KATHMANDU
Violence took it toll on Friday in several major cities and towns in Nepal during peaceful demonstrations on the second day of a nationwide strike, called by the seven main opposition parties against King Gyanendra, who assumed direct rule in February 2005 after sacking the democratic government.
Human rights observers monitoring the mass political rallies both inside and outside the capital said that the violence erupted following a heavy crackdown by security forces to prohibit demonstrators from making any anti-king slogans.
“The repressive attitude of the state authorities is becoming worse. The aggression of the security forces is going out of control against the peaceful demonstrators,” said Bhola Mahat, a prominent human rights activist in Nepalganj, a key border city of western Nepal, 570 km southwest of the capital.
In another major western city, Butwal, 300 km west of Kathmandu, several hospital patients were injured after the riot police fired tear gas towards the Lumbini Anchal Nursing Home while targeting the demonstrators, local journalists reported.
“Many patients had to go for emergency treatment adding more injury to their already sick conditions,” said journalist Jai Bahadur Pun in Butwal, where the country’s largest demonstration took place with nearly 5,000 people.
In the capital, demonstrations also became violent as the police severely beat up student activists and political workers. In the nearby town of Patan in the capital, demonstrators burnt down government offices and vehicles after police fired tear gas and battered protestors with their batons.
According to the local human rights group, Insec, over 100 political workers were arrested today.
Defying the government’s prohibitory orders to organise rallies, even the civil servants working with the state-run organisations joined the demonstration. “The state’s authoritarian system is also affecting our own morale and job security,” said Rakesh Thapa, a government worker.
Condemning the arrests of democratic leaders and the state ban on peaceful protests, the diplomatic community in Nepal jointly criticised the king’s government on Thursday. “These actions go against the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression stipulated in international conventions, to which Nepal is signatory,” said a joint statement by the European Heads of Mission.
Even the government of Japan, which rarely makes political comments on Nepal, said that there should be no more arrests.
“We strongly deplore such incidents,” added India’s External Affairs Ministry.
But more violence is expected, with huge rallies planned thoughout the country for Saturday.
Meanwhile, the government has promised that additinal security personnel will be mobilised to control the demonstrations. “We will be taking more appropriate measures to avoid violence,” said Home Minister Kamal Thapa, during a press conference in the capital. He added that his government could be forced to impose a curfew and state of emergency if the situation gets out of hand.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions