At least three persons were killed and over 50 injured when security personnel opened fire at pro-democracy activists, who were organizing demonstration in Kalanki area, Kathmandu, defying curfew orders imposed by the government.

Over 50 thousand protesters defied the curfew and took to the streets demanding end to autocratic rule. The Nepali Congress (Democratic), an ally in the seven-party coalition, said in a press statement this afternoon that three persons were shot and killed and hundreds of others were injured in government clampdown in demonstrations in Kalanki.

Police fired several live rounds, rubber bullets and teargas shells to disperse the agitators and charged batons injuring several protesters. Human rights monitors on the scene told Nepalnews that security personnel also barred Red Cross volunteers from treating the injured persons on the spot.

Dozens of injured activists were taken to medicine shops outside Ring Road area for treatment. Most of those injured have head injuries, according to them.

Most of the injured people have been taken to Kathmandu Model Hospital for treatment. TV and radio reports said the death toll in firings could be higher.

Likewise, 20 protestors were injured in Patan when they clashed with riot police.

Similarly, police shot at protesters at Satdobato. However, details of casualties in the incident were not immediately known.

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists are organizing demonstrations in various parts of the capital defying curfew orders.

Details to follow. nepalnews.com pb/mk Apr 20 06

Expressing hope for early breakthrough in Nepal’s political crisis, India’s special envoy to Nepal, Karan Singh, returned to New Delhi, winding up his two-day visit on Thursday.

Singh had an audience with King Gyanendra at the Narayanhity Royal Palace today after series of meetings with top opposition leaders. He reporters upon his return to Delhi that he hoped that the King would make an announcement very soon.

“I am optimistic. I am hopeful that the King will make an announcement shortly,” agency reports quoted him as saying. He added, “The ball is in the King’s court.” He also said it was for the people of Nepal to take a decision regarding a solution to the political crisis here.

He said during his two-hour long meeting with the King from 11:00 a.m., he put forth the Indian government’s suggestions and handed over Indian Prime Minister Dr Man Mohan Singh’s message to the monarch.

The special envoy further said India was “deeply concerned” over the problems facing the people of Nepal – both economic and political – as well as the general breakdown of law and order.

On Wednesday, Singh held separate discussions with Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala, CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and NC (Democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba. He also met former Prime Minister and chairman of Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP) Surya Bahadur Thapa today.

Indian foreign secretary Shayam Sharan accompanied him during most of the meetings in Kathmandu. Saran, former ambassador to Nepal, had met with Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) chief Pyar Jung Thapa on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, issuing a press release after Singh’s meeting with the King, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said, “The Special Envoy has stressed the need for genuine dialogue between the constitutional forces in Nepal, with the objective of urgently restoring multi-party democracy.”

The special envoy will brief Indian PM Singh about his deliberations in Kathmandu, according to reports. nepalnews.com mk Apr 20 06

Local authorities in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur extended the 2:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. curfew until 3:00 a.m. Friday, without interval.

Issuing separate public notices Thursday evening, the district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur stated that the 18-hour curfew has been extended by seven hours. The curfew orders will be effective within the periphery of Ring Road area and 200 meters beyond in Kathmandu and Lalitpur and parts of Bhaktapur.

This is the longest uninterrupted curfew imposed in the capital in recent times aimed at thwarting the seven-party movement and to bring the situation under control. nepalnews.com mk Apr 20 06

The government on Tuesday released all detainees who were taken into custody for defying curfew and prohibitory in Kathmandu.

The district administrations of Kathmandu n ad Lalitpur ordered the of the detainees after the royal proclamation Monday night.

Those freed include former Supreme Court justice Laxman Aryal, former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana, rights activists Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Malla K Sundar, Charan Prasain and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, among the 18 persons kept at the Armed Police Force base camp in Bhaktapur.

The government has also released Krishna Pahadi, Devendra Raj Pandey, Shyam Shrestha and Mathura Shrestha. The four people were taken into custody on January 19 on the eve of a mass meeting called by the seven parties at Basantapur in Kathmandu.

Charan Prasain, president of Human Rights Organisation of Nepal, told Nepalnews that they were the last batch of detainees to be released. He said the Kathmandu CDO did not release the 18 persons detained at the Duwakot initially, but the released them later.

