Posted on 04/08/2006 2:12:05 AM PDT by sagar
KATMANDU, Nepal — Protesters demanding a return to democracy postponed a rally that had been expected to draw thousands on Saturday, after the king imposed an all-day curfew and ordered violators shot on sight.
Khadga Prasad Oli, deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal, called the curfew "unnecessary, illegal and illogical" and said the protesters would try to hold the rally on Sunday.
Seven main political parties organized the rally as the high point of a four-day general strike that has shut down the capital Katmandu, where King Gyanendra's refusal to give up absolute rule has led to growing unrest.
Protesters clashed with police in Katmandu and surrounding areas on Thursday and Friday. Hundreds of people were arrested and dozens were injured.
The protesters have the backing of communist rebels, who are separately fighting against the king's rule and formed a loose alliance with the political parties in December.
Gyanendra dismissed the prime minister in February last year, saying he needed full powers to check the growing communist insurgency, which has killed some 13,000 people since 1996.
The rebels battled government troops in two southwest towns Friday. Details were sketchy, but government buildings were reportedly bombed and the jail attacked in one town.
Officials said the curfew was in response to information that the rebels would try to infiltrate the rallies and wage terror attacks against government targets.
The curfew began at 10 a.m. Saturday and was to continue until 9 p.m. in Katmandu and two suburbs, the government announced on state-run Radio Nepal. Violators would be shot, it said.
"We strongly oppose this," Oli said, adding that the protest would be postponed until Sunday, the last day of the strike.
Authorities have cracked down forcefully on the protests. On Friday, police used batons and tear gas to beat back hundreds of demonstrators in Katmandu, many of whom who were throwing rocks.
A post office in Katmandu was set on fire Friday, and students at the capital's Tribhuwan University ransacked the dean's office and briefly held several officers hostage.
The students were joined by workers, professionals and business owners, in what the opposition said was a sign of building momentum against the king.
Protest organizers said the curfew order and other restrictions show the government is nervous.
"It proves that we have been able to startle the government. We have not decided how we are going to respond to the curfew order but we will not be deterred by the government using these means to try quash our movement for democracy," Subash Nemwang, another communist party member.
Of the more than 750 people arrested the past three days, 115 were sent to prison under a tough public safety law that allows authorities to jail people without charge for 90 days, Home Minister Kamal Thapa said.
"The government is using minimum force to control the situation," Thapa told reporters.
The rebels have promised not to carry out attacks in Katmandu during the strike, but have stepped up attacks elsewhere.
Gyanendra called for calm in a speech live Friday on national radio and television.
"Let us all pledge today to devote time for establishing permanent peace," he said. "It is the need of today to establish permanent peace."
The remarks were the king's first public comments on the daily protests and the escalating violence.
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Associated Press writer Neelesh Misra contributed to this story.
Policemen arrest opposition party supporters in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday April 7, 2006. Police battled protesters in Katmandu's narrow alleys Friday, using batons and tear gas to beat back stone-throwing students on the second day of a strike called by adversaries of King Gyanendra. The number of pro-democracy advocates arrested swelled to more than 750, a government
This King seems like a real loony-tune. I don't like sympathizing with Maoists, but he's making it difficult.
Pro-democracy Nepali activists attempt to relay to security personnel that they are protesting peacefully during the curfew in the capital Kathmandu April 8, 2006. Nepal's royalist government imposed a day curfew in Kathmandu and its neighbouring areas on Saturday and some mobile phone services were disrupted, hours before a rally against King Gyanendra's rule. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar.
A Nepali police and a demonstrator argue during a protest in the capital Kathmandu April 8, 2006. Nepal's royalist government imposed a day curfew in Kathmandu and its neighbouring areas on Saturday and some mobile phone services were disrupted, hours before a rally against King Gyanendra's rule. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar.
A Nepalese political activists shouts slogans upon his arrest by a pair of riot policewomen during a protest rally in Kathmandu. Hundreds more protesters were arrested in Nepal on the second day of a general strike calling for King Gyanendra to restore democracy as several demonstrations left two dozen injured.(AFP/Devendra M Singh)
Nepalese political activists carry hammer and sickel flags during a protest rally in Kathmandu. Hundreds more protesters were arrested in Nepal on the second day of a general strike calling for King Gyanendra to restore democracy as several demonstrations left two dozen injured.(AFP/Devendra M Singh)
Opposition party supporters break a telephone junction box after setting fire to it, in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday April 7, 2006. Police clashed with strike supporters in several parts of the city as the four-day strike against King Gyanendra entered the second day. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
A police officer throws back a stone at opposition party supporters, as they arrive to clear a blocked road in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday April 7, 2006. Police clashed with strike supporters in several parts of the city as the four-day strike against King Gyanendra entered the second day. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
Nepalese policeman arresting a student during a demonstration. Hundreds more protesters were arrested in Nepal on the second day of a general strike amid violent demonstrations demanding King Gyanendra restore democracy.(AFP/Devendra M. Singh)
The king has indeed gone mad. But isn't it madder to let the commies take over!
*** Nepal Ping ***
It's good to be King !
Let the protesters do whatever they want.
Are you sympathetic to the commies?
Six one way and half a dozen the other.
Besides, didn't this king make it into power by blowing away the rest of his family?
one coin two sides.
if just for a while.
To be there in velvet, yeah, to give ’em a smile
"Are you sympathetic to the commies?"
Sympathetic? I want them all dead and cremated... But the king ordering the police to shoot the STUDENTS for protesting? No, I don't think that is good.
Last time that happened(in 1990), there was massive revolution, the communists came to power, and then king(late Birendra) lost 90% of his control. Now this fool Gyanendra is trying to seal his own coffin.
I support the monarchy over corrupt socialists and murderous communists. So, I don't want either of those rats to take over. If the police guns down students, it will be for the king IN the capital(his only stronghold), all over the country, and of course internationally. Maoists are itching for it.
I agree. Communists are bad news wherever they show up, but this "king" has obviously left the land of sanity and become a total paranoid stark-raving mad lunatic.
If any of the soldiers obey his order and open fire on the protesters it's going to be a bloodbath.
"Six one way and half a dozen the other.
Besides, didn't this king make it into power by blowing away the rest of his family?"
Huh? That is just a conspiracy theory. The official explanation was that the crown prince, a drug addict, went on a rampage and killed everybody on sight. Conspiracy theories include the hand of Indian intelligence, CIA, Maoists, and obviously the sole surviving memembers of the family - the current king and his son.
Kings rule or China's rule..
Is that the Matterhorn on you profile page? It looks like a beautiful country. Id hate to see it got the way of Tibet..
No, it is Machapuchre("Fish Tail") mountain in Central Nepal. One of the smaller, but spectacular, mountains in Nepal.
Bon chance, Nepal. Your homepage really is great sagar. Your country looks truly beautiful.
I was last in Pokara just as the Maoists were starting up (1996), and I met a few of them running my hotel, they were obviously in sympathy.
The basic beef at the time was that the royals were stealing everything they could get their hands on (in particular foreign aid); that they ran the country like a serfdom (hard to argue with that); and that they provided absolutely nothing to the people, especialy outside Kathmandu.
At the time I argued that Maoism and communism had recently fallen apart everywhere throughout the world, and they reluctantly agreed, except that "We are a poor country, and this is where we have to start." We continued a bit, then they appeared angry, and I changed hotels the next day.
Great photo of Machupuchare.
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