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| Sunday, 28 April 2002 |
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Nepal rebel strike fizzles out on final day KATHMANDU, April 27 (Reuters) - A general strike in Nepal called by Maoist rebels fizzled out on its final day on Saturday as shops in the capital Kathmandu opened for business and buses and cars plied the streets. The rebels, battling to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and impose communist rule, raided a government office in the southern plains and torched the country home of a ruling party lawmaker in west Nepal but there were no injuries, a police official said. "It's pretty well back to normal now," Kathmandu resident Puru Bhandari told Reuters. During the first couple of days of the strike, many residents stayed indoors and shops were shut over fears the insurgents would punish anyone defying their call. The rebels often kill of attack people -- sometimes chopping of limbs -- who are seen as enemies of their "people's war". More than 3,500 people have been killed since 1996 when the rebels launched their campaign to install a one-party communist republic in the poor Himalayan nation. Their fight has intensified since last June following the massacre of popular King Birendra and other royal family members by Crown Prince Dipendra who later shot himself. The general strike that began on Tuesday was the latest in a wave of protests launched by the guerrillas who draw their inspiration from Chinese Communist party leader Mao Zedong's campaign to empower the peasantry. State-owned television played footage of peace rallies in the ancient city of Kathmandu and elsewhere in the country opposing the shutdown and Junior Home (interior) Minister Devendra Raj Kandel said on Friday the strike had been a "total failure". No comment was available from the rebels. In Nepalgunj, in west Nepal, where there is a heavy Maoist presence, residents said few people were observing the strike. "It does not look like a strike anymore here today (Saturday)," Rajendra Adhikary, a resident of Nepalgunj told Reuters by telephone. |
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