Nepal’s Maoists prepare for huge anti-government demo
KATHMANDU, May 2, 2010 AFP - Tens of thousands of Maoists
massed in the streets of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Saturday for a
huge protest to force the embattled government to quit.
Security was on high alert amid fears the demonstration could lead to
fresh turmoil for the impoverished Himalayan nation, which is still
recovering from a deadly civil war.
Riot police were posted at all major city intersections and at least
15,000 security personnel were being deployed to avert violence, police
spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma said.
Parts of the city were a sea of red flags waved by demonstrators who
chanted: “Dissolve this puppet government and set up a national
government.”
The Maoist party, which has the largest number of seats in
parliament, is demanding the ruling coalition be replaced by a new,
Maoist-led administration and said it expected half a million people to
throng the city’s streets.
“The purpose of this demonstration is to pressure the government to
resign and have a national government formed under our leadership,”
Baburam Bhattarai, second in command of the Maoist party, said ahead of
mass rally.
A previous Maoist government fell in March 2009 after the president
overruled its decision to sack the head of the army. Since then, Maoists
have staged regular protests, though Saturday’s rally was set to be the
biggest.
“This is a very dangerous moment. The Maoists have mobilised their
people in an unprecedented scale,” political commentator Prashant Jha
told AFP.
If their demands are ignored, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal — also
known as Prachanda — has said they will begin an indefinite nationwide
strike from Sunday.
At the same time as demonstrators were massing for the rally, the
Maoists were meeting representatives of other major parties to try to
break the political impasse.
Reports of Maoists taking part in military-style training and
carrying weapons in the run-up to the rally stoked tensions in the
capital.
On Friday, Bhattarai said the former rebels, who fought a decade-long
civil war against the government, expected half a million people in the
capital.
“Thousands of volunteers have been trained to maintain discipline
during the demonstration,” he promised. “There will be no violence.”
Nepal’s lawmakers have until May 28 to complete a new constitution
that analysts say is key to ensuring lasting peace between the Maoists
and the state after the end of the civil war in 2006.
They must also reach agreement on the integration of nearly 20,000
former Maoist fighters languishing in cantonments around the country.
The UN secretary general’s representative in Nepal, Karin Langdren,
urged that all parties exercise restraint.
He said the situation was “unpredictable, and may seriously endanger
the peace process.”
She said she feared “potential spoilers of the peace process could
provoke a clash.”
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said he was willing to come to an
agreement with the Maoists.
“I am open to discussion and reaching a consensus,” he said on
Friday.
But he added “reports of Maoists carrying weapons ahead of the rally
indicates the (possibility of the) use of force, which is quite
alarming.” |