The European Union has condemned Nepali authorities for opening fire on demonstrators to suppress pro-democracy protests, saying it marked a watershed in the country’s political crisis.
The statement was issued shortly before Nepal’s King Gyanendra announced he was handing over power to political parties and asking them to name a new prime minister.
At least 12 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in Nepal’s pro-democracy campaign launched on April 6. On Thursday, police fired on demonstrators trying to march into Kathmandu and at least three people were killed and up to 100 injured.
“The use of live ammunition against demonstrators marks a watershed in the crisis,” the Austrian Presidency of the EU said in a statement. “The Presidency of the EU roundly condemns the use of these and other excessive measures by government forces to curb pro-democracy protests,” it said, adding that a long curfew had aggravated the already difficult lives of ordinary people.
Human rights groups and UN agencies have also condemned what they called “use of excessive force” by the security forces against the pro-democracy demonstrators in Nepal over the last fortnight. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
Local authorities have declared day-time curfew in the capital, Kathmandu, and surrounding areas on Friday as well.
On Thursday, the authorities had imposed 18-hour long curfew, which was extended by another seven hours till 3 p. m. on Friday. Residents of the valley had to confine themselves within their houses for over 24 hours.
But hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, especially in the Road Road area, by defying curfew orders. Pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with security personnel at various parts of the city. At least three demonstrators were killed and over one hundred others were injured in firing by security personnel.
A number of rights organizations have denounced the government’s act of denying curfew exemption passes to media, rights groups, UN agencies and even ambulances. Dozens of injured personnel lay unattended for hours due to lack of transportation.
A vehicle owned by INSEC, a leading rights group, defied curfew orders on Thursday to ferry injured personnel to Kathmandu Model hospital, where they are being treated.
On Friday, the royal government has again denied curfew exemption passes to media, rights groups and ambulances. Reports say the UN OHCHR team alone has been granted passes.
People were seen rushing to collect their supplies early Friday after curfew was relaxed. There is acute shortage of essential items in the capital including petroleum products, fresh vegetables, salt and oil, among others as the nationwide general strike entered into the third week.
The seven party opposition alliance has said the nationwide general strike will continue unless their demands are met. The opposition parties are demanding that His Majesty King Gyanendra give up his absolute powers and restore democracy in the country. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
A day after the meeting with special Indian envoy, Karan Singh, His Majesty King Gyanendra has granted audience to Indian ambassador to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee.
Officials at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu confirmed that ambassador Mukherjee has returned after meeting the Nepali monarch. They said they did not have details.
On Thursday, as the capital reeled under day-time curfew and tens of thousands of activists clashed with police defying curfew orders, King Gyanendra held consultations with the visiting special Indian envoy Karan Singh at the Narayanhiti royal palace for over an hour.
Singh returned to New Delhi late Thursday. Talking to reporters in the Indian capital, the senior diplomat said he delivered a letter written by Indian premier, Dr. Man Mohan Singh, to HM the King and also presented his assessment of the situation. “Now, the ball is in the king’s court,” said Singh. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, the UN, US and UK have extended their support to the Indian initiative to break the long-drawn political stalemate, according to reports. All three have been insisting that the king return power to the people and open dialogue with the mainstream political parties in the country. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
India’s special envoy to Nepal, Karan Singh, briefed Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, about the latest situation in Nepal and his deliberations during his two-day stay in Kathmandu on Friday.
The special envoy discussed with Prime Minister Singh for half an hour in New Delhi, Indian media reports said.
“It is our hope and expectation that perhaps by the end of the day some major announcement will be made,” a report posted in the online edition of The Hindu, an English daily, quoted Singh as saying while talking to reporters after the meeting with the Prime Minister. “We are hoping that there will be some major step towards reinstating democracy,” added he.
Singh who met the King and the opposition leaders during his stay in Kathmandu further said, “I am not going into details. We must give time to the King to clearly think over it and not to dictate. Nepal is an independent country. We have done our bit.”
Meanwhile, a senior leader of Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) and former External Affairs minister Jaswant Singh also met Prime Minister Singh to discuss about the political turmoil in Nepal.
“The first priority should be the earliest restoration of peace and confidence between political parties and the monarchy in Nepal,” The Hindu quoted him saying after the meeting with Prime Minister Singh.
He also described both the multiparty democracy and monarchy as two pillars of Nepal’s political system.
Reports said Singh is also planning a visiting to Nepal within a few days and is trying to coordinate with Prime Minister Singh regarding his deliberations in Kathmandu. nepalnews.com mk Apr 21 06
Civil society leaders being detained at the Duwakot barrack of the Armed Police Force (APF) have demanded that the seven party alliance should go for no less than the unconditional ‘constituent assembly.’
In a joint statement issued Friday, over 20 civil society leaders being detained at Duwakot said, “With the Nepali people having rebelled against the kingship, grounds for compromise are rapidly despairing. In this context, the seven party alliance should insist on nothing less than an unconditional constituent assembly to take the country forward.”
The further said, “Together with the declaration of the constituent assembly, the Royal Nepalese Army should be converted into a ‘Nepal Army’ that remains under the command of the government to be constituted as a result of the ‘People’s Movement 2006.”
Those issuing the statement include former Justice at the Supreme Court Laxman P. Aryal, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Daman Nath Dhungana, senior human rights leader Padma Ratna Tuladhar and senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit.
They were detained while defying the curfew orders early this month 8 in Kathmandu. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
Hundreds of thousands of people are demonstrating along the Ring Road and other parts of the capital on Friday by defying curfew orders, reports say.
A huge crowd of people broke several barricades set up by the police along the Ring Road and has reached Kalanki area from Maharajgunj, reports say. A journalist on the scene said the number of demonstrations could be as much as 300,000. The demonstrators are now marching along the 27-km Ring Road.
