TMCnet News
6TH LD: Curfew set in Kathmandu, anti-king protests go on in Nepal+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KATHMANDU, April 22_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATES) Nepalese authorities imposed an eight-hour daytime curfew in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and its outskirts Saturday but protests calling for the ouster of King Gyanendra resumed despite the monarch's declaration overnight that he was returning executive power to political parties. The opposition rejected the king's offer because it failed to meet the demands of the political parties agitating for immediate return to democratic rule in the Himalayan kingdom. And tens of thousands of people poured into to the streets of Kathmandu and its outskirts Saturday saying King Gyanendra's handover of power to the people Friday was woefully inadequate. Defying the curfew, they marched in the inner areas of Kathmandu and chanted: "King's offer is a scam" and "We want complete democracy." They also warned leaders of the seven party alliance agitating against the king not make accept compromise with the Nepalese monarch and to beware of the king's history of intervention in Nepalese politics. At several places the protesters burned tires and felled trees onto the roads, bringing the traffic to a complete halt. Security forces intervened in more than a dozen places, firing rubber bullets and bursting tear gas shells in an attempt to thwart the marchers. Local media reported dozens of protesters were injured badly enough to require hospital treatment. In a statement Saturday, the seven main political parties said the king's proclamation Friday had not addressed their agenda. Reading out a statement after an alliance meeting, spokesman Krishna Sitaula said: "The royal proclamation had not addressed the alliance's roadmap. It has also failed to take into account the 12-point understanding reached by the parties with the Maoist rebels as well as the objectives of the ongoing street protests." The alliance roadmap comprises restoration of parliament; an all-party interim government; and election to the constituent assembly to write a new constitution for Nepal, Sitaula said. The top Nepalese rebel leader also called Saturday for the political parties to stand fast in their demand for a constituent assembly. "The only way to guarantee sovereign rights of the Nepalese people is through the assembly," Pupakamal Dahal, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), said in a statement made available to Nepalese media. The "parties, society and intellectuals" should focus on the one and only slogan of a democratic republic for Nepal, Dahal, better known as Prachanda, said. He too dismissed King Gyanendra's handover of power as "meaningless and insignificant." On Friday evening, the king proclaimed he was handing back the executive powers he seized 14 months ago to the political parties demanding an end to his absolute rule. Although the king's call for the parties' to name a new prime minister has been rejected, the offer overall did meet with mixed responses from the country's political class. Many politicians and party leaders welcomed the gesture, but the alliance of seven major political parties said the king's offer falls far short of setting up a constituent assembly to write a new constitution for the Himalayan nation. The seven political parties, including the Marxist-Leninist Party, want the new constitution to replace the Constitution of 1990, which grants more power to the king than the parties now want him to wield. In his Friday address broadcast on state television and radio, the 58-year-old monarch said, "Executive power of the Kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping, shall, from this day, be returned to the people." The king said the action was taken in accordance with Nepal's Constitution of 1990 and called on the alliance of seven political parties to name a prime minister as soon as possible. "Democracy must be ensured with the activation of representative bodies through elections as soon as possible," he said. In February last year, King Gyanendra sacked a multiparty government and seized executive power, arguing the government had failed to tackle the kingdom's communist insurgency. The parties cried foul and have since been demanding the restoration of democracy. They launched countrywide protests against the royal regime in early April and the demonstrations have grown larger and stronger by the day. The parties have also invited Maoist rebels to take part in their "peaceful protests." |