quote:
KATHMANDU - Nepali soldiers Saturday shot dead a demonstrator, a political leader said, as opposition parties postponed a pro-democracy rally in the capital following government threats to shoot curfew violators.The army gunned down the demonstrator in the popular tourist town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Kathmandu, K.P. Oli, vice general secretary of the Nepal Communist (Unified Marxist-Leninist) party, told AFP.
There was no comment from the army and no further details were available.
The reported shooting came after the government imposed a daytime curfew on Kathmandu and surrounding areas early Saturday and warned violators could be shot. Pokhara was not included in the curfew order.
Oli said the seven-party opposition alliance had rescheduled the rally, originally planned for Saturday, to Sunday.
The rally is seen as the highlight of a general strike called to back demands for King Gyanendra to restore democracy after seizing power last year.
Rest of the article is available HERE from AFP.
quote:
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Police fired tear gas and fought frenzied street battles with protesters Friday on the second day of a strike called by government adversaries of King Gyanendra. More than 750 pro-democracy advocates were arrested, a government minister said.Hundreds of angry students took to Kathmandu's narrow streets, setting fire to a post office in the capital and hurling stones at police, who fought back with tear gas and batons. Students at Kathmandu's Tribhuwan University ransacked the dean's office and briefly held several officers hostage.
Of the 751 people arrested, 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 a news conference in Kathmandu. "The government has made adequate arrangements to ensure the security of the people. There is no need for people to be scared and we are doing what we can to foil the protest."
Clashes also were reported in numerous neighbourhoods where rallies were held by the alliance of seven political parties that called the strike. Gyanendra, who faces mounting opposition since he seized power a year ago, responded to the violence by calling for calm.
750 pro-democracy protestors arrested hereA candidate for the axis of antidemocracy evil?
Are there imperialist interests in Nepal? What is the position of China and India on the civil war and the King?
[ 08 April 2006: Message edited by: Hawkins ]