Novaĵoj pri Nepalo

January 19, 2006

200 party leaders held in Nepal, internet, phone lines dead

Kathmandu, Jan. 19 (PTI): In a major crackdown ahead of the planned anti-monarchy agitation by the pro-democracy alliance tomorrow, Nepal's Royal Government today arrested some 200 political party leaders and cut off mobile phone services.

All top leaders of major political parties except Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala and Nepal Communist Party-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal were rounded up by security forces early today.

Nepali Congress general secretary Ramchandra Poudyal, Nepali Congress (Democratic) acting President Gopalman Shrestha, Nepal Communist Party UML Politburo member Ishwor Pokharel, CPN-UML spokesman Pradip Nepal, Sujata Koirala (daughter of GP Koirala), were among the 200 arrested during overnight raids.

Security is tight around residence of top political leaders and their telephones are also being tapped, party sources said.

The government is overreacting and is spreading terror in the country the name of security, CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said. "The government is scared of the peaceful demonstrations being launched by the seven party alliance," he told PTI over phone.

"We will defy the government's ban and organize our protest shows as usual on Friday," he said, adding there will be nationwide protest shows against the government, people will throng the streets and thousands will court arrest.

Meanwhile, authorities severed internet services, both landline and mobile telephone services today but later restored landlines and internet communications. (www.hindu.com)

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By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's royalist government began a crackdown in the capital on Thursday, detaining at least 50 politicians and student activists and snapping telephone links a day before an anti-king rally, police and party leaders said.

Authorities restored land-based telephone lines cut off since 5 a.m. (2315 GMT on Wednesday) after three hours but mobile phones remained disabled. A Reuters reporter said the Internet was functioning.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, the country's second-largest party, said dozens of activists, including some former ministers, had been detained.

The government did not give any reason for their detention.

"Some policemen came to my house soon after dawn, searched the building and left without arresting me," Nepal told Reuters. "Dozens of people have been arrested. I am collecting the details."

Another UML official said more than two dozen partymen had been detained.

Thousands of people were expected to attend Friday's rally in Kathmandu aimed at pressing King Gyanendra to restore democratic rule, a year after he dismissed the government, assumed absolute power, jailed politicians and suspended civil liberties.

The government has banned the rally, saying anti-monarchy Maoist rebels could infiltrate it and cause trouble. The political parties have vowed to go ahead with their plan.

Telephone lines and Internet connections were cut off last year after the king seized power on the grounds he needed to stem an increasingly bloody Maoist insurgency in which more than 12,500 people have been killed since 1996. The Maoists have been fighting to set up a single-party communist republic.

HIT LIST

Independent Kantipur radio said the government had prepared a list of 200 political activists and leaders, and instructed police to detain them, an apparent attempt to stop the protests.

"Some top leaders could be put under house arrest," it said.

Hundreds of politicians were arrested and some were jailed for several months last year.

Analysts said further restrictions could follow.

"This sort of crackdown was only expected under the king's autocratic regime," said Rajendra Dahal, editor of the Himal magazine. "It is all heading for a confrontation."

Earlier this week, the government declared a night curfew in the hill-ringed capital after Maoist guerrillas killed 12 policemen in coordinated attacks around Kathmandu.

The attacks were the rebels' deadliest since they ended a four-month-old unilateral truce saying the government had failed to reciprocate. At least 45 people have been killed in violence since then.

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Kaj jen estas la raporto pri kion la civitaj gvidistoj diris:

Fight for republic only way out: Civic leaders

 

Himalayan News Service

Nepal has turned into a military state’

Kathmandu, January 18:

Addressing a mass meet organised by the “Civil Society Movement for Peace and Democracy”, leaders of the civil society today said that only a fight for a republican order had any meaning now that the King was no longer within his constitutional bounds.

“Nepal’s history bears testimony that the institution of monarchy has repeatedly attacked democracy and the practice still continues. The King is not a prerequisite for democracy. The Kings who have gone against democratic institutions have disappeared but no country has lost its existence only because of the absence of the King,” states a working paper, jointly prepared by four prominent leaders of civil society movement, namely, Prof Krishna Khanal, Dr Mahesh Maskey, Dr Jeevraj Pokhrel and Shyam Shrestha.

