Opposition and rebels prepare for national strike

Nepal’s seven key opposition parties are gearing up for a four-day general strike due to start on Thursday. The protest will begin with rallies across the country against the government of King Gyanendra, who assumed absolute rule of the Himalayan kingdom in February 2005. According to one of the leading parties, the Nepali Congress (NC), the strike is being organised to encourage a wide cross-section of Nepali society, both rural and urban, to demonstrate its opposition to direct rule and to call for a restoration of democracy. Teachers, engineers, lawyers, journalists, social workers, human rights activists and government civil servants have been called on to down tools and participate in the planned rallies. Such strikes tend to affect poor Nepalis the most, but it’s a price worth paying said NC spokesman Krishna Sitaula. "We understand that the strike will cause hardship to many poor citizens but this is for the sake of restoring democracy.” In a show of unity, Maoist rebels, who have been waging a decade-long insurgency against the state, have called a temporary ceasefire for the duration of the strike, their leader Prachanda said in a press statement on Tuesday. The rebels and the alliance of seven main parties have been making common cause since they signed a 12-point understanding on 22 November that laid out a plan of action for removing the king from power. The government is concerned that the rebels will infiltrate protest rallies and use them to launch attacks on security forces. It has said any public gatherings over the next week will be banned. "We will take every initiative to control any disturbance caused by the parties and will ensure that rallies are prevented for the sake of public security," said an official from the home ministry, requesting not to be named. To underline their resolve, security forces arrested 25 students during a protest outside their college in central Kathmandu on Tuesday, independent radio reported.