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Curfew re-imposed in Kathmandu

      Kathmandu: Curfew was today re-imposed in Nepal's capital Kathmandu for the fifth day, apparently to quell a planned march by anti-monarchy protesters to the palace of King Gyanendra. According to official sources, the curfew has been clamped for 11 hours from 9 a.m. (local time). On Saturday, about 150 people were injured when police fired rubber bullets and teargas on about tens of thousands of people who were demonstrating against Nepal's royal government, defying a similar restriction. Anti-King protesters have intensified their demonstrations, demanding restoration of full democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom.

    Although King Gyanendra had announced to hand over the executive power to the opposition Seven Party Alliance (SPA), his offer has found no takers not only among the political parties but also among the general people who have termed it as too little and too late, and many are demanding a republic. The opposition SPA has been demanding of constituting a new Constituent Assembly that would frame a new Constitution for the landlocked country. On February 1, 2005, the Nepalese monarch had sacked the incumbent government and took over the reins of the power with a ceremonial Council of Ministers in place handpicked by the King himself.

Nepalis hold anti-King rally in Delhi

      New Delhi: In a rally organised by the Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj, Central Committee, India-based Nepalis gathered at Jantar Mantar today to support the anti-king movement in the Nepal Kingdom. India-based Nepalis are now demanding to have the people's rule in Nepal. They want people of Nepal should decide the fate of the kingdom. "When Raja started ruling the kingdom, he declared that Nepal will be a peaceful and prosperous country. But nothing happened. This country is dying...The issue is not as to who will be the Prime Minister but now we want that people of Nepal will now decide kingdom's fate," said Zila Ram Acharya, Member of Janmorcha Nepal Standing Committee. Now the main issue for the pro-Nepal people is to protect the interests of the people and support them to fight for their rights. "King Gyanendra has started a lot of atrocities of the people of Nepal. Now, we want to end King's monarch and establish people's rule. We are not bothered who will become the Prime Minister. Our main concentration is on people's rule now," said Girdhar Lal Neupane, President, Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj.

    The seven-party alliance has been agitating since April 6 to force Gyanendra to restore multi-party democracy. In all, at least 12 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in police action against protesters since then. King Gyanendra on Friday said he was restoring political power to the people and asked the seven-party alliance spearheading the pro-democracy campaign to name a new Prime Minister. The king sacked the government and took full powers in February 2005, vowing to crush a decade-old Maoist revolt in which more than 13,000 people have died. The seven-party alliance has been agitating since April 6 to force Gyanendra to restore multi-party democracy. The king appeared to rule out any change of the constitution to curb his own powers. The political parties have said holding elections to a constituent assembly, which would form a new constitution, was critical. The parties began a meeting on Saturday to figure out a joint response, but some leaders have already said the king had not done enough and protests would continue. The impoverished kingdom has been virtually at a standstill with the movement of goods and people blocked by a general strike and crippling street protests across the nation. In a statement on Sunday the Maoist rebels, who are loosely allied with the alliance, called Gyanendra's statement "a show of feudal arrogance and an insult to the great human sea that has taken to the streets". India welcomed King Gyanendra's decision of restoring multi-party democracy and said it now stands ready to render all possible assistance to enable Nepal to achieve political stability and economic recovery at the earliest possible date.