Latest reports say security personnel have fired rubber bullets at Satdobato, Khumaltar area. At least half a dozen demonstrators and two police have been reportedly injured during clashes.
Tens of thousands of people have also assembled at Chabahil and Gwarko area, according to reports.
Demonstrators have burnt the police beat of Kalanki and have declared the area as “Loktantrik chowk” ( democratic chowk).
Krishna Gautam, a human rights activist affiliated to INSEC, told Nepalnews over phone that the mood of the demonstrators is defiant. “Security personnel too look rather restrained today,” he said.
At least three demonstrators had been killed at Kalanki area and over 100 others injured when security personnel opened fire at demonstrators in different parts of the capital on Thursday.
The pro-democracy activists are defying curfew orders for the second day Friday and are demanding that king Gyanendra give up his absolute powers. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
Reports from mid-western town of Nepalgunj say an elderly person seriously injured in firing by security personnel in Guleriya of the mid-western district of Bardiya on Thursday has succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in the Indian city of Lucknow.
A journalist based in Nepalgunj quoted family members of Prem Lal Lamichhane, a resident of Bardiya, as saying that Lamichhane was injured in firing by security personnel in Guleriya Thursday afternoon and was taken to Lucknow for treatment where he died. The authorities are yet to confirm the death of Lamichhane.
According to Kantipur daily, security personnel indiscriminately shot at peaceful demonstrators injuring over three dozen of them. The Defense Ministry said 26 people were injured when security personnel were compelled to open fire to control the crowd. The Royal Nepalese Army has claimed that security personnel were forced to retaliate after they came into fire from SMG guns from the side of the demonstrators.
The RNA’s statement is yet to be verified independently.
The injured personnel are undergoing treatment at the district hospital of Guleriya and regional hospital at Nepalgunj.
At least one dozen people have been killed in firing by security personnel across the country since the seven party alliance called an indefinite strike beginning April 6, this year. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
People have started to defy the curfew orders in the capital on Friday, the second day of the day-time curfew imposed by the government to thwart the protest programme of the seven political parties.
People have been defying and the curfew orders and organizing demonstrations against the government in various parts of the capital.
According to reports, people are gathering and entering to the Ring Road area to defy the curfew orders and demonstrate against the government calling for early restoration of democracy bringing an end to royal rule.
Thousands of demonstrators also took out to the streets outside the Ring Road areas.
According to leaders of seven political parties, more people are coming to the streets to defy the curfew order imposed by the government.
Irate by the killing of three pro-democracy activists in Kalanki on Thursday, more people are coming to the street defying the curfew orders.
However, there was no report of violence till 12:30 p.m.
Three people were killed and over 200 injured during pro-democracy demonstration of Thursday.
Issuing separate notices, local administrations of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktpur imposed curfew orders from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on Friday to thwart the demonstration of seven political parties.
“Security forces could shoot violators or police could arrest them and jail them up to one month,” the notices said.
Pro-democracy activists defied similar curfew orders in the capital from April 8 to 11, during the general strike called by the seven political parties. nepalnews.com pb Apr 21 06
The London-based human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, has called upon the Nepal government to allow permission to rights groups, among others, to monitor the situation even during the curfew hours.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Amnesty said, “With daily reports of extreme brutality by the police and army to control political demonstrations, it is absolutely essential that independent monitors are free to carry out their vital work. It may be that the security forces are increasingly aware that they will be held accountable for their actions — in which case they should be changing their behaviour, not hiding from scrutiny.”
The Amnesty International further said refusal o Nepali authorities to provide curfew exemption passes even to journalists and human rights activists “seems to be an attempt to limit public scrutiny of the conduct of the security forces in policing demonstrations. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal also was not granted curfew passes, but two monitoring teams traveled with police escort.”
”Alarmingly, local sources said that emergency service vehicles — including ambulances — were not provided necessary curfew passes. The government has authorized the security forces to shoot those who violate curfew orders if necessary. At least three people were killed by security forces in Kathmandu today, and dozens injured,” the statement said.
Amnesty International has urged the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to restrict the participation of Nepalese security forces implicated in human rights violations in peacekeeping operations abroad, the statement said. “We welcome the statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour last week that her office is committed to providing the DPKO with information regarding individuals implicated in human rights violations, whether they are from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, or the Royal Nepalese Army,” the Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International has also called for targeted sanctions against top officials of the royal regime including top security officers. nepalnews.com by Apr 21 06
All domestic airlines under the Airline Operations Association of Nepal (AOAN) stalled operations on Thursday expressing solidarity to the ongoing pro-democracy movement of the country.
The Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation failed to operate its scheduled domestic flights even when the passengers had already checked in, report quoted a source at the Tribhuwan International Airport as saying.
“Quite a few passengers, who had reached the airport despite security and curfew hurdles, were all set to board the plane. However their flights were cancelled since the RNAC crew members failed to show up,” The HImalayan Times Daily quoted an unnamed source as saying.
The RNAC should have cancelled its flights in advance instead of causing inconvenience to the passengers, he said.
Mohan Khanal, managing director of the RNAC, said they were forced to cancel the flight due to time restrictions since the crew members reached the airport late. “We had to cancel all the scheduled domestic flights on Thursday since it was impossible to land at certain airports beyond the set time because of the weather factor,” he said.
The national carrier and all the other international airlines including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Druk Air, Thai Airways, Indian Airlines with the exception of Biman Bangladesh smoothly operated their international flights on Thursday, said TIA.
The airport, on an average, manages around 30 arrival and departure flights everyday. nepalnews.com pb Apr 21 06