 million people have been cooped up at home because of the curfews, police and soldiers patrolling the streets do not seem to be enforcing the measure against Western tourists, who were seen strolling and even cycling down the city's empty roads.

"For the first time, I am on the other side of the curfew," said Ishay Waldman, 22, a former Israeli Army soldier from Moshav Kfar Aviv, a village in central Israel.

___

Associated Press reporters Binaj Gurubacharya and Neelesh Misra contributed to this report.

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