Nepal Sets Curfew; Police Shoot Protesters
Bloomberg
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nepal's government imposed a daytime curfew on the capital, Kathmandu, to prevent a mass rally marking two weeks of protests and a general strike aimed at forcing King Gyanendra to lift a state of emergency in the Himalayan country.
Police started shooting at thousands of demonstrators with live and rubber bullets in the Kalanki area of western Kathmandu, killing three people and injuring more than 40, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses and doctors it didn't identify.
The curfew came into force at 2 a.m. Nepal time today and will run until 8 p.m., Nepalnews.com said, citing public notices issued in the Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts.
The protests, organized by a seven-party opposition alliance, have prompted international calls, led by the U.S. and neighboring India, for King Gyanendra to start talks to resolve the crisis. The opposition says the protests will continue until the king ends his autocratic rule.
``Security forces could shoot violators or police could arrest them and jail them for up to one month,'' the government said in the notices, according to Nepalnews.com.
Protesters started rallies early today in areas of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur in defiance of the curfew, Nepalnews.com said, citing reports from local radio stations.
Denying Passes
United Nations workers have been denied curfew passes in the Kathmandu Valley and are unable to monitor events in the region, Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, said in an e-mailed statement today from the capital.
``This obstruction is a clear violation'' of an agreement with the Nepalese government covering freedom of movement throughout Nepal, Dwyer said in the statement.
Four people were killed yesterday when security forces opened fire during a demonstration in the eastern district of Jhapa, Nepalnews.com said. Dozens of people suffered bullet wounds, it said.
More than 1,000 politicians and students have been arrested during the protests and at least 1,500 injured, prompting the UN last week to appeal to the government to control security forces.
Security forces yesterday arrested more than 200 teachers and representatives of other professional groups staging a rally in the western town of Pokhara in defiance of a daytime curfew.
Detaining Teachers
A group of 50 teachers was detained after a rally in Kathmandu's Dilli Bazaar district, Nepalnews.com said, citing its correspondent who attended the rally.
The authorities in Kathmandu released six Home Ministry workers who were among a group held two days ago for demonstrating outside the building. The Civil Servants Organization of Nepal has threatened new protests unless the employees are released.
Karan Singh, India's special envoy for Nepal appointed two days ago, is in Kathmandu along with Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. They are scheduled to meet King Gyanendra today and later hold talks with leaders of the opposition alliance, Nepalnews.com said.
The Indian government said April 18 the crisis in Nepal is ``a cause of concern for India.''
The strike and protest rallies are the largest organized by the alliance in recent months as part of a campaign demanding a return to democracy. The strike closed businesses and shops and halted road traffic, leading to shortages of oil and some foods in Kathmandu, a city of more than 1 million people.
Rebel Support
The opposition's protests are supported by rebels, who are fighting to replace the monarchy with a communist republic, in a conflict that has killed 13,000 people in the past 10 years. King Gyanendra dismissed the government and imposed emergency rule in February 2005, saying the administration had failed to control the insurgency. State-of-emergency restrictions curb political activities and the media.
The insurgency has damaged Nepal's economy, with growth forecast to shrink to 2 percent in the 2006 fiscal year from 2.3 percent last year, the Asian Development Bank said this month.
Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of gross domestic product and provides a livelihood for 80 percent of Nepal's population. An estimated 40 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net.
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nepal's government imposed a daytime curfew on the capital, Kathmandu, to prevent a mass rally marking two weeks of protests and a general strike aimed at forcing King Gyanendra to lift a state of emergency in the Himalayan country.
Police started shooting at thousands of demonstrators with live and rubber bullets in the Kalanki area of western Kathmandu, killing three people and injuring more than 40, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses and doctors it didn't identify.
The curfew came into force at 2 a.m. Nepal time today and will run until 8 p.m., Nepalnews.com said, citing public notices issued in the Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts.
The protests, organized by a seven-party opposition alliance, have prompted international calls, led by the U.S. and neighboring India, for King Gyanendra to start talks to resolve the crisis. The opposition says the protests will continue until the king ends his autocratic rule.
``Security forces could shoot violators or police could arrest them and jail them for up to one month,'' the government said in the notices, according to Nepalnews.com.
Protesters started rallies early today in areas of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur in defiance of the curfew, Nepalnews.com said, citing reports from local radio stations.
Denying Passes
United Nations workers have been denied curfew passes in the Kathmandu Valley and are unable to monitor events in the region, Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, said in an e-mailed statement today from the capital.
``This obstruction is a clear violation'' of an agreement with the Nepalese government covering freedom of movement throughout Nepal, Dwyer said in the statement.
Four people were killed yesterday when security forces opened fire during a demonstration in the eastern district of Jhapa, Nepalnews.com said. Dozens of people suffered bullet wounds, it said.
More than 1,000 politicians and students have been arrested during the protests and at least 1,500 injured, prompting the UN last week to appeal to the government to control security forces.
Security forces yesterday arrested more than 200 teachers and representatives of other professional groups staging a rally in the western town of Pokhara in defiance of a daytime curfew.
Detaining Teachers
A group of 50 teachers was detained after a rally in Kathmandu's Dilli Bazaar district, Nepalnews.com said, citing its correspondent who attended the rally.
The authorities in Kathmandu released six Home Ministry workers who were among a group held two days ago for demonstrating outside the building. The Civil Servants Organization of Nepal has threatened new protests unless the employees are released.
Karan Singh, India's special envoy for Nepal appointed two days ago, is in Kathmandu along with Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. They are scheduled to meet King Gyanendra today and later hold talks with leaders of the opposition alliance, Nepalnews.com said.
The Indian government said April 18 the crisis in Nepal is ``a cause of concern for India.''
The strike and protest rallies are the largest organized by the alliance in recent months as part of a campaign demanding a return to democracy. The strike closed businesses and shops and halted road traffic, leading to shortages of oil and some foods in Kathmandu, a city of more than 1 million people.
Rebel Support
The opposition's protests are supported by rebels, who are fighting to replace the monarchy with a communist republic, in a conflict that has killed 13,000 people in the past 10 years. King Gyanendra dismissed the government and imposed emergency rule in February 2005, saying the administration had failed to control the insurgency. State-of-emergency restrictions curb political activities and the media.
The insurgency has damaged Nepal's economy, with growth forecast to shrink to 2 percent in the 2006 fiscal year from 2.3 percent last year, the Asian Development Bank said this month.
Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of gross domestic product and provides a livelihood for 80 percent of Nepal's population. An estimated 40 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net.
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