Hundreds of leaders and cadres of political parties, human rights activists, journalists, professionals, teachers and professors were arrested during the people’s movement beginning April 6, while many had been kept in custody since last four months. nepalnews.com ia Apr 20

At least three persons were killed and over 50 injured when security personnel opened fire at pro-democracy activists demonstrating in Kalanki area, Kathmandu, defying curfew orders while massive protests snowballed across the country Thursday.

Over 50 thousand protesters poured into the street and defied curfew in Kalanki, demanding end to autocratic rule. Three persons who were shot by the security personnel were pronounced dead by doctors at Kathmandu Model Hospital, Bagbazaar. More than 50 others were badly injured in government clampdown in demonstrations in Kalanki.

Police fired several live rounds, rubber bullets and teargas shells to disperse the agitators and charged batons. Human rights monitors on the scene told Nepalnews that security personnel also barred Red Cross volunteers from treating the injured persons on the spot.

Dozens of injured activists were taken to medicine shops outside Ring Road area for treatment. Most of those injured have head injuries, according to them.

Most of the injured people have been taken to Kathmandu Model Hospital for treatment. Condition of at least six injured persons is critical, according to hospital sources.

The identities of the dead are not known yet. Hospital sources also said police forcefully took away the dead bodies in the evening.

Similarly, police shot and injured over 70 at protesters at Satdobato this afternoon. Dozens of political activists including NC (D) central leader Dr Prakash Saran Mahat were injured in police beating in Gongabu area. Likewise, over three dozen protestors were injured in Patan when they clashed with riot police.

A press statement issued by Nepali Congress said tens of thousands of people took to the streets in various parts of the capital including Kritipur, Sitapaila, Gongabu, Jadibuti, Koteshwore, Sukedhara, Suryavinayak, Balkhu, Dhumbarahi, Sundarijal, Kamalvinayak, Ghattekulo, Dhobighat and Bouddha.

Security personnel barred nearly five thousand pro-democracy activists coming from Dhading district at Thankot, NC said.

According to CPN (UML), police arrested Standing Committee member Keshav Badal from a demonstration in Chabhil. Tens of thousands of people also took to the street in Bhaktapur.

Similarly, over seven thousand people defied curfew order in Bansbari area and reached the Ring Road, chanting anti-government slogans. Police fired teargas to disperse the protesters.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Kieran Dwyer, spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR) said they were not issued curfew passes on Thursday to monitor the human rights situation in Kathmandu.

OHCHR representatives, along with media organisations, embassies and other diplomatic agencies, were not issued curfew passes Thursday.

‘We have been denied curfew passes, thus obstructing our ability to monitor the human rights situation as we have in previous situations of curfew, said Dwyer.

‘This obstruction is a clear violation of the agreement between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the government of Nepal setting out the mandate of our office, which provides that OHCHR shall have freedom of movement throughout Nepal,’ Dwyer added.

Likewise, the parties said that massive demonstrations were held in almost all major cities and towns around the country including Damak in Jhapa, Pokhara, Palpa’s Tansen, Baglung Bazaar, Myagdi’s Beni, Rajbiraj, Chitwan, Dang, Bardia, Dhanusa, Pokhara, Chitwan, Butwal, Jhapa, Kalaiya, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk and Nepalgunj.

Many places saw the biggest demonstrations carried in course of the nationwide general strike called by the seven-party alliance (SPA). Thursday marked the 15th day of the nationwide general strike called by the SPA.

Reports from various districts said hundreds of people were injured in clashes with the security forces while hundreds others were taken into custody in different places.

The seven parties enforced half an hour blackout in the Kathmandu Valley from 8 in the evening and carried out torch rallies to protest against the government clampdown on their movement.

A press release issued after a meeting of the Central People’s Movement Coordination Committee stated that the movement would be further intensified on Friday and that it would go on for an indefinite period. nepalnews.com mk/pb Apr 20 06

– By Abhishek Basnyat

Following the SPA’s movement and the king’s possible address to the nation, the issue of parliamentary elections (or House reinstatement) has taken on added urgency. In a bid to influence the palace, the leader of the SPA, GP Koirala, had emphatically reiterated his stance against parliamentary elections in an interview right before the movement took off. The announcement of elections would be a “big accident” he had warned. Major newspapers had followed suit with one cautioning that it would be a “colossal blunder”. The “big accident” seems to be playing itself out now, but it is not quite the “biggest accident” for Nepal. The bigger accident for Nepal has been the casting of the parliamentary elections as a weapon in the king’s arsenal against democracy.