The paper said Nepal was now running through direct orders from the King. The government is denying people basic human rights, curtailing press freedom, subduing the political parties and pushing the country further into conflict, it said.

“The international community is now boycotting Nepal and the King and ministers are deemed ‘unwanted’. The country is moving further away from its democratic path with the government content to confine our ties with China and Pakistan. Nepal is now compared with Myanmar, a military state,” the paper states, adding: “Hence the King and democracy cannot go hand on hand.”

According to the working paper, the targets of the civil society movement are: the establishment of democracy, the eradication of the institution of monarchy, the establishment of a republican order, the election of constituent assembly, drafting of a new constitution with people’s participation, bringing the Maoists into political mainstream, the State’s democratic reformation with greater participation, the representation and acknowledgement of the diversity of Nepali society, and ensuring the leadership and commitment of political parties for the movement for democracy.

The leaders said: “The Maoists cannot establish a republic through their guns and even if they do, such a victory will be short-lived. Thus the democratic movement for a republican order should be unarmed and non-violent.”

While urging the citizens to boycott the upcoming civic polls, the civil society leaders said: “Casting votes in this election is akin to cutting ones’ hands off by recognising autocracy and sidelining democracy.”

Addressing the programme, former law minister Nilambar Acharya said that in addition to establishing bodies to probe into the King’s unconstitutional commissions and ordinances, the people should also institute public commissions to look into the expenses for the royal family from the national coffer.

Daman Nath Dhungana, a human rights activist, said that the people’s movement should be aimed at establishing a republic. “The Nepalis have been making the same mistake for 240 years. The revolution of 1951 only helped take the political power away from the Ranas and hand them over to the kings. This was also the result of the 1960 coup.” The King must accept people’s wishes or be ready for a republic c, he added.

Former member of NPC, Dr Mangal Siddhi Manandhar, said that people now have two choices - either to challenge monarchy or to surrender to it slavery, while right activist Krishna Pahadi ruled out any possibility of continuation of constitutional monarchy.

Dalit leader Padma Lal Bishwokarma said monarchy was the root cause of racism and it needed to be abolished to establish an egalitarian state.

Karaj,

Mi petas pardonon ke mi hodiaŭ citis anglajn novaĵojn por vi. Ĉu plaĉis al vi?

Posted by razen at 16:37:49 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Politikaj gvidistoj arestitaj hodiaŭ matene...

Venis tia tago en Nepalo ke la reĝo hodiaŭ malliberigis dekojn da politikaj gvististoj por ke ili ne sucesu organiszi protestprogramo vendrede. Estas la unua fojo la reĝo malliberigis gvidistojn post lia puĉo dum pasianta jaro en februaro.

La registaro ĵus anoncis ke politikaj demonstracioj estas malpermesitaj en Katmando. La partioj planis demonstracii en la cefurbo dum vendredo kontraŭ la monarĥio.

De mantene, la telefonoj ne funkciis kaj poste (privata telefono ankoraŭ ne), post kiam la gvidistoj estis arestitaj, ĝi refunkciis. Tamen, oni ne povas nun uzi mantelefonojn.

Pli multe da retlokoj estas nun blokitaj. De kiam la reĝo rekte regis la lando, de februaro 1 de pasinta jaroj, ĉirkaŭ 20 da retlokoj ne funkcias en Nepalo. Kaj multe da homoj opinias ke la registaro tralegas cixujn privatajn retleterojn en Nepalo.

Ĵaude, ĉefoj de civitaj movadoj anoncis ke nur respublika sistemo estas akceptinda en venonta epoko kaj ili diris ke demokratio revenos nur post foriro de la nun reĝo.

Malgraŭ ĉio en la ĉefurbo, la reĝo nun ĝuas religia vojaĝo en orientaj montoj, kie li akceptas salutojn de needukitaj vilaĝanoj, laŭ la registara televidlinio.

De tri tagoj, homoj ne rajtas trairi en stratoj dum nokto.

Posted by razen at 16:26:28 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) | 

[el arĥivo de mia malnova blogo]