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| India-Pakistan |
| Maoists hold mass demonstration in Nepal capital |
| 2009-11-13 |
| [Dawn] Tens of thousands of Maoist activists took to the streets of Nepal's capital Thursday, bringing government ministries to a virtual standstill in their biggest protest since they lost power in May. Chanting 'Down with the puppet government' and waving red flags bearing their hammer and sickle logo, the protesters surrounded the main government complex in the heart of Kathmandu and blocked off all entrances to the area. Most civil servants and government ministers stayed at home to avoid clashes with the demonstrators and an AFP reporter at the scene said the protest appeared to be peaceful. 'Nepal may have become a republic, but we have yet to achieve true people's rule,' protester Shanchalal Waiba told AFP outside the Singha Durbar government complex. 'This protest may bring difficulties to the people in the short term, but in the long term it will bring a better future.' The Maoists won landmark elections in Nepal last year and abolished the monarchy, but their government fell after just eight months when the president overruled their attempt to sack the head of the army. The blockade is part of a fortnight-long series of nationwide protests being held by the former guerrillas, who fought a 10-year civil war against the state that ended in 2006. The Maoists say the president's move was unconstitutional and are demanding an apology and a parliamentary debate on the role of the head of state. Maoist leader and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda or 'the fierce one,' said their main aim was to restore 'civilian supremacy' over the military. 'Our achievements have been hijacked and civilian supremacy has been hijacked. The main aim of our protest is to restore it,' he told reporters outside the Singha Durbar complex. 'Unless the president's move is corrected, we will continue our protests.'Maoist leaders had said they hoped to mobilise at least 300,000 people for the two-day protest, which will continue on Friday, but witnesses put the number of demonstrators at around 20,000. Dahal described the blockade as a 'celebration,' with Maoist activists, many of whom had travelled in from far-flung areas of the country, singing and dancing in the streets of the capital. One senior party leader, Krishna Khatri Chettri, told AFP that the peaceful rally 'proved that all those who say the Maoists are only interested in violence and anarchy are wrong.' Authorities in Kathmandu have deployed more than 2,000 riot police, but both the Maoists and the government said they wanted to avoid any clashes. Protesters are banned from entering an exclusion zone around Singha Durbar and authorities had said they would expand the zone during the two-day protest. But they backed down after the Maoists said they would defy the new rules. 'We will not allow the Maoists to move beyond the restricted zone,' police official Ashutosh Rana told AFP. 'So far the protest has been peaceful and we are committed to show maximum restraint.' |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 why dont we just call them what they really are, Chinese Communist trained lackeys of the Chinese government |
| Posted by: 746 2009-11-13 10:34 |
| #2 ION WMF > RUSSIA ACCUSES GEORGIA OF VIOLATING ABKHAZIA, SOUTH OSSETIA AIRSPACE WID UAVS; + GEOPOL COUNTAINMENT AND COUNTER-CONTAINMENT: A NEW STAGE IN SINO-US AND "GREAT POWERS" GAMESMANSHIP IN MYANMAR. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-11-13 01:18 |
| #1 TOPIX > VARIOUS > NEPA MAOISTS LAY PROTEST SIEGE IN KATHMANDU [Katmandu]; + NEPAL MAOISTS RIOT OVER ARMY CHIEF. ION BARAT RAKSHAK > CHINA WARNS INDIA: INDIA SHOULD NOT FORGET 1962 [Chin-alleged repeated provocations by India led to Sino-Indian troop border clashes = 1962 war]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-11-13 00:33 |