The king may have many weapons against the political parties, but election is not one of them. Elections belong to the people. It is the people’s weapon against tyranny of any kind, from anyone. It is the responsibility of the leaders of the nation to attend to this weapon, and wield it for the people. Sadly, our leaders faltered in this respect. The cold-shouldering of the parliamentary elections since the dissolution of parliament in 2002 has been the biggest accident that our political wagon has gone through in recent times.

No one has illusions about the situation that existed in 2002. Given the Maoists’ threats, normal elections would have been impossible. However, the very quality that distinguishes leaders (from ordinary people) is their ability to come up with creative solutions to difficult problems, and pull us through daunting times. Our leaders’ reaction to this formidable challenge, however, was hardly one befitting those entrusted with the tough responsibilities of nurturing a nascent democracy. In fatalistically accepting the impossibility of elections, our leaders contributed in driving us to this accident. It is high time now to correct this mistake, and the opportunity is available to do so.

The people of any modern state are entitled to some basic rights. Along with the rights to express ourselves, to dissent, to assemble peacefully, and to form associations, we also have the right to vote for the people entrusted with ensuring these rights. Under the leadership of the parties and various organizations, the people of Nepal have gallantly stood up for the protection of some of our fundamental rights in the past one-year. It is tragic, however, that the right to elect our own government never received the kind of patronage our other rights did. In the absence of patrons, this specific right has now even degenerated to the ignoble status of being an arrow in a dictator’s quiver. Parliamentary elections, it is said, will legitimize autocracy. The only way out is to go for a constituent assembly!

The fact is parliamentary elections do not preclude us from making necessary changes to our polity, not even to the constitution. Contrary to popular belief, parliamentary elections will not bring the current struggle for change to a halt, but instead legitimize and strengthen it. The struggle can move from the streets to the parliament. A legitimate government will clear a lot of the current confusion and turmoil, and give fewer excuses for foreigners to intervene. Most of all, it will improve the morale of peace-loving Nepalese the world over, and instill faith in peaceful and legitimate methods of effecting political change.

On the other hand, going directly for a constituent assembly would mean outright victory to the Maoists. It would legitimize the use of violence for the attainment of political goals, and set a bad precedent for the future.

Reinstating the parliament is a good idea. But it will not highlight the parties’ failure to stand up to the Maoists when they first obstructed the elections. It would again give implicit victory to violence, and let the parties’ slip-by without realizing their responsibility to defend the people’s right to elect their leaders. If we are to lay the groundwork of a strong democracy, it is imperative that the parties realize this past “mistake,” and prove they’ve changed.

Most importantly, however, going for parliamentary elections is necessary for the parties’ own good. A regime may be brought down on the basis of slogans and demonstrations, but a country cannot be built upon the same. Campaigning for elections will give the parties much needed time for necessary reflection and planning. It will force the parties to firm up their ideologies and policies for a new Nepal. Whether they reveal it fully or not, the Maoists have a well-thought out plan for Nepal with strong ideological basis. The same cannot be said of the parties. If we went directly for a constituent assembly, it is not inconceivable that the Maoists would easily gain over the parties who remain in ideological nebulae.

The big thorn on this path to parliamentary elections, of course, is the notion that doing so would be bowing down to the king’s autocracy. This is a matter of attitude. It is the sad accident that we have gotten into.

However, a unique opportunity is now open to undo this unfortunate accident. From being trapped in between the two extreme forces, the parties are now in a position to draw both sides onto their “path of peace”. Building upon their 12-point pact with the Maoists, and based on the success of their current movement, the parties should now convince the Maoists to declare a ceasefire during parliamentary polls. Continuing their call for end of direct rule, they should establish an interim government for the same. Such demands put both the extreme forces’ commitment to democracy to an open test, and put the parties back in the driver’s seat to restore democracy in the country. In creating the conditions for re-establishment of a freely and fairly elected parliament, the parties will have proved that they are the true adherents of the principle of people’s sovereignty.

This movement, after all, has thrived on the participation of ordinary, non-political people. It would be false if it were hijacked for the furtherance of short-term political goals of any political actor. We have before us a unique opportunity to forever etch into our history books, that in our country, it is the parliament, not the palace, nor the insurgents, nor even the parties that is supreme. If the country’s constitution is rewritten it should be because the people of this country willed, through their representatives in parliament, to do so; not because of fear of guerillas, fury against policemen, or frustration with the status quo. This will be the ideal way to step into the new millennium, and a new chapter in our history, and the parties now have the opportunity to lead the way to it.

Clearly, this is a tall order, and it will be difficult for the parties to take it up. The media, intelligentsia, civil society, professionals’ organizations, and every citizen of the nation should put their weight behind this agenda, and weaning the parties away from their current destructive path, push them onto this constructive one. Strengthening democracy, after all, is more than toppling a regime; it is demanding better leadership from our leaders.

(The author works for an international organization in Washington DC. Please send your comments to [email protected] and [email protected]).

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])

Three journalists and one driver affiliated to Kantipur Television, a private television channel of the country, who were arrested on Tuesday while covering a demonstration at Home Ministry were released after a few hours.

Police arrested journalists Balram Baniya, Bimal Gautam, cameraman Raju Timilsena and driver Shiv Ram Thapa while covering a demonstration by civil servant at Singha Durbar on Tuesday.

They were released at around 8.15 p.m. in the evening in presence of president of Federation of Nepalese Journalists Bishnu Nisthuri, general secretary Mahendra Bista and general secretary of Nepal Bar Association Madhav Baskota.

Alleging that the arrested journalists were treated like criminals by the police, Kantipur Television, in a press statement, said it was saddened by the government’s act.

Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday released 12 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and 19 employees of the Home Ministry, a few hours after their arrest. However 6 employees of Home Ministry are yet to be released

12 employees of NRB and 25 employees of Home Ministry were arrested on Tuesday for supporting the pro-democracy movement of the country. nepalnews.com pb Apr 19 06

Ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are meeting on April 20 in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, in a bid to chalk out strategies for effective implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).

This is the first time that a ministerial meet is being held after the treaty came into force from January 2006.

Meanwhile, a two day meeting of the committee of experts (CoE) started on Tuesday to discuss certain issues at the joint secretary level with representatives from all SAARC member countries.

SAFTA came into force after SAARC member countries namely Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives agreed on the framework.

Report quoted Naindra Prasad Upadhyay, joint secretary at the ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, who is participating in the meeting of the CoE, as saying that the ministerial meeting will discuss as to how all SAARC countries can move effectively to implement the SAFTA framework to boost South Asian economy as a whole.

The meeting would also review the sensitive list of products, discuss about the trade in services which was not discussed during the earlier CoE meetings, said Upadhyay.

As per the provisions of SAFTA, agreed by seven member countries of SAARC, LDCs are supposed to get revenue compensation for the first four years beginning January 1, 2006. nepalnews.com pb Apr 19 06

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday summoned US Ambassador, James F Moriarty, on Tuesday for his comment against the King.

According to sources, he was summoned for his sharp comment on if the king further delays returning power to people in an interview to CNN.

Foreign Secretary Hira Bahadur Thapa reminded the envoy about diplomatic norms while making comments on Nepal’s King and other internal affairs.

According to reports, an official at the American Centre confirmed that Moriarty was summoned by the Ministry, but refused to give further details.

Moriarty received royal audience on Sunday. The US has been asking the King to find consensus with the political parties to restore peace in the country. The US dubbed the royal takeover of February 1 last year as setback to democracy and stalled military assistance to Nepal. nepalnews.com pb Apr 19 06

As King Gyanendra is having political consultations with various leaders to solve the political problem of the country, leaders of the seven-party alliance have said consultations with leaders and parties who are not in the alliance would hold no meaning.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Tuesday, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Gopal Pahadi criticised former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai for committing a “serious mistake for the first time” by meeting the King in such a situation.

The leaders, including Pahadi, ruled out chances of meeting the King unless the monarch invites alliance leaders through a royal proclamation and promises to hand over all executive powers and sovereign rights to the people.

Reiterating his party’s stance of the revival of the House of Representatives (HoR), Pahadi said the parties would sit for dialogue with the monarch only through Parliament.

Narayan Khadka of the NC (Democratic) dubbed the royal audience as meaningless.

Saying that the ongoing movement has been transferred to the hands of the people, NC leader Bhim Bahadur Tamang said, “Holding dialogue with former prime ministers or any other leader except those of the seven-party alliance would be meaningless.”

Former minister Nilambar Acharya said there cannot be any compromise with the monarch now. “The movement has gained such a height that people would only agree even on a constituent assembly now.”

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan emphasised dialogue through consensus. Pradhan, who is also a former Inspector General of Police, said the police force has not been disciplined and controlled these days. nepalnews.com pb Apr 19 06